Review for Trails of Cold Steel

The legend of Hero's

Trail of cold Steel

Developer: Nihon Falcom

Publisher: Xseed

Trails of cold steel is a game that is actually not the first in the actual series having said that one might think they would have to need prior knowledge of the previous games. But I am happy to say that is not the actual case here. you can jump right into this game and not have to worry about previous games. Cold Steel is also only one game of a series of four that all tie together from start to finish.

The story of Trails of Cold Steel I would say is to my surprise amazing. The story revolves around one student that attends a military academy. Along with other students his class forms Class VII. the way the story starts leaves a cliffhanger and makes you generally want to see what happens. Your classmates are your main cast of characters, through the game they each go through there own personal problems and grow from them in a deep way. unlike some games the characters in this one development is nothing short of amazing. One noble who clashes with a commoner that have no desire to interact with one another, then by the end of the game they're like friendly rivals that can understand each other.

the world is incredibly vast with books and side bit that you can easily sink hours into if your just wanting to learn about the towns you visit or how the people live and the problems that they face. the story of this game starts slow but near the middle and especially near the end I was enthralled and needing to know what was going to happen next. with that being said the story also seems to be more of a giant 80 hour opening for the actual game that starts in Cold steel 2.

Many people that love this game have said that gameplay for a Jrpg isn't the main purpose. With that being said I don't quite agree with that. While I can fall for a great story, but if there is hardly much game in a well game it can be a little tough for some people to get into.

The combat is done very well for a turn based game. you can link with allies to have a chance of getting extra attacks in and arts or magic make you have to try and see if its worth using now or using an item or just plain attacking to make sure your opponent cant use a turn buff like 100% critical or for you to gain a Zero arts bonus. through most of the game the small encounters can be spammed with just attacking but for the bosses a little tact is needed especially later in the game.

The problem is that's your main gameplay. the rest of the game is doing errand quests. This is how you make the story go along, I you get a quest you run around from person to person and that's it with the occasional kill this monster quest. Some of these quests might have some humor or story but I found myself trying to rush through most of them that just didn't seem to really have anything to do with the actual plot.

The other problem is that the combat is far in-between most the game. most other than running around to do quests is literally reading. most the game feels more like a visual novel type. while this isn't exactly bad I will say to some people who need gameplay wont enjoy this as much as someone who is okay with reading for a few hours rather than actually playing.

As far as how the game looks, I would say its more or less rigged and feels like an old ps2 game rather than a ps4, though originally it was made for the vita and ps3. the characters walking feels incredibly stiff at times and use the old fashion sticking your arm out to grab something and the item disappearing magically as they "grab" it or a car shutting by itself.

The music however fits this game perfectly. the music for the boss encounters to the music in every city. all of the music goes great with the atmosphere and events that happen. but the voice acting comes and goes randomly. one moment someone will say something then the next person wont have a voice acting and the next person does have a voice, this comes and goes randomly through out the entire game. When people are talking I felt they delivered the character perfectly and really brought them to life.

My final verdict for this game would be a mixed one. Most of it seemed to just be a huge opening act for the second game and I felt it was very slow at points, but it also made me want to see what happens next. I would say for someone to really enjoy this game would depend entirely on who the player is. if you need great gameplay I would not recommend this title as you'll find most the time you'll be reading more of a book than actually playing. If however your someone that needs more of a story than gameplay this title would be perfect for you.

My final verdict for this game is a 7/10, I feel it is a great story and fun battle system but truly is only for a certain type of audience.

• Pros:
• Great soundtrack.
• Character development.
• Story of a world that tries to grab you.
• Cons:
• Constant quest fetch system.
• Audio comes and goes randomly.
• Deeply depends on your view if gameplay is essential or not.