-Written on January 17, 2020-
So not long ago, I have finish Trails of Cold Steel 3. Lately, I have been very active in talking about the series in multiple places but I believe I have not gotten a chance on why I love it so much. I thought 1 and 2 were good, underrated games that tend to be overlooked so much. However, I never thought they were amazing. 3, however, blew me away in a way I would never guess despite my 3 years of anticipation for the game.
Let start with the aesthetics. The graphics, while isn't pushing the PS4 super hard and arguably dated, it's a massive improvement compared to 1 and 2. Especially the character models. I'm glad they don't have that plastic look anymore. they all look very clean and organic. The soundtrack is great as expected from the sound team. From trilling and intense battle themes to mystical interludes. There's a theme to fit every mood in the game. I love the environment design as well for the new cities and towns you visit in the game. Some of them reminded me of classic JRPGs painted in a new coat. Especially Parm.
The basic gameplay is more or less the same from previous entries (I guess don't fix what isn't broken) but I do love the inclusion of high-speed mode. It makes battling more fun and quick. In fact, things went so fast, it felt like I was playing an action RPG at times despite it being a turn-based game. I also love the level of depth there is when it comes to building a character with orbments and equipment. Based on what stats each character excels at. By the end of the game, I had plenty of builds such as massive CP gain, near-instant arts casting for any arts. 2.5x more damage for any first hit etc, high evasion, etc. I love building characters in any RPG, so this satisfies me greatly, especially when I get ultra-rare orbments and equipment. Not to mention the brave orders give an additional level of depth, from damage reduction to increase damage output for a certain amount of times. It gives a greater sense of control and what is best needed for your party according to the situation or the opportunity. With all of this. I just found the gameplay to be super addicting and I wanted more of it. I found every monster I could throughout the game simply because I enjoyed the combat that much.
Now here is where Cold Steel 3 excels at better than any JRPG series in my opinion and it's arguably the best part of the game. The world-building and its characters. Every single character in the game, yes even the old man that runs his gun store at Crossbell, has its own story and their own personality to share thanks to the ever-changing dialogue. NPCs in Cold Steel aren't just people that just there to exist, unlike most JRPGs. If you don't talk to anyone, you will miss out on a good deal of character interaction between the main characters and a better idea of what kind of lives they have lived in the past. What is also worth noting is how each NPC reacts to the major story changes as the game progress and how the changes going to affect their lives.
However, the game takes this even further with people you often see throughout the game such as the students and facility of the Thors Branch Campus and the residents that live in the city of the campus, Leeves. Throughout the game, nearly, if not all, of the non-playable students, get a sustainable amount of character interaction and development thanks to the changing dialogue and how every student gets their own side quest to complete, which reveals about the character even more. The fact that an NPC gets more development than quite a lot of main characters in stories just astonishes me. They weren’t just random students to fill up space, they were all written characters with their own goals, hobbies, backgrounds, and motivations that I know by name and got attached to. This is not even mentioning the development of the main characters you actually play with, because there’s so much of that, I can spend all day writing about that.
Of course, tons of previous characters return for Cold Steel 3 and not just characters from Cold Steel 1 and 2. A good handful of characters from Trails of the Sky and Trails of Zero/Azure (according to the unofficial English name) make their appearance in all kinds of ways for the first time as well. From becoming faculty staff within the branch campus from appearing in various towns and crucial story points. All and all, this adds up to 23 playable characters throughout the game at some point, each with its own unique set of crafts. When I saw the old Class VII for the first time in 3 years (the time between I have played Cold Steel 2 and 3), it felt like a heartfelt reunion. Seeing how much the characters have developed over time and overcame much of their issues and shortcomings from previous games was a joy to see.
However, what really holds up Cold Steel 3’s world-building and characters is its multi-layered main story. Between multiple organizations and antagonists such as Ouroboros and the multiple Jaeger Corps. As well as multiple backstories from characters and lore that were never fully explained until now. Every character has a role in the grand scheme of the theme of imperialism and nationalism and how that ties into something far longer seeded and rooted. Resulting in multiple plot twists and one of the most shocking, darkest, and jaw-dropping endings I have seen in a JRPG. At first, it seems like there are multiple story plots that seem like they’re unrelated, near the end of the game, everything comes together like a puzzle into one grand goal. The fact how 5-6 different plot points come together like that is pretty excellent writing since it’s a feat that is very hard to pull off that can make sense and not have a lot of plot holes.
