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Game title: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

Genre: JRPG

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Developer: Nihon Falcom

Publisher: NIS America

Release Date: October 22, 2019

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III Reviews

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is rated 'Strong' after being reviewed by 78 critics, with an overall average score of 83. It's ranked in the top 9% of games and recommended...

opencritic.com

Game Informer: 8/10

Trails of Cold Steel III marks another school year full of adrenaline-pumping battles, interesting new faces, and unexpected hardships amidst political turmoil

Twinfinite: 4/5

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.

USGamer: 4/5

Trails of Cold Steel 3 doesn't offer much in the way of gameplay innovations, but if you're even glancing in the direction of this game, you're not interested in new ideas. No, you're interested in continuing the dramatic, twisty-turny story of the Erebonian Empire's shenanigans. Trails of Cold Steel 3 resumes the series' magic-infused story of politics and scandal, and the unique battle system still holds up well.

CGMagazine: 8/10

Trails of Cold Steel III marches the long-running series ever closer to an explosive climax with satisfying combat, characters, and music.

Cubed3: 9/10

Trails of Cold Steel III is an important title for both Falcom and NIS. For Falcom, it's the penultimate entry in a story arc half a decade in the making - and an incredibly engrossing one, at that. For NIS, it's a step in the right direction after Ys VIII, and proof that The Legend of Heroes' localization is still in good hands moving forward. This is a continuity-heavy RPG with 13 years of video game history, and seven titles building up to it, but the combat and world are strong enough where even newcomers can enjoy the ride. Trails of Cold Steel III is the Erebonia arc at its best.

Digitally Downloaded: 4.5/5

If you like JRPGs, this is another one you don't want to miss—just hope that Cold Steel IV gets a Western release before too long, because this one ends on one hell of a cliffhanger.

GameSkinny: 10/10

Trails of Cold Steel 3 is a masterclass in storytelling that improves nearly everything in the franchise's history.

Hardcore Gamer: 4.5/5

The only real fault you can attribute to Trails of Cold Steel III is how it doesn't quite match the lofty heights the previous two titles deservedly reached.

Just Push Start: 4.25/5

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.

RPGamer: 5/5

Trails of Cold Steel III is everything I want from an RPG with a world that fully sucks players in, amazing music and locations in which one can just sit and relax, and a twisting and fascinating story involving incredibly deep characters that are easy to get attached to.

The Outerhaven Productions: 4/5

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.

VGChartz: 8/10

JRPG fans who can look beyond the dated graphics will discover a tremendous wealth of characters, gameplay, story, and an overall world that you can happily dive into for dozens of hours.

ZTGD: 9/10

After a long, grueling wait, the Legend of Heroes makes its triumphant return and I am more than happy to report that the wait has been worth it as Cold Steel III delivers on all fronts with improved visual fidelity, performance and a slew of meaningful new mechanics. Led by a cast of unforgettable characters and an intriguing story arc that will have you begging for more when the credits roll.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

87 on OpenCritic? Dang!

 

[yet_another_alt]

Nice scores. And that's with Rean still holding back.

 

[bigedole]

Wrapping up my playthrough of ff8 remastered this week in preparation of Monday night! Extremely excited.

 

[cireza]

Would have loved to play this on anything else than a PS4, since I did not invest in this console. I have a Vita, a Switch, an Xbox, and I can't play this ? WTF is this world we live in.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

Would have loved to play this on anything else than a PS4, since I did not invest in this console. I have a Vita, a Switch, an Xbox, and I can't play this ? WTF is this world we live in.

Exclusives aren't a problem. Do you not own a PS4 already? Who doesn't?

 

[ethomaz]

Good scores.

 

[cireza]

Exclusives aren't a problem. Do you not own a PS4 already? Who doesn't?

Why should I own a PS4 ? Isn't this a third party game with no exclusivity deal from Sony to begin with ? Why are there third party developers that are not supporting as many platforms as possible in this current day and age ? This does not make sense.

 

[V2Tommy]

Ugh. I want this so bad. Series plays way better than Persona, has better waifus and yet doesn't get the respect it deserves.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I never actually finished Cold Steel 2 - was at the very, very end, too. I need a refresher on the series anyway, before I dive into this.

 

[V2Tommy]

Would have loved to play this on anything else than a PS4, since I did not invest in this console. I have a Vita, a Switch, an Xbox, and I can't play this ? WTF is this world we live in.

It is a bit of a bummer since I played the other entires on PSP/Vita/PC. However, you're better of getting a PS4 because you gotta be ready for Trails 4 and Ys IX!

 

[JORMBO]

I am playing Dragon Quest now and then Atelier Ryza later this month. I still have to beat CS part 2 before picking up part 3. Too many JRPGs to play Glad this is getting good scores.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

Why should I own a PS4 ? Isn't this a third party game with no exclusivity deal from Sony to begin with ? Why are there third party developers that are not supporting as many platforms as possible in this current day and age ? This does not make sense.

Why did NES games have third party exclusives?

I mean honestly... it doesn't matter. If you want the game then get a PS4, you bought an Xbox One and the base console goes below $200 at times, what's the excuse?

 

[cireza]

what's the excuse?

What's their excuse, as a third party developer, for not releasing content on all consoles (unless being paid for) ?
I don't want to have too many consoles at home, it takes place and I am not getting a console for 2 or 3 games.

