Trails of Cold Steel III and IV for PlayStation 5 – Review

The one of Trails it is one of the most prolific sagas in the current world of JRPGs, also thanks to numerous chapters that have not yet arrived on our continent. Just think of the series dedicated to Calvardannounced as Trails through Daybreak, or the new title announced a few weeks ago and scheduled for 2024 in Japan. Another reason why the entire series is known to the world is the enormous amount of ports that are released for each chapter: after talking about Ao no Kiseki (for us Trails to Azure) and of Trails into Reverietoday is dedicated to arriving on PlayStation 5 Of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and IVwhich we talked about in depth in our reviews and the version PlayStation 4 That Nintendo Switch.

During this review we will talk about both titles at their best, with notes on the gameplay changes from the combat point of view and above all the technical side. Before continuing, however, it is necessary to remind you of the numerous insights on the site regarding the saga The Legend of Heroesfrom the retrospective that traces the entire history of the brand to the summaries of Zero no Kiseki… as well as the reviews of the already mentioned ones Trails to Azure And Trails into Reverie which made their debut in 2023.

ATTENTION: this article will contain spoilers of some events of the saga, especially of the third chapter. We will try to keep the information revealed to a minimum, but we cannot guarantee total absence of spoilers.

Stories from another world

In Trails of Cold Steel III It's been over two years since Rean Schwarzer and his companions averted a political and civil crisis in the great empire of Ereboniadefeating first the alliance of nobles and then the mysterious ones Ouroboros, thus avoiding the worst. Our hero is now known by the name of Ashen Chavalier and became a new instructor of the Thors Academy, the former school that gave him so much over the years spent inside. After its destruction, in fact, the academy was totally rebuilt and renovated, embracing a more military mentality, to the point of building a secondary headquarters located in Leeves. Right here Rean becomes the professor of the new one Class VIIcomposed of only three students: Juna Crawford from Crossbell, Kurt Vander And Altina Orion, a former member of Ouroboros already faced in the past. The game will lead us to discover some truths regarding what happened in the two years between the second and third chapters and will catapult us into what should be the true ending of the Erebonia saga, except for the arrival of Trails into Reverie.

Trails of Cold Steel IV, instead, begins where its predecessor stops its run. The team must now recover after the clashes that occurred in Grail and the start of the operation Jormuganddeclaring war on Republic of Calvard. Although the game represents the closure of the Erebonia saga, the entire adventure also acts as the final chapter of the various subplots that have remained pending since 2004 – the beginning of Trails in the Sky – giving life to one of the most important and complex worldbuildings in the world of JRPGs. The two games provide an almost definitive conclusion to everything, giving way to Hajimari no Kiseki (Trails into Reverie) to act as a title dedicated to long-time fans, in order to close an intense adventure before moving on to other shores and continuing with what Kondo has in store for us.

Shifts remain the way

There is no point in dwelling too much on the gameplay of the two games, which has been extensively analyzed in the reviews of the versions PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch of the two games. In short, however, the titles are perfectly based on the classic philosophy of turn-based JRPGs, in which there is a timeline placed at the side of the screen which allows you to view the various turns in real time, with also reported changes due to particular skills or – unfortunately – to the deaths of the protagonists on the field at that particular moment. Once the turn arrives, it is possible to exploit the classic physical attacks, use magic or special techniques (called respectively Arts And Craft) to end the fight. The Arts they are learnable through special items, called orbment, which if equipped allow you to use magic and increase your statistics, activating secondary effects that allow you to better deal with advanced battles. Orbments can be changed at any time outside of combat and can be upgraded (or Orbment slots upgraded).ARCUS II in our possession) both specialized shops and in front of particular columns found near bosses or important junctions of the plot.

One of the new features of these two chapters concerns the Order, real effects that allow you to turn the tide of a battle with a simple click. In fact, each unit will be able to use one or more orders to give to the team – at a certain cost BP – thus providing everyone with temporary buffs. You can get 10% of yours back HP and EP (useful for casting spells) and reduce the damage taken by 50% or increase your offensive output. The use of Brave Order it is essential especially at higher difficulties, where the combat system is used to its fullest potential, offering hours and hours of fun.

One port to rule them all

This brings us to the most awaited moment of this review: how do these two games technically perform on PlayStation 5? The answer is very simple and, in reality, not even that surprising: very well and without any problems. The collection runs at 60 fps without any drop, even in the most excited moments, and we have not encountered any type of bug, despite them being present at the release of the PC and Switch ports. The graphics upgrade is clear and is possible to reach the peaks seen in Trails into Reverie on PlayStation 5, with a clean screen never seen in the sagasqueezing the game engine to the last bit to propose the definitive porting of the two most important chapters of the Erebonia series.

From the point of view of the audio sector, however, we have nothing to say as the melodies present in the original title have been maintained, without any cuts or remakes. The soundtrack of the fourth chapter is one of the best ever heard in the JRPG field, perfect for enhancing the scenes on the screen and giving energy during fights. Dubbing is also promoted, although preference inevitably goes to the Japanese one due to greater affinity with the characters and their characters.

Who do we recommend The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and IV to?

The two games are obviously the conclusion of a saga that started in 2004 but, at the same time, are part of a quadrilogy born more than ten years ago. It is therefore natural to suggest the two ports to those who have played the entire series (or have recovered it over time), taking advantage of the PlayStation 5 version and the inclusion of both games in the bundle to recover and complete the narrative Of Erebonia. The two previous titles were reworked and brought to Europe in 2019 on PlayStation 4, thus making the Sony platform a reference for the recovery of the entire series, including the arc of Crossbell (Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure) and the future Trails Through Daybreak which will begin the story of Calvard.