The
Trails of Cold Steel series had finally reached its conclusion with the release
of the fourth and final installment, Trails of Cold Steel IV – The End of Saga.
Trails of Cold Steel IV was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 on 27
September 2018. With the highly anticipated completion of this game, I figured
it would be a good time to write a review of this amazing series.
I was first introduced to Trails of Cold Steel back in 2017 through a close gamer friend. He mentioned that this is his favourite turn-based JRPG of all time and highly recommended me to give it a shot. Prior to this, I had never played a turn-based Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) before and was excited to try it out. That proved to be one of the best decisions I had ever made. The Trails of Cold Steel series tells an enchanting story, has beautiful graphics, great music and a turn-based system that is loads of fun. Without a shred of doubt, Trails of Cold Steel is my favourite JRPG and Tokyo Xanadu is a close second.
Game:
Trails of Cold Steel (CS) series
Genre:
Turn-based JRPG
Developer:
Nihon Falcom
Year
Released in Japan: CS I (2013), CS II (2014), CS III (2017), CS IV (2018)
Platforms:
CS I & II – PS 3, PS 4, PS Vita, Microsoft Windows
CS III & IV – PS 4
exclusive
Difficulty levels you can choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare
Difficulty levels you can choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare
The
Trails of Cold Steel series is developed by Nihon Falcom, the company which
developed many notable RPGs such as the Ys Series, Legend of Heroes series and
Tokyo Xanadu. The amount of effort that Nihon Falcom put into the Trails of
Cold Steel series is more than just praiseworthy. There is so much content that
you can easily get over 100 hours of gameplay in each version of Trails of Cold
Steel.
*FAQ:
Do I need to play the Trails of Cold Steel series in ascending order from I to IV?
Do I need to play the Trails of Cold Steel series in ascending order from I to IV?
- Preferably
Yes. The story is a continuation from where it last left off, hence you might
not understand certain events if you skipped one version. It is highly
recommended you start with Trails of Cold Steel I and play the series in
ascending order.
What
difficulty should I start with?
- For
the first playthrough, it is recommended that you start with normal. After you
have beat the game once, it is recommended you play on nightmare because you
can carry over your levels, equipment and orbments.
Trails of Cold Steel I Opening
Trails of Cold Steel I Opening
Trails of Cold Steel II Opening
Trails of Cold Steel III Opening
Trails of Cold Steel IV Opening
Plot Summary:
*Note:
There is way too much content in the plot and this is only a very brief overview
of the entire Cold Steel Saga. There are some minor spoilers ahead. You will
need to play the game yourself to experience the interconnected events which
build up into one of the best stories in a JRPG.
The
story is set in the Erebonian Empire and details the adventure of Rean Schwarzer, who has just enrolled in
Thors Military Academy. Rean is placed into class VII, a newly formed class
still in its testing phase. Previously, Thors only had 5 classes, 2 of which
consisted of only nobles while the remaining 3 consisted of only commoners.
There was a clear distinction and segregation of social class. Class VII is the
only class with both nobles and commoners.
Class
VII members: Character design in Trails of Cold Steel II
In
Trails of Cold Steel I and II, the members of class VII go on field trips and
expeditions around the empire as part of their learning journey. They get
caught up in many sticky situations such as civil wars and enemies who threaten
the peace of Erebonia. Class VII graduates at the end of Trails of Cold Steel
II.
Original
class VII members: Character design in Trails of Cold Steel III
New class
VII members and Rean in Trails of Cold Steel III
Character
Design in Trails of Cold Steel IV
In
Trails of Cold Steel III and IV, the members of Class VII go their separate
ways after graduation. Most notably, Rean becomes an instructor (teacher) of
the new class VII. Rean will also encounter his former class VII classmates
again, teaming up with them to tackle dangerous situations as the events
continue to unfold.
Class
VII Characters:
*Note:
There are way too many characters in the game to list, as such I will only be
highlighting the class VII members.
