If there’s a genre I love but don’t often play anymore as much as I used to because of time, its JRPGs. I’ve always enjoyed the gameplay loop, although I’ve definitely become more discerning in what I actually cared about when it comes to lengthy games. For example, I used to read every single line of dialogue, explore every nook and cranny of each house in a village, and make sure I did everything I could before beating the game. The 2012 game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning changed that for me, being the first game I skipped every dialogue box from the opening sequence to the final boss. Going blindly into third game of a sequential series (not including the other Legend of Heroes games), I expected that may be the case here with the idea of saving time. I was wrong.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III gives you the option of seeing all the main events that happened in the previous games through some very extensive recaps, which is nice for newcomers and players who have forgotten exactly what happened. Unfortunately, there’s no way to skip through the dialogue, so you’re forced to either watch the scenes (of which there are many) play out naturally, or fast forward at a comical speed that seems reserved for people that have played already and begs the question as to why you don’t just skip it altogether. This is also true for the opening of the game, and I was worried as I struggle with not skipping ahead once I’ve read the dialogue. It’s one thing if the scenes are animated and interesting (no complaints watching the Uncharted cut-scenes), but when it’s merely people talking while standing in a single place, I’m ready to move on. That’s not to say the voice acting is bad, I just don’t have the time to sit through these types of things anymore. Luckily, this concern is gone not too long into the experience.
For someone new to the series, you’re thrown into what feels like the final stage of a JRPG, and having skipped the recaps of the previous entries, I figured this is where it had left off. With no tutorial on combat, the game is pretty lenient and lets you experiment a lot with the different abilities, and never becomes difficult despite the seemingly obtuse nature of the situation. Near the end of this intro it becomes boss battle after boss battle, and is decidedly anime in its way of introducing each group of enemies and their reasoning for fighting you. From here you’re taken back in time and given a proper introduction to the game and its characters, and regardless of your experience with the series, you quickly grow fond of the characters you meet. I can only imagine how much more those that played the previous entries will love the continuation, as I debated buying them just to continue on with the cast.
As one would expect from Falcom, the combat is stellar. Although decidedly different from their flagship series Ys, this brings a very unique flavor to the turn-based combat that so many are accustomed to from the 90s and 00s. In addition to the abilities you would likely have come to expect, there are some fun takes on combat linking, tactics, mechs, and much more. And despite the depth of it all, the game is very kind in explaining how it works without being boring. There are a lot of games I see as inspiration in this, but this being my first venture into Falcom’s other long running drama, I wonder how much these inspired others. I got flavors of Tales of…, Xenogears, Persona, among more obscure stuff that made me wonder why I never jumped on this boat sooner. Seriously, if you’re not against the anime aesthetic and tropes, this is some of the finest JRPG goodness you can find on modern consoles.
While the combat is deep and lively, there’s also plenty to do outside of it to build your connections with party members. Not all of it is mandatory, which is nice for those that want to merely progress, but there’s a lot to dig into for those that have the time to dedicate, and I can certainly appreciate that given my old way of playing these types of games. Another thing that’s done well is making the NPCs seem like they matter to the game and player characters. In most games they seem like an afterthought, but this decides to put a lot of focus on them should you choose to interact.
The one thing I can honestly gripe about is the same thing that I feel about most Falcom games since switching to the 3D – it looks bad. The character models are fine, but the environments are very sterile and seem elementary; even the textures feel very low in terms of resolution. Every scene you don’t play feels like a set piece in the way that an old game does where it has the negative space around the section you see. The world feels segmented and fake which bothers me. While the characters look fine, the animations leave a lot to be desired. Notably, the walk and run cycle as soon as you have control seems like something out of a PS2 era game, as do a lot of the environments (the first training section reminded me of a dungeon from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time). The other is the seemingly shoehorned sexual comments which start in early on. Perhaps this is my own naivety regarding a couple of characters and their relationship from the previous game, but it seemed unnecessary in that context, and is further pushed through various character animations and dialogue. You could argue that the dress code for the school doesn’t help this matter, but I understand I’m not the target audience for this anymore.
If you want to dig into a deep JRPG and are into anime or can at least tolerate it, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better way to spend your time, especially if you’ve been following the series. With an abundant amount of options for combat, loads of optional content to explore, and a plot full of political intrigue, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III cements itself as a series that should be considered one of the greats when thinking of classic RPGs.
9 out of 10
Pros
- Intuitive Combat
- Fun Cast
- Deep Lore
- So Many Extras
Cons
- Environmental Assets
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III was developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America. It will be available on PS4 October 22nd, 2019. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, check out the official site.
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