The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Review

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Genre: RPG
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc.    
Release Date: Aug 2, 2017
Price: $39.99 as of August 6th, 2017
(Information gathered from STEAM)

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Aside from about 15 hours of Final Fantasy X on the PS2 and a little bit of time in Fire Emblem, I believe this is the first in-depth JRPG I've touched. It certainly was not something I was expecting to get, but I'm honestly glad I did. I view writing articles for The Gamers Lounge as a way to expand my gaming palette, and this is no exception. This game has a lot of interesting moments and engaging game play. Even so, there are a lot of eye rolling moments, if you've seen my Twitch Stream. Mainly, if you've ever seen an anime, this uses those tropes. So many stereotypes. Just.... yeesh. Presumably they understand that fact, as it is frequently lamp-shaded by the main character. To be clear, this game is a port to the PC. Originally released on the PS3 and PS Vita in 2015 (here in the US anyways), this PC version came out on just August 2nd. There have been many improvements over the original version, and is worth checking out even if you played the originals.

As an example, this release clearly had some graphical updates, and they are amazing. Everything is clear and sharp, and is vibrant enough to clearly interpret which enemies are in the distance. It genuinely felt like I was controlling an anime, and I don't mean one where they outsource the animation to be done by some cut-rate animation studio. There is subtle variation in styles between characters versus static-objects in the game, where the characters themselves tend to pop a lot more than the surrounding background.

Speaking of the background, the music was decently composed. It fills in the silence and provides a little atmosphere. It blends in with the environment as to enhance the experience, rather than detract. However, there are times when the music really enters the main stage. Bosses are a good example of this. The music gives the more important sequences a flourish that helps captivate the attention.

Those moments help transition between cutscenes and game play as well. They use the same style and rendering as the game, so the music is a minute addition that pairs well the the removal of the UI for those instances. Personally, I almost always dislike when games switch from game fidelity to some previously rendered, high-fidelity movie for those moments. This game keeps everything visually connected, so you can remain attached to the story even as you momentarily lose control.

The small configuration window

In addition to the attention given to those cinematic cutscenes, the controls themselves where given proper treatment. Every time you boot the game, you get this small settings menu. This is cool, because you can set your input scheme every time. Most of the time you just boot straight to game, but simply having the easy option to customize every time is refreshing. This same menu also lets the user set a bunch of graphical settings and language settings, so you can change to lower graphical settings to stream or record as needed, or if you have other tasks running in the background and don't have the resources.

I'm sure you want to hear about the actual mechanics now, right? Trails of Cold Steel has a lot going on, and I only have so much space, so I'm going to have to truncate a lot of the information. If you want to see more, you can watch my recording I linked in the first paragraph or view the trailer linked at the bottom of this article. However, I'll do my best.

The game play is divided into two distinct sections: Orienteering (as the game puts it) and Student Life. Orienteering is the dungeon diving and combat aspects. You kill the monsters, you fight the boss, you get the loot and experience. You can use the loot to improve your combat or improve your social life (like items used for cooking). Over the course of combat, you gain experience to gain levels which affect attribute points. Basic things like speed, attack power, defense, etc. There is also the regular inventory management from items you can loot and buy. One of the more interesting mechanics, in my opinion is the tactics screen. It lets you position your team so you can start each normal battle in a way that lets you maximize your first-turn moves, as well as shield your frail casters. It also defines Links. Links are combat synergies between two squad-mates so that they can aid each other during the action.

As I mentioned, the other half is Student Life. During the time between major combat sessions, you will be running errands for the student council, doing class assignments, and maintaining your social life as a student. This gives many different quests with varying rewards. Most just advance the story, but some give you better items or other great perks. There is also fishing, which is a minigame that, over time, allows you to trade in points earned for rewards. There’s cooking, which lets you combine ingredients to create food that has a random chance to drop rarer versions of the dish. You can use these in battle to cure status ailments, or to heal characters, or more. Finally, there is working on your relationships with the other members of Class VII. These are done through daytime tasks, or done through the single (more effective) evening event. Not every person can be interacted with, so it matters who you choose the people correctly.

