First of all thanks for the detailed and insightful response!

Indeed graphics are not a high priority for me. I grew up with a GBA, PS1 and NDS so I'm used to 3d games that look like a garbled mess.
Basically if something looks really pretty it's a bonus.
I do appreciate graphics but prefer performance, gameplay and story first and foremost. (Though I am jealous of the 2,5d remakes of all these jrpg but my beloved FF4 didn't get that treatment)

What a surprisingly convenient thing to know that both of the games I have on the wishlist were from the same arc and also a relatively early one at that.

Realistically I could then start with trails from zero -> trails to azure to see how much I enjoy the franchise. If I do I could then work with the sky arc and run down the others ones in chronological order. At least this sounds like a good plan of action to me.

Ah, a fellow PS1 appreciator, Then you'll be pleased to know that the games you've decided to start with were first released for the PSP

Nguyên văn bởi Khroniclas:

Realistically I could then start with trails from zero -> trails to azure to see how much I enjoy the franchise. If I do I could then work with the sky arc and run down the others ones in chronological order. At least this sounds like a good plan of action to me.

You could do that. However, while Zero - Azure is its own story, there is significant continuity from the Sky games. In particular, there is a subplot that starts in the second Sky game (Sky SC) and reaches its emotional climax in Zero. Missing out on the complete story there would be very unfortunate, as it's one of the best things in the entire series.

What's more, the Sky games are great; at least as good as the Crossbell (Zero - Azure) ones, if not better. Some people take issue with the old-school graphics or gameplay, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for you, so there's nothing stopping you from playing them. Trust me, it's worth it. :-)

P.S.: Get the voice mod for Sky. Other mods are not needed, but the (Japanese) voices are fantastic and convey personality and emotion very well, even for someone (like me) who doesn't understand Japanese beyond a couple of typical phrases.

Nguyên văn bởi Dr. Rudolf von Richten:

Nguyên văn bởi Khroniclas:

Realistically I could then start with trails from zero -> trails to azure to see how much I enjoy the franchise. If I do I could then work with the sky arc and run down the others ones in chronological order. At least this sounds like a good plan of action to me.

You could do that. However, while Zero - Azure is its own story, there is significant continuity from the Sky games. In particular, there is a subplot that starts in the second Sky game (Sky SC) and reaches its emotional climax in Zero. Missing out on the complete story there would be very unfortunate, as it's one of the best things in the entire series.

What's more, the Sky games are great; at least as good as the Crossbell (Zero - Azure) ones, if not better. Some people take issue with the old-school graphics or gameplay, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for you, so there's nothing stopping you from playing them. Trust me, it's worth it. :-)

P.S.: Get the voice mod for Sky. Other mods are not needed, but the (Japanese) voices are fantastic and convey personality and emotion very well, even for someone (like me) who doesn't understand Japanese beyond a couple of typical phrases.

Thanks for your insights too! I'll take this into careful consideration.

Nguyên văn bởi Khroniclas:

Thanks for your insights too! I'll take this into careful consideration.

You're welcome. :-)

If you're not opposed to starting with an earlier game, you probably should start with Sky. Yes, technically you can start with Zero, but you'll get a lot of "it's supposed to mean something but I don't know what" reaction.

P.S. Treat these games like a huge, epic series of books. Yes, different arcs have different protagonists and somewhat unrelated stories. But each entry assumes you played earlier games and will mercilessly spoil the story of earlier games or will have a plot that started 5 games ago and it continues "here"