The Game Collection: Trails of Cold Steel IV

This video contains spoilers for Cold Steel III, and what some might consider spoilers for Cold Steel IV.
0:00 intro and spoiler warning
0:35 gameplay montage
1:17 CS III Recap and the "hook" of CS IV
4:20 Juna's dynamics as protagonist and the "hand-off"
6:39 Critique of "harem" and its affect on storytelling
7:49 Overarching story review
9:20 Combat & Gameplay
11:10 QoL improvements
12:12 Visuals & Graphics
12:44 Audio
13:06 Overall impressions

[@Xpalzin]

Cold Steel 1 is what got me into the series and I have to say, best gaming discovery I have ever made. Seeing this conclusion is really one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had

[@Ghalion666]

I encourage people to play from chronological order, but I do think CS is a fine starting point too. I just beg people not to play Zero before the 3 sky games since zero has some of the heaviest most gut-punching moments in the series that will fall flat if you didnt' play sky.

[@Xpalzin]

@@Ghalion666 I agree, my play order was - CS1 - CS2 - SKY 1 - 3 - Zero & Azure - CS 3 & 4 & Reverie

[@SuperSupersoda]

Not only are there 40 characters in this game, with unique move sets, but every single vantage master and pom party opponent plays differently and plays how you picture that character playing in your mind. Ash plays the mini-games with an all-gas, no breaks style (heavy offense), Musse plays the games like a master strategist (there is no one better at timing S-breaks in Pom Party than Musse, that's what makes her hard to beat), Anton plays timid and defensive, and always tries to protect himself at all times, Angelica plays with the exact fearlessness that you would picture Angelica Rogner playing with. The mini-games are also part of the story, and provide character beats. This would have been a gigantic chore for Falcom to program, and no other developer goes to the lengths to provide individual play-styles for computer opponents in mini-games. So, yeah, Falcom isn't perfect and Cold Steel IV isn't perfect, but I'm willing to forgive a lot when a random mini-game completely sells the illusion that I'm actually playing against Musse Egret and not a computer AI, because the mini-game plays exactly how I picture a game against Musse going. One other thing about Reverie, Derek, if you ever read this comment, there is one thing I want you to look out for: Trails into Reverie is really two games running in parallel to each other, one of which takes place in Zemuria and the other of which takes place in the Reverie Corridor. The final boss of the Zemuria story is the perfect final boss for one of the two arcs that Reverie is an epilogue to (Crossbell/Erebonia), and the final boss of the corridor is the perfect final boss for the other arc. Also, when you get to the final boss of one of these two stories, the ending of Cold Steel IV will make a hell of a lot more sense. Falcom didn't just put in a final boss that would be a challenge and call it a day, they didn't even put in a final boss that was appropriate for the story of Reverie, they put in a final boss who was the perfect thematic culmination of what each arc was all about. Like I said before, Falcom isn't perfect. A lot of fans think the mid-game of Cold Steel IV is padded with things that aren't required, and those fans are not wrong about that. However, the Trails series does things that no other games series around does today. Every JRPG has mini-games, but compare Vantage Master and Pom Party to any of the mini-games in even a contemporary classic like Yakuza Like a Dragon and there's no comparison. I love Like a Dragon, but the mini-games are boring, repetitive grind-fests that lack any individual personality. Trails is so far ahead on this of even other great JPRGs, it's crazy.

[@EpicJoeE]

This is the content I miss. Good old Game Collection Reviews… and RPG Weekly News segment RIP

[@SuperDerek]

Thanks Joe! The Game Collection is still chugging along, they just take a bit. The JRPG Weekly Update right now is on hold, but hopefully the HitPoint JRPG News Podcast can help fill that void. But I totally understand having the much shorter easily consumable videos are wildly different from 2-hour news and discussions. :)

[@tigercastle2428]

Awesome vid my dude! Keep up the great work!

[@MaZeW1]

5:25 I honestly thought this was done very well. I was outright grateful for Juna's wake-up speech. At that point New C7 had just woken up, old C7 had been awake for weeks, and they had done absolutely nothing. It may not be obvious despair they felt but on some level they expected Rean to fix his own problems and come to lead them to victory like always. They were so stuck in this old habit that the thought of taking iniatitive themselves never occured to them. And Juna shook them out of that.

