The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

1. Stryker24

   Dec 23, 2015

   10

   I love this game. It has everything a Legend of Heroes game has, and then streamlines the skills and compresses it. So even those startingI love this game. It has everything a Legend of Heroes game has, and then streamlines the skills and compresses it. So even those starting this series will pick it up. Good on ya XSEED Games for picking up a great game.… Expand

   • 12 of 13 users found this helpful
2. Gamingking007

   Feb 2, 2016

   10

   This game is honestly one of the most amazing experiences I've had in a long time! Loved every minute of it! I would love to play these gemsThis game is honestly one of the most amazing experiences I've had in a long time! Loved every minute of it! I would love to play these gems on next-Gen!… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
4. SwitSwat

   Aug 8, 2016

   10

   I will admit, the Lionheart Edition caught my eye and so I bought this game on a whim, though I had heard good things about the Legend ofI will admit, the Lionheart Edition caught my eye and so I bought this game on a whim, though I had heard good things about the Legend of Heroes series, so I figured I might as well give this game a go. I cannot say how long it has been since a game has hooked me on its lore and storyline. It may be pretty cliche at times, having similar story structure to Final Fantasy Type-0, but the (mostly) likeable characters, great battle system and vast amount of content make this game shine. Going for the platinum on this is was not much of a hassle because of how enjoyable it is. 10/10… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. vahn

   Feb 14, 2017

   10

   I was initially very harsh on this game at first and for a petty reason (the combat) But I think it's unfair to bash this game solely onI was initially very harsh on this game at first and for a petty reason (the combat) But I think it's unfair to bash this game solely on combat, especially when other rpgs are getting praised for doing worse on every other aspect ("Cough" FFXV "Cough").
   
   For that reason, I want to say what's wrong with this game instead:
   
   1) Combat is well made and has a lot of depth into it, with each character equipping quartz (basically materias from ff7) and Master Quartz (sort of "class gems", but in a very light way) as well as having special moves, link abilities and random effects on the battle. The combat itself is honestly great but that's not why I bashed it for: I bashed the combat because of how cheap the game is against you, because they're insultingly easy...if you counter thei status effect. Yes, the only thing that enemies will do - THE ONLY THING THAT ENEMIES WILL EVER DO TO YOU - is putting status effect that will make the fight inhumanly difficult. Examples are when you fight an enemy that will always (ALWAYS) blind you, which will make you miss attacks, in which the enemy will counter and most likely kill you, or when an enemy will constantly stun you with every single basic attack, or when another boss will freeze the team and kill you right after, or where some enemies tend to inexplicably kill you without any reasons (no skill name, no special attack, no special turn). This is just unforgivable because it's trial and error and as soon as you manage to counter THAT specific debuff for the fight, the enemies are a real push over and won't even kill you (seriously I can overheal the damage with ease, it's so unbalanced) but just because the enemies have special effects, the game becomes harder all of the sudden. I expect this from anyone ("cough" Square Enix "Cough") but Nihon Falcom.
   
   2) The game is slow. Very slow. Too slow at some points. The story is amazing and I love it: I love the exposition that actually makes it interesting and never boring (I even read the books!) and I love how the world is both similar to the real one (The main capital is basically London) and far different at the same time. On top of that the characters are great as they all have screentime, none of them feels left out and this is a great improvement over Trails in the Sky where that annoying slut of Estelle kept taking the spot for better characters: I played Trails in the sky for 40 hours and I don't even remember who was that white haired chick with the whip, or that blondie who played the piano, since the game was too busy focusing on that whiny girl with no personality who had the harry potter syndrome. I digress.
   Anyway, despite the story being great, despite it's amazing writing and plot...it's just too slow in certain moments and including the slow combat, it can be a chore to play through. I played a lot of RPGs and this one is one of the slowest I ever played. It's not bad per se but if you ever buy it, be ready!
   
   3) Technical standpoint...well it's a ps3 game that's supposed to run also on Vita, which is why the game has anything but great graphics. It's not bad per se but if you are hoping for some AAA graphics...well you won't find it here and I'm personally fine, for great graphics don't equal to great gameplay (just like another famous series where Fantasy is in the title!)
   
   4)Cheap Replayability. The game is long: I'm at chapter 6 and I'm nearly hitting 60 hours and the game actually has a lot of replayability, since you can unlock new stuff and info thanks to NG+. But at what cost? Well for starters the game actually is nearly impossible to complete 100% without a guide (or unless you're able to spend 20 hours in a single section every single transition) due to the fact that a lot of stuff are hidden for no real reason. On top of that there's a ranking system that will change depending on your choices, quests and several actions in the game...which is not really smart design. Quests are hidden, certain choices are only possible if you know the answer, few battles require to do certain specific things, and if you miss one of these you might not get the best rank or might lose certain things...which will be ported into the second chapter. This is the kind of stuff that RPGs during the 2000s tended to do, blocking or hiding stuff unless you had a guide, and because of this it's highly advised to have one in case you need to reach that 100% score and platinum thing.
   
