As I mentioned last week in my Ys Origin review, I’m a huge fan of Nihon Falcom’s properties. The Legend of Heroes franchise happens to have the best world-building (long-term) of any RPG franchise I’ve ever seen, and it rarely gets enough credit. The latest in the Trails of Cold Steel sub-franchise has finally made its way to the West, so without further ado, let’s dig in shall we?

Now, I should mention here that the story/premise of Trails of Cold Steel IV builds directly from the ending of Trails of Cold Steel III. Because of this, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail for the sake of spoilers. It’s a sequel, so if you’re confused go play the first few, ok? What I can tell you is that Class VII comes together with some characters from the Trails in the Sky series, to stop a war spreading from Erebonia outward.

You play as members of both new and old Class VII, along with some other familiar faces. Some mechanics like the Instructor rank return, along with a new mechanic known as the Thors Unity ranking. By doing side quests and helping the people of Erebonia, Crossbell, and other areas, people’s faith in the students of Thors goes up and you gain various rewards from certain milestones.

The combat mechanics are pretty similar to the previous games as well, so I’m not going to go into some major detail here. Arts and Crafts return from previous games. No, I don’t mean finger-painting and Origami, I mean arts as in magic spells and Crafts as in abilities that use CP or craft points. Mech combat also returns, along with combat links, bonding events, and all sorts of other things.

Combat is turn-based like in previous entries, and there are a variety of difficulty levels for you to tackle depending on your skill level and your desire for a challenge. If you want to focus on the story, you can tackle an easier difficulty. However, if you want a really difficult experience, Very Hard or Nightmare might serve your purposes.

Even on the easiest difficulty, the game is still challenging. There are optional bosses that I still haven’t been able to beat yet. However, that is part of the challenge and I can’t help but be excited by it. Being able to come back and tackle these bosses later and possibly overcome them is a great way to measure your understanding of the battle systems at play here.

You also have to be careful about outfitting your characters with the right quartz and equipment as well. Fans of the series will be familiar with this system already, but even if you aren’t used to it, the game has a full tutorial to help you get accustomed. In fact, even if this is the first Trails of Cold Steel game you’re playing, you won’t feel lost in terms of how mechanics work. The story might be a different situation though.

In truth, I find that the story of the Trails games is the best part and Trails of Cold Steel IV is no exception. This entry concludes the Trails of Cold Steel Saga, with a new story starting presumably with the next game. Because of that, this is the culmination of many different plot threads that were established throughout the whole series. It is immensely detailed, and there is so much world-building that George R.R. Martin wishes he had such an imaginative world. Yes, I said it.

Let’s put that statement in a bit of perspective. This world has been systematically built for over a decade since the Trails in the Sky series began and even likely before that. That time and attention show, because every connection, every piece of lore, it all has a place in this world. That is why Trails of Cold Steel IV is so fantastic. It is the culmination of so many things, all while still revealing that there is more beneath the surface, and more to discover in the future.

There are some fun, new things too, such as the Pom Pom Party mini-game, which allows you to play a Mean Bean Machine-esque matching game against NPC’s and party members. That is just one other part of the game too. The amount of side content from things like fishing, side quests, and cooking makes for an immense, enjoyable experience.

The one issue that I have, is that you are only limited to 4 party members in your active party, while you may have seven or eight traveling with you total. I wish they would bring the party count up to six or so, because that would allow for a lot of interesting battle combinations, three pairs of linked characters would be just right for me.

Also, this is a minor gripe, but the character Laura has a new voice actress and I find her a bit…strange. This is a personal preference and I am sure she worked very hard in the role, but having played the other games, the transition is jarring.

So what I’m getting at is, if you’re looking for a fantastic RPG that has great world-building, fantastic characters, a fun story, deep progression, and challenging combat, then Trails of Cold Steel IV is perfect for you. I would definitely recommend that you play the first three games in the franchise first if you are a new player though.

There is a summary option on the main menu to catch you up on the broad strokes, but knowing all the characters and their connections is important, so new players may want to play the other games first. Returning fans of the series will get more of what they know and love, with some fun new additions thrown in.

If you’re a fan of Nihon Falcom’s Ys series and you’re looking to dabble in something different, this is a great chance to get your Nihon Falcom fix, with a world full of fun characters and unique sights. Seriously, I can’t encourage you enough to give this a try.

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

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV

$59.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Characters and Story
• Lots of Progression Systems
• Multiple Difficulty Options
• Solid Combat
• Over 100+ Hours of Content

Cons

• Laura's VA Change is a Little Weird
• A Bigger Party Would be Great