Rean Schwarzer
The
main protagonist in the Trails of Cold Steel series. A kind, helpful and reliable
character who calmly assesses situations and gives appropriate commands to his
comrades. Rean is well-liked by his classmates and is regarded as their leader.
He is the adopted son of Baron Schwarzer and technically considered a noble.
Rean wields a longsword known as a tachi in battle and had trained in the Eight
Leaves One Blade style of swordsmanship. He is also the Awakener of the Divine
Knight known as Valimar, a mechanical combat knight that holds significant
importance due to mecha battles in certain parts of the game. Rean became known
as the Ashen Chevalier in Trails of Cold Steel II, the hero who ended the
Erebonian Civil War. He eventually becomes an instructor of the new class VII upon
graduation.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Rean as either a turn delayer (preferably) or a damage dealer.
Alisa
Reinford
Alisa
is the daughter of the Reinford Group’s president and eventually takes over as
its successor. The Reinford Group is the largest heavy industry company in
Erebonia and produces weapons, vehicles and orbments. Alisa wields an orbal bow
in battle.
Pro Tip:
You
should build Alisa as a healer or supporter.
Laura
Arseid
Laura
is the daughter of Victor Arseid, the Viscount of Legram. Victor Arseid is
known as the Radiant Blademaster and is widely regarded as one of the best
swordsmen in the Erebonian empire. Laura is exceptionally skilled with the
sword as well, having trained from a young age. Laura wields a great sword in
battle with great ease.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Laura as a damage dealer.
Fie
Claussell
Fie
was part of an elite mercenary group known as Zephyr before enrolling in Thors
Academy. She is swift, agile and has plenty of combat experience. Fie wields
twin gunswords in battle.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Fie as an evasion tank due to her high speed and base
avoidability.
Gauis
Worzel
Gauis is
a foreign exchange student from the Nordic Highlands. He is exceptionally adept
in horseback riding and has an affinity with wildlife. Gauis wields a cross
spear in battle.
Pro Tip:
You should build Gauis as an
evasion tank.
Emma Millstein
Emma
is soft spoken, helpful and a great spellcaster, my favourite character in class
VII. Emma is the class president of class VII and enrolled in Thors on a
scholarship, scoring the highest in terms of academics. She is part of the
witch clan known as the Hexen Clan. Emma wields an orbal staff in battle.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Emma as a mage/spellcaster due to her high base Energy Points
(EP).
Elliot Craig
Elliot
is the first classmate and friend that Rean met at the school orientation,
quickly becoming close friends. He is a great musician who plays the violin. Elliot’s
father is Olaf Craig, also known as Craig the Red, who is a lieutenant general
and 4th Division Commander of the Imperial Army. Elliot wields an
orbal staff in battle.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Elliot as a mage/spellcaster due to his high base EP.
Millium
Orion
A
cheerful and energetic girl who was the last member to join class VII. Millium
first joined class VII in Trails of Cold Steel I after one of class VII’s field
trips. She is a spy for the Imperial Army’s intelligence division. Millium
wields a puppet called Airgetlam in battle which she nicknamed Lammy.
Pro
Tip:
You
should build Millium as a damage dealer.
Jusis
Albarea
Jusis
is the son of Duke Albarea from the Albarea house, one of the four great noble
houses in Erebonia. Jusis enrolled in Thors in order to escape from the
pressures associated with his noble lineage. He is always at loggerheads with
Machias at the start of the series. Jusis wields a knight sword in battle and
uses the court fencing technique.
Pro
Tip:
You
can build Jusis in many ways and it is entirely up to you. I prefer to build
him as a tanky support due to his high defences and buff skills.
Machias
Regnitz
Machias
is the vice class president of Class VII and very studious, often competing
with Emma in terms of grades. Machias is the son of the imperial governor Carl
Regnitz, a commoner who worked his way up to his position. As such Machias grew
up as and is technically a commoner which is the reason he bears a grudge
against nobles and their attitudes towards commoners. Machias wields an orbal shotgun
in battle.
