The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III Reviews
Absolutely essential if you're a fan. If you've never played a Trails game before, you might want to consider starting at the beginning. Or reading a lot of plot summaries.
If you've been keeping up with the series, Trails of Cold Steel 3 is the strongest outing yet, in spite of some issues that hold it back from its full potential.
Trails of Cold Steel III marches the long-running series ever closer to an explosive climax with satisfying combat, characters, and music.
All in all, I had a fun time revisiting Trails of Cold Steel III on Switch. I still wonder who this release is even actually for, given how it's hard for me to recommend newcomers play this, and most fans who really wanted this would likely have bought it on PS4 last year. Even with the issues, due to my preferences, I find this to be my favorite way to play the game. I hope there are further balance patches released to iron out any of the issues I found, but given how rare the serious ones were, I still recommend this for those looking to play the latest English Trails release on the go. It’s such a big improvement on Ys VIII’s port, and I wish in hindsight that it could have gotten the same treatment. This port gives me a lot of hope for the upcoming switch releases of Cold Steel IV and Ys IX. Time will tell if Engine Software manages to improve on what they have here, and I’m excited to see where they go from here.
Cold Steel III is still a niche JRPG, but it’s time that more people gave this series a shot, especially with this game’s incredibly detailed onboarding features like character bios, lore summaries, and full recaps of previous games.
Trail of Cold Steel III brings its classic JRPG hijinks to the portable confines of the Switch for folks who like to have their cake and eat it on the go, too. Visuals on the TV are not as crisp as the PS4 version and performance also has some occasional hiccups at times. If the thought of getting your Cold Steel fix anytime and anywhere sounds appealing, however, then this is the version for you.
Trials of Cold Steel III is another excellent addition to a franchise that gains so much of what makes it absorbing from the huge amount of background detail and world-building that's been achieved in earlier entries in the series. Newcomers should be aware that taking the time out to play Trials of Cold Steel I and II is advised to get the absolute maximum amount of enjoyment out of this one but, even if you're jumping in fresh, there's still plenty to love here once you find your feet. With a massive cast of well-written characters and tons of excellent combat and exploration spread across its epic running time, this is a top-notch addition to the Switch's library of JRPGs.
If you are a JRPG fan, this series is a must-play. It’s one of the strongest running, second only to Persona in my opinion. It’s funny, charming, engaging, and occasionally heartbreaking. And it’s absolutely worth the investment.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is not a perfect game, marred by its pacing, spontaneous voiceovers, and heavy-handed use of anime tropes along the way. That aside, the additions of game speed increase on top of more strategic options in combat and intriguing characters make this entry of the franchise a rewarding one, presenting wonderful payoffs for those invested in the journey. Even still, newcomers receive enough organic context and subtext along the way to still feel fulfilled as the journey progresses. Few RPG franchises, especially ones this lengthy, can provide a starting point in the middle of the series, and Cold Steel 3 finds a way.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a large scale classic JRPG with well-designed characters and an interesting storyline, which may seem a bit long with interludes and digressions on the "normal" life of the main characters and political intrigue. This is a small masterpiece that will encourage you to buy the two previous parts of the trilogy and make you look forward to the announcement for the European market of the fourth and final part of the story.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Trails of Cold Steel III it's another great port to add to Nintendo Switch's library, but if you haven't played the previous two games (not available on Switch), you can miss important story details. If that's not the case, be ready for a long adventure that will leave you wanting more... and in the middle of an interesting cliffhanger.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Trails of Cold Steel 3 resumes the series' magic-infused story of politics and scandal, and the unique battle system still holds up well.
Trails of Cold Steel III marks another school year full of adrenaline-pumping battles, interesting new faces, and unexpected hardships amidst political turmoil
Trails of Cold Steel 3 is launching after a long wait between the first two entries and while the game manages to deliver on expectations, there are a few blemishes that hold it back from becoming the best chapter in this epic saga.
Trails of Cold Steel III is a must for all fans of the series. Despite some improvements on the more powerful systems, the graphics can no longer impress as much as on the small Vita screen, but it is technically solid and again a top RPG in terms of content. But be careful: interested players should definitely play at least the two direct predecessors beforehand, and ideally even the sister series Trails in the Sky. The more you get to know the world and characters beforehand, the more you can enjoy Cold Steel III.
Review in German | Read full review
Whether you’ve been a fan from the beginning or you’re starting out now, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a fine JRPG. It may have an overwhelmingly rich history, but there’s plenty of elements in place to help newcomers.
Graphics aside, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a story-driven experience that delivers that in spades. It's more than enough to make up for some of the shortcomings and is a more intricate story than you'd probably expect. That being said, if story isn't your thing, gameplay and graphics are nothing special. Nothing about them ruins the experience, they're just not on the same level as the story. So if you want to get sucked into a fascinating world, it's hard to say no, though if you're just in it for the gameplay, you might want to look elsewhere.
With its solid gameplay mechanics, excellent world-building and character development, The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel III is an excellent Japanese role-playing and a more than worthy new entry in the long-running series. Some small flaws like slow pacing do not impact the experience as much as the lack of knowledge about the entire series do, which lessens the impact of several events and plot development. This makes Trails of Cold Steel III a game that must be played only after the previous two entries in the series have been completed.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III may not be a good place to start for the newcomers but it is a great JRPG title nonetheless. The story takes some time to get in a good rhythm but when it really starts it hits the ground running, the visuals may not be the best thing out there but the developers have made some improvements compared to the previous titles in the series and the gameplay is better than it has ever been.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Falcom did it again: The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel III is probably their best work up to date, and on of the best JRPgs available for Playstation 4 and PC. The only downside is that you'll need to have played both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 to better appreciate the writing and story.
Review in Italian | Read full review