The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Reviews

What a journey from Rean Schwarzer and Class VII. So tiresome yet very satisfying. *I warn you. This game is not for everyone, but if you like it you will loved it.

I really do not want this series to end and I currently hear boss music and am gonna be sad lol

great game, has its flaws and the way they told it you will either love it or hate it. but at the end of the day, its a trails game so its perfect.

Before beginning, let me preface this by saying you don't need to play all the past Trails games to enjoy this one, but I feel doing so enhances the experience. Anyway, this game is the culmination of 8 games worth of characters and stories coming together, where big serious things happen due to the aftermath of what happened in Cold Steel 3. I'm saying it in that way to avoid spoilers. Seeing characters from past games is always something I like in RPGs, and in this game, that's certainly a thing, but it is, in a sense, a double edged sword. There are two primary reasons why I'm giving this game a 4/5. One is related to the characters. The roster is fairly bloated in this entry. Old Class VII is given to you throughout Act 1 where you're originally stuck with just Juna, Kurt, and Altina (I'm not saying they're bad or anything), and by the end of Act 1, you'll have all of New Class VII and all of Old Class minus Rean for plot reasons. Sure, the game does give you situations where certain characters are mandatory, which gives you chances to take certain members off the bench, but there is still the leeway to use your favorites at times. For example, Musse was a mainstay in my party because of her arts nuking potential. I almost always brought her anywhere I went. Then you have all the returning characters, the Liberl crew (plus Tita), the Crossbell crew, and some others you get to use once or twice in Act 3. There's a lot of characters to work with, and especially early on, it makes resource management not so easy. Then again, this is a second game in an arc, so they are more generous with Sepith than in Cold Steel 3. Speaking of Cold Steel 3, because of how unbelievably broken Brave Orders were last time, the devs decided to nerf them. Some of the OP ones in the last game, like Juna's Sledgehammer or Sara's Lightspeed Flash got either BP increases or were directly affected by changes to delay. At the same time, once again, since this a second game in an arc, Trial Chests are back, and this time they upgrade your Brave Orders. I will admit, one Brave Order I found borderline worthless got a lot more viability in this game, and that's Musse's Arts Celebration. The higher elements (time, space, mirage) are in effect in all battles like Sky the 3rd, meaning the higher elements do play a role in combat now, and being able to decrease your EP cost AND nuke something with your arts is just a great combination. Also Millium's White Decoration and Towa's High Heavens are very fair and balanced. As for that second reason, it's more of a "the lategame is very backloaded with side content" thing. Bonding events aren't avaliable until Act 2, and even then, some events must be skipped if you want all the Profile Notes. I wanted to do Emma's Bonding Event, but I had to skip it to get a page. In the end, I ended up getting nine of the final bonding event achievements and went with Musse in my canon run of the endgame. So, side content. Vantage Masters is still here. It exists. Use the Bard for most encounters because making sure your opponent can't play is fun. Aside from that and fishing is a returning game from Azure, the infamous Pom Pom Party. It's basically Puyo Puyo with extra steps. Tio is supposed to be the hardest opponent, but Renne tore me apart more than even Tio did. Now, the elephant in the room, the story. Being a continuation, I was already invested in the story. I don't really like how seeing the Normal Ending is a requirement to getting the True Ending, but because Reverie addresses the aftermath of that little...problem, I can let it slide. The real final boss making use of three teams in a different way from the last non mech boss was cool too. Overall, if you like the series, you'll probably like this game.

Act 1 has a pretty poor pacing. The game gets like 100% better when you rescue rean and some other characters - I really like how they managed orders here (especially on the early game) but when you unlock some the game just gets crazy unbalanced because someone decided that magic should be broken for the rest of the erebonia arc. (they deserve a raise for that). easily the best game on the erebonia arc also just spam chrono burst with musse's brave order lmao

The wrap up to the cold steel games which were in my opinion a pretty big step down as far as music and story goes but the game is fun and streamlined a lot of the game play if only it didnt have so many lame characters. Either way game play is very fun.

