is a 2018
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
developed by
Nihon Falcom
is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...
. The game is a part of the ''
Trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
'' series, itself a part of the larger ''
The Legend of Heroes
''The Legend of Heroes'', known in Japan as is a series of role-playing video games developed by Nihon Falcom. First starting as a part of the ''Dragon Slayer'' series in the late 1980s, the series evolved into its own decade-spanning, interconne ...
'' series, and is the sequel to ''
Trails of Cold Steel III'' and the final entry of the ''Trails of Cold Steel'' arc.
''Trails of Cold Steel IV'' was released for the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
in Japan in September 2018 and worldwide in October 2020, with ports for
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
,
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
released in April 2021. A sequel, ''
The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie'', was released in 2020.
Gameplay
The gameplay of ''Trails of Cold Steel IV'' is similar to previous ''Trails'' games, being a
turn-based
In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based.
Real-time
Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
Japanese role-playing video game
While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...
. Gameplay is based on that of ''
Trails of Cold Steel III'', with many features returning. Several changes compared to the previous ''Trails of Cold Steel'' games include modifications to the Order and Break systems. Some characters were given weaker Orders that are upgradeable by finding treasure chests that lead to "trial" battles with fixed characters that can be used.
Mini-games include
blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
,
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, and other puzzle games.
Plot
The game is set two weeks after the conclusion of ''Trails of Cold Steel III''. Chancellor Giliath Osborne has taken control of the Erebonian Empire and intends to start a war with Erebonia's neighboring country, the Calvard Republic. Meanwhile, Class VII flees to Eryn, a secret village of witches, where they form a plan to rescue Rean Schwarzer, who was captured by Osborne after losing control of his Spirit Unification power at the previous game's climax. During their rescue mission, they learn that Rufus Albarea, the imperial governer of Crossbell and the primary member of Osborne's Ironbloods has awakened the seventh and final Divine Knight El-Prado. After rescuing Rean, Class VII is joined by allies from within and outside of the Empire to stop the Great War and an ancient evil that has plagued the Empire and its neighbors for a thousand years.
During the course of the story, Class VII, while resolving numerous incidents across western Erebonia caused by either political issues, the Great Twilight or Ourobors's plannings, uncovers the mysteries surrounding the Divine Knights, their Awakeners, and the dark history of the Empire. After the Ebon Knight Ishmelga was corrupted by humanity's malice, it became an evil sentient being, manipulated the Gnomes and spread the curse to control humanity, causing many tragedies and forcing the reincarnated Dreichels - Giliath Osborne - to become its Awakener in return of saving his son Rean. Since then, Osborne has been planning to destroy the Great One and its curse. Class VII eventually face Osborne and Ishmelga and emerge victorious.
In the normal ending, Rean absorbs Ishmelga into Valimar but is unable to contain it, so he along with Crow Armbrust, Millium Orion and their Divine Knights sacrifice themselves to destroy it. In the true ending, Rean expels Ishmelga out of himself and Valimar, which then transforms into the Great One, but is defeated and destroyed. After the battle, using the remaining power of the Sept-Terrions within the Divine Knights, Crow who became an immortal after dying in the civil war and was expected to die permanently after the destruction of the curse, and Millium who became the Sword of the End at the previous game's climax are granted a new lease on life. The Great War ends on its second day, and the Imperial Army returns to Erebonian borders.
After the post-war issues have been resolved, including an end to the Erebonian occupation of Crossbell, Class VII transfer Millium's soul from the sword into a backup body and together with their allies attend the wedding of Prince Olivert and Scherazard Harvey.
Development and release
Plans for a fourth ''Trails of Cold Steel'' game were revealed in an interview with
Nihon Falcom
is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...
president Toshihiro Kondo in November 2017, where he stated that ''Trails of Cold Steel III'' was originally intended to conclude the story arc but Falcom found it difficult to satisfactorily wrap up the story without a fourth entry.
Like the previous ''Trails of Cold Steel'' entries, it was developed using the
PhyreEngine
PhyreEngine is a license-only free to use game engine from Sony Interactive Entertainment, compatible with
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation VR, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Wi ...
game engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
.
The Nintendo Switch version was ported by
Engine Software
Engine Software (formerly MSX-Engine) is a Dutch Indie video game developer, located in Doetinchem, Netherlands, which specialized in handheld video games and digital platforms until 2011. In the period after (2011-present) they have become more ...
and the Windows version by PH3 Games.
The Japanese release was initially scheduled for late 2018 for the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
.
It was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 on September 27.
A limited edition was also sold in Japan.
Localization into English was handled by
NIS America
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and ''Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' character ...
.
It was released for the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe on October 27, 2020, and November 6 in Australia and New Zealand. A port for the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
was released in Japan on March 18, 2021,
April 9 in North America and Europe, and April 16 in Oceania. Ports for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
were released worldwide on April 9 the same year, and a version for
Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. Luna was announced on September 24, 2020, with early access available to subscribers by invitation beginning on October 20, 2020. In its early access state, Amazon Luna ...
was released one month later on May 27.
Reception
''The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV'' received "generally favorable" reviews according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, The
2018 video games
Japanese role-playing video games
Nihon Falcom games
Nintendo Switch games
Nippon Ichi Software games
PhyreEngine games
PlayStation 4 games
Politics in fiction
Fiction about reincarnation
Role-playing video games
Single-player video games
Stadia games
The Legend of Heroes
Trails (series)
Video game sequels
Video games about mecha
Video games developed in Japan
War video games
Windows games
Engine Software games