WE ARE CLASS VII!!!
Spoilers for certain events surrounding the end of Trails of Cold Steel III to follow.
Trails of Cold Steel, or rather, the entire Legend of Heroes series, is one of the most unique JRPG’s out there. Rather than reinvent itself for every new iteration, developer Nihon Falcom has just kept the story going. While Trails of Cold Steel IV is the fourth and final entry in the Cold Steel series, this is actually the ninth Legend of Heroes game across some 16 years, with only a select few of the other titles not localized outside of Japan. Regardless, the entire roster of characters across all three arcs are here, poised to prevent a war that could result in the deaths of millions. Trails of Cold Steel III did a lot to set the stage for a climactic finish, and this fourth and final entry does not disappoint.
Before I continue, I’m going to mention a few things. First, this is going to be a much shorter review than my normally lengthy ones due to the fact that a large chunk of this game is covered head to toe in spoilers for the series, and secondly, this game is not meant to be a jumping-on point for newcomers, so my review will aim for that same approach as well. For a vastly more detailed look into certain characters, combat, the background of the series, please check out my review for Trails of Cold Steel III as I go heavily into depth in all those aspects of the game that exist here as well for the most part. Building onto that, Trails of Cold Steel IV is such an emotionally charged and narrative-heavy experience, that it really requires that you have at the very least, a history with the Cold Steel arc, with the previous arcs to fill in a few of the gaps. For Trails of Cold Steel thankfully, all four games are available on PS4, so I would strongly suggest going back, playing these fantastic games, or at the very least, Trails of Cold Steel III, and then coming back once you’ve wiped away the tears after completing its third entry.
Being a series with so much at stake, Trails of Cold Steel IV might very well feature the biggest cast in the history of JRPG’s. As you have characters spawning from three different arcs, it’s not uncommon to see scenes featuring well over 30 characters on-screen, and somehow, every single member of the cast gets a moment to shine. While there are limitations on equipping gear on those not part of the actual Cold Steel arc, you still get a decent chunk of time to play and control those from Trails in the Sky, and the Crossbell arc. In fact, it wasn’t until this fourth game where I started to see just how connected the series had been since the very beginning as nearly every character has some sort of connection from saga to saga.
Trails of Cold Steel IV takes place very soon after the events of the third game, with Rean having gone missing, and Class VII, both old and new, largely scattered across the country. The tragic events of what went down at the end of the previous game have left many characters at a loss, as an ancient curse has engulfed Erebonia, and these events have played directly into the hands of Giliath Osbourne, a man who is dead set on ending the world. The story that follows is everyone banding together, attempting to track down some of their missing friends, and of course, an all-out rescue of their Instructor, Rean Schwarzer.
Trails of Cold Steel III was somewhat of a fresh start, given the year and a half gap between games, allowing for a new group of students to make up yet another iteration of Class VII. Whenever the characters would travel around or meet up with existing Trails characters, we were given a good amount of context and backstory, allowing newcomers, especially those on the Nintendo Switch, to understand a bit about the series’ past, even despite the backstory feature included in the game’s main menu. Regardless, having a history with the previous games made it far more involving and easier to get emotionally connected to certain characters, and Trails of Cold Steel IV almost requires you to have those connections as it doesn’t waste any time flooding you with nearly every character the entire series has ever known. As a massive fan of the third game, that is exactly what I wanted. While the game does have a slow burn for the first several hours, it’s intentional, given what many of the characters have just been through, the losses they all shared with us along the way.
Sticking with tradition, you will follow a lot of the same gameplay and quests systems as you did in Cold Steel III. While you won’t be pushing through them via the academic routes of the previous games, you’ll still venture into towns, kill monsters, and help out those you can. While it could come off as feeling lazy, many of the locations in this final entry are areas we have either been to before or locations that have at least opened up and expanded with new spots to visit, and new monsters to slay. At first, I wasn’t sure what I thought about trekking through such familiar territory, but once the story starting reaching me through these areas; the curse, the conscription of soldiers into the war, it all started to make sense. Seeing these once-familiar areas touched by current events suddenly gave them a new life, with new stories featuring old friends. Many of the side quests you’ll tackle are built around how war has infected the area, and how the curse is fundamentally changing its citizens to be far more cruel and bloodthirsty against those who don’t side with the government. Even peaceful towns present in the old game are not free from this infection, so it’s was fascinating to see these areas again under a new lens. You’ll also have a variety of mini-games to tackle that vary from those already present in the Trails of Cold Steel series, to a few from the previous arcs as well.
