#( hamel as an fc is so <3 )

[ausrache]

i'm gonna spend most of the day developing hsr!mali & her companion quest/story within the plot. i might also post a little one-liner call later . . . i'm just really excited to develop her!! ♥

[smash-64]

2024 Game of the Year Countdown #1: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC Sony PlayStation Portable, 2015

Replaying a Top 3 all time favorite game is never anything short of a great time, and during my 70 hours with this game, I was constantly reminded of why the Sky arc of the Trails series is so well regarded. I have enjoyed all the Trails games; even my least favorite is still a 7/10 in my mind. However, one-note characters have become a bit more common in recent games, and part of that is most likely due to how big the cast has gotten. In Sky, we have a much smaller cast and we get to see more facets of each character. It’s a much more intimate journey, and we see Estelle grow much more than other main characters. As Estelle is my all time favorite character from anything, I’m here for every snappy quote.

We get identical combat to FC, gaining only a combo attack, which is mostly worthless, and some enhanced arts. I love this setup and it’s a joy to have dozens of arts available to you at all times. That’s one change I really disliked in later Trails games: they simplified the arts system, but severely limited the number of arts you have at your fingertips. I really enjoyed having so many arts at hand, and especially setting up my quartz to get some really ridiculously powerful arts, too. 

Everything I mentioned in my FC review applies to SC as well. The character portraits, sprite animations, how music plays into the cutscenes, and especially the NPCs. Something big happens at the end of FC, and SC picks up the story immediately. When Estelle returns to her hometown, it’s so touching to see everyone thrilled to see her. I love how this type of worldbuilding makes the world feel so real and something we should care about. 

It’s actually really fun to come back and play this game after having played all the games that have been released in, literally, the 20 years since Trails in the Sky first came out. We get to see all the things that eventually come to be, locations we visit, and people we meet, many of which or who are mentioned in these early games.

Characters also have a lot of depth, with many supporting characters getting their time in the spotlight. FC introduced characters to us, but SC showed us what was inside. Incremental growth is something the Sky arc does well, and it’s nice to see characters grow slowly and organically. It makes them feel very real and gives us time to understand them and their paths through life. This game had me in tears numerous times as we get to see really emotional and moving things in characters’ pasts, as well as getting to see them work through it in the present, leaning on others for support.

Emotional moments are punctuated with a great score and perfectly chosen tracks for specific scenes. From new battle tunes that pump you up, like Fight with the Assailant and Fate of the Fairies, to the cheery sounds of Le Locle, the soundtrack to SC builds upon the base we got in FC. FC’s many location tracks return as well, and are welcome for when we revisit favorite locales, like Cat Relaxing in the Sun for slow-paced areas and your childhood home, or some of the standard route tunes like The Way They Walk in Liberl. Yet, SC adds so many new tracks that hit me really hard every time I hear them in context. Decision to Leave was used just once in FC, at the very, very end, but returns here and feels much more like an SC track than one from FC. We also get the harmonica version of Hoshi no Arika, a deeply important track to many of the characters. Hamel is also a very sad tune that fits many situations. This is the height of soundtracks from the Sky arc for sure.

It can be hard to put into words exactly why a game is a masterpiece to you, personally, and I’m going to stop myself from writing some 50,000 word essay on it. Trails in the Sky SC is the one game I wish I could erase from my memory just so I could replay it again for the first time. It requires playing FC first, but that game is amazing on its own and SC is well worth it. Play this game. What is stopping you?

[perhapsibility]

SO! i finally beat trails of cold steel 3!!! and i couldn’t just leave myself hanging on that cliffhanger like that so i went and bought sen 4 like and idiot with zero regrets. but it’ll take a couple of weeks and i’m not done with all this trails hype SO instead i’m just gonna share some of my most favorite songs from all the games!