[@SuperDerek]

Totally. I think that's part of the reason for the disparity between people who liked Juna, and those who didn't though -- it was this hand-off. I "got it" during my play-through, some viewers didn't see it the same way though, which I think poisoned them against Juna a bit, at least initially.

[@Ghalion666]

I never felt like Juna was doing anything wrong per say in that regard. But I just never cared for her that much as a character because she just kinda felt like 'inferior Estelle'. Because the writing around Estelle's character growth into inspirational leadership was carefully constructed over like 100 hours. But for Juna it just wasn't even close. Not that it was her 'fault' per say, but I just can't bring myself to hype a character that really feels like less than half of another fave of mine within the same series despite intentionally being made to fill in much of the same role.

[@S_Hyde]

Love this game, beat it last year myself and damn, it cemented Trails of as one of my favorites. It was also the one where I couldn't stand some of the english voices anymore and switched to JP, sadly noticing the games haven't gotten the translations they deserve. Many of the writing aspects that feel odd or awkward come from these butchered translations.

[@RikusonOne]

Glad you enjoyed the game. I agree with you that at the end of the day this is a JRPG and most JRPGs by the end of their stories demand the players to suspend their disbelief because the supernatural plots and troupes come into play. Trails is a different level of requirement when it comes to that suspension of disbelief because of the fact that this jrpg story spans so many entries. I feel some people's mindset were only willing to provide a level of suspended disbelief that would be reasonable for a jrpg story that begins and ends with one entry thus when Trails 9 ask for more they are either can't or wouldn't thus they fall off. The overarching story isn't nearly as bad so those people say it is, far from it. This could have been a whole lot worse and i agree with you we've seen what a jrpg story that spans mutiple entries and turns into a true mess to follow already looks like it's called Kingdom Hearts.

[@PhotonSieve]

I love this game. Such an epic and satisfying conclusion to the Erebonia arc.

[@bongatumtum]

I was looking forward to this one, Derek! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the game and my thoughts mirror yours almost to the letter. I also agree Juna was a good mini-protag and found it a shame that she didn't resonate much with the fanbase. Actually, my desire to play Reverie was what got me to start the Cold Steel saga, as I was on a break after Azure and I'm happy to report that I absolutely loved my time with that game too! Looking forward to your thoughts on that (and Daybreak!) down the line!

[@VyraLove]

I love the end card segment of the video, where there's the double display that has previews of the reviews in question. That was very nicely done I think. XD

[@SuperDerek]

Thanks Vyra! Not gonna lie, spent way too long on that. xD

[@pencilcheck]

Still finishing cold steel 3, 150 hours in finally got into final chapter lol

[@msaag5490]

