The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Reviews
This is the grand finale of the Trails series. To represent that extra icing on the cake, there are plenty of content to explore and numerous characters will appear as if we’re at an all-star game. The long and extended stories which bloomed from the Erebonian empire will come to an end, and some of the deeply rooted histories behind some of the important individuals will also be covered with their back stories. Other than Trails of Reverie, this final game packs the most amount of volume and convenience to a comparison. If you’re a loyal fan of the series, you do not want to miss out on the finale to the story.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Really enjoyable in some respects, but very disappointing in others, Trails of Cold Steel IV is overly long considering the story it wishes to tell.
If the main continuous story is the primary reason you want to play The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, then I’m afraid it doesn’t live up to its own hype. I get the sense Falcom bit off more than they could chew with this arc, dragging far too many plot threads into this already big game and not finishing many of them in a fulfilling way. Much of the story’s tension is manufactured by one incredibly frustrating plot device that did substantially more harm than good to the narrative. Despite this, I enjoyed this game a surprising amount for everything else it has to offer. Plenty of great scenes and character moments can be found outside of the main story. A lot of the bonding events and optional events in this game are genuinely, surprisingly good. While not my favorite game in the entire Trails series in terms of systems, it is still the Cold Steel title I most enjoyed in terms of gameplay sections. Several combat aspects were tweaked enough from III for me to feel like I was genuinely engaging with its systems. This game is noticeably imperfect and unlikely to be enjoyed by someone who isn’t already a fan of the series, but there’s enough to enjoy if you’re willing to spend the time to do so. The lows are among the lowest in the series, but the highs are high enough to salvage a decently enjoyable JRPG for me.
If you’re already a Trails fan, I doubt you will hate the game. Hell, if you’re a Trails fan you probably already OWN the game, but could I recommend Trails of Cold Steel IV to a newbie or even just a fan of the genre? Not really. I’d recommend the Sky trilogy on Steam, or even just the first Cold Steel game to see if the series interests you.
Series fans will enjoy this game no matter what. But if you are a series fan, I’m assuming you’ve already played it on PS4. If you’re looking to buy it on another platform, the evidence stacks up in favour of the PC version because of the Switch’s downgraded graphics and lack of achievements unless you really want that handheld portability. If you’re not a series fan yet, then go back to page 1 and start at the beginning. This game will not make a lick of sense to you.
Unable to maintain player's interest
Review in Greek | Read full review
Does The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV have a great story that's a worthy capstone to a ten-year JRPG saga? No, it doesn't. As a standalone experience, it's an impenetrable mess of fizzled out character arcs and bloated cutscenes. Despite all that, Trails of Cold Steel IV has addictive gameplay, dope music, and gorgeous character designs. If you want a fun and grind-heavy JRPG with a wild amount of options and battles, but don't mind turning your brain off to ignore the story and glaze over poorly-written cutscenes, then this is one's for you.
Cold Steel IV finally ends the "Phantasmal Blaze Plan" arc for the series after nearly a decade, for better or worse.
Let’s be honest, if you haven’t been sold on the Cold Steel series by this point it’s unlikely the forth game is going to change your mind. If you’re new and the Switch is your only option I would suggest picking up the third entry first (or waiting and pray that the first two games get localized for Switch in the West). While more of the same, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV really stands out as one of the best jRPGs I’ve played in a long time, even if the story got a little much at times. Falcon have done a stella job as always and hopefully the fans will enjoy the experience as much as I did. Now I think I need to go lie down.
It's not clear why a new fan should start their journey from the third chapter of the series, but Trials of Cold Steel III and IV are still enjoyable and a must play nonetheless.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Trails of Cold Steel IV is as much of an epic as its predecessors in just about every way.
Trails of Cold Steel IV is a turn-based RPG with the best combat system created until the date and every player of the genre should try. At an argumentative level, it is a superb game with very well-designed characters, which to top it off is finished with an artistic design. However, the game has an important flaw: as no time has passed between this title and the previous, the novelties are almost non-existent, taking its toll on visual level and especially on a sound level.
Review in Spanish | Read full review