The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
Trails of Cold Steel II cover.png
Developer(s)Nihon Falcom[a]
Publisher(s)Xseed Games
  • JP: Nihon Falcom[b]
  • EU: NIS America (PS3, Vita)
  • EU: Marvelous Europe (PS4)
Director(s)Takayuki Kusano
Producer(s)Toshihiro Kondo
Programmer(s)
  • Nobuhiro Hioki
  • Toru Endo
Writer(s)Hisayoshi Takeiri
Composer(s)
  • Hayato Sonoda
  • Takahiro Unisuga
  • Yukihiro Jindo
  • Toshiharu Okajima
Series
EnginePhyreEngine
Platform(s)
Release
September 25, 2014
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II[c] is a 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. Initially released in Japan in 2014 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, it was later localized into English and published in North America by Xseed Games in 2016. A port by Xseed for Microsoft Windows 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 the Nintendo Switch is set to release in Japan and Asia in August 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 different based on choices and relationships built in the first game.[3]

Plot[]

The game is a direct sequel to the original Trails of Cold Steel, and begins one month after its ending. Rean Schwarzer has escaped alongside his Divine Knight, Valimar. He makes it to his hometown of Ymir with the assistance of bracer Toval, but Rean quickly finds him and his loved ones caught in the crossfire of the Erebonian civil 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, had been scattered across the country, so Rean attempts to get everyone back together again to put an end to the civil war and save those he cares about.

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 Microsoft 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, is set to release 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. ^ Jump up to: a b Hagues, Alana (6 September 2016). "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II Review". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. ^ http://www.rpgamer.com/games/loh/lohsnk2/reviews/lohsnk2strev1.html
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.siliconera.com/2016/08/25/europe-gets-legend-heroes-trails-cold-steel-ii-november-11-2016/
  4. ^ Wen, Alan (6 October 2019). "Hot on the Trails of Falcom, Japan's longest-running RPG developer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  5. ^ http://gematsu.com/2014/04/legend-heroes-sen-kiseki-ii-dated-japan
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.siliconera.com/2016/01/11/legend-heroes-trails-cold-steel-iis-translation-95-complete/
  7. ^ Vitale, Adam. "Trails of Cold Steel II launches for PC on February 14". RPG Site. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  8. ^ Romano, Sal. "New The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel title, Trails of Cold Steel I and II coming to PS4". Gematsu. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  9. ^ Sato. "Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai Releases In Japan On April 26, 2018 For PS4". Siliconera. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal. "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I and II for PS4 coming west in early 2019". Gematsu. Retrieved 1 October 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. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  16. ^ "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1346". Gematsu. Retrieved 2014-11-19.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Continuing To Impress And Surprise - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - Vita - www.GameInformer.com". Game Informer.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Review: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II". Hardcore Gamer. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  20. ^ Jump up to: 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.

External links[]

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