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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
Developer(s)Nihon Falcom[a]
Publisher(s)Xseed Games
Director(s)Takayuki Kusano
Producer(s)Toshihiro Kondo
Programmer(s)
  • Nobuhiro Hioki
  • Toru Endo
Writer(s)Hisayoshi Takeiri
Composer(s)
  • Hayato Sonoda
  • Takahiro Unisuga
  • Saki Momiyama
  • Yukihiro Jindo
  • Toshiharu Okajima
SeriesTrails
EnginePhyreEngine
Platform(s)
Release
September 25, 2014
  • PlayStation 3, PS Vita
    • JP: September 25, 2014
    • NA: September 6, 2016
    • EU: November 11, 2016
  • Windows
    • WW: February 14, 2018
  • PlayStation 4
    • JP: April 26, 2018
    • NA: June 4, 2019
    • EU: June 7, 2019
  • Nintendo Switch
    • JP: August 5, 2021
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II[c] is a 2014 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and serves as a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel.

It was first released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita before being localized into English by Xseed Games in 2016. A Windows port by Xseed was released in February 2018, while a remastered version for the PlayStation 4 was released in Japan in April 2018 and worldwide in June 2019. A port for Nintendo Switch was released in Asia in 2021. A direct sequel, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, was released in late 2017.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Trails of Cold Steel II is similar to the first Trails of Cold Steel game, being a traditional Japanese role-playing video game with turn-based battles.[1] Game progression is no longer tied to the school schedule structure of the original, with the game now centered around traveling the world rather than attending classes.[2] If the player has a completed game save file from the prior game, it has an effect in Cold Steel II, with certain events and dialogues playing out differently based on choices and relationships built in the first game.[3]

Plot

Beginning one month after the original Trails of Cold Steel, the game's events take place largely concurrently with the final chapter of Trails to Azure. Rean Schwarzer wakes from a month-long coma he fell into after unwillingly escaping from Trista at the end of the previous game. He makes it to his hometown of Ymir with the assistance of bracer Toval Randonneur, but Rean quickly finds him and his loved ones caught in the crossfire of the war. Rean's opponents are the Noble Alliance, which has partnered with the Imperial Liberation Front from the previous game, as well as Ouroboros - a recurring group of antagonists in the Trails series. Students from Thors Military Academy, including those from Class VII, have been scattered across the country, so Rean resolves to find his classmates, put an end to the civil war, and save those he cares about.

After Rean gathers the scattered students, resolving conflicts across eastern Erebonia while doing so, he leads them in liberating Thors from the Noble Alliance. During their journey, they find many parallels between the modern civil war and the War of the Lions, a civil war took place 250 years ago in Erebonia and was put to an end by the former Awakener of Valimar, Dreichels the Lionheart. The members of Class VII attack the Erebonian capital of Heimdallr to stop the Noble Alliance and end the war. They succeed, but at the cost of the life of Crow Armbrust, former member of Class VII and leader of the Imperial Liberation Front who defects from the Alliance to save the Erebonia's Crown Prince Cedric from the Divine Knight Testa-Rossa, which had been cursed and corrupted into becoming a monster called the Vermillion Apocalypse. Chancellor Osborne, believed to have been assassinated by Crow at the start of the war, arrives to seize control of the situation. He reveals his intent to take over Ouroboros's "Phantasmal Blaze Plan", annex Crossbell State, and that he is Rean's biological father. After the war, the Noble Faction's power is diminished while Chancellor's is expanded.

Before the end of the school year, the members of Class VII over come one final trial in the old schoolhouse. At the end of their first year, all of Class VII's members except Rean choose to graduate from Thors early, and they make a vow to improve in their respective specialties and face the impending turbulent times together.

