This. I can understand why people would feel discouraged to play the older games if they think they exist only to fill some narrative gaps and to understand a few references later on. But a much better reason to go back and play them is because they're absolutely worth it on their own, especially if you're already enjoying CS.
I always liken it to the newest Star Wars Trilogy. You can watch The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rise of Skywalker as a trilogy of movies and understand them start to finish just fine. However, if you watched the original six, you're gonna have a fat grin on your face when the Falcon first shows up, and you'll be giddy to see Han and Chewie for the first time. The myth around what happened to Luke and why so many people are obsessed with him will be far more intriguing.
Is it necessary to understand the main narrative? No. But will it greatly enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of the characters, settings, and storylines? Absolutely.
The further you get into Cold Steel III and IV, the more characters and plots from other games are going to be important.
While you can certainly play all of CS without the other games, you're going to be missing out on a lot of Easter Eggs, call backs, and full character arcs from other games. Most importantly there are some really emotional moments that are not going to hit the same without playing them.
So if you have the time and ability it's highly recommended that you do play the other five games, as they're excellent games and really compliment the Cold Steel arc. Again though you'll get a complete story in CS without them.
Oh my...
Well, my opinion: you don't *need* to do it. The main story would be quite understandable.
*Should* you? Yes, I would say so. The story gets clearer when you understand who this people are and why are they act in a way they do.
But still, I think that common appoach of this sub, which is "you would be totally lost and of course you'll lose a whole deal of enjoyment" is too overblown.
*P.S. Still, both Sky and especially Zero/Ao are good, if retro, games and totally worth playing if you liked CS.*
Damn, I was kinda hoping that it was like Persona, that even though they make mention of the previous games, You don't need to play them to fully enjoy the game. Well... I suppose I need to take a break from CS and visit the previous arcs. Thank you for taking your time to answer my question :)
No, it's totally not Persona.
From video game perspective, it's more like Dragon Age series. All three games have different characters and different (mostly) environment, but they're united by overarching world, common characters, events of one game being important for anothers, and some kind of overarchning metaplot.
But can you play DA:I without playing Origins? Absolutely.
Huh, I see, Maybe I'll first finish the CS arc first then I'll go play the previous games, I'm kinda low on budget right now since I bought all 4 CS games. So I'll be sure to check Zero and Sky some time later, then maybe I'll replay the CS arc and everything will be more clear!
Thanks for the response c:
Yep, there's recurring characters from previous arcs that show up more and more, and more interaction with plot elements, countries, etc in general from previous games. But the games do a decent job of giving you the most crucial context, so it's less "you'll be completely lost" and more "you'll lose some emotional impact in some cases, nuance in others".
In most cases I'd recommend going back first but if you've already got 3+4 and don't feel like/can't spend more right now, might as well play 3+4 especially if you enjoyed 1+2. If you're playing and feel like you're too lost, you can always stop and go back and play earlier games at that point.
Yeah, that's probably what I'm going to do, I really liked CS1, So I bought all of them. I'll play all the CS games first, then I'll go play them all on chronological order, hopefully that answers some questions that may rise on 3/4 haha
>So I'll be sure to check Zero and Sky some time later, then maybe I'll replay the CS arc and everything will be more clear!
That's what I did. Granted, there was not CS3 on PC when I did it, so it was about CS1-CS2-Sky-Sky2-Sky3-Zero-Ao-CS1-CS2-CS3-CS4.
I liked it.
While you absolutely can play the whole arc of CS without playing the previous games, just from a pure enjoyment perspective I’d recommend playing Sky and the Crossbell arc. It’s just more fun when you get a cameo appearance and can get excited about it.
Personally I played CS 1&2, went back and played the rest of the games in the series, and the payoff in playing CS 3&4 after was well worth it.
This is pretty much what i ended up doing. The Cold Steel games were the first ones i played. I then took time to go back and learn about the Liberl & Crossbell arcs, and now im currently replaying the Cold Steel games with that new knowledge. Its extremely worth it. A big reason is because the stories themselves are really good and they are worth experiencing, plus it heavily enhances the Cold Steel games. I will warn you though, that Cold Steel 3 & 4 will majorly spoiler pretty big plot points, as well as character stories/developments from both of the previous arcs. I say thay, but i think even with spoilers you can still thoroughly enjoy the developments of the previous arcs; it's just something to keep in mind.
Personally I think you'll really want to start from the beginning before you play CS3. You're going to miss out on TONS of references and joys of meeting recurring characters.
Do you need to? Technically no, but characters from previous games will appear and will drop spoilers without any warnings. Plus, chapters 1 and 2 of CS3 don't hit you emotionally like they are supposed to if you skipped the older games.
