The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a PC, PS3 and PSV RPG from the popular Japanese video game series. All the installments have been developed by Nihon Falcom Corp.

Plot

Once again, players get to travel to the land of Zemuria, more exactly to the territory known as Erebonia, where the Thors Military Academy is located. The school is attended by children of gentry and common citizens – the exception being the 7th grade comprising only the main protagonists of the game. The action of the game is set during one school year, in which the students increase their skills, acquire military experience, and overcome the differences that divide them. The background of the story is filled with ever-growing tension in the society that might result in an outbreak of civil war.

The game delivers the most elaborate story campaign in the history of the series, and choices a player makes throughout the game affect the combat efficiency of particular characters.

Mechanics

The PC, PS3 and PSV release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a classic Japanese RPG, in which a player gets to explore the in-game world, complete numerous quests, and develop his character. The game is a big step forward for the entire series – the developers decided to replace the top-down perspective with the TPP, and abandon the 2D character models in favor of 3D ones – now, players can freely look around the game world. The game also features more dialogues. Now, when exploring the world, one can listen to conversations the NPCs are having.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel offers a modified combat system. Once again, battles are turn-based and revolve around issuing orders for the team members, however, they are more dynamic because of the combo system enabling players to mount spectacular and powerful attack sequences that deal significantly more damage than single blows.

The relations between particular characters are crucial, as they influence directly their combat efficiency. These relations can be maintained by multiple dialogues and appropriate choices made at the important moments of the story.

Last updated on 07 January 2013