The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Critic Reviews

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a godsend for Vita fans. At a time when support for the little handheld seems to be rapidly dwindling, here comes a role-playing masterpiece with all the right stuff: XSeed’s superior localization, which bypasses anime cliches in favor of real depth; an addictive set of life-sim mechanics, from bonding with the lovable cast to cooking a bevy of dishes; and a combat system that rewards customization and cooperation between party members.

The finest JRPG in years.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel has an old-timey feel to it while not getting lost in the novelty of that. Trails channels inspirations from the entire RPG timeline in subtle ways and brings it into a modern and progressive light. The PS3 and PS Vita are lucky to have this gem of an RPG in their library, even if it doesn’t push the hardware as it could.

Trails of Cold Steel may not turn the genre on its head, but it does almost everything well. It is the first game in a trilogy, and Xseed has already confirmed the next game is coming to North America. After this delightful entry, I'm on board to see the next move.

Ultimately, while Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a solid JRPG sure to be enjoyed by fans of the genre, it must be said that it doesn't break any new ground.

Conceptually it reminds you of Atlus’ Persona games and even though it is too linear and a tad on the grind side of life, you’ll get a long lasting game full of dynamic turn based tactics.

One of the best examples of how good the Japanese RPG can be, even if no single aspect sets the bar for the genre.

It'll suck you in slowly as it transforms into one of the greatest JRPGs of the last few years, with memorable characters and gameplay.

Jrpg fans had to wait a long time, but the game is here at last, and it delivers, with compelling gameplay and a good narrative.

The story moves slowly, and can take a while to get through, and while not much about it feels new, it does a good job of taking already established elements and making them into something fun.

Although it has several technical and graphical disappointments , it offers a very dense and precise combat system. With new elements such as cross-save between PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, it manages to bring a classic gameplay with somehow decent visuals.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a nice example of how a turn-based, old school RPG should be done mechanically in these times. Sadly, like so many others, the game is lost in a rather bland smattering of characters and story. If those elements aren’t important to you, then you’re going to find a very deep, simple, fun, and innovative game here that will provide hours of entertainment.

Aimed at the most diehard fans of the JRPG, Trails of Cold Steel offers extensive experience, but chaotic at first sight.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel follows a lot of classic JRPG conventions, and as a result, it doesn't do a whole lot of things that haven't been done before, and better elsewhere. But the combat system still holds up, and the characters are charming enough to see the story through until the end.

Despite my gripes with the game and the struggle to make it through achingly slow opening chapter, the care and detail that went into the game is clear to see, and I know there are JRPG fans that live to appreciate the kind of meticulous detail that this game contains.

An ashamedly old school role-player that nevertheless does its best to attract new players and entertain existing fans.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a decent game - it has a few flaws that make it hard to recommend to everyone (especially regarding the story), but if you're a fan of the series or genre then it's certainly worth a look.

Due to continental drift North America moves away from Europe at the rate of about an inch per year, which means the continents are much livelier than the story of Trails of Cold Steel.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel had my attention and lost it.

Trails of Cold Steel looks very nice indeed thanks to its colourful and well-designed character and enemy models as well as a consistently smooth framerate, although you can’t say that it makes the most of the handhelds power.