Feb 25

Feb 25 Review | The Legend Of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III/IV Review - Class VII Remains A Class Act

While the wait for Trails Into Daybreak continues, NIS America is bridging the gap with a fresh round of Nihon Falcom PS5 ports. Now releasing Trails of Cold Steel 3 and 4 as a duology, I'd consider starting with Cold Steel's latter half an odd move if I weren't aware of the earlier games' licensing issues. These PS5 re-releases aren't entirely necessary, yet it's the best way to play two strong RPGs.

Set two years after the earlier entries, Cold Steel 3 and 4 sees you playing as Rean Schwarzer once more. This time, we've moved from student life to becoming an instructor for the new Class VII at the new Thors Military Academy branch campus. An intriguing tale highlighting how this world changed after the prior games’ civil war follows, delivering a compelling story that prominently grapples with imperialism and the human toll of Erebonia's aggressive annexation strategy.

Much like the wider series, both games shine through their fantastic worldbuilding that gets you invested in the characters living in these war-stricken nations. There's incredible attention to detail and consistency, you can almost feel the history come to life with every location we visit. The time jump and expanded cast mean you could just about get away with starting here, though the large number of returning characters means that isn't exactly newcomer-friendly, unless you have a fan wiki open on a nearby browser while playing. The included written recap doesn't do the story justice, but getting the most from this duology requires playing seven lengthy RPGs before it.

Structurally, Cold Steel 3 tells this story through branch campus classes, side activities, and monthly field missions. The social mechanics aren't as in-depth as something like Persona, and there's only a limited number of 'bonding events' each day. These segments help deliver some strong personal development for characters who often seem unnecessarily over the top. It dives into each character's motivations, offering an avenue for personal growth without necessarily detracting from the main stage.

Oh no, since when were there Gundum in Trails… I thought it couldn’t get anymore anime.

Cold Steel 4 takes a similar approach but in a different location, though the finale's execution is lacking by comparison. Nihon Falcom raised the stakes with a looming intercontinental war, bringing back characters from across all eight preceding games. A commendable effort but while I was happy to see so many returning faces, the 'all-star' approach creates the finale's main issue.

Delivering dramatic scenes while also giving dozens of individual characters a line of dialogue simply doesn't work, and numerous scenes suffer from poor pacing. Though Cold Steel 4 eventually delivers a satisfying conclusion that sets up Trails Into Reverie well, that doesn't always feel entirely earned. Cold Steel 4's grand scope finds this climactic tale nearly buckles under its own weight before we reach our destination.

I've put these games into one review because they play very similarly, and you can tell Nihom Falcom initially envisioned one long adventure. That's particularly noticeable in combat, and while Cold Steel 4 rebalances certain aspects, fights are practically identical. Across turn-based battles, every ally has regular attacks, magical 'Arts' for elemental damage and support abilities. Everyone also has individual Crafts and when you reach 100CP, they can unleash what's effectively an ultimate attack.

It's easy to learn and combat's biggest strength comes from the Quartz system. Equipping different 'Quartz' to each character can boost specific stats or teach them new Arts, offering robust variety and combat customisation that keeps battles interesting. Brave Orders add a pleasing layer of dynamic strategy to these battles that wasn't present in earlier entries, giving you a free action to boost stats like critical damage rates or defense. Varying strengths/weaknesses to Arts help create a balanced element of strategy.

However, don't expect any major changes on PS5. Improvements are primarily technical, giving both games a framerate increase and resolution boost that help its somewhat dated presentation. Bundling in the previously released cosmetic DLC is a nice touch, too. For anyone who's already played Cold Steel 3 or 4, though, I can't recommend double-dipping when the PS4 versions run just fine through backward compatibility and no next-gen upgrade path exists.

Ultimately, these are straight ports and while they don't feel entirely necessary, it's the definitive way to play two solid RPGs. Cold Steel 3 sets the stage with a gripping story and entertaining gameplay, while Cold Steel 4 delivers an exciting conclusion that sometimes strains under its ambition. Together, they finish an integral part of one of gaming's most compelling sagas, and while I'm ready for the next adventure, revisiting Erebonia brought me no end of joy.