Platforms: PS4, Switch, PC
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: NIS America
Release Dates:
JP: September 27th, 2018
US: October 27nd, 2020
EU: October 27nd, 2020
AU: November 6th, 2020
Switch and PC: 2021
Note: Cold Steel 1-3 story details are fair game to discuss openly. Other arcs should be tagged accordingly.Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: NIS America
Release Dates:
JP: September 27th, 2018
US: October 27nd, 2020
EU: October 27nd, 2020
AU: November 6th, 2020
Switch and PC: 2021
Story
"Now, Rean. Let us begin. Together, we shall write the end to this wretched fairy tale. In ink, black as despair."
The Erebonian Empire is on the brink of all out war. The heroes of Class VII find themselves against the full force of the Empire on the path to domination. Further, the hero of the Erebonian Civil War and Class VII's instructor, Rean Schwarzer, has gone missing. Now, the students of Class VII, old and new, must unite with heroes from all over the continent to create the only chance the world has to be spared from total destruction.
Gameplay
Cold Steel 4 continues with the style of turn based combat that the series is known for. Compared to the previous games, there have been a number of changes.
The Order system, where characters can use Brave Points for special buffs, start weaker now and are upgradeable by finding treasure chests that lead to trial battles, similar to the trial chests in Cold Steel 2. These are combat challenges that require specific party members and push the limits of the combat system. Unlike Cold Steel 2, you can fast travel to these chests from the map so swapping out party members is easier.
Lost Arts return from Cold Steel 2, where characters can use all of their EP in battle in order to use powerful spells to turn the tides of battle. New Class VII can also summon their Soldats for a special move once per battle.
Characters
Featuring the largest playable roster in the series so far, Cold Steel 4 is packed full of characters from previous entries in the series, alongside Class VII old and new.
Rean Schwarzer
A young man who was born the son of Chancellor Osborne before a grim chain of events led to his adoption into the Schwarzer family.
He is a practitioner of the Eight Leaves One Blade style, and harbors a mysterious power within him. Following the end of the Erebonian Civil War, he was hailed as a hero throughout the Empire and became known as the "Ashen Chevalier," pilot of Valimar, the Ashen Knight.
While leading both new and old Class VII to fend off the crisis that faced Erebonia, he fell prey to the masterminds' schemes, resulting in him losing control over his power and triggering the end of the world.
Juna Crawford
The de facto leader of the new Class VII—an energetic girl with a strong sense of justice. She was raised in the formerly independent Crossbell State. She idolizes the Special Support Section and enrolled in Crossbell's police academy to follow in their footsteps, but certain circumstances forced her to transfer to Thors' branch campus instead.
Though initially distrustful of the people who had invaded her home—not least of all their hero, the Ashen Chevalier—her many trials overcome with Class VII helped her grow. She is now determined to fight for a future where Crossbellans and Erebonians can work together, hand in hand.
Now that the Great Twilight has spread throughout Erebonia, however, Juna's fulfilling days at the academy have come to an end, leaving nothing awaiting her but bleak reality.
Kurt Vander
A handsome young man with a strikingly serious personality. He is the second son of the Vander family—a line of Imperial sword masters—and possesses an inordinate level of skill with dual blades.
His family's dismissal from their duties as Imperial bodyguards had left him without purpose, causing him to withdraw from the main campus and enroll in the branch campus instead.
Though initially doubtful of how capable the Ashen Chevalier really was, he begins to take Rean's lessons to heart over time, growing as both a person and a swordsman.
Ash Carbide
A troublemaking punk who grew up in the slums of Raquel. Despite his coarse mouth and brazen behavior, he possesses exceptional talent in a variety of fields.
Though originally enrolled in Class VIII of the branch campus, he transferred into Class VII halfway through the year, where Rean and the rest of the class proved influential in helping him discover his own path.
However, he suddenly attacked Emperor Eugent III under the influence of Erebonia's dark curse, sparking a nationwide uproar. Though taken into custody, he was rescued by the Weissland Army under orders from General Aurelia Le Guin; but since her departure from the branch campus, his current whereabouts are unknown.
Altina Orion
A seemingly emotionless girl who uses her combat shell, Claiomh Solais, to fight. She was formerly affiliated with the Imperial Army's Intelligence Division under the code name "Black Rabbit," and served as Rean's support and surveillance during his time fulfilling the government's orders.
When Rean was assigned to the branch campus as an instructor, she enrolled under secret orders herself. Her experiences as a student of Class VII deepened her bonds with Rean and her classmates, causing her to slowly develop genuine emotions.
During the incident in Heimdallr, she was resolved to protect her friends at the cost of her life, but ended up losing someone dear to her instead. Lamenting days now forever lost, Altina sank to the depths of despair...
Musse Egret
A delicate-looking, mysterious girl from the prestigious Egret family. She originally attended St. Astraia Girls' School prior to enrolling in the branch campus.
The mysterious airs and hidden talents she had let slip during her time as a student were in fact only a taste of her true identity: Mildine Juzelith de Cayenne, niece of Duke Cayenne and heir apparent to the Cayenne Duchy.
Having secretly formed the Weissland Army out of noble forces in order to oppose Chancellor Osborne, she has left the branch campus to continue her work on the main stage alongside her two collaborators, Aurelia Le Guin, the Golden Rakshasa, and Vita Clotilde, the Azure Abyss.
Media
Gameplay Trailer
Story Trailer
FAQ
How long is the game?
If you mainline the game without engaging with side content , the game will be around 50-60 hours. If you go for the completitionist approach, (sidequests, collectibles, minigames and NPC talking) most reports are closer to 90-110 hours for everything.
Can I start with this one?
I would advise against it for this game. Cold Steel 4 is meant to be the finale of the Cold Steel saga (the subtitle in Japan was literally "The End of Saga") and wrap up lingering plot points from the previous two arcs, Trails in the Sky and the two Crossbell (Zero/Ao) games, the latter of which were never officially localized. Cold Steel 4 does assume that the player has knowledge of previous arcs and doesn't do much explaining so it puts Western players in a weird spot. The ideal scenario would be to play those games but the mix of platform availability and localization status makes that difficult. Otherwise you should have at least played the previous Cold Steel games.
What about summaries for the previous games?
NISA have summaries for Cold Steel 1-3 on their Cold Steel 4 website here. There are also recaps for them within the actual game.
Then here are summaries for the Trails in the Sky and Zero/Ao games.
Trails in the Sky FC, SC and 3rd
Trails to Zero and Trails to Azure
Links
Trails of Cold Steel 4 website
Review Thread
Kiseki/Trails Community OT
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