Trails in the Sky FC:

rock on the road (evo version)

sophisticated fight

secret green passage (evo version)

wandering in the darkness

peace given by darkness

ancient makes

Trails in the Sky SC

silver will, golden wings

strepitoso fight

infiltration

hamel

fateful confrontation

floating city “liber ark”

gravestone struck by lightning

the merciless savior (evo version)

the whereabouts of bonds

Trails in the Sky 3rd 

the stone of recluse

the garden of recluse

the circular corridor

beard the lion in its den (evo version) (yeah, i don’t get the name either)

a faint glitter of light

Zero no Kiseki 

CSPD - Crossbell State Police Department

geofront

mainz mining town

intense chase

limit break (evo version)

ancient pulsation

Ao no Kiseki

silence in the sunlight filtering through the trees (evo version)

signs of unusual incident

elie’s screaming roller coaster (evo version)

unexpected emergency

miss you

descent of the god’s machine

truth of a rainy day

unfathomed force (fun fact! the opening note is the exact pitch i scream whenever i battle against... her)

Trails of Cold Steel

investigation

into the abyss

heimdallr, the vermillion capital

castle of the saint

to grasp tomorrow

unknown threat

i miss you

Trails of Cold Steel II

still countryside

awakening

the witch of the abyss

altina

transcend beat

blue destination

E.O.V. (listen. i’m a choir kid. i’m an absolute sucker for operatic elements)

i’ll remember you

reverie corridor

Trails of Cold Steel III (oh shit this one’s gonna have waaaay too much...) (also, potential spoilers)

Einhel Keep

parm, the spinning town

hamel -remains- 

step ahead

lift-off!

alley of silence

the caged crossbell

unplanned residue (i like how there are elements of arc en ciel’s performance in here)

between the forgotten phantasm -sen version- (i’m so happy they kept the same music!!!)

brilliant escape (i’ve never fallen in love with a song as much as this one!!!)

doomsday trance

spiral of erebos

tragedy

mourning refrain

god i can’t wait to play sen 4 now!!!

anyhoo, thanks for checking this out! i fucking LOVE this series. i’ve never played a game series that had such incredibly detailed story, world-building, and characters, the best turn-based combat system that i’ve ever seen, and with such awesome music to top it all off! 

anyhoo, i got some bonus stuff here which i don’t think a lot of kiseki fans have ever heard before so i just want to stick it in here

tracks which turn out to have vocals:

a faint glitter of light

more closer (how to walk in liberl)

kohaku no ai (sung by takehito koyasu, olivier’s voice actor)

itsumo omou koto (grancel)

maybe it was fated (fateful confrontation)

also, because i’m a fucking huge agate fankid, it turns out agate has his own theme music! (it’s actually really pretty...)

Dragon Dive ~The "A" in Agate is for Akage~

[the-masked-barona]

What is your TOP 10 scenes in Sora no Kiseki FC and SC?

omg…. well I have a terrible memory and it’s been awhile so this may be kind of general but I’ll try my best (in no particular order except maybe 1)! 

Spoilers below! Seriously, if you guys haven’t played the games then do yourself a favor and don’t read this and ruin it, and instead go play the games! 

Anon night- send me questions~

1. Anything with Kevin. Seriously. All 10 of these spots can just be filled with Kevin, but I won’t do that cause that’s cheating. But more specifically, the scene that he’s introduced when he meets Estelle is one of my favorites. I think it just really shows his kindness and the reason why I fell in love with him. That whole prologue of SC or so was really good! 

2. Any scene with Olivier. He’s my shining star and his lines are just pure gold.  (bonus points if he has Mueller with him)

3. The scene where Estelle goes back in her memories and gets to be with her mom again. Ugh my HEART. 

4. I really love the scene where Agate and Tita have a heart to heart. I don’t remember the specifics but I know that it happened and I loved it! I love their sibling dynamic!

5. The death of Loewe. It broke me because I loved Loewe but the interaction between him and Joshua in the end was heartbreaking, but touching. 

6. The beach scene with Joshua and Estelle was really beautiful when they had their little talk ;; 

7. The ending of FC !!! Like man that was a mean place to end hahah super memorable though! 

8. The Hamel revelation. Also very sad but SO important to see! 

9. Cassius making his grand entrance finally, after a whole game of trying to find him lol (he also saves the day at the end of SC too now that I think about it; dang son Cassius is the real MVP) 

10. A related scene to 9, I also really liked the fall of Estelle and Joshua, it was a nifty scene! 

Honorable mention: kevin 

Thanks anon! I’m sure if I replay it again soon I might have some different answers but those were the most memorable for me right now! 

