The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PC, PS3 and PSV is the second installment in a series of jRPGs developed by Nihon Falcom. The game does not introduce any significant changes to the mechanics, offering the players a continuation of the story from the first installment. This second installment came out in 2014 in Japan and two years later on western markets.

Plot

The game begins a month after the events depicted in the first installment. The civil war in Erebonia outbroke for good and the conflict between the rival forces has claimed many lives. Having escaped, Rean wakes up in the vicinity of his hometown, being uncertain about what happened to his friends. Accompanied by a gigantic robot called Valimar, the protagonist again decides to grab a sword and to seek his friends from Seventh Grade. Simultaneously however, Rean will try to put an end to the bloody conflict, which has torn his native country apart.

Mechanics

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PC, PS3 and PSV is based on the gameplay formula of the previous installment. However, the creators decided to introduce certain changes and improvements, mainly into the combat system. The so-called ''Tactical Link System'', which provided new combos and other tactical abilities used in conjunction with other characters with whom the protagonist has established relationships, appears in this game in the company of the new, ''Overdrive Mode'', which allows the linked team-members to incessantly perform attacks during even up to 3 turns in a row – this is useful especially when fighting more powerful foes.

Exploration and completing different main and side quests given by NPCs constitute an equally important element of the experience. Traversing the game world was improved through the inclusion of different transportation opportunities. An airship, which can be adjusted to one's needs, allows the player to reach places that are difficult to access; on the other hand, travelling on horseback or by a motorcycle is substantially faster. Furthermore, the protagonist can recruit allies from among NPCs scattered throughout the game world. Thanks to this, the player gains access to exclusive stores, goods, or training opportunities – what follows that – the protagonist acquires new skills.

Technical aspects

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for PC, PS3 and PSV utilizes the same technology, which had been used in production of the previous installment, so quality of the visuals represents a similar level here. The action takes place in a three-dimensional environment and the graphics (inspired by anime cartoons) makes a positive impression, mainly thanks to well-animated characters and colorful textures.

Last updated on 02 July 2021