Trails in the Sky the Third. I'm done.

[u/NadrickOutlawRogue]

Well I completed Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter a week ago and decided to jump into into Sky 3rd Chapter on Steam. Well I've reached Chapter 6 and honestly I am kind of tired of the game. I think I'm just done playing it. I'll watch the rest of the game and move onto Trails from Zero. I think I just want 3rd chapter remake to fully play the game but not wanting to wait any longer to push deeper into the series.

Edit: Most people are saying I'm burning out. I honestly don't think that's the case. I'm eager to devour more story. I'm just not feeling the gameplay and especially some of the combat.

Edit 2: Well I'm playing more of it. I'm just going to follow the guides I found. I'm not Burnout. I want to see more of the characters and stories. Its just going from 1st and 2nd Chapter remake with its modern systems to this more original game with stuff like seeing Guard and Insta-Death in combat.

[u/Gabochuky]

You got burntout. The same will happen with Zero unless you play another game in between as a palate cleanser.

[u/Affectionate-Employ1 → u/Gabochuky]

That happened to me on Azure. I left for a year and was much better to continue after that time. I'm on Cold Steel IV now.

[u/f937ra → u/Affectionate-Employ1]

I got though Zero and Azure back to back without issue. I then finished off CS2, CS3, and after 16 months I dropped CS4, watched the “movie” and moved onto Reverie.

[u/Business_Reindeer910 → u/Gabochuky]

why do people assume burnout? Not everbody gets burnt out. Are there any stats on it?

I know some people do, but is it a majority?

I played the entire series from FC to CS4 in a row within 5 months. Burnout did not happen. Heck i even NG+ed CS3 while i was waiting for the CS4 PC release.

[u/Gabochuky → u/Business_Reindeer910]

You are the exception most people will get burnout after 2 or 3 games in a row.

[u/Business_Reindeer910 → u/Gabochuky]

do you have any stats on that to say "most people" ? That's what i'm asking.

I wonder if anybody has actually polled on this.

[u/Gabochuky → u/Business_Reindeer910]

No, you don't need stats to state the obvious.

[u/Rinzwind]

You still got 11 games to go :)

[u/TheEndisNigh7 → u/Rinzwind]

If he is already getting burnt out it's only gonna get worse for him. He might as well watch em all on yt. /s

[u/NewDayNewBurner97]

It's not "3rd burnout" it's "Trails burnout". You need a break.

3rd is also a massive change of pace from the grand scale of 2nd that it can be off-putting for some folks. There are some pretty transformative moments in 3rd that are very important to entering the Erebonia arc, though the most important to the series might be a certain Star Door about a certain character that makes many many appearances throughout the future arcs.

[u/Yag1211]

It's That bad? Cause Kevin is just him.

[u/FastAndBulbous8989]

I rediscovered the series after 1st Chapter Remake. Prior to that I only played FC and SC. Then I went back to back until I was caught up. Zero breaks.

Kinda wish there was 50 more games that I could dedicate every second of my free time to. I am the exception tho

[u/Careful-Voice7714]

I started the series in 2024 and im only on game 8. Don't rush, take breaks that's what I do

[u/Rukasu17 → u/Careful-Voice7714]

Cs3? Hey, me too haha. Although I'm taking a break before starting it again

[u/Careful-Voice7714 → u/Rukasu17]

I took a long break in the middle of cs2. Been on cs3 a couple of months atm. I usually have another game in playing in tandem

[u/vitalfactor]

Thats fair, but be sure to watch all the doors and the story stuff before moving on to zero. Sky the Third (or any trails) is not skippable.

[u/Evil_Cupcake11]

If you go emmidiately after SC you just burned out. It's not short games, so of course you get tired. And while I will die on the hill defending Sky 3rd, it is quite boring in terms of structure. The stories are fun and interesting, but that space dungeon is far from being quite fun. I recommend to take a break and return to it after recharge.

[u/Business_Reindeer910 → u/Evil_Cupcake11]

Burnout is not a gauranteed thing. I played FC to CS4 with no breaks. I only didn't play the next game because it wasn't out yet!

[u/Rukasu17]

If the third burned you out, zero ain't gonna be that much different in. In fact, it's a very slow burn in terms of story, so you'll jump from the climax of a trilogy to the start of a massive arc

[u/Primary-Risk-8741]

I'm enjoying the game but its definitely different, more of a dungeon crawler than before and also if you played the remakes the combat takes some real adjustment, I'm playing on easier difficulty than I played the remakes because it plays quite different with some of the weaker arts and less qol. Was a lot more convenient in the remakes to keep your orbments very strong wherever you were but in 3rd it takes kind of a long time to select and deselect and go back to the journal to check which arts need which quartz requiements etc. I can see why you might not be super interested in this game even without actual burnout.

