Just finished Azure, and it was really amazing how everything fit together. I went into Zero Azure not expecting much, I just wanted to make sure I get the full story before jumping into CS, but it turned out to be such a great experience. I think the cast of Trails in the Sky are still my favourite but the way Azure's story elements just fits together just felt better. In fact the way both Zero and Azure have almost a cold start, but pace so well into climactic final chapters is pretty impressive.

The stand out for me, a little while after the reveal about how KeA saved the SSS, it hit me. The intro in Zero is actually the start of the final dungeon, in the original timeline. When I played Zero it actually niggled at me a bit that the intro didn't exactly line up with the finale, but it actually makes sense now, almost 2 full games later.

Series writers need to start taking notes from these guys. Starting up CS1 now, expecting to be equally blown away.

I think the only criticism I have with the story is that it had a lot of potential to be darker (well, what KeA went through was pretty dark), but by the end of it everyone is just like, 'oh, you're fine, don't worry about it' with each other. Like to the point it was unrelatable. Would have liked a little more 'edgy' resolutions for some characters/relationships. Maybe a couple dead 'villains'.