 

[mejin]

Why should I own a PS4 ? Isn't this a third party game with no exclusivity deal from Sony to begin with ? Why are there third party developers that are not supporting as many platforms as possible in this current day and age ? This does not make sense.

If you like japanese games you just need to get a playstation. Anyway, if I were you I would get a PS5 so you can play Trails 3, 4 and future arcs.

I'll probably get a switch Pro to play SMT V, if a port won't come to PS4/PS5.

 

[Jack Videogames]

wait,

WHAT????

I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS

THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER

 

[Jack Videogames]

By the way, is it me or the Amazon.co.uk preorder price is scandalous? It adds up to around 67€...

Any alternative for preordering PS4 games in Europe/ireland?

E: nvm found it for 53€

 

[cireza]

if I were you I would get a PS5

Yeah, this is an option. But first, we need to have full details on how BC will work. Because I think that it will not be a full BC, but only select games.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

It’s going to take forever for me to catch up to this series as I haven’t played Cold Steel and currently playing Tokyo Xanadu Ex+. Definitely will purchase the whole series on PC down the line. Falcom’s games haven’t disappointed me yet.

 

[Durask]

I guess I have to finish 1 and 2 first.

 

[DrJohnGalt]

I'm wrapping up the first this week and wow what a flippin' sweet game! I took a few years off from this type of game (JRPG stuff tends to bore more nowadays) but I'm loving this one! Have the second but not sure I'm going to get it started before Outer Worlds. Have the special edition of the ToCS3 pre-ordered but obviously won't get to it anytime soon. Kinda bummed.

 

[Paltheos]

I gouged out all I could out of CS1 and 2 earlier this year. Very fun games. Anyone in the know with LoH knows what's up but they don't get the recognition they deserve outside of JRPG circles.

That said... I have to pass for now. I'm holding out for a PC port. Even if this isn't XSeed I want to believe and I'm in backlog right now anyway (FFXV at the moment).

Nice scores. And that's with Rean still holding it back.

FTFY

Rean's like a catch-22. You can't run the scenario without him and the game generally does the best it can with his character, but it's still Rean. He's such a goober but I can't hate him outright and he brings this big, wide cast of characters all together.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Why should I own a PS4 ? Isn't this a third party game with no exclusivity deal from Sony to begin with ? Why are there third party developers that are not supporting as many platforms as possible in this current day and age ? This does not make sense.

Ports cost time and money. Also the audience for these games is mostly on PS

 

[cireza]

Also the audience for these games is mostly on PS

Well of course since the game only releases on PS4, the audience can only be on PS4.

Pretty sure that Ys VIII had some good success on Switch.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

What's their excuse, as a third party developer, for not releasing content on all consoles (unless being paid for) ?
I don't want to have too many consoles at home, it takes place and I am not getting a console for 2 or 3 games.

PS4 has more than 2-3 exclusive games that are excellent, but I digress, the answer to your question is budget and/or Sony paying them for exclusivity. Why weren't the last games multiplatform? Just because they're 3rd party, doesn't necessarily mean that they have to develop their games for more than one console.

To ease your grievance, it may get a PC port. The previous one did.

 

[brap]

Would have loved to play this on anything else than a PS4, since I did not invest in this console. I have a Vita, a Switch, an Xbox, and I can't play this ? WTF is this world we live in.

Imagine thinking all modern japanese games will be on a dead handheld, switch, or a console that barely has any japanese games. Everybody knows if you want japanese shit you buy a nintendo and a sony console. It's been that way for years.

 

[Doom85]

Lord knows when I'll have the time to play this series given the time investment and there's way too many games coming out in the next six months or so already competing for my attention, however I still own 1 and 2 and now have 3 pre-ordered so they're all ready for me when I am ready to start on them.

 

[KàIRóS]

Too bad this 1 ends in a big cliffhanger and there's no release date for CS4 I wish Falcom would step up on their western release dates.

I already played this and CS4 in japanese but I liked the english voice cast so I'll replay them in english eventually, right now I'm still playing through Indivisble so this 1 will have to wait.

BTW for those that haven't played Trails in the Sky trilogy and the Crossbell Arc (Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki) this is the first game that truly tries to connect the whole series so I recommend you guys read the lore of those games before diving into CS3.

 

[SantaC]

Juna is such a crybaby i cant stand her. She reminds me of a resetera poster.

 

[V2Tommy]

Juna is such a crybaby i cant stand her. She reminds me of a resetera poster.

She's certainly no Alisa, no.

What a great game!

 

[JayK47]

Wrapped this game up finally. By the end, I was definitely worn out and it was dragging on. The final area of the game was rediculous, with so many boss battles and a lame cliffhanger "to be continued". The graphics are better and I feel that the combat is less clunky than previous titles, but the story was not nearly as good as 1 and 2, and the areas you explore were not as interesting. The game is on a predictable schedule. You spend a day back in town and fighting in a simulator. You do your field exercise, fight crazy boss battle, lose battle, saved by previous class 7 classmate, do mission with old class 7, get saved by new class 7, while mysterious stranger watches, rinse, repeat. The series likes to make friends enemies and enemies friends and hardly anybody dies. No matter how bad someone is, nobody wants to kill them. A good fight should get them to see their evil ways and all is forgiven. The main character is never in a relationship, but has lots of girls interested, yet not interested in him. Standard jRPG in that regard. I am pretty wore out on the series, but after 3 games, I guess I am pretty committed and am likely to get the 4th, and hopefully last, game.