I've got my issues with Cold Steel 4 and they boil down to the Curse's implementation, the harem aspect, and characterization issues for Osbourne and Musse. The Curse I dislike simply because it felt underutilized and a little disappointing. I think it's because of how insulated most of the primary cast are from the effects, it just felt like this thing that made everyone war hungry and somewhat bloodthirsty was just there. We don't see it's violence really manifesting permanently against our heroes. Sure we see Millium as the first casualty of the war and later on we see the secondary student characters from CS 1 and 2 days being affected such as Alan, but it wasn't personal enough. I wanted to see scars of war, Machias losing an eye, Fie having scars all over her body from her close-mid range fighting style, Emma having burn marks from magic, Juna getting a scar on her face, etc etc. Sure we have Olivier and Victor losing an eye and arm respectively, but again this is war. If Falcom weren't going to kill of any characters permanently, at least give them permanent scars as a reminder of what they've been through. Maybe psychological issues for Alisa considering she learned her dad is alive, but a zombie puppet for Ishmelga and an instigator for war. Her mom was a states sponsored war arms manufacturer and an enabler for that war. I wouldn't be surprised if Alisa ends up as a workaholic like her mom, but as atonement for her family's crimes against the people. The harem aspect was mostly just this thing that I felt like too much precious manpower taken away from ironing out the story and character arcs. It's just my main criticism for Cold Steel as a series. If they cut down the romance aspects and focused on giving more life to each female character, I would have been okay with that. If you want to keep some element of the harem. Limit the character romance options to Alisa, Laura, and Emma. They all work thematically with Rean, but in different ways. Keep Elise as anime tropey incest bait comedy, with Princess Alfin remaining mostly the same as an instigator for shenanigans and comedy. Keep Sara solely as the teacher/mentor, no romance shenanigans, even what Cold Steel did was too much in my opinion. There's more but I'll end it here. Osbourne is tricky. We weren't given as much time with him as I would have liked, especially for an arc with 4 games. I'm not opposed to how Osbourne ended up being this ultimate double agent working against Ishmelga, but I think it could have been hinted a bit better. I think this stems primarily from his final lines of Cold Steel 3. Osbourne went full tropey anime villain with the whole "Let's end this story, written with ink black as despair" or whatever the heck he says. I think Falcom should have gone with a destiny/fate based speech. Something like "You stand before me now, yet your resolve is not strong enough to change fate. My son, born in ignorance, you harbor the desire to defeat me to change the course of our country, to find that third way out of the darkness. Yet you can't even defy my machinations making you dance in my hand. You are not ready to stand before me. What hope have you to defying fate? Come my foolish son, I will show you the error of your ways." Cut to black, end of Cold Steel 3. What I typed is cheesy as hell, but at least it tackles the big issues Rean was facing in Cold Steel 3. He could not find a way to defy his father through his political machinations forcing him on those missions with old Class 7 all throughout CS3, and Rean and Class 7 could not find that third path partially entrusted to him by Olivier, until Musse showed her hand in CS4. Heck if I remember correctly, Musse enacts Mille Mirage because Rean and Class 7 Old and New failed to find that third way in time. This also leaves at least some impression that at least Osbourne speaks as if he has that strength of will to defying fate AKA Ishmelga, but its layered in a way that he comes off as being that unchangeable destiny. For Musse, look I'm not new to the anime tropes. I know the whole teen super genius trope is a thing, but Musse in my opinion took it too far. You can't expect me to believe she could calculate the general flow of events from CS1 to CS4 when she herself doesn't even have a full understanding of the deeper supernatural elements of their world. Like how the heck could she even figure out how the events of the Infernal Castle in CS2 would turn out or the Divine Knights. IF the characterization was that Aurelia was already informing her of how these things worked, then I'd be more willing to believe she has both Claire and Lechter's analytical and intuitive prowess. Also, how did she evade Osbourne's recruitment? She had a tragic event occur to her parents, she's extremely gifted, probably more strategically minded than Claire and could one day rival Cassius and the other army Generals. How in the world did she sneak under Osbourne's radar? So yeah, long comment, but these were my main issues with Cold Steel 4.

[@Eagleknight815]

Lovin the new threads for the channel! Also, I'm thrilled you are as far as you are in this adventure of Trails. Can't wait to see Reverie's review.....in six to twelve months 😂

[@martinomagic9230]

I decided my post was, even in its vagueness, too spoiler ridden. So going to summarize haha, I love this series, but I feel like this game poops all over the feelings I had in the previous games and their endings. I don't hate this game or anything, just was not a fan of that. Plus, I completely agree the romance themes of this arc were its greatest weakness and will affect the overall story going forward unless they kind of just never bring it up or endlessly do the "oh he is just a playboy joke" forever. I don't think anyone would have cared if they just made Alisa the main girl, like they show in the story and everything else.

[@Thicc_Ness]

Stoked for the Reverie review eventually.

[@chumbosaurio7099]

Wooow amazing work!

[@uppernimbus]

Fantastic review man! I'm keen to get into this series soon, and have managed to grab a few of the games physically so far!

[@fattiger6957]

I love this game. Spent about 300 hours on it, many of which were in that puyo-puyo style minigame. I'm almost finished the model kit of Valimar.

[@SuperDerek]

Dude, I'm surprised there isn't a fan-made "pom pom party" playable online somewhere. I would definitely make use of it! :D

[@GenmaTheSamurai]

Great video Derek! Glad to finally see your finished video on this. I think CS4 is a really good game that tends to be kind of the punching bag. That's not to say I don't have my issues with it, I think this game has the highest highs and some of the lowest lows in terms of how it reaches them. Still those highs really are some of the most memorable moments of the series Overall, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Reverie was one of my favorites so I'm stoked to eventually see your reaction to that 🙂

[@SuperDerek]

Honestly can't wait! :D

[@BobRod-mi8rq]

🙂

[@WeebSauce]

Loving the new opening!

[@SuperDerek]

Thanks dude!

[@sethhale235]

Good stuff, Derek.

