REVIEW

The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel II Review

by Rob Pritchard, November 9th, 2016

It is rare to see two role playing games within the same series to receive an English translation within the same year, but that is exactly what has happened with the Trails of Cold Steel series, which is a spin off from The Legend of Heroes franchise which began over a quarter of a century ago. The first game, which we reviewed back in January set the pieces in place for a larger story, and now it is the turn of Trails of Cold Steel II to continue its legacy.

After the events of the previous game, the Erebonian Empire has fallen into civil war. We are once again invited to join the original game’s protagonist Rean Schwarzer, who has been separated from his classmates that he formed a bond with at Thors Miiltary Academy. Knowing that the kingdom could fall to ruin because of the conflict, he sets out to bring back together his allies from Class VII, as well as bring an end to the struggles between the various factions which aim to seek control of Erebonia. Alongside this, the characters which we have grown to know in the first instalment are facing new challenges, but thankfully for any fans, they do not stray too far from what made them unique in the first place, such as the eternal rival like conflict between Machias and Jusis. The storyline takes a very different tone from the school life focus of the previous instalment, and offers a refreshing take on finding a place in the world that exists beyond education, and the consequences of internal conflict within a military focused country.

As you might expect, the amount of time you spend at Thors Military Academy is dramatically reduced this time around. Instead of visiting set areas outside of the academy during field trips and side missions, the various regions of Erebonia are now the main over world of the game. From the rustic forest like settings of the Nord Highlands to the picturesque lakeside known as Legram, there is a vast variety of locations to visit, each with their own unique monsters, hidden dungeons and side quests to be solved. One of the best locations to visit is the Lunaria Nature Park, which provides you with some of the rarer monsters to encounter, and results in obtaining some valuable Sepith crystals which can be used to power up your characters.

The system that allows you to form bonds with your classmates remains intact, and the rewards you could achieve in the original have also been brought over to the new release, such as Link Points to perform multiple character attacks, and additional Academic Points which can be spent on specific bonuses for when you decide to play through the game again after completion. You can also obtain a special ability for each of your party members known as Overdrive, provided that you open their specific Trial Chest and win the battle that ensues from this action. Using an Overdrive in battle restores a third of that character’s health and magic, and is further enhanced if you reach the maximum amount of Link Points with that particular ally. If these added bonuses weren’t an incentive the first time around, the enhancements made here make socialising with your fellow fighters almost a necessity to ensure your survival.

The battle system that was used in the first Trails of Cold Steel makes a return, although there are a few alterations that have been made. First of all, whether you use Arts, which are learned from equipping Quartz crystals into a character’s orbment device, or Crafts which are learned when a character gains enough experience to level up, the amount of time that it takes to charge them has been dramatically reduced. This change makes the flow of battle a lot smoother when it is the player’s turn to attack or defend, but this change also applies to enemies, so you will need to be on your toes when they charge up their special abilities. One of the harsher design decisions is that physical attacks from your weapons have a lower guaranteed hit rate, so you will need to ensure that you have plenty of recovery items to ensure you can deal plenty of attacks on an enemy.

Although the graphical style remains the same from the previous instalment, the overall presentation of Trails of Cold Steel II is definitely more visually pleasing, particularly when in a large outdoor area with a lot of buildings and fauna. The character and environment models are higher in detail than before, and the frame rate runs very smoothly, with very few instances of slowdown. It is pleasing to note that the soundtrack is just as vibrant and full of variety as its predecessor, especially the theme which plays over the opening movie. Aside from this, one of the particular highlights is the orchestral piece for the background of the Ymir Valley Road. Both the Japanese and English dialogues retain most of the original voice actors for the characters, and this time around, the quality of both the sound recording and the voice acting tracks has substantially improved.

Overall, Trails of Cold Steel II is a sequel that does exactly what it needs to do. The strong characters and vibrant world have been retained, and the entertaining battle system from the original has been enhanced significantly thanks to the improved Arts systems and the introduction of the Overdrive mechanic offers another incentive to form a strong bond with your party members. If you enjoyed the first game, or you are looking for an immersive game to tide you over until Final Fantasy XV or the third game in the series, then this sequel is exactly what you need to sate your RPG appetite.