The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

This game has left me speechless. As a disclaimer, I've only ever played Trails in the Sky FC years ago and, although I enjoyed the game, it never really left me with much of an impression of the franchise. This game, however, just did so many things right from its addictive gameplay to its entrancing story---not to mention one of the best cast of characters I've ever had the pleasure to play as. As a longtime Persona fan, I was quite surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed how they adapted some of the mechanics from those games and made it work in this game. I'd say that they borrowed just enough, altered them, and introduced some other systems that makes this game unique in my eyes. Personally, the gameplay loop they created here stands proudly on its own and is far removed from the more infamous Persona games.

Considering that this series has released several titles at this point, it was no surprise that the world is rich with lore and history. I'm sure that the game threw a lot of references from the previous games that flew right over my head, but it never really bothered me that much. If anything, it only got me interested in checking out the previous games once I'm done with this arc. Despite having such a world that is "grounded" by its own rules, the story does provide a lot of twists and turns that really changed how I viewed this world. How they managed to achieve this and still have a world that is "believable", at least in my opinion, is a testament to the game's fantastic worldbuilding and narrative design. Even, the NPCs were created with such unique flair that at some point I was just as invested in their small stories as I was with what was happening in the main story.

The only thing that really frustrated me was how the game ended quite abruptly and left the story at such a terrible cliffhanger that I'm sure adding a short epilogue could have solved. Maybe this is just me wanting more of the game even though it's already quite a huge game to begin with. Also, to be honest, the final battle was NOT fun at all. This was quite a disappointment as all the other boss battles were fun and had a lot of tactical leeway that allowed me to adjust my party, equipment, and strategies to overcome them without being too tedious. To be fair, I did play this in hard mode---I shudder to think how difficult that battle would have been in nightmare. Nevertheless, I can count finally count myself as a fan and look forward to checking out the next games and finally experiencing this arc in its entirety. This is a definite must-play for me and timeless classic that will forever live on as one of the best JRPGs I have ever played.

kuuntelin talk tuah podcästiä samalla kun runkutin piplaa. hyvä combo 4.5/5

Oops didn't realize i forgot to write a review of this game.

Compared to the previous trails games this one is............................ Alright.

it has the plot pacing of sky fc without the characters being as endearing or well written so it's a bit of a slog at times

Music is pretty good sometimes thou

The start of another incredible arc for Trails. And a good starting point for those new to the series. If you like great narrative and exceptional turn based combat, which evolves even further in the later games, start here.

While it is certainly visible that Falcom had bigger ambitions than what they could do in one game, they did deliver yet another good entry in the Trails series with this one. Very excited to play Cold Steel 2 later down the road.

Some people call this game "too anime" compared to other entries, which is just weird. Just like the other Trails games it reflects current trends in anime/LN/manga from the time it came out in.

Definitely give this game a try if you like intricate world building and want to be drawn into one of the longest ongoing JRPG stories.

Very good game

this game crashes about 5% of the time when i try to save but i usually just take that as a sign from god to stop playing (also it saves successfully and is still playable from where i left off)

twa

15 hours in and, thus far, the story has been good and the characters enjoyable. I'm particularly in love with Laura and Jusis.

I do have ONE bit of disappointment, which is the orbment system changes. I was told the system would be improved in CS, but as far as I can tell, it's actually been severely downgraded. Now, instead of my attacking spells being attached to the buffing quartz, they have been completely separated. For example. Before I could equip a, say, Action 1 quarts and be given access to time arts by virtue of having that quartz equipped. Now, I have to equip the actual time attacking spell AND the Action 1 quartz. Which takes up 2 orbment slots instead of 1. I don't see how that is an improvement.

I guess I'll get used to it at some point and I don't intend to let it diminish my enjoyment of the game, but I feel the need to warn anyone who has played all the previous installments. You may NOT like this "improved" orbment system. I sure as heck don't.

You lucky son of a - I mean, for SHAME, Rean.

What a fantastic game. I just finished this game after about 70 hours in game. The Steam 131 hours is because I had tried to play this game once last year but couldn't get past chapter 3. This time however I was able to play through the whole thing till the credits and holy cow what a great time.

I really enjoyed the story in this and the rpg mechanics. That being said if you are someone that doesn't like heavy story based games, or doing a lot of turn based battles, this might not be the game for you. Esp if you also don't like anime or the tropes that come with anime.

That being said I absolutely loved this game. The characters are very well written. So much so that I was able to point out the odd background character here and there and follow their story in the world. And this game definitely depicts a virtual world that moves on it's own.

I so badly want to play Trails of Cold Steel 2 now, but I think I'm going to take a break for a bit then play Trails in the Sky. This game did take 70+ hours for me to beat on a casual playthrough.