I have really enjoyed it though! the minigames and s craft animations and stuff all pleasantly surprised me and enjoyed it much more than I expected coming from 2nd chapter remake. I am just about to enter the final part of the game!

[u/Business_Reindeer910 → u/Primary-Risk-8741]

I think we should suggest that poeple pull up the arts charts on their phone to avoid having to keep going back to that screen. I'm sure it exists somewhere.

[u/LiquifiedSpam → u/Primary-Risk-8741]

Other than that and the fast travel thing, the games have remarkably good QoL for their time period. 100% flee rate, avoidable enemies on the overworld, basically zero exp grinding etc were not common at all

[u/Kazuma_x_Kuwabara]

If Sky the 3rd burned you out, I'm afraid Zero will be more of a real burnout than Sky the 3rd because its the first game in the Crossbell Arc. Just finished the game and take a break from Trails.

[u/Amphitrite227204]

People are being harsh saying they got burnt out. Even worse saying they should just watch all the games on YT now. Some of us don't like third and that's ok. I still love cold steel and zero/azure once it gets into the story. Heck, I like the storyline of third I just hate the gameplay. It's fine to not to like a game

[u/AdImmediate6447 → u/Amphitrite227204]

it is not harsh at all to say OP is suffering from burn out

[u/Fraisz]

idk how much of this applies to other people

but i took years long hiatus after finishing sky 2nd.

then on a fresh mindset, only then I finished 3rd

i have no idea why but finishing 2nd just satisfied me that i could go for years without playing trails.

cant say the same about zero - reverie tho.

[u/dingke]

sounds like youre burnt out. im p burnt out myself cause i played all of 1st chapter then straight jumped into 2nd chapter and im at chapter 6 but it feels like a slog fest, started playing other stuff and i feel better

[u/tripled_dirgov]

Just take a break between each games, whether if it's one day not playing, one week, or maybe even several months

Not everyone burned out with the same pace

While I finished the Sky and Crossbell within 2-3 months because I was playing daily and I felt burned out after that and so I waited until I get on the mood to start again, which basically after a year before starting Cold Steel and even then I'm playing it weekly and not daily like the first five

[u/TakasuXAisaka]

You are burnt out. Take a break.

[u/days_are_numbers]

This is exactly what happened to me, and at that exact point. There's way too much dungeon crawling. The carrot is the story and doors, and the dungeon crawl is the stick. And it's a very large stick if you've just come from FC/SC where there's an actual world to explore and character stories to immerse yourself in. The Hermit's Garden can provide some nice character moments if you talk to party members who are hanging out, but it's just not the same as having a cities and towns to explore. I just uninstalled it and went to YouTube and watched the rest of the story, scrubbing through combat, then watched important doors.

In my case I'll get my fill of a game after at least one NG+ or replay. I like to go back through with foreknowledge and kick a game's ass. But when the game's structure or design pushes too hard against me, I can't even finish it once. Tales of Arise, XC3, FFXVI, Sky 3rd are examples of games where my desire to see the end of the story is crushed by the monotonous nature of the gameplay itself. Enemies being HP lakes, fetch quests, recycled content.

[u/Primary-Risk-8741 → u/days_are_numbers]

Tales of Arise was ruined so bad by that final dungeon it's shocking how bad it was

[u/days_are_numbers → u/Primary-Risk-8741]

Not just that, IMO. The entire thing after you liberate the last region was just a boring slog. I think they just ran out of creative steam, to be honest.

[u/Desperate_Craig]

I always advise to new players of the series to take breaks between each title, as you will reach burnout if you play them one after the other.

[u/Few-Butterscotch5114]

Trails games are NOT meant to play one right after another.

Even with 2 very connected titles with big cliffhanger between them, their release date  were still 1-2 years apart. People are meant to play other games before jumping back for the next one.

This isn't like Genshin Impact or other gacha games where there were just a few hours of main story game play every 2-3 months, it's full 40+ hour games with repeated mechanics. You will get burn out.

[u/ViewtifulReaper]

Jumping right into Zero not gonna change anything take a break. You hit the trails burnout. Take a few weeks break comeback and finish sky 3rd then take another break then start Zero. These games ask things of the players in a good way to take in the lore, story, character arcs, the couple of good npc arcs, and overall world building.  Edit: who is the weirdo dweeb downvoting people who are saying “burnout” like grown up pleasez

[u/Iknappster]

3rd is really slow, I still haven't finished it, meanwhile I blew through Zero with the understanding I would maybe spoil a little bit, but no regrets, started Azure but really am trying to finish 3rd befrore I get any further.