Image credit: Steam store page
Playtime: ~72 hours
Completion: Main story finished | 20 achievements unlocked
Platform: Steam
Genre: JRPG / Turn-Based / Story-Driven
Played: 2024 / Reviewed: 2025
Final Score: ★★★★½ (9/10)
🧠 First Impressions
If I had to describe Trails in the Sky SC in one word, it would be this: Impossible.
But honestly, even that doesn’t do it justice. This game isn’t just a sequel — it’s the emotional KO I didn’t know I needed. The First Chapter hooked me, sure. But Second Chapter hit different. It expanded the story, deepened the characters, and delivered one of the most satisfying payoffs I’ve seen in a JRPG.
I actually finished SC a while ago right after playing the prequel, but I’ve been sitting on this review because the game left such a strong impression. Now that I’ve played more of the Trails series, I can say with confidence: SC elevated my expectations for world-building and RPG narratives.
📖 Narrative & Game World – ★9/10
The Trails series continues to impress me with its meticulous attention to world-building. NPCs feel alive, locations evolve over time, and dialog updates constantly to reflect the changing world — it’s immersive in a way few games manage.
You’ll revisit many locations from First Chapter, but it never feels stale thanks to the constant narrative progression. The translation is top-notch, and Estelle’s emotional arc is handled with genuine care. There’s a lot of story — 9 full chapters, each running 5–10 hours — and it never lets up.
If anything, SC is too ambitious: at times, the game fades to black and summarizes big events via narration. Somehow, it feels both long and like it skipped a few things.
⚔️ Combat & Mechanics – ★7/10
Combat is largely the same turn-based, grid-style system from FC — but it’s much sharper now. Chain Crafts, new Arts, S-Craft animations, and expanded orbment slots help keep battles fresh. Boss fights genuinely require strategy and adaptation.
That said, there are still pain points:
- Party reshuffling is tedious. You’re constantly swapping gear and orbments manually.
- If someone leaves your party, they take their orbments with them — but not their gear, which makes no sense.
- Chapter 8’s difficulty spike is rough, especially when you lose access to key support characters.
Thankfully, the game includes retry bonuses, so even if you get wiped (often by cheap deathblow procs), you’re never stuck.
🎵 Music & Atmosphere – ★8/10
SC delivers another amazing soundtrack. I particularly loved the tracks that play during Estelle and Joshua’s moments — they’re warm, emotional, and perfectly placed. The music continues to be a huge strength in the series.
Voice acting remains minimal (mostly combat barks), but it doesn’t feel like a loss. The writing carries the emotional weight just fine.
🎨 Graphics & Performance – ★5/10
Visually, SC doesn’t move far from FC. It’s serviceable pixel art with simple 3D environments, but there’s a charm to it — and the anime cutscenes are a welcome upgrade.
Performance was much smoother this time, especially with some tweaks in the config. I encountered minor visual bugs mostly tied to using the fast-forward function — nothing game-breaking.
🔁 Replayability – ★4/10
There’s NG+, but honestly? Unless you’re chasing achievements or trying a harder difficulty, I don’t see a huge reason to replay this 80-hour journey. That said, it’s worth playing once, thoroughly.
And yes — I’m still salty about that poker achievement. Four hours in a casino chasing RNG. Pain.
✅ Final Verdict
Trails in the Sky SC is a masterclass in narrative-driven RPG design. It builds on FC’s foundations and delivers stronger combat, richer character arcs, and an emotionally satisfying conclusion.
Negatives? Tedious party management, an unfair difficulty spike, and that cursed poker achievement.
Positives? Everything else. This is a world you’ll miss the moment the credits roll.
🔥 Clay’s Take
“FC built the world. SC made me fall in love with it.
Just don’t ask me how long I spent on that damn poker table.”
🎯 Final Score: ★★★★½ (9/10)
✅ Recommended?: Absolutely — especially if you’ve played FC. This is where the series really takes off.
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