   But really, beside these flaws (which are personal really), I can't stop praising this amazing piece of art: I never felt so invested in an RPG before and I cannot wait to start chapter 2 and buy chapter 3 someday in the future, is that amazing. Is it flawed? Surely, but even those flaws don't stop making this game the best RPG in recent years.
   
   And since it's already 1 year old, you can find it cheap too so...go get it! NOW!… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
6. The_Vampire

   Jun 24, 2020

   8

   The game is worth to try for JRPG fans, it is so fun but what really bothers me in the game is the a lot of unnecessary conversation and theThe game is worth to try for JRPG fans, it is so fun but what really bothers me in the game is the a lot of unnecessary conversation and the events of the story is too slow but never mind the slow turn of events in case to build the characters. Must try it ❤️… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. FantasyCritic71

   Feb 6, 2016

   8

   I was blind going into this game and the only reason why I brought it was because of the Lionheart Edition. I love my Collectors Editions butI was blind going into this game and the only reason why I brought it was because of the Lionheart Edition. I love my Collectors Editions but after admiring my awesome new Artbook I finally played the game and I think it deserves your undivided attention.
   
   ~ Story ~
   
   This tale stars our hero Rean Schwarzer and his life at Thors Military Academy where he encounters blonde Tsunderes, drunk teachers, a vast majority of Anime Archetypes and exciting Field Studies within various areas of Erebonia.
   
   The story is very slow paced and doesn't get good until around Chapter 4 but once it gets there you'll be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next exciting thing to happen.
   
   ~ Characters ~
   
   I'll only do the main 10 of the classroom.
   
   Rean Schwarzer - Typical goody two shoes JRPG Protagonist with more depth and character a cool looking sword and a cool personality.
   
   Alisa Reinford - The blonde tsundere that you will probably dislike in the beginning of the game but then begin to understand her later in the game. She's not bad once you get to know her a little better.
   
   Laura Arseid - Saber from Fate/Zero with purple hair. She's the awesome badass sword chick you wish was real. She loves fighting is very chivalrous and is probably one of my favorite characters in this game.
   
   Gaius - The cool calm and collected dude.
   
   Jusis Albarea - The arrogant noble that you want to slap in the face just because. He's not extremely arrogant like some of the nobles in the game and he is a pretty cool character once you get to know him a little better.
   
   Emma Milstein - Emma is a little shy but not to the extreme, she's also very kind and nice to everyone in ClassVII making her an ideal girl to date if she was real that is.
   
   Fie - Fie is Fie.
   
   Machias Regnitz - The glasses nerd and copy of Hubert from Tales of Graces F.
   
   Elliot Craig - Elliot is Elliot.
   
   Sara Millstein - Ms. Frizzle gone badass. Sara is the best teacher ever and my 2nd favorite character in the game.
   
   Overall - We have your typical High School Anime here with in depth characters and likable personalities depending on preferences.
   
   ~ Gameplay ~
   
   The most fun and awesome turn based JRPG I have ever played.
   
   In this game you use Crafts which are physical attacks & weapons skills and Arts which is basically magic. Arts takes one turn to cast sometimes less while Crafts are automatically used on that turn. Another thing you can use during your battles is S-Crafts which is basically your Special Attacks and you can use these without expending a turn they come in handy when your in a tough situation and you can use all 4 characters S-Crafts and still be able to make your move when it's your turn to attack although doing so will expend all your CP and there are no items to restore CP so that's risky. CP can only be gained through hitting the enemy not even save points can restore it so your screwed if you use it all recklessly.Although a move called Impassion might be able to save your butt since it gives you more CP then usual when you attack the enemy.
   
   Links - During battle you can also link with characters in your party to perform combination attacks.
   
   Free Time - After your field studies which is basically thors exploring other cities and places while doing mission's, you return to school and get Free Time which means you get to activate your social links strengthen your Persona and chose between Chie & Yukiko. I'm kidding but the things you get to do during Free Time is very similar to Persona. During Free Time you get Bond Points which you can use to spend time with your friends, you are limited to 3 or sometimes 5 points so you can't hang out with everybody. Each time you hang out with a certain character your link points increase and you can deal extra damage to enemies when linked to that character.
   
   Student Council - During Free Time you are forced to do menial, lame and tedious tasks from the Student Council and you are also required to explore Tarturus cough I mean the Old Schoolhouse which has dull and repetitive dungeon design.
   
