Falcolm sure does love extensive world-building, and direct sequels in the most literal sense possible. If you’re familiar with the Trails subset of The Legend of Heroes games, you’ll know what to expect with how Trails of Cold Steel II is set up. Following the perspective of Rean Schwarzer, the game picks up the moment the previous one left off. By the way, do check out my previous review if you’re a curious bystander. There is no way to avoid spoilers here, sorry. Trails of Cold Steel II is a pretty huge shift from the first game, both in tone and structure. I’d argue this is because of two key points: significant character growth and, well…giant robots.

Much to darn near everyone’s surprise, Trails of Cold Steel wrapped up its final hours with a heart-pounding cliffhanger and a giant robot battle that was cleverly foreshadowed in such a way that let the twist make sense while still blowing you out of your seat. Rean and antagonist/traitor Crow are now pilots of Divine Knights, super-powerful mecha with ancient powers. The armies butting heads also have mecha, but on a much smaller, more industrial-grade scale.

Battles in the Divine Knight alter the pace and flow of combat quite a bit and are used as a new mechanic introduced in the closing hours of a previous title in a series should be. Most of the game is still the usual swords and sorcery, but the climactic tail-end of a chapter just might reward all your hard work with a goofy cutscene and some Xenogears-y action. Battles in this arena become a sort of rock/paper/scissors-style guessing game, with the payoff being some pretty seriously over the top attacks.

Much of Trails of Cold Steel II is basically the same but way more. Those familiar with Trails in the Sky won’t be surprised to find the cast starting at high levels, often set up with skills and equipment that didn’t show until late in the first game. The power creep doesn’t mean much as you progress as you would in any other JRPG, but the numbers are that much higher, showing how much stronger Class VII has grown. A couple new mechanics have been added as well, with the supporting cast now able to participate in Divine Knight battles, and a new Overdrive ability that adds more opportunities for players to mess with the turn order system.

Giant robots and other gimmicks aside, Trails of Cold Steel II also plays with the previous game’s formula, reflecting how these characters’ world has jumped from going to what is basically high school to being caught in the middle of a civil war. The Persona-like systems of the first game are still present, but in a skeletal sense that preserves the rewards but doesn’t quite adhere to the established gameplay loop. Sometimes you have to suspend disbelief a bit, as being graded for doing side quests doesn’t make a ton of sense when Thors Academy is under military occupation and some pretty serious plot leaps are taken to ensure the cast gets some leisure time despite being on the run and hanging out in a not very secret location.

The real meat and potatoes here is how dang well-written the characters are. Cold Steel introduced us to a bunch of mostly innocent kids who were ignorant of the world around them and uncomfortable around each other. 

Now that Rean has spent countless hours mediating between them and Erebonia has gone down the tubes, Class VII has matured greatly and their displays of intimacy and genuine care for one another during such trying times produce some of the most touching scenes of people just talking to each other in recent JRPG memory. Most people rag on the power of friendship as a goofy video game trope, but Trails of Cold Steel II makes me absolutely believe in it. As I continue to play this game, I want to know more about each character and how they see their own place in this constantly developing world, and I don’t just mean where my relationships end up after I spend my bonding points or whatever. Everyone is important and I just want them all to be happy and no more bad things to happen to them!

Ahem. What I’m trying to say is Trails of Cold Steel II is a great game, and a great sequel. It takes all the threads and systems introduced in the first game and makes huge changes, tangibly slapping the player in the face with a sense of progress and evolution. The writing, always the main selling point in The Legend of Heroes, has arguably hit the high point here. Seeing how much this cast has grown as people and how much genuine emotion is on display is a rare treat in this medium. It feels like going on a journey with a group of real people. And their cool robot.

Hint: Stick to controlling Rean on the field and remember to press X twice to attack enemies on the field. He recovers quickly enough from the second strike to move before the stunned enemies do, allowing you to stun-lock them and eventually get behind for a sneak-attack.

by Lucas White