Reviews for the entire Trails series: Cold Steel 1 Review: th-cam.com/video/AYI8MRG8kNk/w-d-xo.html Cold Steel 2 Review: th-cam.com/video/_UJg-LE8WnY/w-d-xo.html Cold Steel 3 Review: th-cam.com/video/bXsvChiV668/w-d-xo.html Cold Steel 4 Review: th-cam.com/video/T0zMNMrKczo/w-d-xo.html Trails in the Sky FC Review: th-cam.com/video/VTrMkEKjvN8/w-d-xo.html Trails in the Sky SC Review: th-cam.com/video/Td97VwG6q5Q/w-d-xo.html Trails in the Sky 3rd Review: th-cam.com/video/_nVLtjaIvXE/w-d-xo.html Trails from Zero review: th-cam.com/video/b8HqWgSnBls/w-d-xo.html Trails to Azure Review: th-cam.com/video/B8-rahJs6Xg/w-d-xo.html
The issue of scenes being "partially voiced" was also a problem in Cold Steel 1 and 2 initially, partially due to the fact that Rean's Japanese voice actor was very expensive. XSeed later added over 5000 new lines to each of the games when they got ported to PC and those lines were back-ported into the PS4 versions. So what you're experiencing is really how the Cold Steel games have always been like in Japan.
I think you will have a great time. It are really good games. That said - I am afraid I have to give one warning.......! Chances are high you want to play the older games (Trails in the Sky trilogy, Crossbell dualogy) after playing these games. You are warned! You see... I know that happens - Because that's what happened to me. I was only halfway in the first chapter of Cold Steel I when I noticed that there was a whole series before Cold Steel. After some deliberation I decided to put Cold Steel I on hold for a while, and play the Sky trilogy first. The best decision I ever made! I picked up Cold Steel after finishing the Sky trilogy, and played until Cold Steel II. Then I picked up the Crossbell arc (PC version has an excellent translation from GeoFront for the first game, and the second game has a good fan translation too) and played that, to finally pick up Cold Steel III after that. What can I say? It was a hell of a ride, that's for sure. I yet have to finish Cold Steel III, but I take my time. Because I am on the PC, I have to wait until next year to play Cold Steel IV, so no need to rush.
Sky is great if you don't want to play it there are really good in-depth story summaries. I own Cold steel for PS3 and PC . Tons of gameplay to be had. To me Cold steel is a slow Burn and 2 is when things are flowing. Enjoy
The 4th game is a fantastic way to end the series imo, played the Japanese version earlier in the year and it was fun, can’t wait to play the game again in English. 😊😃
With Trails of Cold Steel 4 coming to the West in just a few weeks this was a genius time to get this done Sir. Glad your liking it this was my 2nd favorite in the first 3 games and my wife's number one favorite in the first 3 games.
I'm about 60 hours into Cold Steel 3 currently, I'm enjoying the game, but man the story so far is very repetitive, and the events that happen in each chapter follow a very strict formula that is kind of annoying -- Rean getting rescued every time he tries uses Valimar too early for the chapter...... I know the other games did this, but this one feels more blatant and annoying. But from what I hear, it gets a lot better in Chapter 4 though, and the ending I also hear is amazing. So I will push onward!
The ending is indeed amazing... in as many good was as it is bad. Thankfully, CS IV is releasing extremely soon, so you won't be too frustrated by the cliffhanger.
@@ShimaS-0079 Like it happening once is fine, but i wish they would have created more creative and unique ways of the old class VII to show back up.... oh well
I can explain at least why Rean isn't voiced a lot on CS1-4. His Japanese VA is a very famous voice actor who worked on tons of animations so the cache for each voice lines is more expensive than the other characters. That's it. That's the only reason, really. They decided to choose someone famous and that hindered the VA. The english translation just continues the issue because XSEED and NISA just don't want to code for the new VA if they do so.
Em... While I agree NISA voicing only what was voiced in JP, XSEED added a ton of voice acting on top what we had in JP versions of CS1 and CS2. Like that legendary scene with "You're lucky son of... I mean, for shame, Rean" isn't voiced at all in JP version of CS1.
