In 2019 I was sent a review code for a JRPG I had no clue existed. It was called The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and it was a fascinating game. Mixing relationship dynamics with a somewhat conventional story this game charmed the pants off me. Fast forward two years and I’m nearing the end of my journey with Class 7 and it couldn’t be more bittersweet. This is my review for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV.
We fall together, we rise together
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV picks up after the events of the previous title. Class 7 is recouping after losing several of their members, feeling the particular losses of Rean and Millium.
So at the beginning of the game, you play as Juna as she and the remaining members of the class try and regroup with their lost comrades and save Rean from the combined clutches of the Black Workshop, Oroborous and his own father. While all of this is going on the world has fallen into a strange kind of chaos. A curse has befallen the land and every country is priming for war with the Empire leading the charge.
That is how our adventure begins and from there all hell breaks loose.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV – We’re here for the adventure
The selling point of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is not its gameplay or its graphics. The gameplay hasn’t changed since the second title and the graphics haven’t improved over the third entry, so if you’re looking for something akin to Final Fantasy VII Remake look elsewhere.
What gamers will be looking to in this game is the culmination of a journey several years in the making. Fans will already know this but for anyone who doesn’t the Trails of Cold Steel series is a part of a much larger franchise and this title is the culmination of an epic 17 years in the making. It’s phenomenal and on a scale, I’ve never seen before.
Getting to see characters return from previous entries and fight alongside the characters introduced in the Trails of Cold Steel series is something similar to when the entirety of the MCU arrived to battle, Thanos.
To match this epic theme, the battles in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV are quite intense. If I could recommend anything I would go for as challenging a difficulty as you can handle. The combat like in previous entries is fast and furious as you try and utilise the various arts and skill to devastate the hordes of monsters you fight throughout the game.
If I had any issue with the game it’s that the designs of many of the enemies haven’t changed much. There are the same enemies with different colour palettes but that’s it. Thankfully the bosses are another story and are as eccentric in design as they always have been.
The end of an empire
Ultimately bringing down the Empire and all of its heinous forces was a tough one. I didn’t want this story to end. It’s a brilliant adventure stuffed with content for gamers to enjoy. The game has replayability with additional difficulties and surprises. There is also a lot here for completionists who want that platinum trophy and for JRPG fans this is one of the best out there.
Seeing this game end was quite the experience and I highly recommend this franchise to anyone out there who is a fan of the genre. And stay tuned because though this chapter is over the story of this series is still going.
Stay tuned to GamEir. Come talk with us on Twitter (@gam_eir), Facebook (@GamEir), and Instagram (@GamEir).
I promise we’re nice! Keep up with our streams over on Twitch (GamEir) and our videos on YouTube (GamEir) and we’ll give you all the latest content.
Leave a Reply