Overall, I feel that this game is a great RPG. It takes a lot of smaller facets are combines them in a way that lets you invest as much, or as little, to get the story as you like. There is the ability to speed up the game as well, which makes running to areas take a lot shorter time. I genuinely enjoy this game, and will be spending a lot more time on it.

If you like RPGs, and liked the original on PS3 or Vita, then you’ll enjoy this port to the PC. According to Steam, there are more voice lines and a little more content for this, which will help give a little more depth if you return after getting it again. Either way, I highly recommend buying this game to add to your collection, or converting to digital from an old copy. 

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is now available for Windows PC on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store by Humble Bundle! Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/538680/The_Legend_of_Heroes_Trails_of_Cold_Steel/ GOG: https://www.gog.com/game/legend_of_heroes_trails_of_cold_steel_the Humble: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel?hmb_source=search_bar Among the nations on the Zemurian continent, the mighty Erebonian Empire has been quick to stake its claim militarily; yet politically, ugly bouts of internal conflict between the upper class and commoners struggling to rise to power have been steadily intensifying with each passing month.

Pro's:

• Self-aware humor that doesn't break the fourth-wall

• Great art style

• Clear audio with respectable voice acting

• Engaging story

• Lots of content for your dollar

Con's:

• The tutorial area is a little slow, but good for first time players

I would also like to thank XSEED for providing a code to review the game

"Disclosure(s): I only had time to play the first 10 hours of the game, but in that time I was able to sample most to all of the games many features."

Trulon: The Shadow Engine Review

Trulon: The Shadow Engine

An okay experience suffering from "Poor Port to Console"-itis

The game has pretty beautiful visuals.... assuming you don't get a glitch you spoil things a little

When I first read the description of Trulon: The Shadow Engine, I was intrigued. I’ve tried a card game RPG before and it was a fun, but not riveting, experience. I was worried I wouldn't have fun. As I started playing on my Xbox One, I was starting to get into the flow and enjoy myself. I started to learn the character types, and was really starting to bring out their potential in the various card types. Unfortunately, I started finding more and more bugs until, finally, I hit a bug so game breaking that I simply couldn’t continue. This was at the 8 hour mark, which should be close to the end of the game (but isn’t).

The game drops you into the boots of a monster hunter named Gladia. She starts out as a jack of all trades character, and you quickly start dispatching enemies. You soon discover that the monsters and disease in the area are related, and pick up your first additional party member: a caster named Ferra. S/he (honestly, I can’t tell. I probably missed a pronoun somewhere) becomes an asset to the team, while you discover the source comes from a neighboring kingdom. There is more story, but honestly, it is such a short and transparent story, I’ve already covered around a quarter of it. There aren’t really any surprises, as even the big twist is spoiled by the character design from when you first meet them. The game telegraphs who your future partners will be, so there isn’t any wow factor their either. Each person you pick up fills a typical RPG roll (tank/crowd control, DPS, Buff/Healing, and Debuff).

Lots of health and aggro managing cards? I think he is a healer.

There might be another character, but I don’t know. Why? Because when I was close to finishing, I hit a bug that prevented me from fighting a boss that blocks the path. I’ve tried restarting my console and I’ve tried restarting the game. I would reinstall, but on the chance that this would delete my game and set me back 8 hours, I decided to give up. However, I feel confident that this will probably happen to most players until they patch it. The sad thing is, I ignored the warning signs until that point. I had frequent lighting issues, rubber-banding, sound issues, issues with title cards, and many more. Why did I keep playing? Well, I wanted to be able to thoroughly review the game. BUT ASIDE FROM THAT, it was genuinely fun when it worked. Figuring out how to overcome each battle was fun, but sometimes suffered from a case of “you just have bad luck”. You also struggle a lot until you get into your groove with your decks. Once I got good cards to pull off combos and proper control, the game got a lot easier (but still presented its challenges). This is one of the standard RPG progressions. You are weak until you start to master your skills and more powerful abilities. Then, you start to become a threat. Then, the game starts to get easy because you outclass everything and you keep getting rewarded with even more strength.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you like RPGs that last under 10 hours, with an okay story and mildly bland characters, this might be worth a pickup if you find it on sale. But, for everyone else, I would sadly say to avoid this port until you can confirm the bugs are worked out. I give this game a 3/5. What does that mean? Take it or leave it. You'll likely have some fun, but won't regret passing it up.