Regarding the serious reduction in Rean and Altona power, id chalk it up to CS 1 and 2 being built for PS3&vita and cs3 and 4 being built for the ps4 (the ports for 1 and 2 sister come out until after 3 was out already) Of course they could've started him out at a nice mid to end game level, but then there would be the issue of unbalanced difficulty. (The Sections of the game involving new class 7 would get steam rolled by OP rean, then difficulty would level out once the old class 7 joins for their time in the sun.)
I don’t mind at all that they started low leveled. The story on the other hand always shows that they’re stronger and more experienced compared to the new students.
I wish the AI was better at the Vantage Masters card game but man that mini-game contributed to my enjoyment of this already great game way more than I would care to admit.
I dislike in game card games. But Vantage was fun but I quit about half way so I could get through story. I spend too much time talking to NPCs. I love their little stories
Hey Hell Fire RPGs, nice video. Got into your videos because of Suikoden, and I'm glad that you're now covering the Trails series, which I am a big fan of. I am wondering: who are your favorite characters in Cold Steel 3 (or the whole Trails series)?
Hey mate! So many awesome characters. In no order: Kevin (he's probably my favorite) Renee, Joshua, Estelle, Randy, Olivert, Sara, Loewe, Kloe, New Class VII. I could probably go on forever. What about you?
Zero is on pc with a pro level fan translation, ao is on psp with a decent translation, and in around half a year the same guys that translated Zero will release Ao, just search Geofront
I’m just happy falcom games are on handheld or switch . Bring the other old ys and trails games ports to switch plz . Cuz Ik most ps4/ps5 players not going buy cuz muh graphics
In my opinion my least favorite game of the erobonia series it felt kind of short compared to 2 and it mostly was about rean my biggest issue is how they get bailed out first its laura then fie it gets kinda old it kills the premise for the new class 7 to grow if someone randomly pops up also the dragon chapter and last character were done well as well as the introductions of the grailsritter as well as learning more lore the final chapter in my opinion needed to happen there needed to be a mountain to overcome if friendship could overcome it would diminish Osborne and make it a absolute joke which I'm glad they didn't because most of these guys were hyped up to be legends also there wasn't much development for the new class 7
while a great game i dint like that the game overhyped you then you get moments that truth apears and completly trash you, also his sword style dint improved much and it overhypeds characters like viscount and aurelia and give you once again impossible figths with no good outcomes. also bad it was that you cant romance any of the characters and especialy aurelia that seemed intresting or even muse , i dont like rean its too calm not power hungry and not hot headed and lack motivation you could say , unlike characters like ash that with the right lvl of power would make things much more fun and engaging
Cold steel is the worst in the series IMO. Most ridiculous part is how characters never seem to die and if they do die they just get resurrected. Also the game is too easy... You can afford to miss 27 AP and still get top rank, nightmare mode is a joke when all you gotta do is break enemies/use evasion tank and never get hit. I remember struggling against Leonhardt in trails FC and SC, arianrhod in ao etc etc.. In this game, all the fights felt like a joke, even the strongest enemies were pretty easy to defeat. Finally, there's too many characters in the game, and it just didn't feel personal when some of them died, especially knowing some of them will prob get revived in the future.
Maybe it's because unlike most other J-RPGs all the games in the Trails series together have an overarching interconnected story that is told across the span of about 5 years total (so far) through 3 separate story arcs (so far) that are, in order, the Trails in the Sky trilogy (Liberl arc) Zero no Kiseki/Ao no Kiseki (Crossbell arc) and the Trails of Cold Steel saga (Erebonia arc) and it features reoccurring characters and locations from previous games and sometimes even old plots and themes are expanded upon as well, I really can't think of another series in video games that does this approach to storytelling. It's so tightly interconnected that it feels like the same as going from season to season of an anime or TV show, complete with a cliffhanger to reel you into next "season". Also the depth the series goes into in basically every regard is just mind-blowing, I have not seen a single other video game series, in my 26 years of life (About 22 of those have been spent gaming) whether it be Japanese OR western for that matter, that have the same level of detailed depth in the world and characters as the Trails series does. It's truly J.R.R. Tolkien or Robert Jordan tier. However I think what blows my mind even more than the world of Trails itself is the fact that Falcom are a company of a mere 62 employees and they're releasing some of the most ambitious and unique games from a storytelling perspective that absolutely puts multi-million dollar corporations to complete and utter shame. It's no surprise the games have a cult following if you're a fan of worldbuilding there's really no other J-RPG series that can even come close to Trails.
