Review | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Multi) gets world-building right and delivers an all-around immersive experience
Combining elements of classic JRPG with solid storytelling and exciting battles, the game is a great start to the Cold Steel sub-series.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is the first chapter in a tetralogy from the maxi-series The Legend of Heroes — a rather long-running Nihon Falcom (Ys series) franchise that has long remained unknown to most players outside of Japan.
Reaching the West in the wake of its previous sub-series (Trails in the Sky) localization, the game went through PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita before hitting PCs in an updated Special Edition. This latest version, in turn, serves as the basis for the latest port of the title for the PlayStation 4, setting the stage for the recent arrival of the long-awaited third installment of the trilogy on Sony’s platform.
Amid so many relaunches, the question that may remain for the interested player, but who has not had the opportunity to introduce himself in the series, is: is it worth to start this journey of hundreds and hundreds of hours through the Erebonian Empire?
The short answer: yes, it’s worth it!
“Why?”, do you ask me? Check out our longer answer below!
Developed by Nihon Falcom and published by XSEED Games / Marvelous USA , The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel was released in December 2015 for PS3 and PSVita , August 2017 for PC and March 2019 for PS4 .
Version used for review: PS4.
Nobility at war
Set in the same world as the Trails in the Sky trilogy, Trails of Cold Steel brings an ambiance that blends steampunk and high-tech elements. While the plot in this chapter brings a number of references to the lore previously set in the series, I can tell from my experience that this is a great entry point for total “newbies” — having been my first experience with the franchise, I never felt like missing any context through the hundreds of hours of content.
This time the focus of history is on the Erebonian Empire, a territory that unifies several geographically and culturally distinct centers of power under the command of a noble caste, headed by four large families.
In an age-old society profoundly transformed by the arrival of Orbal technology, in which the marks of a recent war are still present in everyday life, we are presented to the Thors Academy, a military school where young people from all over the empire study a whole range of disciplines, from the art of cooking to the art of combat.
Although the academy is a place of great prestige, all this pomp and credit is distributed somewhat unevenly among its students: within the school structure itself, the class differences between nobility and ordinary citizens are marked all the time. Our protagonist is freshman Rean Schwartzer, a young swordsman “without a drop of noble blood in his veins,” who doesn’t talk much about his past and follows an unusual sword style.
Rean’s trajectory, however, is not intended to be typical of academy entrants. This is because he was assigned to the newly opened Class VII, a special class that follows an experimental training model, under the command of Professor Sara Valestein.
In addition to mixing for the first time members of the nobility with ordinary citizens, the class is also part of a training program linked to ARCUS technology, special orb weapons that work in synergy with one another. Using her unique methodology and focused on field studies, Valenstein prepares Class VII members to be a new type of imperial military. What type that would be exactly not even our brave freshmen could say!
The political-military content of the tale ends up serving more as an inspired background to a character-focused narrative. The plot deals with class struggle and warfare in a far less serious tone than one could find in a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, for example. The quota of dramatic events is very well inserted amid a more relaxed plot about young people in a school setting. A very detailed and well-designed world building complements the picture, resulting in a very engaging narrative.
Academic adventures
The bastions of the “school subgenre” in Japanese pop culture are all present: the traditional types of the class, dramas of friendship and romance, the relationship with bigwig teachers and mysterious veterans. Overall, the plot is very successful in presenting a gradually complex and engaging plot, while investing in immersion and world-building — a very interesting narrative mix between the classic JRPG and the qualities of the greater visual novels.
The setting is used shrewdly, inserting explanations of the history, technology and mythology of this world throughout classes, study sessions and dialogues. What is surprising is that much of this content is packaged in succinct and untidy packages: collectible books, classes and study sessions bring brief interactions and fun with elements such as quizzes that serve as Rean’s assessment throughout his school year. Sitting down to take a test and coming across questions about subjects you’ve never heard of in your life — can you have a more precise recreation of university life?
Having been my gateway to this universe of The Legend of Heroes, Trails of Cold Steel surprised me above all with the quality and richness of its world-building. Layers upon layers of lore are presented with great subtlety and precision, both in the main plot and throughout all the optional content.
