Finished up Trails in the Sky SC today. Difficulty was rocky in a few places and a couple bits near the end felt overly long, but the story was very strong and the combat was solid if not outstanding. Maybe the best direct-sequel JRPG I've played.

In particular the writing was at its best when the general mood was suspense/unease and the party couldn't do anything obvious to directly attack the situation and had to wander around doing what was possible until something turned up; early in the game there was a lot of this.