Trails of Cold Steel 4 Review — End(game) of Saga

If you're already familiar with the Trails of Cold Steel games, I imagine yous'll observe reading this review largely optional. You don't need me to tell y'all that this game is excellent; yous probably already suspect as much. Finishing Trails of Common cold Steel 3 and witnessing the mother of all cliffhangers likely has yous ready to tackle this one equally before long as possible. All this game needs to do is keep the quality consistent from the get-go three games, and you have an exceptional JRPG. But let me reassure y'all: Trails of Cold Steel 4 is first-class, delivering on all the promise of the story that'due south been congenital upwardly thus far. That should be enough reassurance for you, and no spoiler warnings are necessary here as I won't be going into annihilation specific.

But if you're not in the know? Well then! Permit me tell you why the Legend of Heroes serial (of which Trails of Cold Steel is the latest arc) is worth experiencing. Trails of Cold Steel 4 highlights more than ever that there is nothing else quite like this series in all of gaming, permit lonely the JRPG genre.

Trails of Common cold Steel is a serial of turn-based JRPGs featuring an extremely customisable battle system. Yous're given a wide range of characters, each with their own unique abilities (Crafts), and accept leave to suit your party compositions as needed. The full suite of customisation comes from the Orbment system: a selection of gem slots that you can plug quartz into for each character. These quartz have a wide range of effects, whether providing passive stat boosts, status ailment procs, or granting the user magical Arts abilities. In addition, your Orbments can utilise Master Quartz, which levels up with use. These grant a choice of elemental spells, stat boosts, and other furnishings. Each character can, in addition to their native abilities, have two Chief Quartz (one main and one sub) and a handful of these quartz to round out their builds.

"Trails of Common cold Steel iv highlights more than ever that there is zippo else quite like this series in all of gaming, allow alone the JRPG genre."

Without going into all the possible combinations and builds, you tin brand some seriously diverse political party compositions. Do y'all want to make a super fast graphic symbol that spams Crafts? Certain. Heavy mage character? Piece of cake. Dedicated back up utility graphic symbol? No problem. Plough a physical character into a mage? Doable! The absolute plethora of options is immense, and while this does mean that some strategies end upward being stronger than others, yous're not overly punished for experimenting and figuring things out. I favoured giving a character maximum evasion to become nigh untouchable while wrecking enemies with super-powered counter attacks. Young man DualShockers writer Scott conceived a mode to have endless turns of loftier impairment spells as long as enough items were on hand (which I lovingly dubbed the Infinite Emma Engine).

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Once you've got your builds, y'all'll be taking your characters through a broad variety of open areas, towns, and dungeons in relatively standard JRPG fare. The game is divided into a calendar construction akin to a very condensed Persona 5-esque organisation, where time will pass and the plot progresses with it. Time progression will meet new side quests and events pop upwards as the extended cast moves about the globe, all working towards coming out of the impending plot struggles intact. There's also a smattering of mini-games to break things up, including the fully operation card game Vantage Masters. Still, while the gameplay can offer a multifariousness of content and entertaining combat encounters, that'southward not actually the focus of Trails of Common cold Steel. No, this is a story-driven game through and through. And what a story it is!

The Trails of Cold Steel games are primarily the tale of Class VII: two generations worth of characters attending a armed services academy within the militaristic Erebonian Empire. Over the class of the four games, these characters have grown from humble ancestry into a unified force. Led by protagonist Rean Schwarzer, every fellow member of both new and quondam Class 7 is a well-realised character with their own history, skills, personality, and aptitude. They've all overcome hardships, experienced growth through character arcs, and have only strengthened the unified Course Vii group through their inclusion.

More than than any gameplay aspect, these characters are the foundation on which Trails of Common cold Steel is congenital. The series is immensely narrative-driven, with the core cast of characters forepart and center to this. Information technology'd exist incommunicable to go into all the depth and nuance of but this group alone in the span of this review; I'd need too much time and discussion count to do it justice.

"Information technology's a attestation to the sheer strength of Nihon Falcom's writing team that the cast of characters has remained fascinating and well-realised for the whole series."

What I tin do is say that I accept been with some of these characters for four games now. Their trials and tribulations, their devastating losses and immense triumphs… it's been a pleasure to feel this alongside them. Whatever tropes or anime trappings they might have leaned on, each of them has become a character that I treasure. Given that familiarity breeds contempt, it's a attestation to the sheer strength of Japan Falcom's writing squad that the bandage of characters has remained fascinating and well-realised for the whole series. Seriously, I can't stress this enough: I adore the cast of Course Vii.

But they're not the only ones, considering one form of a military machine academy does not make a world. And then what if that same level of development, growth, and consequent graphic symbol writing was practical to the other classes at that academy likewise? How about the teachers? The support staff? Every single resident of the adjacent town the academy is congenital on? Trails of Cold Steel's run has taken the time to develop each and every one of those characters, from the well-nigh minor NPC to the major adversary. When time passes in the game'southward story, the character dialogue volition reflect that, and it'south possible to follow the arcs of literally hundreds of bit characters without finding annihilation likewise uncharacteristic. Even in the nearly ridiculous or hilarious moments, it's still borne of many instances of consequent writing leading to it, and the whole thing feels natural.

With that in mind, imagine the quality of the earth that'south been developed over the iv Trails of Cold Steel games. The Erebonian Empire feels like a real identify, with a political, social, and economic structure that you lot can absolutely follow forth with. That kind of intimacy forms an zipper, and information technology'south at the heart of what carried me through these games. Trails of Common cold Steel 4 is finer the culmination of this serial, and I was constantly pushing forward and devouring every detail I could to come across just how information technology was all going to end upwardly. Given that each of these games tin have a runtime of 100 hours if you do everything and talk to everyone, that'due south some serious investment.