Thank you Kyy games for the review code!

DestinyQuest: Infinite Part 1 Review

DestinyQuest Infinite : Part 1

Moderately Entertained

Now, I’m not saying the game is bad, nor am I saying the game is good. For the 7-13 hours I played, I was moderately entertained. There are three main areas that should be examined to explain my critique: Playability, or how easy to is to control the flow of the game; Story; and Execution of the Goal. Once I explain those, I think you would tend to agree with me.

Playability

As far as moderately entertaining games go, these might be some of the easiest controls for the scale of the game. Combat is simple. Click one of four buttons, most of which are disabled at any given time, and let the game handle keeping track of stats, items, enemies, etc. Fairly straight forward. However, after a certain point of being equipped incorrectly, I hit a sort of wall. With the random chance of rolling, combined with the overwhelming power of the enemies, I died. And died. And died some more. So I tried the next mission path in hopes to get stronger. And died there as well. I’ll talk more about that later though. The point I am trying to make is that they handle death fairly well. In an effort to be like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, they did what everyone did while reading those books. They bookmarked the page before the choice so when you screw up, you don’t have to read the entire book again. This makes it so it isn’t too hard to keep going when you die.

Navigating the world wasn’t that bad either. There is a simple, color-coded map that you actually get a lot of info from just by looking at it. The warmer the color means the faster you have to be in order to tackle it. Gray means it is already done. Locations are clearly labeled, and more details can be found by hovering the mouse over them.

Interacting with non-player characters is easy, but a little lacking. There are some dialog choices that you can click through to get what answers or information you can, and then you leave them alone. I mean, all games do this, but for a CYOA (choose your own story), it is a little bit of a let down. I wish it was a “talk to the bar keep OR the shadowy figure in the corner” sort of deal, where you actually have more subtle branches earlier in the game. But, I can see where that might have a chance of barring the overall story if the player completely bungles things.

View fullsize

Main Map Screen

Story

Speaking of bungling things, I did just that. In reading a short synopsis of what the game is supposed to be, I thought I would be able to resolve subplots the way I wanted them to resolve. Instead, I’m pretty sure I have to either be extremely lucky all the time on rolls or be a selfish jerk the entire game to get better gear. I thought I was going to be okay when the suggested speed was 3 and I had 3 speed. I was not. And I couldn’t go back and try again. So, I hit my wall, and chose to stop. I’m not going to spend another several hours getting back to where I was. How does that tie into the story? Well, for something with the possibility for lots of branches and play-styles, it is infuriatingly linear. I guess when they say interactive story, they mean you need to play over and over again until you find the “correct answer” to the story.

Execution of the Goal

What does this mean? It means, from what I can tell on their website, the creators were trying to make a story where you can add in lots of little paths that all combine into one massive story. Well, instead of lots of little threads being wound into one cohesive string of a story, I feel like there are lots of layers peeling off of the main story, and you have to get the main one. Of course, I remember the old CYOA stories being the same way, but I feel like this could have been much better than those; a way to make one big story to follow while small choices for allow for variation.

Example of Choices

With all that in mind, I have to reiterate my earlier point. This game is still moderately entertaining. You can pick it up for 5 minutes or 5 hours and still make plenty of progress to the end. It captures the core spirit of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, while allowing for the details a computer can afford. Also, for you paying attention to the titles, there is indeed a part two! This is only referring to part one of three of the series. And, while I don’t have a complete grasp of the series, they say that you can jump right into part two and be able to keep up. So, I will brave that and write another review on their improvements to that.

Score 3 out of 5