The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV

 PlayStation 4
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Image
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81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 174 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Erebonian Empire is on the brink of all out war! Taking place shortly after the ending of Trails of Cold Steel III, the heroes of Class VII find themselves against the full force of the Empire in an attempt to stop its path of total domination. Further, the hero of the Erebonian CivilThe Erebonian Empire is on the brink of all out war! Taking place shortly after the ending of Trails of Cold Steel III, the heroes of Class VII find themselves against the full force of the Empire in an attempt to stop its path of total domination. Further, the hero of the Erebonian Civil War and Class VII's instructor, Rean Schwarzer, has gone missing. Now, the students of Class VII, old and new, must unite with heroes from all over the continent to create the only chance the world has to be spared from total destruction.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Shindig
    Mar 10, 2021
    100
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the dramatic conclusion to a grand epic that’s been almost a decade in the making. It’s another chance to spend time with a bunch of characters that have become like family across three prior games, and the culmination of a nuanced exploration of the many faces of war. Most of all, it’s the sort of payoff that only hundreds of hours of meticulous, thoughtful worldbuilding can lead up to.
  2. DualShockers
    Oct 26, 2020
    95
    A fantastic conclusion to the Trails of Cold Steel series, a highlight in the ever-impressive The Legend of Heroes franchise, and a must-play for JRPG fans.
  3. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 23, 2020
    87
    The journey of Class VII continues in the war-torn world. Let's find out together with the many characters of the game what it means to become older in the review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV.
  4. IGN Italia
    Oct 23, 2020
    82
    Enjoyable in some respects, but very disappointing in others, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV does not fail to live up to the series’ legacy. Still, it's a little step back compared to the third installment.
  5. GamingBolt
    Oct 31, 2020
    80
    It's taken a long time to get here but The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4 is a well-rounded experience, brimming with memorable characters, storylines and world-building. Despite a few stumbles in pacing and localization, not to mention performance issues, it's an incredible role-playing experience.
  6. Noisy Pixel
    Oct 23, 2020
    80
    An epic conclusion to the series, but I’m partially glad that it’s over. There are many reasons to play through Trails of Cold Steel IV, from an engaging gameplay loop to an epic story. It takes some of the best elements of the series and combines it for one last hurrah aimed at those who stuck with it for this long. Still, what comes of that is a lot of filler leading to the climax, a lack of focus, and some flimsy themes. There is a satisfying conclusion that includes many of the best storylines and mechanics from the series but at the cost of a few missed plot points and a massive cast of characters with nothing to do but hang around.
  7. RPG Site
    Oct 23, 2020
    50
    I was, if not confident, hopeful that the lingering issues that I found myself grappling with in Cold Steel I and II had been mitigated when I played through Cold Steel III. However, now that I've seen the whole story, I can only say that those issues never went away. Even if they appeared fixed for Cold Steel III, they were always there, just below the surface. At this point, if I wasn't already in too deep, I'm not sure if I would even want to continue playing the Trails series. I have very little confidence that Falcom will learn their lesson with how to pace their games, and with the scope of both the world and the series as a whole constantly growing I have no confidence that future games won't run into these self-same issues, but to an even greater degree.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 75
  3. Negative: 4 out of 75
  1. lronMan
    Nov 7, 2020
    10
    This is my 9th The Legend of Heroes game, this review is business as usual. I am blown away by the quality translations NIS does, the workThis is my 9th The Legend of Heroes game, this review is business as usual. I am blown away by the quality translations NIS does, the work that Durante put into this really shows as well. And congrats to Falcom for making such an amazing game. Fantastic story telling, Amazing music, Awesome turn-based combat.

    I'm incredibly sad that the journey is over for now, cannot wait for HAJIMARI NO KISEKI!    … Expand
  2. Lover92
    Dec 4, 2022
    10
    I love this series.
    I hope falcom release kuro no kiseki English version this year ..
    And i hope there's Xbox version..
  4. Gamingking007
    Oct 29, 2020
    10
    I truly love the trails of cold steel saga! The world is massive and the story is simply amazing ! You have to play all four to fullyI truly love the trails of cold steel saga! The world is massive and the story is simply amazing ! You have to play all four to fully understand and appreciate the scope this amazing world! The characters are amazing. Their unique abilities , personalities and traits makes each character feel unique and full of depth! One of my favorite jrpgs around ! What an amazing close to an amazing series! I can’t wait for the next project ! Thanks guys !… Expand
  5. captainyeah
    Nov 4, 2020
    10
    CS4 made me feel attached to the characters in a way I haven't been since the early Final Fantasies. If you JRPGs, it'd be hard to find aCS4 made me feel attached to the characters in a way I haven't been since the early Final Fantasies. If you JRPGs, it'd be hard to find a series that lets you get deeper into the lives and backstories of the world. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed the first one and or trails in the sky since the games are similar in many ways. i had a lot of fun playing the game and exploring the free time events with the class, the story was ok.… Expand
  6. AAsupersonic
    Oct 30, 2020
    10
    Rean fate, Class7 course of actions, Can't wait to see the end of this saga with the story of the kiseki series truly a it's peak! It was aRean fate, Class7 course of actions, Can't wait to see the end of this saga with the story of the kiseki series truly a it's peak! It was a long wait. And the moment I saw them after Chapter 1, I was fascinated.… Expand
  7. Adelio
    Oct 30, 2020
    10
    CS4 has a section where 39 characters can be used. The game considered fans who completed all series. Numerous character scenes are prepared.CS4 has a section where 39 characters can be used. The game considered fans who completed all series. Numerous character scenes are prepared. Also, the after story is waiting in hajimari no kiseki.
    Let's enjoy the story of the heroes who overcome crisis situations.    … Expand
  8. DreamCore
    May 23, 2021
    0
    Unfortunately the Cold Steel series is just an empty shell of the Sky and Zero/Azure games. They decided to split it into 4 games instead ofUnfortunately the Cold Steel series is just an empty shell of the Sky and Zero/Azure games. They decided to split it into 4 games instead of 2, filling it to the brim with filler content and cheesy repetitive dialogue. All 4 Cold Steel games have identical gameplay, and cheesy, often filler dialogue together with lots of bland fetch quests. The series has not evolved at all since Zero/Azure, but rather taken several steps back in order to make as much money as possible with as little effort as possible.

    I was hoping that the 4th game would step things up, but unfortunately 80% of it is just bland filler that doesn't add any value to the main story. It's just there in order to extend the gameplay and justify splitting it across 4 games. It has really overstayed its welcome at this point and I only finished it to get the story conclusion, more often than not using the "high speed mode" and even skipping the occasional repetitive dialogue.

    Sure, there is some nostalgia with characters from all the previous games coming together, but for people who didn't play Sky and Zero/Azure this means that they wont understand who most of these characters are which would completely ruin the experience. Couple this with the fact that there isn't even an official english release of Zero/Azure.

    They didn't even bother fixing stuff between the 4 games. For example enemies still doesn't path find and still try to walk through walls.

    If this low quality bar is what Falcom is going for from now on, this will be the last LoH game I play.    … Expand

See all 75 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best PS4 Game of 2020
43
#43 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020