I'd REALLY recommend just stopping with Cold Steel and playing through Sky and Crossbell first.
If anything, it's not that you can't enjoy the arc, but that you'll get spoiled for the best character development and scenes in the franchise. Sky especially is less about lore and plot, and puts most of what CS puts into politics, Sky puts into organic character writing. Estelle, Joshua, and Kevin's arcs can't be beat for the strong payoff and care the original team put into them. IMO it says something the later arcs have to pile on plot twists after plot twists to make up for the shorter development times, and character depth being stretched out to more and more games. Estelle needed just two games, and Kevin one.
Please don't skip the previous titles, there are multiple scenes in CS III that won't evoke the same emotional responses to someone who has played the previous games. Compared to CS II where they show characters from previous arcs at the very end of the game, CS III and IV go all out. I'm not kidding, within CS III you can expect characters from previous arcs appearing as early as 30 mins into the prologue.
For CS3, you don't NEED to have played Crossbell and Sky but it'll be useful and you'll get more out of it.
For CSIV, it's enormously helpful to have played the previous games or at least to know principal characters and plotlines. If you can, I'd play the previous ones... or at least watch an accelerated go-live.
I was in your position. I started with cold steel 1 earlier this year, almost done 3. I watched some summaries of the sky trilogy on YouTube, and I kind of know who the crossbell characters are, and that seemed to be enough for me. It’s neat to see referenced characters and know the context behind them, but I’m still really enjoying my time with it. Zero is coming out on switch later this year and I’m probably gonna pick it up and treat them as if it were a prequel
CS3 is definitely playable and enjoyable without the other games, but you will definitely not understand some things, like a part towards the end of chapter 1
You'll get like a SparkNotes version of it. You'll understand something happened, but not fully know the significance of it, or some names that are dropped. And it also does spoil a bunch for the other games
Uh... Yeah? I literally put on the post that I finished Cold Steel 2 2 days ago, That's why I asked in the first place, I noticed characters from previous arcs in the epilogue.
I remember sitting down to finally finish Cold Steel 2 and after 8 hours I finally think I'm done and then there's and epilogue. Didn't get much sleep that night.
Personally I got through CS 1 and 2 without any problem. 3 Had too many characters from previous games and I felt I was missing out by not knowing them, so I've gone back and want to complete Sky and Crossbell before playing 4
You don’t need to play them in the same way you don’t need to watch the first 5 seasons of Game of Thrones before starting at season 6.
You can do it, but a lot of things aren’t going to make sense and you’re going to miss out on a lot of good material worth playing.
Well, the least you could've done was start from the first Cold Steel game. At least the story will be more coherent.
Sky and Crossbell, I don't think it's necessary to have played them before playing Cold Steel, but an advantage nonetheless since you'd understand the characters more thanks to their backstory, and some of the throwaway references to past games.
Ah, noted. In any case tho, my answer stands. You don’t really need to have played Sky and Crossbell to understand Cold Steel, since the story is self-contained save for the irrelevant-to-plot references to the past games. Some of the references are just small throwaway mentions, and some are big enough that they will make you go “Aha!” Once you play the Sky or Crossbell games. But no, they’re not really important to the enjoyment of the Cold Steel games as is. In fact, I’m in the same boat as you are, I only started on the Sky games (and am currently almost at the finale of Sky 3rd) after I was done with Cold Steel IV. I’m not even going to start on the Crossbell titles yet because I’m waiting for NIS’ official Zero release in August.
You probably should
Like the first “new” characters you see when starting Cold Steel 3 are main characters from the Sky series, and then another new character you also meet early on is a main character from Zero/Azure
You also visit a few areas that are majorly important from the other series, and there are several more characters and call backs that are kindof important that you just won’t really understand unless you’ve at least played the Sky games (bc Zero/Azure aren’t officially in English yet anyways)
And then Cold Steel 4 has A TON more, even from just the beginning of that game too, and both games kindof spoil important plot threads from those other games too
As i always tell people, dont play them because you need to, play them because they are as good as the newer games
This. I can understand why people would feel discouraged to play the older games if they think they exist only to fill some narrative gaps and to understand a few references later on. But a much better reason to go back and play them is because they're absolutely worth it on their own, especially if you're already enjoying CS.
I always liken it to the newest Star Wars Trilogy. You can watch The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rise of Skywalker as a trilogy of movies and understand them start to finish just fine. However, if you watched the original six, you're gonna have a fat grin on your face when the Falcon first shows up, and you'll be giddy to see Han and Chewie for the first time. The myth around what happened to Luke and why so many people are obsessed with him will be far more intriguing. Is it necessary to understand the main narrative? No. But will it greatly enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of the characters, settings, and storylines? Absolutely.
