The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 - Reviews

(4.9)

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15.12.2017

The Legend of Heroes: Trails series has been my favourite long form set of jrpg's for world building and story telling for six years now, ever since I first played Trails in the Sky FC and from my star rating you can see that I feel the Cold Steel II more than lives up to that legacy. The questions I guess are in what way do I consider these games and this particular instalment to be exceptional and are they for everyone or just for a niche market.Over all I love these games because the quality of the character writing, story telling and world building are simply the best I've seen within the genre. Other games,such as the Persona series are equally good when it comes to creating vivid well fleshed out characters and in each individual instalment they may very well have the edge, but the Trails wins hands down in that goal of goals in modern franchises, creating a shared universe in which the individual parts work on their own yet still add up to more than the sum of their parts.The graphic in the series have evolved from being substandard technically but with nice design to being reasonable technically with nice design. Falcom simply don't have the depth of resource to play in the same end of the pool as the big boys when it comes to the technical side. Where they do excel is in creating instantly clear and recognisable character portraits which lets you follow the actions without any strain and CSII is their best effort to date. The world is lovely, the mechs are fun but none of it stands out in a time when we're getting such visual marvels of FFXV or Persona 5.The music for the series has always been strong and this game has maybe the best over all score I've yet heard in a Trails game, it might not have that killer emotional track, such as the Whereabouts of Light from Trails in the Sky, but from the mood to the battle music it's all fantastic.The Characters are mostly the same as the ones you'll have met in CSI and the few new additions are delightful (honestly guys Duvalie is an absolute riot). The story is still centred on Rean and Class VII and they hold the stage effortlessly.The big difference between this game and CSI lies in pacing and structure. Where as the first game was a slow build within a ridged structure (though one I thoroughly enjoyed) Here we're galloping into major plot points right out of the starting gate and the scenario of a country undergoing a civil war is gripping.So far everything I've listed would suggest that it's a game for all comers but honestly that's not really true. In game play terms this is a refinement of an old fashioned turn based battle system which has been around for a quarter of a century. Now personally I still love this type of game play. I love the breath of tactical options with which you're presented and the opportunity to build your characters to fill certain roles; it all calls to the old rpg purist in me. But it's not really for everyone, not with the changes that have come to the genre in the intervening years since it first conceived. I will say though that this is one of the best version of that system I've ever seen implemented, the only other one of recent vintage to be as good would be Bravely Default. However, if you're not into turn based battle systems don't touch this. It's not going to be the one to change your mind.So over all it's a game for those who are going to like it anyway. But if you are one of those lucky people you will absolutely adore Trails of Cold Steel II. Of course if you try and play it without having played Trails of Cold Steel I you'll be hopelessly lost and bewildered but look at it this way, that just means you've got 90 or so hours of wonderful JRPG goodness to enjoy before picking this one up.

