The Legend of Heroes : Trails of Cold Steel IV

The fourth game in The Legend of Heroes franchise is the final part of the Cold Steel tetralogy. This episode arrived in Japan in 2018 (!) On PlayStation 4, but only arrives in Europe on October 27. Additionally, in 2021 there are plans to launch PC (via Steam) and Nintendo Switch versions. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, is the direct sequel to Trails of Cold Steel III, and in this way, the Erebonian Empire remains at war. Class VII heroes find themselves against the full force of the Empire in an attempt to interrupt the path to total domination. As the war continues, the great Civil War hero and Class VII instructor, Rean Schwarzer, has disappeared. Now, old and new Class VII students must join heroes from across the continent in search of the Great Teacher and forge the only chance the world will be spared from utter destruction. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV resumes a JRPG turn-based combat system with five different difficulty levels: Very Easy (Adjusted for quick and easy battles. Ideal for those who want to enjoy the story), Easy (Battles aren’t that easy, but they’re not difficult. Great for those who want to enjoy both battles and the story at the same time), Normal (Where combat provides a satisfying challenge. Ideal for those used to to play RPG), Hard (Battles will ask you the most. For experienced players looking for a challenge) and finally Nightmare (Where your least of problems will be death. For players who want a real challenge) .

Battles do not happen at random and begin when we encounter an enemy wandering the map. We can always attempt an attack to start the battle with the advantage of weakened enemies and if we get caught in the rear we start with a disadvantage. The tower system is the base system already known, but improved with some new concepts such as the option to be able to move characters for greater efficiency in battles or just to escape an impending attack. In addition, we have a system called Brave Order, in which we use Bravery Points, which are points obtained in battles, to receive benefits for a certain number of turns. As is the case, for example, with Adamantite Formation which consumes four Bravery points, but for four turns, grants 50% damage reduction and increases Crafting Point Achievement, or CP. During combat we have three different types of attacks, namely Physical Attack (Normal attacks that will deal physical damage to the selected enemy, as long as they are within range of the character), Arts (Techniques equipped Items known as Quartz or Master Quartz acquired and equipped in character orbs. These are in-game spells and are activated using energy points, or EP, and take a few turns to cast , in addition, they are varied in the arts of attack and support) and finally the Crafts (which cost a point called CP, the craft points that are acquired by causing or taking damage from enemies. special combat skills unique to each character and have an even more powerful variable called S-Craft, which are powerful combat skills that consume each character’s CP. A minimum of 100 CP is required for an ally to use the technical and it can be ac tivated by holding R1 at all times during the battle).

Additionally, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV features a Combat Links system, where phased characters share their sensory and mental impulses, gaining greater effectiveness when fighting together. These skills are developed and improved over the course of the game by obtaining Link EXP, a type of experience gained in battles, and by watching certain events. Attacking and using certain types of crafting can confuse enemies and as a result link attacks will be triggered. There are three types of link attacks: Assist (Using an assist guarantees 1 BP and the ally of the character who disoriented the enemy deals an extra hit), Rush (which is a powerful attack and consumes 2 BP. A Rush checks that the two characters in line are attacking the enemy this turn) and the Burst (consumes 5 BP and hits all enemies with all 4 characters during the turn). In addition to one-on-one battles, the game features exciting battles using the Panzer Soldiers, which are giant robots controlled by our characters. And this is where the mechanics undergo some changes. With the Panzers, we can target the enemy in three different areas. Head, body or arm and each part has its effectiveness to leave the enemy perplexed. Baffling an enemy, you get an additional attack and 1 point of bravery. In addition, it is possible to use the accumulated BP to cause even more powerful attacks which are Finisher (Consumes 2 BP but causes a devastating attack against the opponent ), Unity Attack (which consumes 5 BP but is an even stronger attack using 2 or 3 bots together). In addition, pressing L2 allows you to see the enemy’s line of attack, anticipating with defense for example a stronger attack to come. Finally, there is also a system of accompaniment in battles with robots, which allows your fellow combatants to use three types of movements, depending on the situation: Ex Arts (is used by pressing the square during the shift. companion’s job. This attack consumes EP and is either a magic attack or a support spell. Each of the companions has a different and unique EX Arts), Spirit (Pressing the directional pad will consume your EP and recover 50% health, will give you 30 CP and heal all abnormal statuses) and Charge (Press the directional pad to activate and recover 500 EP).

The game has simple graphics, however, it is a very polished, fast-paced and very smooth game with beautiful storylines and rich in detail, very colorful and anime style. The music and sound effects are exciting and impeccable and the ambiance is tailor-made. With special emphasis on the art and music of the presentation, which is anime style. It is a pity that our language is not available. The game only has English and Japanese, both for audio and subtitles. Which is undoubtedly a big negative point. The game is totally story driven and unfortunately if you are not proficient in any of these languages ​​you can skip it as the game is unlikely to generate much interest. What a pity then that Trails of Cold Steel III had been translated into French! Finally, Trails of Cold Steel IV has a gigantic and very detailed glossary on the whole world, characters and previous events to keep you up to date, even if you are just starting to play the series now. At least the producer has been looking for a way to help novice gamers interested in joining the franchise not to get too lost on the storyline. Prepare for a lot of reading, if you’ve skipped the other games and want to stay on top of everything. In addition, the game features a fun card game. Vantage Masters that can be played with certain NPCs symbolized by a card type during the game. By pressing R2 on these characters, we challenge him to a duel where the objective is to exhaust the 20 life points of the main card of the opponent’s deck, using his deck with 20 customizable cards. When we won a Vantage Masters match, we received a letter from the opponent to improve our deck.

In addition, we also have a simple and fun fishing mode where at certain points marked on the map we can stop to fish, relax and get ingredients for our recipes. At Barca Cassino in the town of Crossbell we can go to the exchange booth and trade Mira, which is the gambling money, for chips and spend hours betting on games of chance like poker and blackjack . As the story progresses, the Pom! Pom! Party is activated and can be accessed from the menu by holding L2 and pressing Circle. The game is nothing more than a fun and adapted version of Puyo Puyo where we have to control the falling Poms and line them up with the Poms of the same color to score points. The X and O buttons modify the positions of the falling pompoms. Connecting three of them in a row bursts them and the player receives 1 CP for each burst of pop and a time bonus. When you accumulate 100 CP, holding Triangle and pressing L1 or R1 will use an S-Craft which can be used to clear the amount of Poms on your side or to hamper the enemy. Finally, we have a game called Horror Coaster In The Haunted Villa, which is a kind of ghost train where two characters guided in a cart on a rail have to shoot the ghosts to score as many points as possible. With the left arrow you move the crosshair and with the X button, shoot. Defeating the ghosts is worth points and the object of the mini-game is to score 12,000 points. Finally, note that the physical version of the game (Frontline Edition) of the game includes the game on Blu-Ray, a mini Artbook “The Black Records”, the soundtrack “Echoes of Erebonia” on CD and a reversible jacket.