Only positive thing i can say about this boring series is the combat system is great. Exciting storytelling almost never occurs in these games. You'll maybe get 5 hours out of 60 in each game where you'll genuinely be interested in what's occurring. World building is great but only if you make the world interesting or important and most of what you get here just fluff. Characters in this series are the worse tropes of all the worse animes you can imagine. You name they've got it from sister tropes to flamboyant prince. I think if I could lobotomize myself I could maybe enjoy this series like the rest of the Fandom but until then this series can keep on being trash.
![Trails of Cold Steel IV - Spoiler Free Review [PS4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/T0zMNMrKczo/mqdefault.jpg)
![Trails of Cold Steel IV - Spoiler Free Review [PS4]](/img/tr.png)
![Ranking the Trails Series [Sky series, Crossbell arc, Cold Steel series]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oVMLkAzUmlY/mqdefault.jpg)
Reviews for the entire Trails series:
Cold Steel 1 Review: th-cam.com/video/AYI8MRG8kNk/w-d-xo.html
Cold Steel 2 Review: th-cam.com/video/_UJg-LE8WnY/w-d-xo.html
Cold Steel 3 Review: th-cam.com/video/bXsvChiV668/w-d-xo.html
Cold Steel 4 Review: th-cam.com/video/T0zMNMrKczo/w-d-xo.html
Trails in the Sky FC Review: th-cam.com/video/VTrMkEKjvN8/w-d-xo.html
Trails in the Sky SC Review: th-cam.com/video/Td97VwG6q5Q/w-d-xo.html
Trails in the Sky 3rd Review: th-cam.com/video/_nVLtjaIvXE/w-d-xo.html
Trails from Zero review: th-cam.com/video/b8HqWgSnBls/w-d-xo.html
Trails to Azure Review: th-cam.com/video/B8-rahJs6Xg/w-d-xo.html
The issue of scenes being "partially voiced" was also a problem in Cold Steel 1 and 2 initially, partially due to the fact that Rean's Japanese voice actor was very expensive. XSeed later added over 5000 new lines to each of the games when they got ported to PC and those lines were back-ported into the PS4 versions.
So what you're experiencing is really how the Cold Steel games have always been like in Japan.
You mad lad, you caught up to the whole trails series within a year.
Haha yeah, it was a huge time investment!
I’ve just ordered the first two Cold Steel games, wish me luck as it’s my first time playing this series!
I think you will have a great time. It are really good games.
That said - I am afraid I have to give one warning.......!
Chances are high you want to play the older games (Trails in the Sky trilogy, Crossbell dualogy) after playing these games. You are warned!
You see... I know that happens - Because that's what happened to me. I was only halfway in the first chapter of Cold Steel I when I noticed that there was a whole series before Cold Steel. After some deliberation I decided to put Cold Steel I on hold for a while, and play the Sky trilogy first. The best decision I ever made! I picked up Cold Steel after finishing the Sky trilogy, and played until Cold Steel II. Then I picked up the Crossbell arc (PC version has an excellent translation from GeoFront for the first game, and the second game has a good fan translation too) and played that, to finally pick up Cold Steel III after that. What can I say? It was a hell of a ride, that's for sure.
I yet have to finish Cold Steel III, but I take my time. Because I am on the PC, I have to wait until next year to play Cold Steel IV, so no need to rush.
Don't sleep on Trails in the Sky. You should really play at them and crossbell before CS3/4.
Sky is great if you don't want to play it there are really good in-depth story summaries.
I own Cold steel for PS3 and PC . Tons of gameplay to be had. To me Cold steel is a slow Burn and 2 is when things are flowing. Enjoy
Take your time with the games, I hope you enjoy them! I definitely recommend you playing with headphones since the music in these games are amazing.
Finished this the other day after pouring 120+ hours into it, can’t wait for IV!