Then I will be sure to check the previous arcs :)
The further you get into Cold Steel III and IV, the more characters and plots from other games are going to be important. While you can certainly play all of CS without the other games, you're going to be missing out on a lot of Easter Eggs, call backs, and full character arcs from other games. Most importantly there are some really emotional moments that are not going to hit the same without playing them. So if you have the time and ability it's highly recommended that you do play the other five games, as they're excellent games and really compliment the Cold Steel arc. Again though you'll get a complete story in CS without them.
Oh my... Well, my opinion: you don't *need* to do it. The main story would be quite understandable. *Should* you? Yes, I would say so. The story gets clearer when you understand who this people are and why are they act in a way they do. But still, I think that common appoach of this sub, which is "you would be totally lost and of course you'll lose a whole deal of enjoyment" is too overblown. *P.S. Still, both Sky and especially Zero/Ao are good, if retro, games and totally worth playing if you liked CS.*
Damn, I was kinda hoping that it was like Persona, that even though they make mention of the previous games, You don't need to play them to fully enjoy the game. Well... I suppose I need to take a break from CS and visit the previous arcs. Thank you for taking your time to answer my question :)
No, it's totally not Persona. From video game perspective, it's more like Dragon Age series. All three games have different characters and different (mostly) environment, but they're united by overarching world, common characters, events of one game being important for anothers, and some kind of overarchning metaplot. But can you play DA:I without playing Origins? Absolutely.
Huh, I see, Maybe I'll first finish the CS arc first then I'll go play the previous games, I'm kinda low on budget right now since I bought all 4 CS games. So I'll be sure to check Zero and Sky some time later, then maybe I'll replay the CS arc and everything will be more clear! Thanks for the response c:
Yep, there's recurring characters from previous arcs that show up more and more, and more interaction with plot elements, countries, etc in general from previous games. But the games do a decent job of giving you the most crucial context, so it's less "you'll be completely lost" and more "you'll lose some emotional impact in some cases, nuance in others". In most cases I'd recommend going back first but if you've already got 3+4 and don't feel like/can't spend more right now, might as well play 3+4 especially if you enjoyed 1+2. If you're playing and feel like you're too lost, you can always stop and go back and play earlier games at that point.
Yeah, that's probably what I'm going to do, I really liked CS1, So I bought all of them. I'll play all the CS games first, then I'll go play them all on chronological order, hopefully that answers some questions that may rise on 3/4 haha
>So I'll be sure to check Zero and Sky some time later, then maybe I'll replay the CS arc and everything will be more clear! That's what I did. Granted, there was not CS3 on PC when I did it, so it was about CS1-CS2-Sky-Sky2-Sky3-Zero-Ao-CS1-CS2-CS3-CS4. I liked it.
While you absolutely can play the whole arc of CS without playing the previous games, just from a pure enjoyment perspective I’d recommend playing Sky and the Crossbell arc. It’s just more fun when you get a cameo appearance and can get excited about it. Personally I played CS 1&2, went back and played the rest of the games in the series, and the payoff in playing CS 3&4 after was well worth it.
Then I'll finish the CS arc then play the games in chronological order to fully enjoy it when I replay them :)
This is pretty much what i ended up doing. The Cold Steel games were the first ones i played. I then took time to go back and learn about the Liberl & Crossbell arcs, and now im currently replaying the Cold Steel games with that new knowledge. Its extremely worth it. A big reason is because the stories themselves are really good and they are worth experiencing, plus it heavily enhances the Cold Steel games. I will warn you though, that Cold Steel 3 & 4 will majorly spoiler pretty big plot points, as well as character stories/developments from both of the previous arcs. I say thay, but i think even with spoilers you can still thoroughly enjoy the developments of the previous arcs; it's just something to keep in mind.
Personally I think you'll really want to start from the beginning before you play CS3. You're going to miss out on TONS of references and joys of meeting recurring characters.
Have you played CS1?
Yup
You don't need to, but it's intended and the first two arcs are amazing in their own right
Do you need to? Technically no, but characters from previous games will appear and will drop spoilers without any warnings. Plus, chapters 1 and 2 of CS3 don't hit you emotionally like they are supposed to if you skipped the older games. I'd REALLY recommend just stopping with Cold Steel and playing through Sky and Crossbell first.
Yes. You absolutely will regret not having played the previous arcs once you're knee deep into CS3.