"Trails of Cold Steel 4 is finer the culmination of this series, and I was constantly pushing forward and devouring every detail I could to see just how it was all going to end upward."

But look! Let'southward pull the camera back even further. I said at the first that Trails of Cold Steel is simply the latest arc in the Legend of Heroes franchise. This makes Cold Steel four not but the culmination of four games, merely of NINE. The truthful staggering accomplishment of this franchise is that now, in the final hours of Erebonia's story arc, it'southward likewise incorporating all the characters and plot threads from those previous arcs. There's a reason that the Japanese release has the subtitle "End of Saga" because this is a literal saga all coming together for a massive conclusion.

The three Trails in the Sky games that embrace the Liberl arc? Trails of Naught and Azure, the duology that makes upwardly the Crossbell arc? These are all involved in this larger narrative, and so many of the characters from those tales make an advent in this ane. Some have been weaving in and out of the story already, while some are just now meeting for the outset time. Merely even for games that I oasis't yet played (or games which aren't officially available in English, even), the writing and characterisation are strong plenty to deport the weight of those moments and meetings.

What this means is that there are 39 playable characters that will come in and out of your political party. This includes highlights like Estelle from Trails in the Heaven or Lloyd from Trails of Cypher/Azure, and the cast spans the full gamut of the serial. There's a dozen or so more than that can provide in-battle support. As many as double that total become allies and support staff as the story progresses. And everyone — literally every single one of them — remains consistent over all nine games. The attention to detail is utterly staggering. Even minor NPCs from quests in the offset Sky game might meet footling nods. One recurring pair of "joke" characters that have been in all nine games fifty-fifty end upwardly playing a fairly major function in developing 1 of the playable characters towards the cease of a game. This is a writing tapestry of the highest guild, and I simply cannot praise information technology plenty.

That's the true forcefulness of the Trails of Common cold Steel serial. They are very strong JRPGs mechanically, but their heart is in their narrative and characters. Inside the showtime ten hours of the offset game, I was beginning to grow increasingly invested in this ragtag Form 7. Past the terminate of that game and the subsequent cliffhanger, I was committed to seeing it through to the end of Cold Steel 2. Returning to the bandage for Trails of Cold Steel 3 was an absolute delight, and I practically cheered each time a major grapheme returned. Having that game culminate in another major cliffhanger and catastrophe on a depression bespeak for our heroes fabricated the wait for game four utterly agonising.

"I don't have the words to fully stress just how well the story came together."

Yet here we are. Trails of Cold Steel 4 is backside me, and information technology was a goddamn ride. I don't have the words to fully stress but how well it all came together. And it's not all perfect; there are occasional residuum issues, pacing issues, and some may grow tired of the anime tropes that get brought up. Only I've never experienced a story that runs with the "power of friendship" angle and actually sells it because yous see those bonds and strengths develop into something tangible over the run fourth dimension. And even during all of this, it never fails to find a way for these characters to shine through. Whether in their darkest hours or moments of light-hearted banter and teasing, this is possibly the nearly well-realised cast I've ever encountered.

There's no game series out there like The Fable of Heroes, catamenia. There are strong JRPGs and strong franchises, but none with the sheer weight of history and character that this literal saga accomplishes. Not fifty-fifty the likes of my dearest Yakuza serial has that level of consistency throughout, no matter how much I might gush nearly Kiryu's storyline. Hell, information technology fifty-fifty pulls the climactic moments of Avengers Endgame off in its own way, and the original Japanese release was before the film!

Since this review has been dominated by talking near the writing and gameplay, I'll conclude on some quick points near the presentation. The serial has never featured high graphical fidelity, with most Trails games having that "PSP/PS Vita port" wait to them. They're kind of blocky and non exactly pushing graphical boundaries, yet the art pattern still does the job. Characters stand out, animations are satisfying (and at times ridiculously over the pinnacle), and information technology suffices to make it a pleasant enough game from moment to moment.

"Trails of Cold Steel iv is an infrequent JRPG, [and] a satisfying decision to a long merely rewarding arc."

By contrast, the music is phenomenal. Enough said. Falcom is well known for having awesome soundtracks in their games, and Trails of Cold Steel 4 is no exception. Whether it's stirring piano and violin melodies, heavy guitar riffs, or massive sweeping orchestras, the music is e'er fitting and rarely boring. The vocalism acting on the English dub is also high quality, and while non every character lands likewise as they could, the vast majority do some standout work. Even voice performances that weren't perfect in the first game have really come into their own in subsequent entries. Shoutouts in particular have to go to Sean Chiplock every bit Rean, who gives one hell of a performance throughout the entire series. He breathes life into that character as much as the writing does, and it's commendable for certain.

If yous similar JRPGs and haven't given these games a shot, do then. If you like character-driven narratives and ensembles with tons of depth, seek them out. Whether you choose to start at the showtime with Trails in the Heaven or leap in at the first Trails of Cold Steel, you're in for an accented treat. The conclusion of this game was almost pitch perfect, and I openly admit to tearing up during points.

There's zippo else like it out in that location, and you owe it to yourself to effort it. Trails of Cold Steel 4 is an exceptional JRPG, a satisfying conclusion to a long just rewarding arc, and even so still has enough threads to let this world and characters continue. Which it does, equally at that place'due south already another game out in Nihon continuing the franchise. Until that gets localised, at that place is not a single other game I will look forward to more it. This is probable to be my Game of the Yr, even if it doesn't score as high as Hades. What more is there to say?

Well washed, Nihon Falcom. Information technology's truly been a pleasure to follow the tale of Class Vii. Now please localise the rest of the series. Please.

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