The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II Reviews
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 is an excellent follow up to Trails of Cold Steel. With many improvements to the core system both subtle and brand new elements to grace the field of battle with, this “sequel” is the perfect continuation to this already epic series of JRPGs from Nihon Falcom and XSEED Games.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II on PS4 is a near perfect remaster of a fantastic game that arrives just in time for Trails of Cold Steel III.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is an excellent JRPG and a more than worthy continuation of the saga, thanks to a gripping story, well-developed characters, and engaging battle system. While the gameplay experience hasn't changed much, with only some small enhancements to the battle system and an airship customization system, the game manages to be slightly better than its predecessor, mostly thanks to some interesting and unexpected plot twists and a story that doesn't end in a huge cliffhanger like its predecessor. Highly recommended to all JRPG lovers
Class VII’s overachievers return for a different kind of lesson in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II. The game hews closely to its predecessor’s style so it won’t feel as fresh but also should delight fans of the first game eager to see more of Class VII adventures and story. It’s also unapologetically old school whether it be its visual style or adherence to turn-based combat. At a time when more and more JRPGs are walking away from older conventions, it continues to be refreshing to see a well-done entry in the genre that celebrates them instead.
The story events are engaging and the game even goes a way to cater to newcomers with a strong recap. You’ll get to know the characters quite well thanks to hours of character development and the vibrant game world and engaging story combine to make the game feel immersive. PS3 and PS Vita fans have no shortage of JRPGs to choose from, but The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II exhibits enough polish and quality to help it stand out from the pack and above several others. It may lack the innovation and whip appeal to draw players not typically into RPGs and it can’t match the production of the genre’s biggest brands, but it nails the important stuff. Genre or series fans shouldn’t miss this.
The exciting, fun turn-based combat, too, is an absolute treat to revisit, even if I’d have liked to see more meaningful changes and improvements made to its systems.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is definitely a step up from the original due to its enhancements and added sense of freedom.
Overall, Cold Steel II is a much, much better game than the first game in just about every regard, but sadly, the framerate problem still exists. The new mechanics are more than welcome as they add additional strategy into the mix. For fans of the first game, it’s time to pick up right where you left off. When the game originally came out in Japan there were quite a few people singing its praises and now I see why. While Trails of Cold Steel can feel generic at times, all of the systems in place make it certainly worth the investment.
We enjoyed Trails of Cold Steel II as much as the first chapter, and that's a great compliment, as we're talking about two of the best JRPGs available at the moment for PS4. Just be sure to play Trails of Cold Steel first.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is a second part that diverges little from its predecessor, but enough to feel solid and with its own entity.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Cold Steel II is filled with intriguing characters, great plot revelations, and challenging battles. Whether you favor combat or narrative, it has plenty to entertain you
While not coming to PS4 may scare some gamers away, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold II is most certainly one game worth pulling out the PS3 or PS Vita again to play through.
This is the best way to play The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II. Visuals remain relatively the same as the PS3 version, albeit upscaled to higher resolution. The biggest changes come from perfect performance and Turbo Mode. Both add the kind of quality-of-life an epic-sized RPG such as this needs in order to feel as fresh as the first time you played it.
Trails of Cold Steel II is everything that you could want from a sequel to the first game. Although experience with its predecessor is nothing short of a necessity, this unapologetic approach to sequel storytelling is what makes Cold Steel II so compelling. It's remarkable how such a huge cast of characters can come together to deliver such a memorable narrative, and it's all thanks to the in-depth world building that Falcom has seeded over the course of two games. As far as turn based Japanese RPGs go on PS4, Trails of Cold Steel I and II are genre essentials.
All things considered, unless you’re a completionist, want that new swag, or were simply looking for a good excuse to replay it, the new PS4 version of Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II probably isn’t worth your time.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II gets the PS4 remaster treatment, maintaining its well-crafted JRPG fare with an interesting story.
Trails of Cold Steel II is a fantastic continuation of the series that improves upon the foundations of its predecessor that leads to a narrative crescendo. With the third iteration set to come west at the end of 2019, we won’t have much longer to wait to see how this epic trilogy ends.
The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel II is a content-rich adventure that mixes excellent JRPG mechanics with wonderfully scripted character relationships. For those unfamiliar with the series, though, it may be best to start with the original.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II manages to hit both the best and worst parts of JRPGs. Where gameplay and visuals feel dated, even when it was brand new, it's hard to argue with the story. It's deep, engrossing and all about giving players a reason to invest in an otherwise okay adventure. For some this won't be enough, but if you can put up with an average gameplay experience, you'll be rewarded with story that more than makes up for it.
An excellent port that makes the PC Version the definitive way to play the game.