I have been a huge fan of the Legend of Heroes franchise for a very long time. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they are at the top of my “Most Underrated franchises” list in terms of RPG’s. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III has finally landed in the west, and it does not disappoint.

Trails of Cold Steel III puts you back in the shoes of Rean Schwarzer, who graduated from Thors Military Academy and has now taken on the role of an Instructor at the new Branch Campus. The branch campus was established after the events of Trails of Cold Steel II, and Rean becomes the professor of the new Class VII, featuring both new and returning characters.

Interestingly enough, Trails of Cold Steel III manages to tie in storylines from the Trails in the Sky series (albeit in small ways) while also expanding on things from the Trails of Cold Steel games that came before this one. Playing Rean as an instructor rather than a student is an interesting role reversal too. The mechanics shift just slightly, and it adds a unique change to the experience.

It is also really fun to see how the members of Rean’s graduating class have grown and changed in the period of time between the last game and this one. Of course, you also get to see how some of the villains have grown as well since there are still plots behind the scenes and so many other intricacies to the story.

As an instructor, you no longer have to worry about Rean’s Student Rank. Instead, some actions you take, whether it be a side quest, interacting with your students, or choosing to train with your Divine Knight (the sentient mech from the previous game,) gives you AP. This AP goes toward your Instructor Rank, which essentially showcases how skilled you are as a professor.

You also have to manage the Branch Campus’ Rank, which opens up new facilities and options that might not be accessible. This means that side quests are very necessary, (though not required) to make the most out of Trails of Cold Steel III.

The combat isn’t much different from what fans of previous games know and love. You have attacks, craft abilities, S-Craft ultimate abilities, magical arts, and the use of items. However, new to the series is the introduction of Orders. Orders utilize Brave Points (which are also used in link attacks) to provide some sort of bonus for a set number of turns. Each character has different Order abilities and using them effectively can turn the tide of battle in your favor, even if you are struggling.

In terms of progression systems, Trails of Cold Steel III hasn’t changed much either. You still slot quartz into your Arcus to provide you with stat upgrades or spells. You also still get experience for leveling, and you can still bond with your characters by keeping them linked together and spending time with them on free days.

However, one mechanic has changed in a way that I find very interesting. In previous games, you could only have one master quartz equipped on each character. This meant you regularly had to swap them out if you wanted to level or upgrade some of your master quartz that weren’t equipped. Now, each character can equip a master quartz and a “Sub Quartz.”

This means that even if another character that isn’t in your party has a master quartz equipped, you can equip it as a sub quartz without unequipping it from that character. Each character can only equip a single master quartz and sub quartz at a time and each sub quartz can only be equipped on one party member, so you can’t just have all of your characters using the same sub quartz to power-level it beyond your normal progression.

I found myself trying to balance my party pretty evenly, making sure each character had their primary master quartz and one quartz that I didn’t have equipped to anyone, so that the other quartz could level slowly. Granted, you don’t get the full bonus from the sub quartz, but it is still a great way to balance things.

Weapons and armor customization return from the previous entries, along with a variety of shops. Money is surprisingly more plentiful this time around. It was a problem with Trails of Cold Steel II that it seems the developers have fixed this time around. You acquire Sepith Mass (along with other Sepith used to make quartz) from enemies. Sepith Mass is only meant to be sold and, apparently, they have raised the drop rate because I rarely wound up with too little money to do what I needed to.

Also, fishing, cooking, and other mini-games return from previous games and honestly, I cannot stress enough how nice it is to have the variety. I am a die-hard RPG fan but even I sometimes want a break from the grind. The fishing is fun and it has its own progression with the Fisherman’s Guild, which has its own rewards associated with it.

Mech combat (as I previously mentioned) known as Panzer Soldat combat or Divine Knight Battles, makes a return from Trails of Cold Steel II, allowing you to pilot Rean’s Divine Knight and fight other mech enemies. This mode has received a bit of polish, with finishing moves added to the mix, along with the ability to slot EX orbs into your Divine Knight.

Other characters can join you in these battles as well, similarly to the previous game. Between the mech battles, the normal battles, the exploration, side quests, mini-games, and everything else contained in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, there is so much variety and depth to this latest installment.

There is a fourth game that is meant to close out this saga of the Legend of Heroes games (with I think more releasing in Japan soon) but it hasn’t come to the west yet. Playing this one has reinvigorated my excitement for the franchise, and it actually makes me want to play through them all again. The attention to detail, the lore, the characters, and the depth in this franchise, makes it my favorite franchise that Nihon Falcom has ever produced.

If you haven’t played The Legend of Heroes franchise before, this one is a decent starting point. There is a backstory section in the main menu for you to catch up on what you missed. However, I would highly recommend starting from the beginning and playing them all. The world-building and story are fantastic.

If you are a fan of the series or an RPG fan in general, I cannot stress enough how much I recommend this one. There are a variety of difficulty levels, for all skill levels and gamer types, so everyone can enjoy this one. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a fantastic, detailed, well-crafted RPG, and I can’t wait for the next one to release.

A Playstation 4 review copy of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III was provided by NIS America for this Review.

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

$59.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great story
• Fun Combat Mechanics
• Lots of Variety with Minigames
• Multiple Difficulties
• Lots of Awesome Characters

Cons

• Fishing Bait Can be Hard to Get