However, it’s not a perfect game in any case of form as much I am praising it for its world-building, gameplay, story, and characters. An issue that is valid enough to speak of is the reliance on other Trails games to tell the tale of Cold Steel 3. It’s one thing if Cold Steel 3 goes off from Cold Steel 1 and 2, given it is a direct sequel. However, when the game starts to pull plot elements from Trails of the Sky series and the Crossbell games, it just becomes a much more demanding game to fully understand and enjoy. While the characters and plot lines are needed for Cold Steel 3’s story, considering the locations you visit and how the story works, it was an unexpected element at the very least. Trails is a game that is worth the time and investment in the end, but it’s a very difficult recommendation due to the length of the overall series, not to mention the Crossbell games are still not officially localized (I am aware you can play fan translations). 500+ prerequisite hours in the series just to play a single game is a very high order, even for the most hardcore JRPG fans.
Another issue I have noticed and what has bothered me the most is how the main character, Rean, is far too much of a chick magnet, to the point nearly every girl cathers to him in some way. While I won’t go as far as say Cold Steem 3 is a harem game and there are only truly three romantic options in the game, it’s quite cliche anime writing to have a lot of the girls swoon over him or encouraged to go after him. Even characters that don’t like Rean too much at first get their character compromised to an extent because they will eventually like him as well. I want to guess Rean is supposed to be this self-insert character and that would make sense if he was silent. However, he is fully voiced and has his own personality. So it’s quite jarring.
Despite my few nitpicks, those are very minor and they didn’t have much effect on my overall enjoyment. Within the 135 hours, I have spent on the game battling monsters, fishing, talking to loads of characters and watching the deep story unravel. I feel like Trails of Cold Steel 3 has set a new standard for my enjoyment of JRPGs, it will be extremely hard for any other JRPG, no game, to reach the same level I have love for Cold Steel 3. It did everything I love about the genre to a very exceptional level I would never expect. The fact a small studio has created a world more massive than any other game I have played is just mindblowing. Trails of Cold Steel 3 just very well be one of, if not, my favorite JRPGs of all time and that’s quite a high bar for me.
So not long ago, I have finish Trails of Cold Steel 3. Lately, I have been very active in talking about the series in multiple places but I believe I have not gotten a chance on why I love it so much. I thought 1 and 2 were good, underrated games that tend to be overlooked so much. However, I never thought they were amazing. 3, however, blew me away in a way I would never guess despite my 3 years of anticipation for the game.
Let start with the aesthetics. The graphics, while isn't pushing the PS4 super hard and arguably dated, it's a massive improvement compared to 1 and 2. Especially the character models. I'm glad they don't have that plastic look anymore. they all look very clean and organic. The soundtrack is great as expected from the sound team. From trilling and intense battle themes to mystical interludes. There's a theme to fit every mood in the game. I love the environment design as well for the new cities and towns you visit in the game. Some of them reminded me of classic JRPGs painted in a new coat. Especially Parm.
The basic gameplay is more or less the same from previous entries (I guess don't fix what isn't broken) but I do love the inclusion of high-speed mode. It makes battling more fun and quick. In fact, things went so fast, it felt like I was playing an action RPG at times despite it being a turn-based game. I also love the level of depth there is when it comes to building a character with orbments and equipment. Based on what stats each character excels at. By the end of the game, I had plenty of builds such as massive CP gain, near-instant arts casting for any arts. 2.5x more damage for any first hit etc, high evasion, etc. I love building characters in any RPG, so this satisfies me greatly, especially when I get ultra-rare orbments and equipment. Not to mention the brave orders give an additional level of depth, from damage reduction to increase damage output for a certain amount of times. It gives a greater sense of control and what is best needed for your party according to the situation or the opportunity. With all of this. I just found the gameplay to be super addicting and I wanted more of it. I found every monster I could throughout the game simply because I enjoyed the combat that much.
Now here is where Cold Steel 3 excels at better than any JRPG series in my opinion and it's arguably the best part of the game. The world-building and its characters. Every single character in the game, yes even the old man that runs his gun store at Crossbell, has its own story and their own personality to share thanks to the ever-changing dialogue. NPCs in Cold Steel aren't just people that just there to exist, unlike most JRPGs. If you don't talk to anyone, you will miss out on a good deal of character interaction between the main characters and a better idea of what kind of lives they have lived in the past. What is also worth noting is how each NPC reacts to the major story changes as the game progress and how the changes going to affect their lives.
