The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

1. Gwyndolin

   Sep 6, 2016

   10

   Firstly, play Trails of Cold Steel 1 first before this...as it picks up right where it left off.
   Preferably, play Trails in the Sky FC andFirstly, play Trails of Cold Steel 1 first before this...as it picks up right where it left off.
   Preferably, play Trails in the Sky FC and SC, available on PSN or Steam before playing Cold Steel 1.
   
   Cold Steel 2 jumps right into the action. All the set up is pretty much done in Cold Steel 1 so this time around we have a pretty clear goal in mind. The formula is obviously different from Cold Steel 1 due to story circumstances. I don't really want to get into details about the story as it spoils Cold Steel 1.
   
   You will be disappointed if you are expecting major overhaul to the graphics or combat. Graphics remain the same, and combat has a few new additions but nothing major. Some really overpowered Master Quartz are in the game so if you want a challenge in the late game, stay away from those steroids.
   
   The music is still phenomenal, at this point you can safely assume Falcom JDK makes top tier music. Dubbing still mostly pretty good, from what I can see so far no translation errors, as expected of Xseed.
   
   It is kind of a shame that the very end of the game spoils some major stuff from Trails of Zero and Trails of Azure, which are not localized in the West yet at time of this review. After some debate, I would say skim(or just skip text) through the Epilogue/Gaiden chapters when they talk about Crossbell so they don't leave too much of an impression, this way by the time Zero and Azure comes out in the West hopefully you'd have forgotten all about it...… Expand

   • 10 of 10 users found this helpful
2. MasterTiger4

   Aug 21, 2023

   10

   This game is absolutely legendary.
   Obviously, at least for 2, you need to play the First Trails of Cold Steel, while you can start fresh atThis game is absolutely legendary.
   Obviously, at least for 2, you need to play the First Trails of Cold Steel, while you can start fresh at Trails of Cold Steel 3 because the first game left on a cliff hanger and start fresh with a new class 7 with the third entry.
   It is turn base, party base game with full 3d movement and character placement is key for the best strategy to beat bosses.
   The setting is based in a military academy following our protagonist Rean, think Final Fantasy 8 or Type-0, and spoiler if you have not played the first game so stop reading now.
   After the defeat of Rean at the hands of Crow, he find himself up north with Emma's talkative cat, where he grew up in. His mech, yes there are mechs in this game, has been damaged severely.
   Now he must rise up against the terrorists who attacked the academy and find his classmate comrades who have been scattered across the country.
   Political intrigued, massive plot twist nobody saw coming, are all present in the climax of this duology.
   Yes, there are 4 games and Reverie that follows Rean's story, but Class 7 at the academy ends in this story and is a satisfying send off for the two games. As Trails 3 starts with a new class, the old class 7 are there to assist at some point but take a bigger role in the 4th entry.
   You can play both the first and second one on Vita while future entries, that has better graphics, starts at 3 on the PS4 (both 1&2 are available on PS4 and PS3)… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. xBroken2

   May 7, 2017

   10

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's quite hard to find some turn base game enjoyable these days, but Trails of Cold Steel II, is quite enjoyable, oh wait not just Trails of Cold Steel II, but The Legend of Heroes series overall still has it to be quite fun.
   
   Part II takes right after the ending of part I, The gameplay of part II does not take much change at all, the story does hit a turning point at the start of part II and focuses on the war. Class 7 gets reunited again and work their way to stop the war. Fairy a normal story overall but it doesn't disappoint you. A lot of the characters are still lovable in many ways. I found it so fun to interact with other characters in the game. Although the story does take a turn in part II day to day avtiviy feels like its still here in part II. We have time to still deepen bonds with other characters as we did in part I after every core event or so. But it's not just with class 7, we go around and regroup all of the students. Trails of Cold Steel II does it really well not leaving out side characters. Side characters will always just be side characters but Trails of Cold Steel II, gives a good amount if importance to these side characters. Overall I really love and enjoined the game, this is coming from a The Legend of Heroes fan, so my review is pretty much all about the ups of it.
   
   For the Vita version sometimes the game will get a few FPS drop, but its not something that kills the game, it still works fine overall. For the PS3 version...I don't know anything about it.
   
   Until we meet again class 7, I bid you farewell.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
5. eefeef

   Aug 31, 2023

   8

   It's even better than its predecessor. they have kept the best of it, reduced the worst of it, and made it fun with a bigger story and moreIt's even better than its predecessor. they have kept the best of it, reduced the worst of it, and made it fun with a bigger story and more epic design.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. snakekill321

   Sep 9, 2016

   8

   A great sequel. If you are unfamiliar with the events of the first trails of cold steel play that one first, this is the direct sequel. theA great sequel. If you are unfamiliar with the events of the first trails of cold steel play that one first, this is the direct sequel. the soundtrack and gameplay remain much of the same, but that is not a bad thing. These elements kept the same really makes it feel amazing and in the second one its really well done. The story is a little less well written, but it is still on par. Overall a great sequel for a great game.… Expand

   • 4 of 4 users found this helpful
7. SplitMind

   Aug 23, 2020

   7

   Trails of Cold Steel 2 carries forth all the things that made the first game so great, however it also brings a few things which are not soTrails of Cold Steel 2 carries forth all the things that made the first game so great, however it also brings a few things which are not so welcome.
   
   Firstly, there isn't a HUGE difference between this and the first game in terms of graphics, gameplay, characters and locations. This isn't such a bad thing, as the small tweaks made to gameplay are very welcome. There is a much more open world approach to this game, and that is excellent too, although I didn't really fancy going back to many places once I had explored them once.
   
   My biggest gripe with this game is that it is just too damn long and waffly. The turbo mode is a God-send in helping speed through this, but I was tempted to skip so much dialogue and much of the dialogue could actually be skipped without missing out on the general plot. I have grown to like all of the characters, however I think Class VII could have been better off with fewer members in the first game, as this adds to the waffle when every character seems to have to talk for the sake of talking. In addition to this, the game has a "finale" section which implies the game is ending, however there are quite a few hours of gameplay beyond this. This just made me want to rush through and see the credits roll. Some people might actually love this, but being a bit strapped for time I would rather have the whole experience truncated and compacted to be sharper and tighter.
   One little thing to mention also is that even on easy mode there are a few difficulty spikes. Usually these are bosses so it's not unexpected, however I did find this a bit jarring, especially the final boss who employs some very cheap tactics that marred my experience slightly.
   
   Overall, I loved this game, however the detractions I mentioned above mean I will be holding off on the sequels until I know I have the time to play them. If you like JRPGs, then you will most likely love Trails of Cold Steel 2. I reckon you could actually play this without having played the first, however you would miss out on a lot of character development and sentimentality.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. Ikrus

   Aug 23, 2023

   0

   Why do Falcom & XSEED Games continuously put out games with heavy undertones and straight up scenes of sexual assault in their games and brushWhy do Falcom & XSEED Games continuously put out games with heavy undertones and straight up scenes of sexual assault in their games and brush it off as comedy? I've seen people call this Japanese humor and what not, but cultures and mindsets should always be challenged and made more accessible to all groups of people.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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