Pro
tip:
Similar
to Jusis, you can build Machias in any way you like. I build him as a support because
he has an ability to let the fastest member of your team have another turn.
Gameplay
1.1 Turn-Based
System
The
gameplay of the Trails of Cold Steel series mainly revolves around this system.
You will be encountering plenty of monsters throughout the game and will engage
in a turn-based battle with them. The turn-based battle begins when your
character touches the monster. Upon encountering a monster, always sneak up
behind them and attack them before touching because this will give you turn
advantages. You can do a sneak attack up to a maximum of 3 times to gain a
triple advantage. Sneak attacks are crucial before commencing battle because
they give you extra turns against the monsters. Do note that you are unable to
use sneak attacks on certain large monsters and all bosses.
The
turn order is displayed on the left-hand side of the screen. As depicted in the
picture above, Fie goes first, followed by Rean, Jusis and Emma. The turn order
is dependent on your characters speed, the faster the character the higher
their turn order. With reference to the picture above, if you did not do the
sneak attack, the monsters will have its turn to attack you after Emma. But
with the single/double/triple (depending on how many times you sneak attacked)
advantage you gained, you will have additional turns before the monsters get
their turn.
1.2
Pre-setting formation/positioning
Before
starting battles, it is important that you pre-set your team formation in the
tactics section of the in-game Menu as shown above. This is especially
essential for boss battles because having a bad formation can easily lead to
your entire team being wiped out. You will usually have 4 members in your party
most of the time in Trails of Cold Steel. However, there are times where you
may have less or more depending on specific parts of the game.
Pro
Tip:
You
should always try to bring one evasion tank (Fie/Gauis), one or two damage
dealers (Rean/Laura/Millium), one mage (Emma/Elliot) and an optional support
(Alisa) in your party if you can. You will be able to select your party members
most of the time in the game, again depending on specific parts of the game.
Formation wise, set the evasion tanks to the front, damage dealers in the
middle and lastly the mage or support at the back.
1.3
What you can do during your turn (important)
This
section details the 6 possible moves you can do during your turn in actual
combat as shown above. Before we discuss the moves, do take note of the yellow
Health Points (HP) bar, blue Energy Points (EP) bar and green Craft Points (CP)
bar of each member above. When the HP bar of a member reaches 0, that member
faints and is unable to continue the battle. When all members in your party
faints, it is game over and you need to reload your last saved file, therefore
it is very important to save the game regularly especially before boss battles.
Here
are the 6 possible moves you can do during your turn:
- Attack – This is just a basic or normal attack common in RPGs. Attacking deals damage to the monster and increases your CP. Note that each member has a max CP of 200.
- Crafts – This is your character’s skills, it consumes a certain amount of CP. There are both damaging and supportive crafts. To unlock more crafts, you need to level your character through having the character in your party and defeating monsters to gain experience points.
- Arts – This is your character’s spells that are gained through the orbment system. Arts consumes a certain amount of EP. There are also both damaging and supportive arts. Arts are mainly used by mages such as Emma and Elliot because they have high base EP.
- Move – Move to another location, basically skipping that member’s turn. Useful if you need to increase the CP of a member in your party by skipping another member’s turn in order to attack and restore some CP.
- Run – Flee from battle. You can only escape the battle with a certain % chance. If you are unsuccessful, you can try escaping again. Each failed attempt at escaping raises the escape chance by 10%. You cannot run during boss battles.
- Item – Use an item on any member in your party. There are many items in the game such as damage boosters, CP and EP restores. You can also revive members who fainted. Items can be bought from shops or found in treasure chests in the game.
1.4
Ultimate ability (S-Craft)
There
is a seventh move you can use in battle that was not discussed in the above
section. This seventh move is your ultimate ability known in the Trails of Cold
Steel Series as S-Craft. Each member in your party has their own unique
S-Crafts which are usually very cool and flashy. Shown above is Rean’s S-Craft
from Trails of Cold Steel II. You can only use a member’s S-Craft when that
member’s CP bar is at least 100. The higher the CP the more damage the S-Craft
will deal. Therefore, a good tip would be to have 200 CP on party members
before boss fights so that you can unleash immense damage on them. Do not waste
your S-Craft on cannon fodder monsters, use basic attacks or crafts and arts
instead.