25.11.2016

I have clocked over 90 hours in this game and the only thing that remains is the ending.This game provides more of the same as the first game, but with enhanced gameplay as in less linearity, more characters (albeit guests for the most part) more minigames, more means of transportation that are convenient, slightly better graphics, a few more lovely musice scores, and more options for strategic battles.Despite the invisible walls that were so prevalent in the first game, this game gives you much more freedom to explore Erebonia, particularly areas you couldn’t explore in the first game, and features fewer invisible walls. Instead of going from point A to point B solely,you can go to the majority of the map very quickly, which is a very welcome change.There is a very big number of new characters to play, although they are limited to certain missions, but it is really nice to play as these characters despite the limited amount of time you get to control them.You have a snowboarding game with some nice rewards, and the blade card game with some new cards and the fishing game makes a comeback.Mobility: in the first game, the only other fast way of moving was the horses, which was limited to only one area in the game. In this one, however, you can use fast horses in almost most areas except in towns and dungeons. Also, you can use your own spaceship to travel fast.Both graphics and music are enhanced, albeit the graphics are not too much different and many music pieces make a return and I really loved the English voices, mind you there are no Japanese.In terms of the battle system, it is still turn-based but with more options such as overdrive, in which you get stat boosts, act three times in succession, do critical damage and get rid of your status ailments if any. You also have one extra more destructive ultimate S craft (ultimate skill/attack) for everyone, and you can summon your divine night in most battle to fight for you. Speaking of knights, you have to use your mecha knight in certain battles and upgrade him, which really spice things up in this game and adds variety to the gameplay. There are also a few more optional battles with hard bosses, which nets you with lost arts (devastating arts that are costly to cast).The bonding events, in which you get to know your classmates more and sometimes more intimately, make a welcome return in this game as most characters were interesting, but my only grip is that the final bonding event can only be done with one character per walkthrough unless you are ready to load a previous save file to redo a relatively significant portion of the game. A new way of strengthening bonds among the characters is by defeating trial treasure chests, but be ready to keep shuffling your characters and equipping and reequipping them.Overall, this game is still very detailed in terms of world building and character development. The social link system reminds me of persona, of which I am a big fan and it still manages to make old school battles feel fresh and strategic despite the very long time I spend in them. Although this game does not do any revolutionary things as such, it really does what a jrpg sets out to do really well and I really do recommend and love this game. I just wish that more lines were dubbed.Update1: I finished the game after playing for 100+ hours although I am a bit of a perfectionist but I didn’t try to get everything. While the ending was good and satisfying it didn’t leave me very emotional as persona 4, my favourite game of all time, did, but at least it didn’t end on a cliff-hanger as the first game and I am really looking forward to the third one in this series whatever platform it turns up to be in.

23.8.2020

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 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,

10.6.2019

finally released for the ps4 after a long 6-7 week wait after finishing the first game on ps4, unfortunately I didn’t want to wait and bought the 2nd game on the vita which graphics wise is not the best however it looks far better on the ps4 also has all dlc which is a massive help especially if playing on a higher difficulty level ?, the problem with the first game was that it was very linear and not much room for exploring however the 2nd game allows more freedom to explore as the game goes on ?, length wise it took me 70 hours to complete doing all quests and getting as many trophies as I could on a first play through,

13.12.2016

This game is brilliant. It expands on the first and improves some shortcomings gameplay wise. The game is so similar to the first that this feels like the same game but that is a great thing. This is definitely a niche title but if you are at all interested in J-RPGs give this series a go. The first installment starts off slow and there are some pacing issues but I stuck to it and the characters really grew on me despite the classic anime character tropes. The first game ends on a cliffhanger so I really wanted to know what happened next. After playing this one I can't wait for the third. I hope they make one to continue the story!

4.10.2019

Great continuation of the series, with a good section to bring you up to speed if you did not play the original. Its more open than the original as you can fly around in your airship, The characters are the highlight, just about every one of them is so well realised that you want to continue just to see them again. The gameplay is deep, with a great deal of customisation and the boss fights are very memorable. You do have to pay attention to your builds in the last third or so of the game as it gets quite challenging if you do not However you can refight on easier difficulties without having to reload so its accessible to most.

13.7.2019

If you liked the first game then you will love the second. You get to revisit all previous locations from the first game and get to see new areas connected to them. Character development is fantastic, as with any Falcom game, and the new battle mechanics are a welcome step forward adding more tactical options. Overall its a solid jrpg for fans and a truly underrated gem.

26.2.2021

Arrived before delivery date and the game is fantastic. More of the same brilliant story and characters with a few improvementsSeemed like the art book was separate in the promo photos but it's just a game manual unfortunately :(

25.9.2019

It's a great game I played the first one and seconed one on my ps vita all the time.Only down thing I can say is that I had to buy them again for the ps4. Because the 3rd one is Ps4 and not ps vita.

21.12.2016

Trails of Cold Steel II was originally released in Japan a few years ago and has finally made it to the western front. If you haven't played the first game in this series (

10.10.2018

Great world building and lore. Likeable characters, good gameplay and amazing soundtracks. The second is even better than the first. You won't regret playing this series.