[@KudaGeatsune3821]

Personally, i feel this game really was a nice way to round out the curse plot even if it's true conclusion lies in Reverie

[@Jothaka]

Great you enjoyed the game, I think I share most of your sentiments with the pros and cons of the game, esspecially the harem stuff I think was a detriment to Reans character in the end. Would have loved to see your reaction to some of the endgame reveals, esspecially all the Ouroboros related stuff. But I guess I'll have to wait until you will eventually upload the vods in your second channel?! (It is actually quite hard to find nowadays, if you don't know it exists maybe add a link in the about section of the main channel?) Next up is Reverie and you are in for a treat with this one, imho the best game featuring the CS cast.

[@vOrbZv]

Cold Steel 4 was my favorite of the Erebonia arc my god I thought it was the best thing ever the first time I played it! Then I played the crossbell games and those took my top spot lol. Reverie was ass tho ngl.

[@fattiger6957]

I don't think Reverie is bad, per se, but is is way too bloated. It feels like it should just be about Lloyd and his Crossbell crew, but Rean and Class 7 (and all the other characters) are just forced in when they really aren't needed. Estelle and Joshua don't even have anything to do and are just there.

[@yojimbo26]

Although Reverie is basically a gotcha game without paying actual money, it had its moments. The re-independence is by now farcical though. I mean...didn't everyone in Zemuria go like...again? But it did tie threads up including for class 7. And the fate of Rufus. But the biggest bombshell and personally welcome surprise was....welll....spoilers. Valimar and Ordine returning. Yeah Falcom is playing footloose with that but I'm willing to bet that the Awakeners can summon them still in the future. So yes class VII returning was important.

[@SuperDerek]

Honestly, still pretty stoked for Reverie! But that'll come _after_ Lufia II :)

[@Ghalion666]

@@SuperDerek You never played lufia 2? Nice! It's possibly my fave snes (might be ogre battle, not sure, hard to tell w hen they are so different). Chrono trigger, while awsome, is not as good as lufia IMO. But that's mostly because I like roguelikes and lufia 2 has a roguelike sidegame that adds tons of replay value. Lufia 2 also has a bit of an issue where about halfway through the game, there's a really tough boss, and after you beat that boss, you'll never face anything half as hard again, and not because that boss was a massive difficulty spike, just a moderate one, and massive difficulty nosedive afterwards =(.

[@danjarnutowski2331]

Took a huge risk watching this before finishing cs4 😅 Luckily u didn't spoil the later parts of the game. Should be done next week. Very curious if this ending tops CS3.

[@shard_the_sage1320]

I agree about the overuse of the harem has long over stayed it's welcome. I hear Kuro doesn't have one so I look forward to that, I really enjoyed that Joshua and Estelle were a canon relationship we could watch grow.

[@frogzx]

Ended up loving this entry, though I was almost fully burnt out of the series by the time I finished. Been trying to make my way through Reverie but it's been pretty difficult to find the motivation despite that game also being real good so far.

[@CrimRui]

Did not finish CS4 yet so I'll save it for later. Hope you liked it a lot. ˇˇ

[@Daichi82]

My only complain for ToCS IV is that 50 hs to get Rean back is way too long.

[@SuperDerek]

heh, funny thing though is how others complain 50 hours wasn't long enough! I can understand both perspectives though. :)

[@Daichi82]

@@SuperDerek Now i need to play Reverie but before that i'm playing the Crossbell saga so i can enjoy the whole game, i just finished Zero 2 days ago and now i'm playing Azure, it seems that the Trails series doesn't have a single bad game.

[@kyosukeplays]

Early morning Kiseki content is always welcome.

[@quezcatol]

What a year for JAPAN and their rpgs: ff7 rebirth, yakuza 8, dragons dogma 2, unicorn overlord, persona 3 remake, granblue, eyuden chronicles,paper mario thousand doors remake is what 2024 offer in its first half- and then we start the next half of the year with daybreaker, which is the new legend of heores arc, the expansion to Elden Ring, the creators of persona series new jrpg- Metaphor, a new mana game from square-enix, and Akira Toriyamas "Sand Land" like what?! This is insane to say for a guy like me, who loves the legend of heroes serie so much- I dont know if I will be able to play daybreaker at launch. But I will 100% pick up a copy and do my part- and play it later this year, or early next. I suspect Derek might have time issue to fit that game in as well for this year. I said this before but, I hope the publishers understand that people like me isnt boycotting or ignoring the game, its just too much to play this year.