1.5
Some of the bosses in the series
The
blazing demon McBurn
Final boss
in Trails of Cold Steel I, Loa
Final
boss in Trails of Cold Steel III, Zoro-Agruga
1.6
Mecha Battles
Rean
and the Divine Knight - Valimar
As
mentioned earlier, Rean is the Awakener of the Divine Knight Valimar. During
certain parts of the game there will be mecha battles where you play as Valimar.
You can also use skills or normal basic attacks each turn.
2.
Quests (Known as tasks in Trails of Cold Steel series)
There
are two kinds of quests in the Trails of Cold Steel series. In each chapter,
there will be required quests and optional hidden quests. Required quests must
be completed in order to progress the game but hidden quests do not. Each quest
is unique and can involve doing a wide range of activities such as killing
certain monsters or simply talking to certain characters.
After
the end of each chapter, you will receive AP for all the quests you completed.
In order to earn an S Grade, you will usually need to complete the hidden
quests as well. You should always try to complete the hidden quests if you can.
But if you are just a casual player not aiming for trophies then it is not necessary.
3.
Bonding Events
In
each chapter, there will usually be bonding events. You are given a limited
amount of bonding points each chapter. Choose the characters you want to bond
with carefully. After selecting a character to bond with, a short event scene
will play out. Bonding events raise the link levels of the characters you chose.
All the female characters you can bond with are potential love interests of Rean.
Therefore, always bond with your best girl or characters with link levels you
want to raise.
*Note:
Depending on who you choose to bond with, certain story dialogues in the game
may pan out differently.
4.
Fishing
You
are also able to fish in the Trails of Cold Steel series. From Trails of Cold
Steel I to IV, there are many different varieties of fishes to catch. You can
earn valuable items from fishing as well.
You
are able to catch the boss fish after you have caught all the other species.
Once you have caught all the species of fish including the boss fish, you will
earn a fishing trophy.
5. Mini Games
There are different mini games
in each version of Trails of Cold Steel. The mini games are really lots of fun
and a good break from the main gameplay.
Trails of Cold Steel I – Blade
card game
Trails of Cold Steel II – Blade
card game, Snowboarding
Trails of Cold Steel III – Vantage
Masters card game
Trails of Cold Steel IV –
Vantage Masters card game, Poker & Blackjack, POMtto!, Horror Coaster
POMtto!
Pros (+) of Trails of Cold
Steel:
- Well written story with good build-up of events leading to the climax.
- A huge amount of game content to enjoy.
- Excellent graphics and music/soundtrack.
- Great turn based system with the ability to position characters before battle.
- Requires you to plan your moves strategically in battle.
- Versatility in character builds due to the orbment system.
- Fancy S-Craft (Ultimate) abilities.
- Mini games that make the game more vibrant.
Cons
(-) of Trails of Cold Steel:
- Lots of dialogue.
- The story is heavy on politics. If you do not like fictional politics then it would be best to skip this game.
- Needs more than one playthrough to get the platinum trophy or to fight optional boss. Only perfectionists will need to beat the game at least twice. If you are a casual player, this will not be an issue.
Overall
Rating: 5/5
Ever
since I started playing Trails of Cold Steel, I became a fan of turn-based
RPGs. I have played other turn-based games such as Summon Night 6 and Cosmic
Star Heroine but none of them come close to Trails of Cold Steel. The Trails of
Cold Steel series is a long ride but once you start Trails of Cold Steel I, you
will definitely be hooked into completing the entire series. The enthralling story
and turn-based system in the Trails of Cold Steel series is top tier. Give this
series a try, I guarantee you will have an enjoyable experience!
Written
by Kou
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