The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

 PlayStation Vita
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
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  1. Metro GameCentral
    Nov 16, 2016
    70
    Another engrossing example of traditional Japanese role-playing, that’s still accessible enough for anyone to enjoy – as long as they’ve played the first one.
  2. Gameblog.fr
    Nov 15, 2016
    60
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II improves its gameplay mechanics, the story is more interesting, but the game suffers from a chatty and grinding progress.
  3. TheSixthAxis
    Sep 9, 2016
    70
    Trails Of Cold Steel II feels less like a sequel, and more like the second half of an incredibly rich JRPG experience. There’s a lot to take in between both these titles, and it can feel like a slog at times, especially with the first game. Cold Steel II does a great job of making that slog worth it, and delivers with an action packed story and a consistently challenging gameplay experience. It’s a hard sell for anyone who wouldn’t normally play a JRPG, but for fans of the genre it’s a cut above a lot of other modern examples, and for fans of Cold Steel I, it’s a must-buy.
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  1. Kotaku
    Oct 19, 2016
    Worth experiencing. Even when the game is at its most sluggish, it’s never boring. For a story-heavy RPG, good writing can make up for all other deficiencies, and this is a prime example of that.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PS Vita Game of 2016
5
#5 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2016
9
#9 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 78 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 78
  3. Negative: 11 out of 78
  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 and    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 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...    … Full Review »
  2. 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.… Full Review »
  3. ThatJRPGGuy
    Dec 24, 2016
    9
    The Legend Of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel II is probably one of the best JRPGs I have ever played. If you played the first game, the storyThe Legend Of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel II is probably one of the best JRPGs I have ever played. If you played the first game, the story excites you giving you the desire the to play the next game, I can honestly say I have felt this way about very few games. The story is one of my favorites that I will never forget, the characters of class 7 will always be favorite group students. The game itself is great that you can freely cross save from PS3 to Vita.

    Interestingly about the game is that fact that you can make the characters play style the way you want to be, I could make Elliot (Best healer in the game) a tank if I wanted to. The game gives so much freedom which I find very important in RPGs,

    Gameplay, this has to be my favorite game when it comes to turn based combat. The characters unique styles of fighting makes the game so much fun! The replay value of this game is highly likable due to the nightmare difficulty for New Game+ mode and just to enjoy the story again.

    The reason why I don't give this game the perfect 10 was that the main story quest in the beginning was repetitive from the first couple chapters. I thought that they would change this from the last game, it was the only thing that was slowly losing my spark for the game cause it was back to doing favors for people in the main story, if quest were not main story, I would give it the perfect 10 but sadly that's what they just couldn't change.    … Full Review »
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