Dude this game literally took me like 200 hours I tried to do everything that I can possibly could
The 4th game is a fantastic way to end the series imo, played the Japanese version earlier in the year and it was fun, can’t wait to play the game again in English. 😊😃
With Trails of Cold Steel 4 coming to the West in just a few weeks this was a genius time to get this done Sir. Glad your liking it this was my 2nd favorite in the first 3 games and my wife's number one favorite in the first 3 games.
wait in a few weeks!? ohhhhhhhhhh
@@deanxile Yup like 2 to 3 weeks you can check amazon an such to see the exact date in NOV it comes out
@@michaelcoffey1991 Unfortunately the people on an PC have to wait until next year. That's no fun at all.
@@jclosed2516 on the bright side Atleast you know it’s coming to pc
I'm about 60 hours into Cold Steel 3 currently, I'm enjoying the game, but man the story so far is very repetitive, and the events that happen in each chapter follow a very strict formula that is kind of annoying -- Rean getting rescued every time he tries uses Valimar too early for the chapter...... I know the other games did this, but this one feels more blatant and annoying. But from what I hear, it gets a lot better in Chapter 4 though, and the ending I also hear is amazing. So I will push onward!
The ending is indeed amazing... in as many good was as it is bad. Thankfully, CS IV is releasing extremely soon, so you won't be too frustrated by the cliffhanger.
I feel ya Im just beginning chp 4 and that interuptted Valimar is annoying. Don't know why allies just don't show up before that
@@ShimaS-0079 Like it happening once is fine, but i wish they would have created more creative and unique ways of the old class VII to show back up.... oh well
@@BlackLegion1616 totally agree
I can explain at least why Rean isn't voiced a lot on CS1-4.
His Japanese VA is a very famous voice actor who worked on tons of animations so the cache for each voice lines is more expensive than the other characters.
That's it. That's the only reason, really.
They decided to choose someone famous and that hindered the VA.
The english translation just continues the issue because XSEED and NISA just don't want to code for the new VA if they do so.
Em... While I agree NISA voicing only what was voiced in JP, XSEED added a ton of voice acting on top what we had in JP versions of CS1 and CS2. Like that legendary scene with "You're lucky son of... I mean, for shame, Rean" isn't voiced at all in JP version of CS1.
Lack of voice acting in scenes or random va reminded me of how the og cs1 and 2 version was. Thankfully the pc and ps4 added more va
I'm not sure how you are getting through all these so quickly lol. Another great review. Cannot wait for CS IV!
Me neither, lol. Totally worth it, though.
Regarding the serious reduction in Rean and Altona power, id chalk it up to CS 1 and 2 being built for PS3&vita and cs3 and 4 being built for the ps4 (the ports for 1 and 2 sister come out until after 3 was out already)
Of course they could've started him out at a nice mid to end game level, but then there would be the issue of unbalanced difficulty. (The Sections of the game involving new class 7 would get steam rolled by OP rean, then difficulty would level out once the old class 7 joins for their time in the sun.)
I don’t mind at all that they started low leveled. The story on the other hand always shows that they’re stronger and more experienced compared to the new students.
Playing it now and enjoying it!
I'm about 90 hours in at beginning of chp 4 . Loving it so far. 4 is coming next year. I have avoided any pictures of next games
I wish the AI was better at the Vantage Masters card game but man that mini-game contributed to my enjoyment of this already great game way more than I would care to admit.
I dislike in game card games. But Vantage was fun but I quit about half way so I could get through story. I spend too much time talking to NPCs. I love their little stories
Great review, I just beat the first game a week ago and it sounds like I am in for a fun ride, I can't wait 😁🗡️
You're in for an awesome time!
Hey Hell Fire RPGs, nice video. Got into your videos because of Suikoden, and I'm glad that you're now covering the Trails series, which I am a big fan of. I am wondering: who are your favorite characters in Cold Steel 3 (or the whole Trails series)?
Hey mate! So many awesome characters. In no order: Kevin (he's probably my favorite) Renee, Joshua, Estelle, Randy, Olivert, Sara, Loewe, Kloe, New Class VII.
I could probably go on forever. What about you?
How did you play the crossbell series?
