This was definitely a worthwhile payoff for the first game. It for sure has tremendous issues from the pacing of act 2, and some of the characters not doing much in the game, but the thematic highs and overall fun I had with it more than make up for it.

Honestly the highs are so high that it's probably my second favorite in the series so far. The themes it covers regarding moving forward towards one's path in life really resonated with me extremely, and certain twists towards the end hammered it home even harder. This was surprisingly one of the most emotional games in the series for me as a result of this.

Rean embodies this theme entirely which made me especially connect with him a lot. He has tremendous potential for the series moving forward especially with all the developments at the end of the game. His dynamic with Crow was also a highlight of the game.

While class 7 was uneven in how much focus each member got, I still connected with them and the members that are good are really good such as Fie and Jusis. Fie in particular is already one of my favorite party members in the series.

The gameplay is for sure the best in the series so far with plenty of additions to it mechanically which kept me entertained even when the story was spinning its wheels. My only critique with it was that it gets really easy towards the end of the game. I literally killed the final boss in just 3 s crafts even while playing on hard difficulty. It's such an easy game to break.

All in all, this game impressed me. While I can understand why people often put this game low or the very bottom in their rankings for the series, for me personally, it worked and I'll be moving forward to the second half of Cold Steel with very high expectations.