The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

This was my entry into the series and as such shaped my impression of the franchise going forward. The world is incredibly rich and detailed, which is true of every entry in the franchise. The characters are numerous but well developed. It can feel daunting having such a large cast at first but the game divides them into small groups throughout to give you enough time to get to know them. The combat system is deep but not complicated. The story is a slow burn that gradually grows in scope toward the end. Overall this game is quite good.

第一次玩的时候确实非常有吸引力，重复玩的次数多了，就烦那些轨言轨语和关系育成系统了

If you love RPGS that pay attention to EVERY detail, this game is for you!!! Each member of Class VII gets their own time to shine. Even the lovable background characters have their fun moments. This game is just the beginning for this group of students and I'm anxious to see them again in Cold Steel 2.

Eu ouvi e li muitas criticas falando sobre o Cold Steel I e o II serem o ponto mais fraco de Trails até então, mas confesso que quando estava com 40 horas e no penúltimo capitulo eu me perguntei "então...quando é que começa a ficar ruim? kkkkkk". Foi só aí que eu percebi que eu já estou tão investido nessa série que mesmo o capitulo mais baixo ainda é muito bom. Eu tenho muito a sensação que um grupo de japoneses da Falcom tiveram uma reunião um dia e falaram "vamos fazer uma série de vários jogos que se conectam, todos com o ritmo bem lento e com muito foco em personagem e musica. Tudo isso pra agradar um brasileiro chamado Leandro". Eu digo isso pq entendi todas as criticas que todo mundo faz pelo menos pra esse Cold Steel, mas eu acho impossível não gostar kkkkk, esse jogo ainda acerta em tudo que me faz gostar de Trails. Acho que o ponto mais fraco é a 'grande' história da vez, pq os outros 2 Trails que começaram seus arcos (Trails in the Sky 1st e Trails From Zero) tem a história lenta, porém o grande plote é desenvolvido até o final, com uma resolução própria e aí sim um gancho pro próximo jogo (e que geralmente é quando a coisa começa a ficar séria de verdade). Aqui é diferente, parece que esse jogo inteiro de 80 horas é só pra vc descobrir o que tá acontecendo. O ritmo de Trails que normalmente já é lento, aqui parece ainda mais lento que o normal. Outro ponto é que os 2 últimos personagens principais são apresentados muito em cima da hora. Os outros eu consegui me conectar com todos (como já é comum de Trails escrever bem seus personagens), mas esses ultimos 2 são bem importantes e nem tiveram tempo direito. Mas conforme eu disse no inicio, o ponto mais baixo de Trails ainda é muito alto em quase tudo kkkk, e o pior é que estou tão imerso nesse mundo que já´vou começar a jogar o Cold Steel 2 (aproveitar que ainda tem 1 mês até o Resident Requiem lançar).

Good redirection of the saga. Love the new cast of characters and good plot twists, as usual with the franchise. This being said, yes, it looks, maybe too much for its own good, like Persona games. Recommended

Cold Steel is the first Trails game I've had major complaints with, unfortunately. While I do ultimately recommend Trails of Cold Steel if you're into Trails, it has quite a few gaping negatives that easily made this my least favorite of the series thus far. This is the first Trails game that left me feeling nothing as the credits rolled, the first Trails game where I had next to no interest in the followup to its ending, and that's probably the biggest disappointment a game in this series could leave me with. Below I've listed out what I loved, what I was mixed on, and what I disliked. These are largely discussed in a way to prevent spoilers, but the negatives section gets a little more specific, so consider stopping here if you're concerned about spoilers. What I loved: - the transition to full 3D felt fairly natural, and though it is a bit visually simple at times, I never felt like Cold Steel was a step down from prior games' more stylized chibi-on-3D approach. - the school NPCs are fantastic and quite enjoyable, they were the most Trails-feeling part of CS1. A couple of them had me howling with laughter. Faves: Dorothee, Kenneth, Beryl. - the Persona-esque elements are integrated really smoothly and make sense for the setting. - the updated orbment system completely cleared my initial concerns! It's excellent in that it provides so much more build variety and lets you go all out in making some insanely creative and potentially busted party members. - the Link system is a very welcome way to spice up combat, especially melee combat. - the main cast is very enjoyable! Some of the voice acting is absolutely stellar (notably Rean and Sara). - a few plot twists caught me off guard. - the music ranges from pretty good to instant classics! - the book for this game, Red Moon Rose, was legitimately great. What I was mixed on: - despite Cold Steel taking place in one of the largest countries of Zemuria, which has one of the largest cities on the continent, and constantly presenting itself as though it is huge, Cold Steel overall felt really underwhelming in scope, but not quite disappointing as the culture of each area largely shines through. - NPCs outside of Trista are usually quite uninteresting because we barely have time to talk to them, so if their one-note bits don't stand out, then they're forgettable. The issue with that? They don't provide that sense of unseen scope that you get from the rest of the games through implication, which makes Cold Steel feel a lot more hollow than its predecessors. What I disliked: - so many of the locations are forgettable because they're both small in a gameplay sense and often lacking in memorable features. Legram was a highlight because it used its small scale to its advantage, tying the plot and side content together much more closely than any of the other areas managed. Nord was close to that standard, but it was a bit too barren in those horseback sections. - a lot of the plot relies on the twists of the previous game, which are great, but Cold Steel leans too hard on them as a support to hold the much weaker "overarching" narrative of this game together. Not enough is set up because the party doesn't meaningfully interact with that side of the plot a ton. - the cut content briefly touched on at the start of the final chapter is absolutely egregious and is easily the worst part of this game. If you're gonna cut it for lack of budget, cut it out entirely! It is absolutely unforgivable that the entire party meets the PROTAGONIST'S FAMILY for the first time OFF SCREEN when the player hasn't even met them! - the final boss fight sucked, I did not care for its unique mechanics. Overall: I like Trails of Cold Steel, but I don't adore it like I do basically every other game in the series.