We continue the Trails of Cold Steel saga, picking up about a year later in Trails of Cold Steel III. While much has changes, some things have stayed the same. Let’s see what Rean and the gang have been up to in Trailer of Cold Steel III for the PS4.
Story
It’s been about a year and a half since the events of Trails of Cold Steel II and the end of the civil war. Rean Schwarzer is now the current military professor to the new generation of Class VII students at the Thors Branch Campus that consists of Juna Crawford, Kurt Vander, Altina Orion, Ash Carbide and Musse Egret. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he has been tasked to investigate and resolve numerous conflicts all over Erebonia as part of the new Class VII field exercise. It turns out that these conflicts are the work of Ouroboros who plan to take back the Phantasmal Blaze Plan stolen by Chancellor Osborne during the civil war (i.e. during the events of the second game). As Rean, the new Class VII students and his friends delve deeper into this new conflict, they find that there is something much sinister at work that could spell the end of the world.
Without giving too much away, the stakes are much higher in Trails of Cold Steel III as it seems that this new group of Class VII students (and the school overall) are being used as sacrifices to defend against whatever Ouroboros is planning. And just like how the original Class VII was made of of students from various social classes/standings, this new Class VII is made up of students from different parts of the Erebonian Empire, including countries that it has annex during the Northern War. This causes some of the class members to butt heads with each other and with Rean as they don’t think highly of him at first, be it due to him being just a few years older than they are, being a “government lap dog”, a former enemy combatant, or just thinking that he’s over hyped. In fact the majority of the story focus around Rean once more, even though there’s a new set of students entering Class VII. Personally I think it would have been better if one of the new characters was the main center of the game, or at least focus more on the new Class VII. At times it feels like a retread of the first game, same situations just now Rean’s a teacher.
Gameplay
The calendar system makes a return in Trails of Cold Steel III but with a few differences. One of those differences is that Rean is an instructor now so no more having to study for tests/exams, though he does have duties that he has to carry out as a teacher. Side quests, bonding events, dungeon crawling (the old school house from the first game has been replaced with a “testing lab”) and field exercise all make a return. There’s even a new card game that Rean can play.
As for the core battle mechanics, they have stayed the same for the most part (turned based system) but have seen some improvements and new features. Everything has been streamlined on to the face buttons and D-pad instead of the circular command ring. This makes battles flow a lot smoother and less menu heavy. New battle features have also been added such as Brave Order, which allows you to use BP to provide the party with special buffs without using a turn. A Break Gauge has also been added as well. As you attack any enemies, this meter will deplete and when it does it send them into a stunned and defenseless state where you can deal extra damage. These new mechanics make battles go much faster than the previous games, which is great as I did get a bit annoyed at navigating menu after menu in the last two games.
Graphics/Music/Sound
I am lumping these into one section as the graphics and music haven’t changed from the previous two games. Not that this is a bad thing, as music from Nihon Falcom is always great with a mix of JPop/anime and rock/metal and the art is still bright and vibrant, with new waifus and husbandos to fawn over.
Trails of Cold Streel III continues forward the Erebonian arc/saga of the Legend of Heroes series towards its final act and I’m invested. Gameplay sees a huge upgrade, streamlining the menus during battle and adding new mechanics to make battles feel faster. Much like the first two games I am enjoying the story and seeing the growth of both the new Class VII students, the previous Class VII students and Rean, as he’s the central character once more, though I wish that the new students of Class VII were more of the main focus instead of Rean. Regardless Trails of Cold Steel III is a solid continuation of the series and I can’t wait to see how everything gets comes to a close in Trails of Cold Steel IV.
