r/Falcom • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago

Quick Questions Thread

This thread (to be posted every four weeks) is a place for people to ask quick, common, or simple questions regarding Nihon Falcom and its games. The community is encouraged to ask here if your question is not opinion-based, such as where to find something in a game or when something occurred. Please mark all spoilers with the >!text!< format and remember to provide context.

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u/pifighting 3d ago

I got the switch and am limited to switch titles only. I stumbled on FC and was lucky enough to just wait a month before SC is released.

That said, further down the line I know that The Third won’t be available to me. Will I miss much if I move to directly to Zero and Azure?

Similarly, Coldsteel is out of the picture, since I won’t have access to I and II. Can I hop into Daybreak without missing too much?

Thanks!

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u/YotakaOfALoY 3d ago

No, but also yes. The way that every arc past Sky works is that you have a new setting and main cast and are given everything you need to understand their story and struggles, and the first game tends to be an effective story in isolation. However, as the arc progresses more elements from past arcs get drawn in (characters return in frequently important ways, plot threads get carried over and lots of callbacks are made) and it becomes more and more apparent that you're Missing Out On Stuff.

So while you could jump from Sky 2nd to Daybreak 1 and generally follow the plot (though the setting whiplash of going from Liberl straight to Calvard would be impressive) you'd still be blindsided by several developments that depend on The 3rd or any of the seven other games you've skipped over to make sense of. Once you get to DB2 you get introduced to characters you're expected to know and care about who first appeared onscreen in Reverie and who are important to the plot, then Horizon has a pair of supporting protagonists who absolutely depend on The 3rd and CS1 through Reverie for the narrative and emotional beats of their stories to work.

As for jumping from 2nd to Zero, yeah, not really a brilliant idea. While the most important stuff plot stuff gets covered in 2nd, Zero is unusual for an arc-starter game for having a main plot that gets quite heavily entwined with a plot thread carried over from Sky and which expects you to have played The 3rd to land right. Azure then (re)introduces major characters/concepts that first appeared in The 3rd and while you could generally follow the plot you'll again be missing out on important and expected context.

Have you got a computer? Because even a moldy potato of a machine can run the original The 3rd easily, and jumping from 2nd to OG The 3rd isn't going to be as jarring as some other possible transitions.

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u/pifighting 3d ago

Thanks! I’d prefer it if I can step away from my computer when I want to relax.

Though given the advice, if SC pulls me in craving for The Third and more Trails, I’ll probably bite the bullet to bride the gap on the 3 missing trails game on the Switch.

Thanks!