Cold Steel IV is a incredible enigma. On one hand, it’s a testament to the long-term storytelling of the series and long-term stories in general, while on the other, it suffers from horrendously inconsistent characterizations and retcons. CS4 delivers emotional payoffs, callbacks, and returns from earlier arcs. The negatives: The Curse of Erebonia introduced at the end of CS3 is an unexplained, omnipotent plot device that undermines past conflicts and events through retcons, and serves as a safe out, "The Devil did it", for the writers. It diminishes prior nuance of politics, characterizations, and commentary on the human condition. Osborne, our Napoleon Bonaparte-inspired antagonist built up to be a terrifying force, loses some of his impact Some characters like Musse are just poorly written due to the Curse padding the story. However, the grand positives overshadow the story's shortcomings many times. The main cast’s dynamics, NPC side events, and the overall journey from halfway through to the end are deeply powerful. Most character arcs - especially Rean, Jusis, and Olivier - are brilliantly written due to how independent of the curse they are (Even Rean's is more of an introspection rather than curse shenanigans). Even beloved NPCs receive touching conclusions. My favorites being Kai and Tilia’s story, Anton's journey concluding, and the Hayworths' finale w/ Renne. Despite some shaky moments, the saga concludes beautifully. That ending montage of[spoiler]Olivier's and Schera's Wedding[/spoiler]moved me to tears. CS4 builds on CS3's combat: still fun but overly easy even on the hardest difficulty. Mecha Battles are more difficult to make them engaging, but the disproportionate amount of materials needed for Orbs make the final boss a tedious chore. Dungeons are interactive and never overbearing, but the ones during the infamous 2nd Act quickly get annoying. Having the entire Class VII roster to customize as well as getting to play as the Liberl Crew and SSS was incredibly fun and hype. CS4's soundtrack is mostly fantastic, but some tracks blemish it. While CS3 had a few mediocre tracks composed by no-name freelancer Mitsuo Singa, CS4 mistakenly gave him more tracks. Most of his songs here are grating to the ears. Thankfully, the actual sound team's songs outshine them. In a bittersweet way, the OST also serves as a grand farewell to Takahiro Unisuga, our most talented and versatile composer, as he resigns from Falcom. His final song, Finale -Radiant Hope-, embodies the saga’s warm, hopeful conclusion, as well as a "graduation" for the beloved composer himself. 8.5/10 CS4 is flawed, but its accomplishments greatly overshadow its failings. Despite its frustrations, the rollercoaster of emotions made this so worth it. After the credits, I felt empty. Bravo Cold Steel 4. Like Rean, you saved yourself in the end. I'm excited for Reverie but at the same time, I'm scared to say goodbye to this cast of characters I've journeyed with for 9 games.

The last story in the Erebonia arc. Play it despite what people tell you. It's good. Make sure to use NG+ save for max bonding points.

9 games in, what a journey. To fully experience this game, you need to play the previous eight games. Even though the title says End of Saga, it still feels like something is missing or unfinished, maybe it'll be wrapped up in Trails into Reverie. The pacing is bad, sometimes fast, sometimes painfully slow. There are two endings, but I personally prefer the normal ending. I never really liked Rean as a protagonist compared to Estelle, Kevin, or Lloyd. But the normal ending actually made me appreciate him more because even after spending time with everyone and growing as a person, Rean is still Rean. He always puts others before himself, not just some harem protagonist. The villains in Cold Steel are less compelling compared to the Liberl and Crossbell arcs. Gameplay wise, it's similar to Cold Steel 3, but a lot of things got nerfed. Don't make temporary characters too overpowered, or you'll be disappointed in the finale just like me. For side quests, they add a lot to the story experience and offer plenty of fanservice, especially for those who love the Crossbell or Liberl arcs. Plus, to get the true ending, you need to finish all the side quests in the finale, so I highly recommend not skipping them. As for the music, I really like Cold Steel 4. While some tracks sound a bit weird, most of them are great. Geofront X's theme, in particular, made me want to just afk and listen to it. One downside is that some crucial scenes that should have had voice acting were completely silent, which took away from the impact. I also prefer Cold Steel 3 when it comes to tense moments. The first time I saw a red loading screen after an intense scene, I got chills. But in Cold Steel 4, those moments felt pretty underwhelming. Overall, an okay arc, but I still prefer Liberl and Crossbell.

Trails of Cold Steel IV brilliantly wraps up an incredible saga that has kept fans on the edge of their seats. If you loved Cold Steel III, then IV is the perfect sequel to dive into. The narrative is nothing short of spectacular. The story arcs converge in ways that are both satisfying and emotionally resonant. The intricate plot weaves together all the threads from previous games, delivering a conclusion that feels both epic and heartfelt. The twists are unexpected, yet they fit seamlessly into the lore of the series. The transition from Cold Steel III to IV is seamless, building on the previous game's cliffhangers and promises. In summary, Trails of Cold Steel IV is not just a game; it's an experience - a celebration of the series' legacy. It's a must-play for fans of the franchise, but newcomers should start from the beginning to get the most out of this rich narrative.