Board 8 > The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

well only one review so far and it's not even a US review. I assume more will come in later today. Although a lot of game journalists are playing with pre-release builds of PS5's and XSeX's this week so who knows how many of them have the time for another 80 hour JRPG. A lot of influencer reviews are going up on Youtube over the past hour though if you want to check any of those out.

https://opencritic.com/game/10391/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel-iv

IGN Italy - 8.2/10
Enjoyable in some respects, but very disappointing in others, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV does not fail to live up to the series' legacy. Still, it's a little step back compared to the third installment.

That fits with about what I've heard of CS4. Doesn't quite live up to CS3, but still a pretty good game nonetheless just from being a Kiseki game.

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wait this is already out

my trails backlog continues to grow

oh and as I put up the topic some more pop up

RPG Site - 5/10
I was, if not confident, hopeful that the lingering issues that I found myself grappling with in Cold Steel I and II had been mitigated when I played through Cold Steel III. However, now that I've seen the whole story, I can only say that those issues never went away.

Screen Rant - 8/10
There aren't any massive improvements from Trails of Cold Steel 3, but Cold Steel 4 refines nearly everything to create a smoother experience overall. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4 is a finale that fans can't miss, and the way the game weaves together narrative threads from the last 15 years is truly impressive.

differing opinions!


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Its not out til the 27th I think. Still waiting/hoping for other Trails game news since theres a 0% chance I ever resort to fan translations or anything

RikkuAlmighty posted...

wait this is already out

my trails backlog continues to grow

it's out Tuesday

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with that said my collectors edition might arrive tomorrow

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Sirius Gaming - 9/10
PROS
Epic and Satisfying End to the Saga
Incredibly Rich Roster of Characters to Play
Great Voice Acting
Much Easier to Find Collectibles Than Previous Games
CONS
Uneven Volume of Voices and BGM
Unstable Frames on High Speed Mode
Noticeable Fan Noise
Slight Translation Errors

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RPGamer - 5/5
For those whove stuck with Class VII through thick and thin over three games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the crowning achievement to an exceptionally well-written story with plenty of tears and laughter mixed together into a timeless package. Continued iteration of an already excellent combat system and improved pacing past the first act come together to create a unique experience that I will no doubt continue to treasure for a long time. Though it took a while to get here, the journey was absolutely worth it.

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Did user SaveEstelle review it for RPGamer

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by ANNA MARIE PRIVITERE

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finally the US opening

spoilers it's the same as the Japanese one but with an english logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r5X7-Rj31U

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I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that 5/10 is probably somebody that's never played the entire series before.

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My stance on Cold Steel so far:

The first game was a total blast and made me incredibly enthusiastic to continue. Went in with the weird prerequisites of it being my first Trails game but AFTER playing Xanadu.

The second I really liked for the first half and thought the second half was pretty bad. Felt bloated and unfocused, not really possible to make me give a shit about character interactions when you can mix and match your party resulting in phoned in party writing. However what SHOULD have been the end of the game was great...then it goes on for a couple more hours with an incredibly boring sequence that completely deflated what was originally a hype as fuck cliffhanger.

Three felt like a fantastic refresh back to the magic I felt with the first one, and we were back to the focus I missed. It was a refinement in every way. It didn't hit me as much as the first, which is just the result of it being the first I'm sure, but I'd probably say 3 is the best regardless so far.

I haven't looked into 4 at all for fear of spoilers, but I'm worried about it falling into the same trap of 2 where the second half of the game goes way too unfocused and open and just feels like a dull slog. I have no BASIS for that other than a gut feeling, but it's a real fear.

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I feel like at the time of Japanese release the fan consensus was 3 > 4 > 1 > 2

Like it this has all those gameplay upgrades 3 had, but the cast might have become too large for its own good and it goes all in on the waifu aspects more than any other trails game before it (well until Hajimari I guess)

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Leonhart4 posted...

Did user SaveEstelle review it for RPGamer

i can't tell if i would pop a blood vessel or laugh uncontrollably if he skipped Sky 3rd, CS1, CS2, and CS3 to review CS4.

probably both

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At this rate I probably will skip everything to just do CS3 and 4 because it could be years or never if they even localize some of the others you need to play >_>

it's pretty easy to play both crossbell games in english

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I've got access to all the games that can be accessed.

The problem is every time I try to play Sky1 I stop 5 hours in because I think it has the most boring combat of any RPG I have ever played. Every second In in a battle is suffering, and I just can't force myself to continue regardless of story intrigue.

I may just find a cutscenes collection or something just to get past that barrier.

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There's always turbo mode

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actually after I finish CS4 I'm strongly considering just getting Hajimari and using Remote Play on PC to have the fan translated overlays on it. I'd have to figure out how to do all that though, I assume it's a program you run on your PC while playing.