This is a rare and always very welcome effect, which is the construction of the world without the use of expository dialogues or dull texts. Of course, there is a huge amount of text to be read (there are literally little books to collect — and read — in-game ), but the secret seems to be the good distribution of information throughout the narrative. A large number of characters, scenarios and background information are being inserted in an organic and well-dosed way, keeping the player hooked and curious with ease.
Let us be clear: it is a rather lengthy narrative — perhaps even more than the average for a JRPG! However, throughout my experience, there have been very rare times when I felt myself going through any padding per se. Even the most gratuitous elements of the sidequests work to ensure the game’s richness of ambiance — with the player ultimately having (some) control over how deep it should be.
The main plot develops through an internal calendar accompanying Class VII’s first school year. After the proper introductory sequences, the gameplay starts to orbit around the university routine. On days off, Rean is tasked with helping with Student Council assignments, while the other characters get involved in the affairs of their respective theme clubs.
In addition to getting a list of optional and mandatory chores, Rean can also hunt for extra content. The entire great area of Thors and the surrounding city of Trista are open for exploration, with sidequests and hidden history events available to be explored by the gamer who wants to linger a little longer on the already long adventure.
Other than that, these dates also include Bonding Events with other party students. These are special interactions that increase friendships with your peers, with effects on battle and other game mechanics. A large mysterious dungeon is also present throughout these sequences, serving as a training base and ensuring a touch of action for these parts of the adventure.
After spending the free day, what usually follows are Field Studies, field trips prepared by Instructor Sara so that Class VII can get to know the reality of the different provinces and peoples of the empire. These sections are the most exciting sections of the story, alternating the in-depth exploration of school sequences with the typical world-traveling aspect of the genre.
Each city visited brings a to-do list, divided between story events and sidequests. These missions vary greatly in complexity but typically involve interacting with an expansive cast of NPCs and exploring battle-filled open areas. Each location brings its own characteristics both visually and in terms of its story, and the script uses these changes of scenery to shift focus between our central characters.
The episodic format manages to maintain a dynamic of constant renewal for the game’s long narrative. Throughout the dozens of hours of content, I was frequently hooked by the ever-interesting subplots and all the planning of battle strategies. Except for some very rare sequences when the narrative slows down a little, the story consistency and confident pace should easily engage the player who is interested in the genre.
The art of orbal warfare
Well, but a good RPG rarely is all about getting to know people, talking and exploring some amazing places — there’s got to be some fun combat there, right? Fortunately, the good plot balance finds support in the action part as well. Trails of Cold Steel’s battle system features elements that have previously appeared in the series, translating the pseudo-grid turn combat seen in Trails in The Sky to a three-dimensional space. Even with the added tactical aspect of field movement, battle dynamics do not shy away from the core elements of traditional turn-based battle systems.
Controlling a team of four characters on the field, the players will spend most of their time managing two types of skills: Arts and Crafts.
Arts consume EP (mana points recoverable only through the use of very specific items and skills) to give life to spells generated using ARCUS weapons. These can be fully customized at any time through the Quartz system — something like a mix between Final Fantasy’s Materia and Guardian Forces systems.
Crafts, on the other hand, are powerful skills that consume CP (points accumulated, among other ways, by regularly attacking enemies), and represent all-powerful unique abilities of each character. New Crafts are learned through leveling, and each character’s special S-Crafts are unlocked throughout story events.
The Orbment presents a progression system that manages to be complex while still being intuitive. The Master Quartz determines a set of core skills and stats for the character, while regular Quartz enable Arts or grant different passive skills while equipped. Orbment enhancement doesn’t require large amounts of grinding and can stay interesting throughout the game.
The well-dosed battle challenge capitalizes on all this: regular enemies present a challenge to the extent, while bosses impose respect: playing casually, it was not uncommon for boss battles in which I went “to the letter” — or else found myself. forced to redo the battle from the start and with more attention to detail.