[365footballorg-blog]

Portland Timbers vs. Montreal Impact | 2018 MLS Match Preview

July 19, 20184:03PM EDT

Portland Timbers vs. Montreal Impact 2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 21 Providence Park — Portland July 21 – 11 pm ET WATCH: TVAS, ESPN+

The Portland Timbers tasted defeat for the first time since early April when they fell to LAFC, 3-2, in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals Wednesday night at Banc of California Stadium, but they still have a 12-match league unbeaten streak that will be tested by the Montreal Impact Saturday night.

Montreal have won five of their last six league games and defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 1-0, in the opening leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals on Wednesday. All but one of those victories were at Stade Saputo. They’ve won just twice away from home, while the Timbers are unbeaten in seven matches at Providence Park.

The Impact have won three of their six games against the Timbers (2L-1D), including a 4-1 win in their matchup last season, per Opta.

Portland Timbers

After playing to a scoreless draw in league play on Sunday, the Timbers (8-3-6) dropped a 3-2 decision to LAFC Wednesday night.

A David Guzman own goal put the hosts in front in the 33rd minute and Carlos Vela doubled the lead five minutes later. Julio Cascante pulled Portland to within a goal in first-half stoppage time. Marco Urena and Vytas exchanged goals one minute apart early in the second half, but the Timbers couldn’t find the equalizer.

“I think both teams wanted to win; both teams went the length of the field to battle, to try to get the result that could send us through, because we knew that we were so close to be able to get to the final,” Giovanni Savarese said. “I think the intensity was high, and I thought it was a very good game.”

Suspended: M – Diego Chara

Suspended after next caution: D – Larrys Mabiala

International duty: None

Injury Report: QUESTIONABLE: D – Roy Miller (left Achilles tendon injury), M – Cristhian Paredes (right thigh injury)

Projected Starting XI (4-3-2-1, right to left) GK: Jeff Attinella — Alvas Powell, Larrys Mabiala, Julio Cascante, Zarek Valentin — Andres Flores, Lawrence Olum, Andy Polo— Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco — Samuel Armenteros

Notes: Samuel Armenteros is averaging 0.76 goals per 90 this season. Among players that have played at least 700 minutes this year, only five players have a better scoring rate. … Portland enter this weekend unbeaten in their last 12 MLS matches (9W-3D), their longest stretch since setting a franchise record by going 15 straight without a loss in 2013.

Montreal Impact

Alejandro Silva scored the game’s lone goal in the 58th minute as the Impact captured the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals on Wednesday.

Anthony Jackson-Hamel put a glancing header off the post in the 24th minute and then hit the crossbar in the 62nd minute before having a goal called back for offside in the 70th minute. It was the second straight match the Impact (9-12-0) celebrated a clean sheet, after blanking San Jose, 2-0, in league play last Saturday.

“Of course I would have preferred to score the second one to have a bigger advantage before going over there because we know [BC Place] can be a tough place, but then I had to manage as well the game that we have to play in Portland in three days,” Remi Garde said. “It’s halftime, we didn’t concede any goal. If we have the chance to score one over there it will be important for us.”

Suspended: None

Suspended after next caution: D – Chris Duvall

International duty: None

Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI (4-3-3, right to left) GK: Evan Bush — Chris Duvall, Rudy Camacho, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz — Ken Krolicki, Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider — Alejandro Silva, Matteo Mancosu, Ignacio Piatti

Notes: Three of Saphir Taïder’s four goals this season have come in his last three appearances. … Montreal have won five of their last six games (1L), keeping four clean sheets – as many as they had in their previous 27 MLS matches.

All-Time Series

Overall: Portland Timbers 2 wins, 8 goals … Montreal Impact 3 wins, 12 goals … 1 draw

At Portland: Timbers 0 wins, 2 goals … Impact 1 win, 3 goals … 1 draw

Last meeting at Portland: Portland Timbers 1, Montreal Impact 1 (July 13, 2016)

Officials

Referee: Fotis Bazakos Assistant Referees: CJ Morgante, Chris Wattam 4th Official: Daniel Radford VAR: Katja Koroleva

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Portland Timbers vs. Montreal Impact | 2018 MLS Match Preview was originally published on 365 Football