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As far as I know I dont have stuff to play them on. I dont have a computer and Im not hacking my Vita or whatever

You don't have to hack your Vita to play any of them.

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From what I've seen, the fanbase seems fixated on that one 5/10 review

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Hbthebattle posted...

From what I've seen, the fanbase seems fixated on that one 5/10 review

8.8 my something something

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Leonhart4 posted...

Did user SaveEstelle review it for RPGamer

i was like 'wait a minute, i thought they wrote for rpg site' but it turns out it's rpgfan

there are two many rpg+word sites!

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oh right it is rpgfan

I get them all confused too


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UshiromiyaEva posted...

I've got access to all the games that can be accessed.

The problem is every time I try to play Sky1 I stop 5 hours in because I think it has the most boring combat of any RPG I have ever played. Every second In in a battle is suffering, and I just can't force myself to continue regardless of story intrigue.

I may just find a cutscenes collection or something just to get past that barrier.

If i hadn't played CS1 and 2 as my entry into the series i doubt i'd have even finished Sky 1.

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Crossbell Lawful

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Your item arrived at our USPS facility in COPPELL TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER on October 23, 2020 at 10:29 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

I'll be watching that tracking all night to see if it arrives at my local Post Office sometime tonight so it can be delivered today. Otherwise Monday I would assume

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My item is arriving in a digital storefront. I picked up the special edition during the price glitch when they accidentally had it 50% off.

I'm not gonna play it until I get my PS5, though. Don't wanna risk any mid-game save transfer shenanigans.

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I have taken the week off to play through this game to ensure I'm finished with it and the platinum before the PS5 is out

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I don't expect Demons Souls HD Turbo Remix~ to actually take all that much time to beat, so I wanna experience the technical magesty of a beefy high fidelity game like Cold Steel IV on next gen where it can truly shine.

4K 120 FPS Laura Dating Sim.

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What if I told you Laura was one of the casualties of localizing a game during a pandemic and her voice was recast

Unless you play in Japanese then never mind

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ninkendo posted...

What if I told you Laura was one of the casualties of localizing a game during a pandemic and her voice was recast

Oh God.

P4G flashbacks dear God please no.

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OK I found the one line of dialogue from a trailer that seems to be Laura, and it sounds...fine? Will have to hear more of course. At bare minimum I don't think we've got a Chie disaster on our hands here.

Can't find any indication that Heather Gonzalez has ever done any VA work for anything outside of this, but everyone has gotta start somewhere.

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Expected Delivery by SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2020 by 8:00pm



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Mine is supposed to arrive Monday

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Lauras voice got replaced? Damn why couldnt it have been Alisa

I'll be curious to see if Alisa can somehow sound even more bored than she did in CS3

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it's here!

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https://imgur.com/a/xmEIGCj

here's all the pictures I took

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the game basically opens with a 45 minute cutscene catching up with all your favorite Sky and Crossbell characters and NPCs

this is the Trails I was looking for

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ninkendo posted...

the game basically opens with a 45 minute cutscene catching up with all your favorite Sky and Crossbell characters and NPCs

this is the Trails I was looking for

Hopefully it ends with confirming my personal favorite theory that Ricky is the Ouroboros Grandmaster but simply forgot due to his amnesia

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I still don't understand people saying CS2 is worse than CS1. The only bad thing about CS2 was the spirit shrines, and they only sucked cause of character-specific chests. CS1 is just such a slooowwwww game

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colliding posted...

I still don't understand people saying CS2 is worse than CS1. The only bad thing about CS2 was the spirit shrines, and they only sucked cause of character-specific chests. CS1 is just such a slooowwwww game

The entire back half of that game has abolsutely nothing interesting or engaging happen period until the very end. It's basically a slog as soon as it "open up".

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I liked it because I liked having the ability to cryptid search/ride the bike/grind quickly/go wherever. Roer was super boring but overall I definitely preferred zipping over Erebonia searching for classmates over yet more "visit this one town/meet character parent/ get wrapped up into terrorist plot."

I know I'm in the minority though.

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they're both mediocre for different reasons

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Personally, every single second of just about any JRPG that isn't a strait line narrative and asks me to explore is a big negative for me, so we're obviously going to be on different sides of the spectrum here.

Hell, I can't remember the last time I played a JRPG where I didn't have a comprehensive completion guide with me at all times for every step of the way.

Not once in the entirety of Cold Steel 1-3 have I ever spoken to a single NPC that I wasn't specifically directed to, lol.

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1 did a great job of focusing on developing the whole cast and their relationships. 2 was way too Rean-focused.
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UshiromiyaEva posted...

Not once in the entirety of Cold Steel 1-3 have I ever spoken to a single NPC that I wasn't specifically directed to, lol.

I don't often tell people they're playing a game the wrong way but

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