The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is really a JRPG produced by Nihon Falcom, Engine software, PH3 GmbH, and authored by Nihon Falcom, Nippon Ichi Software, NIS America and NIS America, Inc.. Stick to the adventures from the students of sophistication VII. Trainees in a special military academy, and their instructor Rean. A current graduate of Class VII himself. He now seeks to assist the most recent number of students rise towards the challenges that await them.
The Legend of Heroes has been among those series I've been dreaming of dealing with play. Having heard only wonderful things about this, it's always appealed to my passion for beefy JRPGs that are built on unique combat mechanics and well fleshed out characters. With it's upcoming Nintendo Switch release it's finally coming to a video game platform I own. And my hype couldn't be higher.
First of all, you might be wondering how accessible The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is to a brand new player to the series. While my short time within the demo revealed a game occur a deep and complex world I'm pleased to state that the sport comes equipped to aid beginners towards the series. Right in the main menu are handy primers that may be read. These include recaps of the first couple of games, as well as bios on the major characters, as well as an introduction to the world at large.
When you initially launch the demo you find yourself inside a besieged castle. No context is given for which is going on but clearly, whatever is going down is serious. After some dialogue you are in control of your party of 4 students because the charge through the castle. A picture fills my screen informing me of the several controls. As I haven't much understanding of what terms like craft mean it is mostly gibberish. Luckily the first few fights are well designed gimmes to get my feet under me.
When contact is made with an opponent the gamer is delivered to a passionate battle screen. There the party, along with its adversaries, are all all set to go. Around the left from the screen is really a turn bar, showing an order that characters will take actions in. With just minimal experimentation I'm able to get a hang of the fundamentals of combat. Everything from using the various character abilities, to the importance of proper positions around the battle field is grasped quickly over these opening encounters.
After a few easy battles, followed by a more challenging boss fight, I'm whisked from the chaotic events inside the castle. A brand new screen pops up informing me that it's now three months earlier. Here' witness the founding of a new military academy, a cadet branch of the one observed in the previous games. After a ceremony and proper summary of the cast I'm put through a thorough, and happily fun, tutorial.
This did a fantastic job of filling out all of the blanks to my earlier experiences. Also, this setup of playing then teaching had the unexpected effect of creating me feel just a little bit clever. Having confirmation that I had divined the functions of certain game elements made me feel good. Even if their purpose wasn't THAT obtuse. After i finished these tutorial battles I had been informed that I had completed the prologue. After a lovely fully animated intro sequence the demo had ended.
While the gameplay would be a blast, the visual presentation of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is simply well done. Besides the lovely anime style cutscenes the in game graphics while bright and enjoyable, aren't likely to blow anyone away by any means. But, if you enjoy a crisp anime inspired turn to your game you won't be disappointed.
All in all my demo lasted just below three hours, and quite frankly, I enjoyed every minute. The characters were entertaining, the combat was fun, with just this brief glimpse I will tell there is a rich world just waiting for me to understand more about it. This has to be my most hype summer release at this time.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is currently on PlayStation 4 and PC, and it is coming to Nintendo Switch June 30th.
