The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is a role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. It is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes franchise, and is the final entry of the Cold Steel tetralogy. The game was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan in September 2018, and is scheduled for a worldwide release in October 2020, with ports for Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows also being scheduled for release in 2021.
Gameplay
The game plays very similarly to Trails of Cold Steel III as a traditional JRPG with turn-based battles, bringing back features such as the Order system, Orbment system, mini-games and battle commands being mapped to specific buttons rather than various menus. Each character from the new Class VII in the game has new, unique S-Craft techniques in combat. Additionally, characters utilize Lost Arts, which are significantly more powerful than regular Arts but expend a full EP gauge.There are several changes compared to Sen III, for example to the Order and Break systems. Some characters were given weaker Orders that could be upgraded by finding treasure chests that lead to "trial" battles with fixed characters that can be used. Enemies now also required "far more" break damage before break can be inflicted. Mini-games between larger battles include blackjack, poker, and other puzzle games. The Japanese release contains over 100 hours of gameplay.
Characters
The game has the largest roster of characters in the series, including the heroes of Class VII, Crossbell’s Special Support Section, and the heroes of Liberl. The game is largely centered on characters from Class VII. However, several playable characters from older games were made unplayable for the game. Main characters include Rean Scharwzer, instructor of Class VII, among others. Other main characters include Estelle Bright, Joshua Bright, Renne Bright, Agate Crosner, Tita Russell, Lloyd Bannings, Elie MacDowell, Tio Plato, Randolph Orlando, and KeA Bannings. The game does not include former character Sergei, due to the voice actor Unsho Ishizuka dying a month before its release.Story
The game is a direct sequel to the prior three Trails of Cold Steel games. It features a large number of returning characters from the Trails in the Sky trilogy, the Crossbell duology, and the previous titles in the Trails of Cold Steel tetralogy.Gamespot states the story beings two weeks after the final battle in Trails of Cold Steel III. Juna, Kurt, and Altina awaken to find out that Rean Schwarzer was captured by his father, Giliath Osborne. Determined to rescue Rean and put a stop to Osborne's plans, Juna takes charge of Class VII and travels all over Crossbell and Erebonia to try and figure out what Ouroboros and Osborne's plans are. During their investigation, they discover that the governor-general of Crossbell, Rufus, had been using his position to find and take possession of the last remaining Divine Knight. The group finally discovers the location of the facility where Rean is being held at and stage a rescue mission. Upon arriving, they find Rean has already fully succumbed to his Ogre curse, but the presence of all of his friends allows him to reconstruct his heart and regain his senses. Crow decides to rejoin Rean's side. Osborne arrives and explains to them that all of the Divine Knights have been awakened, they can begin the "Rivalry", which involves the Divine Knight holders battling each other until only one remains, with the survivor becoming the new vessel for the Great One, Ishmelga. Rean swears to put a stop to Osborne's plan as he makes his escape.
Later in the game, as in versions prior, the player is given an airship - initially one of two Merkabah airships, a class commanded by a Dominion of the Gralsritter - to explore areas introduced in prior games, although the city of Heimdallr is left unvisited and inaccessible since Erebonia is under martial law. New areas are also introduced, for example the village of Ulster, which previously appeared in a related manga.
As Rean and his friends regroup, it is also revealed that Millium had survived, having taken the form of the sword Valimar now wields. In addition, it emerges that, due to external intervention, Prince Olivert survived the destruction of the Courageous with only an eye lost in the ordeal, and now commands a larger, more powerful airship, the Courageous II, which replaces the Merkabah as the group's primary transportation. Rean decides to proceed with the Rivalry for now, as it is their only means of reaching Osborne. They first confront and engage Rutger and Arianrhod, and they are both defeated. Rutger passes away peacefully while Arianrhod is murdered by Rufus before she can defect to Rean's side. Both Rutger's and Arianrhod's followers join forces with Rean. Meanwhile, as the Curse begins to take hold over all of Erebonia, the entire country begins to mobilize for war against Calvard Republic. Osborne and Ouroboros then raise a massive floating fortress where they wait for Rean's arrival.
While his friends and allies disable the fortress' defenses, Rean and the new and old Class VII board the fortress itself and fight their through its defenders, defeating Cedric, Rufus, and Black Albreich, leaving Osborne as the final Divine Knight holder. It is also revealed that Osborne is in fact the resurrected form of Dreichels, an ancient hero who was instrumental in the formation of Erebonia who had taken the Curse within himself and arranged events as Chancellor as part of his plan to permanently destroy the Curse. Rean and Osborne then face off in one final battle, with Rean being victorious.
In the game's normal ending, with Osborne's defeat, Rean inherits the Curse but is not strong enough to contain Ishmelga. Instead, he, Crow, and Millium sacrifice themselves to destroy Ishmelga, freeing Erebonia of the Curse at the cost of their own lives.
In the game's true ending, which is unlocked by clearing the game once, Rean is able to find a way to separate Ishmelga from his soul. While Rean is freed from the Curse, Ishmelga physically manifests. Rean and all of his friends and allies work together to defeat Ishmelga for good. Rean has one final farewell to the spirits of Osborne, Rutger, and Arianrhod. With their duty done, the Divine Knights use up the last of their power to restore Crow's body and the sword containing Millium's soul before disappearing. The Emperor recovers from his wounds and retakes control of Erebonia. War with the Calvard Republic is averted and Rufus is arrested, with Osborne being made the scapegoat. Despite having been loyal to Osborne, Claire and Lechter return to their respective roles, with both continuing their duties within the Intelligence Division and the Railway Military Police. Cedric escapes and joins Ouroboros. Crossbell manages to win its independence. Millium's soul is transferred to a backup body the Gnomes had prepared, resurrecting her, albeit without her memories as a sword. Later, Rean and his friends all attend Prince Olivert's and Scherazard Harvey's royal wedding and celebrate.
In a post-credits scene, the remaining Ouroboros members meet with their leader, the Grandmaster, who assures them that despite the setbacks Ouroboros suffered, events are still going as planned. She estimates that Rean's efforts have given the world three more years before its end, and declares the beginning of the "Eternal Regression Plan".
There is also an unlockable extra scene after completing the game, with a "normal" versus a "true" ending depending on requirements met.
Development
It is the "fourteenth installment in the Eiyuu Densetsu series, the ninth installment in the Kiseki series, and the fourth installment in the Sen no Kiseki series," with IV including a recap of the prior three games.Plans for a fourth title in the Trails of Cold Steel metaseries were revealed in an interview with Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo in November 2017, stating that the company originally intended to end the metaseries after Trails of Cold Steel III but thought it would be difficult ending it there, therefore making the decision to develop a fourth entry to properly conclude the series' third story arc. Among producers were Kondou Toshihiro, with the new game marketed as the "conclusion to the gigantic military state, the Erebonian Empire."
Like the previous entries in the tetralogy, the game was developed using the PhyreEngine game engine.
Release
In late 2017, the game was initially given a release window of Q4 2018 in Japan for the PlayStation 4, which was later narrowed down to September 27, 2018. A "limited edition" was also sold in Japan.An official English localization by NIS America was announced on April 1, 2020, scheduled for release on October 27, 2020 for the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe, and November 3, 2020 in Australia and New Zealand. Ports for the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows are scheduled for release in 2021, with exact dates not confirmed. As of July 27, 2020, the Playstation 4 launch on October 27, 2020 was to be world-wide, with pre-orders active and several editions available.
A new trailer was released in July 2020, with GameInformer reporting the NIS America store alone would retail a collector's "frontline" edition, with features like a soundtrack download and artbook.