The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III Reviews
Trails of Cold Steel 3 is a masterclass in storytelling that improves nearly everything in the franchise's history.
Despite the challenges of having to carry the story behind two of the best JRPGs of the last decade, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III more than lives up to its legacy, delivering an experience anchored in a narrative that, despite taking a little bit to truly develop, manages to be one of the most surprising ones of its genre, and a gameplay even more challenging and fun than its predecessors.
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Trails of Cold Steel III is everything I want from an RPG with a world that fully sucks players in, amazing music and locations in which one can just sit and relax, and a twisting and fascinating story involving incredibly deep characters that are easy to get attached to.
I honestly doubted that Trails of Cold Steel III could topple the incredible experience I had with the previous two games, oh how I was wrong. Taking everything which made the last two games great, Nihon Falcom has created a more advanced and enhanced version of the game we all know and love. There’s little to fault when a game manages to keep me invested and hooked for over 120 hours on my first playthrough, sat on the edge of my seat with each and every revelation and event, both cheering and getting emotional along with the characters. JRPG fans have to buy this game, it’s mandatory if you’ve played the previous two and enjoyed them as you’re guaranteed to simply love this game without any doubt.
If you've never played a Trails game, this release has everything you need to catch up and dive right in, and stay tuned for the finale of the tetralogy, Trails of Cold Steel 4, coming to Switch in 2021. If two roads diverge in a yellow wood, you better take the trail of cold steel. That will make all the difference.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a wonderful game. None of the bad parts combined would ever hold a candle to the sheer amount of joy and fun I had exploring every single corner of this world.
There’s very little to complain about with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III on the Switch, it’s an incredible port of a fantastic game. If you don’t mind the odd fuzzy visuals due to a lower-than-native resolution of the display it’s being played on, the Switch port is the perfect place to play this fascinating JRPG, a game which will easily occupy you for over 100 hours if you’re going for a full 100% completion and around 50 if you just care for the story. Despite having no switch-specific features or extras, you do get a bunch of cosmetic DLCs to dress up all the protagonists – making the cutscenes much more entertaining and surreal.
In an age when developers often compete with each other on who can provide the darkest timeline, or those that put the heroes through what could often be considered torture, it’s a breath of fresh air to play a game as truly wholesome as Trails of Cold Steel 3. The complexity of the story leaves you hanging on every word, and each line of dialogue feels authentic and meaningful.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III continues to craft an excellent story with solid combat and is handled with enough care that fans can rest easy when it comes to the series’ future.
Overall, an enjoyable port of a great game.
Nihon Falcom are the best at what they do; creating the finest JRPGs. If you've dreamed of recapturing the feeling of JRPGs from the golden days, don't overlook this game. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is everything you want in a JRPG, yet gives you more with great attention to detail. The characters, writing, story, gameplay, and music are all high notes. Even if you must start with this one, then do it. There's no JRPG like Trails of Cold Steel 3. It's a masterclass of its own.
After a long, grueling wait, the Legend of Heroes makes its triumphant return and I am more than happy to report that the wait has been worth it as Cold Steel III delivers on all fronts with improved visual fidelity, performance and a slew of meaningful new mechanics. Led by a cast of unforgettable characters and an intriguing story arc that will have you begging for more when the credits roll.
Trails of Cold Steel III is the best game in the series so far. You're going to have to play the first two titles to get the full picture, but you'll be rewarded with one of the most enjoyable RPG sagas in modern gaming. This latest entry strikes a near perfect balance between story and gameplay, all while juggling an ever-growing cast of great characters and an in-depth, hugely rewarding battle system. Cold Steel III is JRPG joy from start to finish, and it sits alongside the likes of Persona 5 and Dragon Quest XI as one of the PS4's finest.
Nihon Falcom has delivered yet another stellar entry in the Trails of Cold Steel series. If you're a newcomer, you'll need to start at the beginning to genuinely appreciate the whole package. However, if you're a long-time fan of the franchise, then you'll love every thrilling second of it.
As the third game in a set of direct sequels, tied into several other games set in the same world and timeline, it’s simply amazing those creative juices are still flowing and coherent. It’ll be over soon, but jeez, hell of a run.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III brings the Erebonia arc of the Trails series to its second half - under a new western publisher, no less. Here are our thoughts on the game:
The only real fault you can attribute to Trails of Cold Steel III is how it doesn't quite match the lofty heights the previous two titles deservedly reached.
Trails of Cold Steel III is an important title for both Falcom and NIS. For Falcom, it's the penultimate entry in a story arc half a decade in the making - and an incredibly engrossing one, at that. For NIS, it's a step in the right direction after Ys VIII, and proof that The Legend of Heroes' localization is still in good hands moving forward. This is a continuity-heavy RPG with 13 years of video game history, and seven titles building up to it, but the combat and world are strong enough where even newcomers can enjoy the ride. Trails of Cold Steel III is the Erebonia arc at its best.
If you like JRPGs, this is another one you don't want to miss—just hope that Cold Steel IV gets a Western release before too long, because this one ends on one hell of a cliffhanger.
Trails of Cold Steel III is one of the best games of the year and a must-play for RPG fans everywhere.