This review contains spoilers
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV (CSIV) is truly an "Avengers" moment for the franchise. Honestly, I can't say much here without spoiling it, so all I'll say is go play the other 8 games in the franchise first before reading the rest.
Spoilers
Cold opening on the two protagonists of the previous two arcs, Estelle and Lloyd and their partners respectively, is a stroke of genius. The two groups already have their shared history, and using them to establish exactly where the rest of the world is at after the events of Cold Steel 3 (CS3).
However, my biggest criticism of the game is that after the incredible rush that is the prologue, the pacing takes an absolute nosedive. While not a horrible thing to slow things down, especially after the rush that is the finale of CS3, the bog that the game finds itself in at this point in the story feels almost ludicrous given the stakes.
That said, the opening act is not without it's merits. The character development on display is a lot of fun, and the stage-setting is pretty great in it's own right.
However, when you finally reach the intermission and begin the operation to rescue Rean after his capture at the end of CS3, the game starts to really pick up the pace. It feels a bit like everything in act one is just a warmup, and the real game begins 20 hours into the experience.
That said, nothing about this experience on it's own is really all that different from what was found it Cold Steel 2. What sets this game apart is everything from act 2 onwards. Once you board the Pantagruel and the "Avengers Assemble" so to speak, the game goes from an easy 7/10 to a 9/10 in a second.
Joshua sharing his story with Ash and the children of Hamel get to see some form of closure, Cassius and Rean sharing stories of their old shared teacher, Lloyd and Elie meeting up with the other members of the SSS, and the list goes on and on and on. The boss rush that follows is also one of the best "event battles" the series has ever seen, up there with the likes of the Loewe fight in FC and the Arios fight in Azure, and is definitely a series high.
While it does feel like a bit of a copout, I do enjoy the "reverse uno" Olivert hits the chancellor with, and feels thematic after Osborne was revealed to still be alive after CS2.
The event at Mishelam is a lot of fun, and getting to just "chill" with this giant cast of characters who all have their own things going on is not something a lot of franchises can just "do," but it feels right at home in Trails.
Rean being granted the title of Divine Blade by Cassius feels "right" in so many ways, and I'm excited to see if he actually does end up taking disciples in future games.
While I'm generally positive on the actual ending of the game, the final boss rush does feel a bit anticlimactic after the absolute highs of CS2, 3, and Azure. Half of the bosses either just fold and say "good job hope you win" or give the cast some vague hint about what's been going on (looking at you, McFireBro.)
That said, the "true final boss" of this game in Ishmelga is a great event and serves as an incredible payoff for putting in some work to actually earn the true ending.
And the final credit sequence is a real tear jerker, with Rean finally getting to have a happy ending after literally every other Cold Steel game ending poorly for him.
Definitely don't start with it, but the Cold Steel Quadrilogy is a great chapter in the Trails franchise. Can't wait for Reverie when it drops only two weeks after Final Fantasy 16 (it's been a busy 2023 for me.)
Spoilers
Cold opening on the two protagonists of the previous two arcs, Estelle and Lloyd and their partners respectively, is a stroke of genius. The two groups already have their shared history, and using them to establish exactly where the rest of the world is at after the events of Cold Steel 3 (CS3).
However, my biggest criticism of the game is that after the incredible rush that is the prologue, the pacing takes an absolute nosedive. While not a horrible thing to slow things down, especially after the rush that is the finale of CS3, the bog that the game finds itself in at this point in the story feels almost ludicrous given the stakes.
That said, the opening act is not without it's merits. The character development on display is a lot of fun, and the stage-setting is pretty great in it's own right.
However, when you finally reach the intermission and begin the operation to rescue Rean after his capture at the end of CS3, the game starts to really pick up the pace. It feels a bit like everything in act one is just a warmup, and the real game begins 20 hours into the experience.
That said, nothing about this experience on it's own is really all that different from what was found it Cold Steel 2. What sets this game apart is everything from act 2 onwards. Once you board the Pantagruel and the "Avengers Assemble" so to speak, the game goes from an easy 7/10 to a 9/10 in a second.
Joshua sharing his story with Ash and the children of Hamel get to see some form of closure, Cassius and Rean sharing stories of their old shared teacher, Lloyd and Elie meeting up with the other members of the SSS, and the list goes on and on and on. The boss rush that follows is also one of the best "event battles" the series has ever seen, up there with the likes of the Loewe fight in FC and the Arios fight in Azure, and is definitely a series high.
While it does feel like a bit of a copout, I do enjoy the "reverse uno" Olivert hits the chancellor with, and feels thematic after Osborne was revealed to still be alive after CS2.
The event at Mishelam is a lot of fun, and getting to just "chill" with this giant cast of characters who all have their own things going on is not something a lot of franchises can just "do," but it feels right at home in Trails.
Rean being granted the title of Divine Blade by Cassius feels "right" in so many ways, and I'm excited to see if he actually does end up taking disciples in future games.
While I'm generally positive on the actual ending of the game, the final boss rush does feel a bit anticlimactic after the absolute highs of CS2, 3, and Azure. Half of the bosses either just fold and say "good job hope you win" or give the cast some vague hint about what's been going on (looking at you, McFireBro.)
That said, the "true final boss" of this game in Ishmelga is a great event and serves as an incredible payoff for putting in some work to actually earn the true ending.
And the final credit sequence is a real tear jerker, with Rean finally getting to have a happy ending after literally every other Cold Steel game ending poorly for him.
Definitely don't start with it, but the Cold Steel Quadrilogy is a great chapter in the Trails franchise. Can't wait for Reverie when it drops only two weeks after Final Fantasy 16 (it's been a busy 2023 for me.)