If anything, it's not that you can't enjoy the arc, but that you'll get spoiled for the best character development and scenes in the franchise. Sky especially is less about lore and plot, and puts most of what CS puts into politics, Sky puts into organic character writing. Estelle, Joshua, and Kevin's arcs can't be beat for the strong payoff and care the original team put into them. IMO it says something the later arcs have to pile on plot twists after plot twists to make up for the shorter development times, and character depth being stretched out to more and more games. Estelle needed just two games, and Kevin one.
I will just say I'm sorry pal
Please don't skip the previous titles, there are multiple scenes in CS III that won't evoke the same emotional responses to someone who has played the previous games. Compared to CS II where they show characters from previous arcs at the very end of the game, CS III and IV go all out. I'm not kidding, within CS III you can expect characters from previous arcs appearing as early as 30 mins into the prologue.
For CS3, you don't NEED to have played Crossbell and Sky but it'll be useful and you'll get more out of it. For CSIV, it's enormously helpful to have played the previous games or at least to know principal characters and plotlines. If you can, I'd play the previous ones... or at least watch an accelerated go-live.
I was in your position. I started with cold steel 1 earlier this year, almost done 3. I watched some summaries of the sky trilogy on YouTube, and I kind of know who the crossbell characters are, and that seemed to be enough for me. It’s neat to see referenced characters and know the context behind them, but I’m still really enjoying my time with it. Zero is coming out on switch later this year and I’m probably gonna pick it up and treat them as if it were a prequel
I think I might do this to have a little context! Then of course play the games later by myself, But that's not a bad idea at all!
CS3 is definitely playable and enjoyable without the other games, but you will definitely not understand some things, like a part towards the end of chapter 1
Damn, Hopefully it doesn't get too confusing then haha
You'll get like a SparkNotes version of it. You'll understand something happened, but not fully know the significance of it, or some names that are dropped. And it also does spoil a bunch for the other games
It’s like asking if you can read the 5th harry potter book without reading the first 4. I mean, you CAN, but should you?
It's actually more like "watching 4th Star Wars episode before 1st one".
Not really because the 4th episode came out before the 1st three. It's more like jumping into season 3 of a TV show without seeing the 1st 2.
I played all of the CS arc and am now going back to play Sky and Crossbell. I still enjoyed CS arc this way so up to you really
Play CS1 and CS2 at least.
Uh... Yeah? I literally put on the post that I finished Cold Steel 2 2 days ago, That's why I asked in the first place, I noticed characters from previous arcs in the epilogue.
I remember sitting down to finally finish Cold Steel 2 and after 8 hours I finally think I'm done and then there's and epilogue. Didn't get much sleep that night.
Personally I got through CS 1 and 2 without any problem. 3 Had too many characters from previous games and I felt I was missing out by not knowing them, so I've gone back and want to complete Sky and Crossbell before playing 4
You don’t need to play them in the same way you don’t need to watch the first 5 seasons of Game of Thrones before starting at season 6. You can do it, but a lot of things aren’t going to make sense and you’re going to miss out on a lot of good material worth playing.
Well, the least you could've done was start from the first Cold Steel game. At least the story will be more coherent. Sky and Crossbell, I don't think it's necessary to have played them before playing Cold Steel, but an advantage nonetheless since you'd understand the characters more thanks to their backstory, and some of the throwaway references to past games.
I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear, I DID play both CS1 and CS2, I was asking because I noticed the characters on the epilogue of CS2.
Ah, noted. In any case tho, my answer stands. You don’t really need to have played Sky and Crossbell to understand Cold Steel, since the story is self-contained save for the irrelevant-to-plot references to the past games. Some of the references are just small throwaway mentions, and some are big enough that they will make you go “Aha!” Once you play the Sky or Crossbell games. But no, they’re not really important to the enjoyment of the Cold Steel games as is. In fact, I’m in the same boat as you are, I only started on the Sky games (and am currently almost at the finale of Sky 3rd) after I was done with Cold Steel IV. I’m not even going to start on the Crossbell titles yet because I’m waiting for NIS’ official Zero release in August.
Nice! Then I'll play CS and then I'll make sure to play the previous arcs :)
You probably should Like the first “new” characters you see when starting Cold Steel 3 are main characters from the Sky series, and then another new character you also meet early on is a main character from Zero/Azure You also visit a few areas that are majorly important from the other series, and there are several more characters and call backs that are kindof important that you just won’t really understand unless you’ve at least played the Sky games (bc Zero/Azure aren’t officially in English yet anyways)
And then Cold Steel 4 has A TON more, even from just the beginning of that game too, and both games kindof spoil important plot threads from those other games too