Oh, one thing I should mention. This game is really great, but at the end of my playthrough I started to notice a few bugs and errors in the voice lines. And also the game crashed on me twice. Both times were during some of the final fights. Which was pretty annoying. I don't know if it's my setup or the game being a bit more unstable near the end. Luckily the the game is very generous with saves and a "turbo" button, so you can easily get back to where you were. But still a little bit annoying.

This is definitely the slowest intro to an arc so far story-wise, but it was still very enjoyable. While it can't compete with the story of other games before it, the combat is the most fun it's been (even with the oversimplified quartz system), and of course it's the first Trails in full 3D which was an awesome transition for the series.

Another day, another Trails game that I've sunk too many hours in. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a great game in an already great series. As far as starts to a Trails arc is concerned, it's weaker than Sky FC and Zero, but it's still amazing! I love the new Orbment system, I feel as though it built on Azure's introduction of Master Quartz in a really fun and enjoyable way. The quartz system still feels as though it's a puzzle, which is one of my favorite parts of the gameplay in this series.

I'd say the main cast is on par with that of the Crossbell arc, though there are WAY more characters in Class VII than the main core of Azure. Rean has a lot of potential at this point in the story, and many of the other characters are set up well in this installment for their later growth!

All in all, I still very much recommend this game for any veteran Trails fans, and while it is a decent jumping-on point for new players, I'd still recommend playing through the Sky trilogy and the Crossbell duology first!

One of the best Japanese RPGS out there, even if no single aspect sets the bar for the genre. 8/10

I'll always love you, Elliot.

One of the best JRPG games out there. PERIOD. The legend of heroes franchise is so underrated it can get. I love that you have to play the old ones to understand the newer ones too. You get more play time , stories , combat etc. BUY BUY BUY! <3

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great characters and story

It's fun.

If you like good story from a jrpg game, you would love trails of cold steel. The story start slow but it gets very interesting until the end.

fun game , little too much school

Really Good JRPG Turn-Based Games!

i mean its alright

Nihon and Xspeed combined their efforts way back in 2017 to create their line of Legend of Heroes and I took a belated look at this now classic game to give my take.

What I liked:
RPG-Well, despite its great efforts and a lot of work Trails does a lot right here. This is full role playing gaming at old fantasy adventuring fun.
Battle System: Ah the old school Quarts building and finding fun combinations, gear, looks, and even some cute sleeve pets to enjoy.
Controls: Crisp, controller or mouse fun, simply, easy to navigate from Quests, Cooking, Fishing, and the quick travel options to get right to it.
High School: Yep, you back to your elementary days of peer pressuring minutia with interactions, stories, dramas, in that old school Anime feel that many have grown to love over the past 30 years.
Aesthetics: Crisp colors, smooth animation, fine professional voice overs, simple interaction options, all there.
Cool battle Effects: Yep, get out your animation flash Dragon Ball Z finishes baby.
Sounds: Solid musical options, sounds, smooth sequences and puzzle solving.

What I feel missed the mark
Nothing New: Despite its interesting stun opponents prior to fighting them, still stuck in that old 3-6 vs system that has plagued the industry for 40 years, but why fix what works. Small con for me.
Maturity: Some elder gamers may find going back to youthful high school, slightly childish, The tedious school minutia may feel un-necessary, even boring to elder gamers, where you simply are not interested in these classmate relationships, but my teens fit right in.
Mutation: I would have liked to have seen more mutation options to your hybrid picking, though you can alter master quartz, play with quartz additions to perfect your builds. It doesn't go beyond that main master quartz. For example, a mixing of say Heatwave and Mars or Recuria and Purgatorial Flame created a mutation new animation ability and execution would have been cool to see, but you can't have everything.
Progress: If you simply do the tasks at hand and don't proceed slowly the boss fights will punish you as you never quite feel above them, especially early which could discourage you.

What can I say that has not been said before about the Classic Trails of Cold Steel, better late than never. Its a fine fun game for all ages, and kids will love the environment of this mystic created land. A game should be fun, and Trails hits all the marks if you like RPG anime school warriors with fun abilities that you can escalate to great heights. I can see why this continued in sequels. It has not lost a step despite being out a long time. Wait for a sale and give this fun game a try. My Score. 3.6 out of 5.

The new cast isnt as well written as the ones before, but the game as a whole is still good even if its slower than other first arc games

Great Game

This with Persona 3 Reload are the best games I've ever played. I've got alot more ground to cover but holy shit I love everything about this game. Characters, story music gameplay voice over- everything.
10/10

Amazing game! This is my first entry into JRPG and the Trails series in general! The experience of getting to know the characters, the lore and sensing the atmosphere was unmatched. It really took me back to my childhood where I myself studied in a military school. I would recommend this game to anyone who is into a good story, the battle system also encourages creativity and some though fights will definitely require more than one attempt.

Good game.

Towa FTW