Zero is on pc with a pro level fan translation, ao is on psp with a decent translation, and in around half a year the same guys that translated Zero will release Ao, just search Geofront
I miss overdrives 🥲🥲
I’m just happy falcom games are on handheld or switch . Bring the other old ys and trails games ports to switch plz . Cuz Ik most ps4/ps5 players not going buy cuz muh graphics
In my opinion my least favorite game of the erobonia series it felt kind of short compared to 2 and it mostly was about rean my biggest issue is how they get bailed out first its laura then fie it gets kinda old it kills the premise for the new class 7 to grow if someone randomly pops up also the dragon chapter and last character were done well as well as the introductions of the grailsritter as well as learning more lore the final chapter in my opinion needed to happen there needed to be a mountain to overcome if friendship could overcome it would diminish Osborne and make it a absolute joke which I'm glad they didn't because most of these guys were hyped up to be legends also there wasn't much development for the new class 7
while a great game i dint like that the game overhyped you then you get moments that truth apears and completly trash you, also his sword style dint improved much and it overhypeds characters like viscount and aurelia and give you once again impossible figths with no good outcomes. also bad it was that you cant romance any of the characters and especialy aurelia that seemed intresting or even muse , i dont like rean its too calm not power hungry and not hot headed and lack motivation you could say , unlike characters like ash that with the right lvl of power would make things much more fun and engaging
Did you have a stroke reading this? Also, why would you want to romance your own student(s).
@@Averi0 you do actualy in 4, and why its implied a romance with elise as sister even if its not etc what a argument
Cold steel is the worst in the series IMO. Most ridiculous part is how characters never seem to die and if they do die they just get resurrected. Also the game is too easy... You can afford to miss 27 AP and still get top rank, nightmare mode is a joke when all you gotta do is break enemies/use evasion tank and never get hit. I remember struggling against Leonhardt in trails FC and SC, arianrhod in ao etc etc.. In this game, all the fights felt like a joke, even the strongest enemies were pretty easy to defeat.
Finally, there's too many characters in the game, and it just didn't feel personal when some of them died, especially knowing some of them will prob get revived in the future.
cant stand trails of cold steel dont know why people like it
Maybe it's because unlike most other J-RPGs all the games in the Trails series together have an overarching interconnected story that is told across the span of about 5 years total (so far) through 3 separate story arcs (so far) that are, in order, the Trails in the Sky trilogy (Liberl arc) Zero no Kiseki/Ao no Kiseki (Crossbell arc) and the Trails of Cold Steel saga (Erebonia arc) and it features reoccurring characters and locations from previous games and sometimes even old plots and themes are expanded upon as well, I really can't think of another series in video games that does this approach to storytelling. It's so tightly interconnected that it feels like the same as going from season to season of an anime or TV show, complete with a cliffhanger to reel you into next "season".
Also the depth the series goes into in basically every regard is just mind-blowing, I have not seen a single other video game series, in my 26 years of life (About 22 of those have been spent gaming) whether it be Japanese OR western for that matter, that have the same level of detailed depth in the world and characters as the Trails series does. It's truly J.R.R. Tolkien or Robert Jordan tier. However I think what blows my mind even more than the world of Trails itself is the fact that Falcom are a company of a mere 62 employees and they're releasing some of the most ambitious and unique games from a storytelling perspective that absolutely puts multi-million dollar corporations to complete and utter shame.
It's no surprise the games have a cult following if you're a fan of worldbuilding there's really no other J-RPG series that can even come close to Trails.
My favorite thing that sold me was World building. Some of the characters are too cliched but there are enough good one to keep me engaged
you need to play the privous trails series to understand. if not, then you just hate anime in general. This is an Anime JRPG.
Only positive thing i can say about this boring series is the combat system is great. Exciting storytelling almost never occurs in these games. You'll maybe get 5 hours out of 60 in each game where you'll genuinely be interested in what's occurring. World building is great but only if you make the world interesting or important and most of what you get here just fluff. Characters in this series are the worse tropes of all the worse animes you can imagine. You name they've got it from sister tropes to flamboyant prince. I think if I could lobotomize myself I could maybe enjoy this series like the rest of the Fandom but until then this series can keep on being trash.