The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

Trails of Cold Steel continues the premiere narrative heavy, continuous JRPG series out there. It rounds off a lot of the rough edges from the prior games, though it's still probably too dialogue heavy and grindy for many. It has really nice character customization and improvement and a very solid story and is a reasonable starting point for those who can't handle the older style games earlier in the series.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a richly layered, character-driven JRPG that stands as both an introduction and a continuation of Falcom’s ambitious Trails series. Set in the politically charged Erebonian Empire, the game successfully blends traditional turn-based combat with detailed world-building, social simulation elements, and a deeply woven narrative that sets the stage for an expansive saga. While it shares much with the genre’s classics, what elevates Trails of Cold Steel is its deliberate pacing, mature storytelling, and an ensemble cast that grows more compelling the deeper you dive into its world. The story centers on Rean Schwarzer, a student newly enrolled at Thors Military Academy, an institution known for molding the empire’s future leaders. Rean is placed into Class VII, a newly established class that breaks the academy’s usual divisions between nobility and commoners. This premise provides a fertile ground for exploring themes of class conflict, ...

I would only recommend this to people who have played the series through Azure. A lot of people skip ahead to this one because it's the first 3D and English VA'd game in the series, but that route is becoming less appealing with a full modern remake of Sky FC. While it's positioned as a standalone story, I would not have enjoyed this without seeing the foreshadowing of the major events of Azure. It's yoinking the format of Persona social links/school calendars combined with some of the worst anime tropes out there that stink up the writing. I have played Sky FC through to Cold Steel 4 before and I can safely say this is my least favorite Trails game, but it's like a 7/10 overall. What comes after it are much higher stakes and better emotional payoff. The music is still amazing. You need the SenPatcher mod to add toggle instead of hold for turbo while also disabling the animation canceling of turbo.

[b]!![/b] Just all the cons I have for this game: * No autoplay dialogue. You will have to click next after every dialogue instead of just relax and watch everything like an anime. * Some dialogue aren't voiced it feels like I have to verify files to make sure everything is installed but it's actually just VA budget issues. If you're looking for a JRPG that has both autoplay dialogue and All% fully voiced (even background NPCs) I recommend that you try Heaven Burns Red.

My personal favorite entry in the series, it's what got me started and hooked. Had I not found this game in a random sale on my PS4 years ago i would never have found my favorite series.

emma millstein

one of the best game.. really love this series

The series is GOATed for a reason, this is another very strong entry in the franchise. I've been working my way through the games in original release order, and can say that each entry has been awesome. This is another example of a first game in an arc that really establishes the world building for the region, while adding much context to people who've played other entries in the series. The biggest difference for this title is going to be the obvious switch from pixel art to 3D, and some of the hurdles that you can tell Falcom had with that change. Additionally do yourself a favor and use Senpatcher to fix a little bit of the port jank. If you do pick up the game as your first entry or as your journey through the series I hope you're able to enjoy it as much as I have.

very good to start the trails series. on to the next one

I’ve been on a journey to get caught up with this series for a hot minute now. One of my favorite aspects of this series is how while it’s all set in arcs it calls back and rewards you for playing the previous entries with a better understanding of the story and world. The school aspect is different than previous entries but for the story it’s telling it makes sense. A tight cast of characters that feel real with how they don’t always get along and agree but still come together for a common thing. The combat is very fun in this entry too. Combat links are a fun addition and I found the field studies forcing you to use all the characters a good thing as I like doing that anyways. 84 solid hours of gameplay and is only the first part of 4 games in this arc. Immediately starting CS2.