Development and release

Trails of Cold Steel II uses the PhyreEngine game engine. Trails of Cold Steel II was first released in Japan on September 25, 2014, for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.[4][5] The game was localized into English by Xseed Games.[6] Work on translating the game began in February 2015, with around 1.45 million characters to be translated.[6] Translation took about a year, being about 95% complete by January 2016.[6] Xseed added approximately 11,000 lines of English dialogue for its English release. The game was released for PS3 and Vita in North America on September 6, 2016,[3] and in Europe on November 11.[3] A port for Windows was released worldwide on February 14, 2018. This version features various enhancements such as support for 4K resolution, various graphical enhancements, and additional English voice acting.[7]

A remastered version for the PlayStation 4, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai, was released in Japan on April 26, 2018, and in North America and Europe in June 2019.[8][9][10] A port for the Nintendo Switch, developed and published by Clouded Leopard Entertainment was released in Japan and Asia on August 5, 2021.[11][12]

Reception

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13][14][15] Famitsu gave the PS3 and PS Vita versions of the game a score of 31/40.[17] Chris Shrive of Hardcore Gamer strongly praised the game for being "a modern JRPG masterpiece" with "the perfect blend of the classic JRPG formula mixed with contemporary features" concluding that "the emphasis on story telling and immense cast of memorable characters make the large time commitment worthwhile".[19] Kimberly Wallace of Game Informer was similarly positive about the game's story and characters, but complained of the game's dull dungeons design. Despite the shortcomings, she still felt that the game "takes the cast and story in such interesting directions and provides so much to do that it’s hard to put down...[the game] makes me care so much about the characters and the world that it becomes easier to look past its flaws".[18] Darren McPhail of RPGSite was similarly positive about the game stating "For fans of the previous Legend of Heroes games and especially the first Trails of Cold Steel, picking up Trails of Cold Steel 2 is a no-brainer easy recommendation. While this sequel is unevenly paced and lacks shocking plot twists until the conclusion, the Trails of Cold Steel games are some of the best of the genre and well worth a look for most hardcore RPG fans".[20] All three reviewers agreed that, while it was possible to enjoy the game's story as a stand-alone experience, the story was better for people who had played the original Trails of Cold Steel first, due to their direct ties to one another.[19][18][20]

Sales

In Japan, the game sold 86,283 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita and 65,498 retail copies on the PlayStation 3 within its debut release week.[21] Within that week, the Vita version placed second among all software sales in Japan, while the PS3 version placed fifth.[22] The PlayStation 4 version sold 11,345 copies during its first week on sale in Japan, placing it at number ten on the all format sales chart.[23]

Notes

  1. ^ Ported to the Nintendo Switch by Clouded Leopard Entertainment.
  2. ^ Nintendo Switch version published by Clouded Leopard Entertainment in Japan.
  3. ^ Japanese: 英雄伝説 閃の軌跡II, Hepburn: Eiyū Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki Tsū

References

  1. ^ a b Hagues, Alana (September 6, 2016). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II Review". RPGFan. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 24, 2015 suggested (help)
  2. ^ "RPGamer > Review > The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II". www.rpgamer.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Europe Gets The Legend of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel II On November 11, 2016 - Siliconera". www.siliconera.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.
  4. ^ Wen, Alan (October 6, 2019). "Hot on the Trails of Falcom, Japan's longest-running RPG developer". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  5. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki II dated in Japan". April 8, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel II's Translation Is 95% Complete - Siliconera". www.siliconera.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016.
  7. ^ Vitale, Adam. "Trails of Cold Steel II launches for PC on February 14". RPG Site. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  8. ^ Romano, Sal (November 9, 2017). "New The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel title, Trails of Cold Steel I and II coming to PS4". Gematsu. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  9. ^ Sato. "Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai Releases In Japan On April 26, 2018 For PS4". Siliconera. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (October 2018). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I and II for PS4 coming west in early 2019". Gematsu. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Hashimoto, Kazuma (October 29, 2020). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I and II Nintendo Switch Ports Announced". Siliconera. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I and II for Switch launch July 8 and August 5 in Japan and Asia". Gematsu. April 14, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  16. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1346". Gematsu. September 16, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  18. ^ a b c "Continuing To Impress And Surprise - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - Vita - www.GameInformer.com". Game Informer.
  19. ^ a b c "Review: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II". Hardcore Gamer. September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  20. ^ a b c "RPGSite > Review > The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II".
  21. ^ "Trails in the Flash II Sold Nearly The Same Amount As Its Predecessor". Siliconera. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  22. ^ "Media Create Sales: 9/22/14 – 9/28/14". Gematsu. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015.
  23. ^ Romano, Sal (May 23, 2018). "Media Create Sales: 5/14/18 – 5/20/18". Gematsu. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
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