However, the game takes this even further with people you often see throughout the game such as the students and facility of the Thors Branch Campus and the residents that live in the city of the campus, Leeves. Throughout the game, nearly, if not all, of the non-playable students, get a sustainable amount of character interaction and development thanks to the changing dialogue and how every student gets their own side quest to complete, which reveals about the character even more. The fact that an NPC gets more development than quite a lot of main characters in stories just astonishes me. They weren’t just random students to fill up space, they were all written characters with their own goals, hobbies, backgrounds, and motivations that I know by name and got attached to. This is not even mentioning the development of the main characters you actually play with, because there’s so much of that, I can spend all day writing about that.
Of course, tons of previous characters return for Cold Steel 3 and not just characters from Cold Steel 1 and 2. A good handful of characters from Trails of the Sky and Trails of Zero/Azure (according to the unofficial English name) make their appearance in all kinds of ways for the first time as well. From becoming faculty staff within the branch campus from appearing in various towns and crucial story points. All and all, this adds up to 23 playable characters throughout the game at some point, each with its own unique set of crafts. When I saw the old Class VII for the first time in 3 years (the time between I have played Cold Steel 2 and 3), it felt like a heartfelt reunion. Seeing how much the characters have developed over time and overcame much of their issues and shortcomings from previous games was a joy to see.
However, what really holds up Cold Steel 3’s world-building and characters is its multi-layered main story. Between multiple organizations and antagonists such as Ouroboros and the multiple Jaeger Corps. As well as multiple backstories from characters and lore that were never fully explained until now. Every character has a role in the grand scheme of the theme of imperialism and nationalism and how that ties into something far longer seeded and rooted. Resulting in multiple plot twists and one of the most shocking, darkest, and jaw-dropping endings I have seen in a JRPG. At first, it seems like there are multiple story plots that seem like they’re unrelated, near the end of the game, everything comes together like a puzzle into one grand goal. The fact how 5-6 different plot points come together like that is pretty excellent writing since it’s a feat that is very hard to pull off that can make sense and not have a lot of plot holes.
However, it’s not a perfect game in any case of form as much I am praising it for its world-building, gameplay, story, and characters. An issue that is valid enough to speak of is the reliance on other Trails games to tell the tale of Cold Steel 3. It’s one thing if Cold Steel 3 goes off from Cold Steel 1 and 2, given it is a direct sequel. However, when the game starts to pull plot elements from Trails of the Sky series and the Crossbell games, it just becomes a much more demanding game to fully understand and enjoy. While the characters and plot lines are needed for Cold Steel 3’s story, considering the locations you visit and how the story works, it was an unexpected element at the very least. Trails is a game that is worth the time and investment in the end, but it’s a very difficult recommendation due to the length of the overall series, not to mention the Crossbell games are still not officially localized (I am aware you can play fan translations). 500+ prerequisite hours in the series just to play a single game is a very high order, even for the most hardcore JRPG fans.
Another issue I have noticed and what has bothered me the most is how the main character, Rean, is far too much of a chick magnet, to the point nearly every girl cathers to him in some way. While I won’t go as far as say Cold Steem 3 is a harem game and there are only truly three romantic options in the game, it’s quite cliche anime writing to have a lot of the girls swoon over him or encouraged to go after him. Even characters that don’t like Rean too much at first get their character compromised to an extent because they will eventually like him as well. I want to guess Rean is supposed to be this self-insert character and that would make sense if he was silent. However, he is fully voiced and has his own personality. So it’s quite jarring.
Despite my few nitpicks, those are very minor and they didn’t have much effect on my overall enjoyment. Within the 135 hours, I have spent on the game battling monsters, fishing, talking to loads of characters and watching the deep story unravel. I feel like Trails of Cold Steel 3 has set a new standard for my enjoyment of JRPGs, it will be extremely hard for any other JRPG, no game, to reach the same level I have love for Cold Steel 3. It did everything I love about the genre to a very exceptional level I would never expect. The fact a small studio has created a world more massive than any other game I have played is just mindblowing. Trails of Cold Steel 3 just very well be one of, if not, my favorite JRPGs of all time and that’s quite a high bar for me.