   Overall - Still a Fun and great game.
   
   ~ Graphics ~
   
   Not that great but not that bad either. ~ Sound ~ Even if you hate the game the soundtrack will most likely keep you playing the game it is without a doubt amazing and worth listening to. Voice Acting & Translation - Suberb although Rean doesn't talk in a few scenes where he's supposed to and a few lines of dialogue have grammer issues. ~ Replay Value ~ High. ~ Overall ~ A great start to the Legend of Heroes Series although a bit slow paced. I recommend this to all JRPG fans out there its a fun and awesome game with developed characters and a great story.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
8. crunchbuttsteak

   Feb 21, 2016

   6

   As a huge fan of the series and of most of Falcom's games in general, I have to say that Trails of Cold Steel is one of the most disappointingAs a huge fan of the series and of most of Falcom's games in general, I have to say that Trails of Cold Steel is one of the most disappointing games I've played in recent memory. It's not a terrible game; in fact, I'd put it just above average. It still has the garnish that made the series great, such as an intense attention to detail in worldbuilding and fleshed-out NPCs with their own lives and stories that advance alongside the main plot, but it drops the ball in crucial ways.
   
   I'll start with the most glaring and obvious flaw: the technical details. The most noticable thing about the game right off the bat is the loading time. I spent most of my time playing the Vita version where it was more noticable, but it's still a major issue on PS3. Load times were occasionally quite short (three seconds or so), but most of the time, I would be waiting a good five to ten seconds for a load screen, which really starts to add up when you get one every time you enter a new screen or start a battle/cutscene. On top of this, the 3D models and animations are simply awful looking and a poor replacement for the 2D portraits and well-animated 3D rendered sprites of previous games.
   
   To start, the gameplay is simply a step down from every other game in the series after Trails in the Sky FC. In short, it's pathetically easy. Even on hard mode, fights end with almost no effort whatsoever. I normally wouldn't be one to knock a game for being too easy, especially a turn-based RPG, but when combat starts to feel like nothing more than a boring chore, it gets in the way of enjoying the game. While you could break previous games in the series with the right setups and party compositions, it did take some effort. It takes almost none to break Sen over your knee. I can count the number of battles on one hand where a boss got more than three turns before dying, and several of those were because I waited to fulfill a special condition on the battle. Perhaps it's different on nightmare mode, but I have my doubts. As it stands, even on hard mode, the gameplay in Cold Steel was less enjoyable than Trails in the Sky SC in spite of the many technical improvements made since then, to say nothing of comparisons to the rest of the series.
   
   Arguably one of the best aspects of this series are its strong, detailed characters, and Cold Steel simply drops the ball on that front completely. I won't go too in-depth to avoid spoilers, but in short, several of the characters are so poorly written that I actually put the game down and avoided playing it for a while after seeing their "development" in action. This might be forgivable if the rest of the cast were as well-executed as previous games in the series, but that's not the case here. Rean feels like a typical dime-a-dozen light novel protagonist, even having a poorly explained supernatural power (which remains poorly explained even in the sequel). Gaius and Elliot are completely irrelevant characters who serve no role in the story whatsoever aside from guiding the party around their hometowns (and coincidentally, Gaius' hometown is host to the most boring chapter in the series, and Elliot passes the guide role on to Machias quite quickly in his chapter), to the point where you question why they're even in the game. Machias and Jusis are both good enough characters, and though Machias is a bit too exaggerated I found their antics to be the most redeeming parts of the early game. Laura has no character beyond her obsession with her swordsmanship. Emma could have been interesting, but they don't answer any questions about her throughout almost all of the first game, so she simply remains the class president type throughout. Alisa is a grating, obnoxious character who is completely unlikable for no reason other than having some overinflated mommy issues. Fie's personality clashes so much with her backstory that I went from finding her cute and somewhat endearing to seeing her as everything wrong with the lazy character writing in the game. I'm astounded that the same company who wrote Renne, Randy, and various other similar characters produced a character as poor as Fie. In spite of all that, the supporting cast, especially the NPCs, are all quite excellent. Sara is exactly what I'd expect from a Trails character. Crow is very endearing while still breaking free of his archetype. I found myself playing just to advance the story of the various NPCs as well.
   
   The plot wasn't botched nearly as much as the characters, but it still feels like it's mostly filler. Each chapter drags on a lot longer than it really needs to and Chapter 1 feels like it was completely irrelevant in the long run. Nothing much is accomplished throughout the game and the only time something is is during the ending, when the game suddenly stops with a "to be continued."
   
   Overall, Trails of Cold Steel is an average game and a disappointment to fans of the series. If you're a fan of the previous games, prepare for disappointment.… Expand

   • 3 of 7 users found this helpful

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