Attack areas and field movement play a central role in fighting strategy, as is the efficient use of the Link system, from which previously linked characters can mend combos and super-effective attacks. The system features a wealth of attack and healing techniques, as well as buffs and debuffs.
This is all very customizable, which made my experience of exploring the different possible combinations especially fun and rewarding. It is an overall well-balanced system that opens up several different tactical possibilities without losing objectivity — although more experienced players may find some ways to abuse the system, making things a little too easy for them.
While not introducing major innovations, the game utilizes traditional elements of the genre very well, ordering them with precision and without excesses. For instance, in addition to fifteen types of status conditions and six variations of elemental damage, we also have four different types of physical damage (Slash, Thrust, Pierce, and Blunt) that are crucial for Link Attacks.
From station to station
I started Trails of Cold Steel somewhat “in the dark” about the game’s premise, imagining a dramatic narrative about war and class conflict. The focus on character development, as well as the more relaxed tone of much of the story, positively surprised me, as did the way in which I was quickly feeling myself totally engaged with its world.
As someone who is generally unable to hold on to new character names and lore — I’m one of those people who finishes whole series without getting to know the name of the protagonist — I was positively astounded to find out that I already knew the names of all members of Class VII — and, amazingly, even some minor NPCs! — at the end of the second chapter.
The cost of such an accurate narrative is that the plot’s book structure denounces from the outset an undeniable linearity in its development. The player mainly interferes with the depth of immersion and small changes regarding the personal relationships between the characters. For the rest, the thing goes on well-fixed tracks, although always with interesting developments and surprises with each turn of the story.
The plot follows different cores of characters, each at a time, exploring them more closely before returning to the larger tapestry of the plot. Characters that at first seemed uninteresting or even unimportant slowly gained my interest, so a new gameplay in New Game+ mode seemed increasingly irresistible.
However, if it is true that the story hooked me from the beginning, it is also worth remarking that it is a slow-burn narrative. This may be a problem for the player most eager for Homeric battles and dramatic plot twists. Fortunately, all the construction made here is worthwhile and rewards the players who had their curiosity aroused by the introductory sequence.
The game has several customization options to try and match different player profiles: from a very useful Turbo Function (which speeds up any event, from cutscenes to battles) to a custom New Game+ mode.
The visual presentation, even with the graphic improvements of the Special Edition, can hardly deny the air of “previous generation” of the title. That is, it looks exactly like what it is: a PS3 / PSVita title, updated with textures and filters to ensure that slightly visual boost.
Although animated in a very basic way, the textures and palette of unsaturated tones guarantee a very concise and charming look that brings some nice artwork to life even if it is in less than ideal conditions. Scenarios, for their part, lack the same bang — while competently fulfilling their goal of rendering the game’s fantastic locations, a greater level of detail could probably take things to the next level, and avoid some disparity between the characters and backgrounds.
The soundtrack features excellent compositions that blend typical ambient beats of the genre with epic acoustic instrumentals, ensuring the cinematic (well, anime-cinematic) air of the journey. For me, it was one of those games that had me quickly used to its music — and liking it. No one deserves to spend a hundred hours listening to repetitive songs (or having to appeal to an external soundtrack that breaks immersion), and fortunately, the musical part here seems to understand this and packs the journey quite nicely on that department, too.
Investing its resources on a meticulously constructed narrative, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is yet another substantial addition to the PlayStation 4 JRPG library — and a must-see title for fans of the subgenre. Combining classic mechanics and intricate narrative construction, the adventure brings charismatic characters in exciting action exploring a world with layers upon layers of well-crafted lore. My introduction to the series could’ve hardly been better!
✓ Pros
- Detailed and engaging world-building: a treat for lovers of a multilayered lore;
- Vast cast of charismatic and interesting characters explored through a well-paced narrative;
- Battle system with great balance between complexity and intuition;
- Engaging and expansive storyline that manages to stay interesting through a well-designed chapter structure;
- Excellent soundtrack.
✘ Cons
- Long start and slower pace of the narrative at times can bother the more action-oriented players.