While I won’t be diving further into the story, given how almost anything else I could even talk about is very deep into spoiler territory, I will say that while the game is an incredible experience from start to end, it is vastly more enjoyable because of its true ending, a series of events you unlock through specific means. While the normal ending is largely a letdown, this expanded and considerably longer ending is not just perfect for this series, given its themes, but it’s likely one of my favorite endings in a video game ever. It’s a stunning conclusion that succeeds on every single level, a near hour of emotions that left me exhausted, but thoroughly satisfied. It also helps that it is the actual canonical ending that leads into the next Legend of Heroes game. Ending aside, Trails of Cold Steel IV still has everything you want from another entry in the series; well-directed action, a memorable cast of characters, addictive team-based combat, cooking, and all the silly humor that the series is known for. With such a vast selection of characters, there is a ton of replayability here due to having certain characters in your party to trigger new dialogue moments, or the bonding events you’ll have with special characters to dive deeper into the connections you have with them, and the romances you can have along the way. #TeamAlisa
As you travel around the countryside, revisiting old locations, you’re going to be tackling a lot of battles. Thankfully, for most of the quick battles, you can speed through them with either using auto-battle, or the speed modes to fly through each encounter. Now, auto-battle is the same here as it was last time, each character with only use their basic attacks, so you don’t have to worry about them spending any of their attack points or the BP you have saved up. In fact, it’s an easy way to build up BP for the more challenging fights, as refusing to use team-up attacks will net you more BP as you fight. You also have the return of Trial chests from Trails of Cold Steel II, where you’ll tackle challenges with a certain group of characters, earning special rewards through victory. You’ll also have a series of difficult encounters across the country to take part in, rewarding you with Lost Arts, special orbal attacks that can turn the tide of battle. The fights to earn them are very high level, so don’t expect an easy time in procuring them. Another new feature is having the ability to summon in your Panzer Soldats, your giant mechs that can be used when fighting various creatures you encounter. This move is only applicable to those that have them, or those that have divine knights. Given that you have such a vast array of characters to choose from, or preset groups during certain missions, you’ll almost always have someone in your party that can use this feature.
Now, since combat is pretty much the exact same format with just those few additions, I won’t be diving too much further into it as this review and the game at large, isn’t meant to be your introduction into what Trails of Cold Steel offers in the way of combat. That said, combat is still as polished as it ever was. It’s fast and frantic when you need it to be, and yet also methodical as you think about what abilities to use, or orders to shout out, buffing your team when you need it the most. Combat is still comprised of four party members, with the ability to swap out to your reserves or tag in a linked character for a combo attack. Each character has a set of orders, abilities, and depending on what you equip via your Arcus II, a series of magical attacks as well. Thankfully, the second master quartz you can equip can now be shared across the whole team, instead of just to another single user, making them more important than ever. You’re still building up BP via breaking through your enemies’ guard, using it for flashy team attacks, or those very useful orders. Each character is outfitted with various special attacks, and calling in your Panzer Soldat will expend a fair size chunk of your EP, if your character has one available that is.
As Trails of Cold Steel IV is meant to be played by its already established fan base, it feels like a direct continuation of the prior game in all the right ways. It doesn’t attempt to hold your hand on getting you up to speed, but rather just continues on with what it needs to do to wrap up this massive storyline. The game looks, sounds, and plays just like Trails of Cold Steel III in every way, and while it doesn’t seem to have as much voice acting as the previous game, it still has it where it counts. This phenomenal cast of characters has been through so much and having been there alongside this journey with each and every one of them has made me quite attached to the lot, being just as emotional with them as they suffer loss or through moments of joy. Trails of Cold Steel III caught me off guard and became my favorite JRPG of all time, and now with this latest entry, it’s easily become my favorite series. While I now hope that the 10th entry in the Legend of Heroes saga that just released in Japan is localized here at some point in the future, I’ll just have to track down Trails in the Sky in the meanwhile and start from the very beginning, learning more about its world, and its memorable cast of characters.
Developer - Nihon Falcom. Publisher - NIS America. Released - October 27th, 2020. Available On - PS4, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch (PC and Switch TBA.) Rated - (T) Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. Platform Reviewed - PlayStation 4 Pro. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.