The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Among the nations on the Zemurian continent, the mighty Erebonian Empire has been quick to outwardly stake its claim militarily; yet politically, ugly bouts of internal conflict between the upper class and commoners attempting to rise to power have been steadily intensifying day by day. The Noble and Reformist Factions have been none too kind to one another over the years, and tensions between the two only stand to worsen if compromises aren’t made in the very near future.
Rean Schwarzer, like any other citizen of the Imperial Nation, is no stranger to these rising conflicts: the class system has been deeply embedded into the hearts of every Erebonian since the days of old. As a seventeen-year-old student preparing for his new life at Thors Military Academy, however, he notices that his crimson uniform differs from the standard ones issued to his peers—typically green for commoners, and white for nobles.
Enter, Class VII of Thors Military Academy. For the first time in the prestigious academy’s history, rank means nothing and skill means everything. With nine hand-picked students of various backgrounds and abilities, Rean included, Class VII readies itself to dive deep into the political quagmire that threatens not only them, but the Empire as a whole.
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Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom’s storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. Delve into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed “ARCUS” system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.
- KEY FEATURES
- A World Rich in Depth for Veterans and Newcomers Alike
The events of Trails of Cold Steel are expertly told so that longtime Trails veterans and casual RPG fans alike can equally enjoy its detailed, highly nuanced storyline.
- New Link System Adds Depth to Combat
Take advantage of the Combat Link System by bonding with your allies throughout the school year, netting you a variety of combat benefits including healing, guarding and more.
- A Sleek Update to a Classic Growth Mechanic
Trails of Cold Steel streamlines the classic “Orbment” magic system from previous titles with new “ARCUS” units, allowing for more ready access to abilities and quicker customization.
- Experience the Game as Never Before
50% more lines of English voice-overs have been added to the PC release, bringing a fresh experience to even those who have played it before on console.
Steam User 79
Surely this game won't lead into an addiction that lasts over 1000 hours and 9 games
Steam User 46
Welcome to Trails of Cold Steel, or as it should be called, "Trails of Cold Steel II's Prologue." And that's not an exaggeration - as a "first of the arc" game, Trails of Cold Steel's plot is very much geared towards setting up the events of its sequel.
But hang on, I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you're new to Trails, chances are you read about this game and its sequels somewhere and are now here, trying to gauge if it's really worth your time, so let me ask:
1. Do you like anime?
2. Do you like turn-based combat with tactical elements?
3. Do you like stories that are long, slow burns and take their time developing the world and characters?
If yes to all of these, Trails is for you.
Allow me to fill you in on a few important things:
1. Trails is a long-running series with 12 games so far, and more to come. Unlike Final Fantasy or other JRPG series, the Trails games' stories are highly interconnected. The individual games serve more as "chapters" to a larger story.
2. The games are all sorted into different story arcs. Trails of Cold Steel is the first game in the THIRD story arc, and its plot is largely dedicated to establishing the world and characters. Most of the real action and excitement will come in the sequels. All the Trails games do this; the first game of each arc sets the scene so subsequent games can focus solely on moving the plot along. Basically, just know that this one game is laying the foundation for THREE future ones, and it does so at a very slow, methodical pace.
3. This game being part of the third story arc means there are things you will not fully understand if you use this game as a starting point. There will references to certain people, places, and events that you won't understand. There are other things that you won't fully be able to appreciate because they tie into stuff that happens in previous games. Will this ruin the experience for you? Probably not. None of it is stuff that is relevant to the plot of this game.
I would still recommend Trails in the Sky as a starting point, but if you really have your heart set on this one, go for it. It's a great game all around.
Steam User 21
I don't believe this review will change people's thoughts on this game or franchise nor do I believe it will inspire others to start it. However, I have to leave some record of my emotions somewhere regarding this franchise so I apologize in advance for this heartfelt and somewhat cringe outpouring of thoughts.
Rean Schwarzer and Class VII is what it means to be "human". To possess faults, to grapple with emotional trauma, to understand lineage, to constantly be at war with who you are, who you want to be and who you must be. All of these are facets of reality that humanity has to constantly grapple with, the "human condition". And Sen no Kiseki I does an excellent job of providing a cast that is so colorful, so full of life and so "human" that you cannot help but root for them. This cast is affected and affect the meticulously and beautifully crafted world of Zemuria to form a narrative which from the very moment of starting the game, takes you through a story written with so much love it continuously draws you back. To see Rean and Class VII learn, grow and overcome each obstacle is nothing short of awe-inspiring. To understand where this cast goes from this point forward in the next several games and knowing these are the roots for their understanding of the world is incredible. To say nothing of the beautiful OST which perfectly complements each region, each character, each moment. To say nothing of the amazing locations within the game that have incredibly complex world-building and lore associated with them. To say nothing of the colorful band of NPC's who live and breathe in this world with tangible emotions and story arcs. To say nothing of the phenomenal art which can be associated with this game and it's promotional period. This game is a bundle of love that just never stops capturing your heart and I am grateful to have played this and every game within this franchise.
Genuinely, I love this game. To many people this will always just be "another JRPG" and maybe even a faulty one at that. But to me, this game and this franchise make up a core part of who I am. About almost ten years ago now, I heard Falcom Sound Team's wondrous OST for Sen no Kiseki I while perusing YouTube and it's almost amazing how that one experience fundamentally changed my life. Upon playing this game shortly after, I spiraled into a stupor of consuming as much Falcom content as I possibly could and have never stopped since then. This game triggered my pursuit of learning Japanese ages ago and allowed me to meet people who have helped me to become who I am today. Kiseki transcends being just a "series" and is ultimately a manifestation of my desire to grow, to learn, to be better and to become more. It is both a dear friend and comfortable home within which I can take respite. It is a series which I have replayed countless, countless times and have bought countless, countless times and yet it will never grow old. Each play-through of each game feels like my first and I fall in love with this world.. over and over and over again.
As Rean states at the end of the game, "And I think you'd have to agree Class President, Class VII is the greatest class there is." There is no series, no world, no characters, no soundtrack, no lore or world-building, etc. etc. etc. like Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora/Zero/Ao/Sen/Hajimari/Kuro no Kiseki. And certainly, there is no class quite like Class VII.
Steam User 26
*deep sigh* It's a JRPG, a long running JRPG at that. You might arrive here cause some guide on the Internet told you it's perfect to scratch the Persona itch. It's not "exactly" like Persona. It has a very different and fairly complicated Battle system behind it. So if you come here for your 8-10 Elemental attacks that enemies are weak to and you just need to remember... yeah nah.
So... you might notice I recommend this game. That's because I fell to the same guides on the Internet, and it is, honestly, hands down, a good game.
One of four in it's own series, each ~100 hours long, and I can't tell you how many other games in the same universe exist.
Great game, loveable characters, absorbing story... but if you're not willing to invest at least 400 hours... stay away. Replay P5R. Otherwise you have been warned. It's a good game and it plays fairly nicely.
Steam User 12
i played this game when i lost internet for a week due to a hurricane. pretty good, ive bought the rest of the games in the series and am saving them for future offline shenanigans
Steam User 11
Slept on this masterpiece for so long because I couldn't get back into jrpg nowadays, decided to give this a shot, this is a good nostalgic experience to older games played back then, story is slowly plotted out as well, continuing onto an ongoing series. I'm glad I started getting into this series after so long.
Steam User 9
The combat remains fun though I expected more to happen from a plot standpoint than actually did.