[@peanutbutterrobot]

whoa is big hair back?

[@SuperDerek]

lol, nope! I'm growing it out, and felt like keeping the "faux hawk" for a video one last time before it's going to be impossible. And this one may have been a bridge too far already.

[@fattiger6957]

Yeah, the romance thing isn't great. I stuck with Laura throughout the whole series, so I wasn't too bothered with Rean being the most oblivious Don Juan in existence. I did not like Juna falling for Rean. I'm not a fan of student-teacher relationships. IMO, they should have had Juna and Kurt develop feelings for each other. Maybe Juna could have started off with a crush on Rean due to him saving her years earlier then she falls for Kurt throughout CS3&4. They seem like a good pair.

[@A_Fierce_Diety]

Liking the video, then walking away while it plays to completion. Gotta support the video but I'm only up to CS3 (backfilling Zero and Azure still)!

[@Korokochan]

Forgive me... I wanted to reist the urge but I have succumbed "Up to 15 eligible batchelorettes" And Crow

[@SuperDerek]

Don't even get me _started_ on the husbando count! 😆

[@DonutSwordsman]

it would be cool to see you and happy console gamer do a collab

[@SuperDerek]

I agree! Here's one from 5 years ago, but we really ought to make another some day. :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5qvqYGof7-Se7M

[@blackfistxu7953]

👍🏾👍🏾💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💪🏾💪🏾

[@shadowsquid1351]

I loved CS4 mainly bc Rean was out of the picture (for some time), the harem thing is legit bad cosidering how the writing can be good but is ruined bc of every girl shouts "Rean.." while blushing 🤢 I hope Reverie has no Rean harem though

[@railgunmisaka296]

I personally find CSIV an enjoyable mess. I had a good time with it, but I feel like it could have been better if maybe it had more time in development, because I guess I find the game a little bit ambitious for its own good (But I guess more development time means more waiting for a sequel, so not really the best solution XD). All I can say is some of my expectation for CSIV is in Reverie like the pacing of the story and how they handle a bloated cast. Not exactly perfect, but I guess it's an improvement imo. Either way CSIV is still a fun experience, especially if you are already invested throughout the whole series.

[@Lcirex]

FEI dodge tank forever!!!

[@MrDiomedes1977]

I dont understand the "harem" thing....as in other JRPG like Persona they let you to choose your romantic interest, but once you select one and follow that path thats the only one there are and the other options dissapear.

[@SuperDerek]

Yeah, Rean never "picks" canonically, so in the next game it's back to square 1 with everyone... Plus of course a couple of newly introduced characters every time.

[@ShadowKing1982]

TBF, the game more or less heavily hints Alisa is cannon

[@AliAlslaman]

@@SuperDerek i fell the same case with Lloyd but since he got only two games to main and his harem pool is far less, he got less hate. doesn't help that Rean has the generic anime MC face.

[@LowestExpectations]

I still like these games gameplay-wise, but this game is probably my least favorite story-wise, it destroyed my suspension of disbelief lol

[@edsheeran1243]

The story really became a dumpster fire starting with cold steel 3 and hasn't recovered since

[@vOrbZv]

I thought the story for this one was the best lol I remember fanboying when they saved read underground and all the characters showed up was one of my favorite moments. Then when rean spoke to Lloyd again was so good

[@LowestExpectations]

@@vOrbZv That's literally one of my least favorite moments in the entire series lol

[@vOrbZv]

@@LowestExpectations hey there’s this cool place deep in the woods a couple miles away from all civilization where we can go later. Wanna come with me? 🤬🤬🤬

[@LowestExpectations]

@@vOrbZv Sounds like a Cold Steel bonding moment in the making 😂

[@yojimbo26]

I would rate CSIII higher than CSIV. Latter suffered from pacing issues similar to CSII, but it was better executed this time around. The search for the macguffin took way too long at the start. And to be honest the rescue of Rean from his prison was completely contrived. And why did Alster plan a festival right before millions went marching into certain death? The harem mechanic is completely botched in my opinion. Not because Falcom wanted player choice which I'm all for. But because it means so little in the end. Other than those points I'd rate this as well as CSI which is very good. It truely feels like an endgame which everyone joining in. The true ending is very satisfying even though the 'original' ending is completely undercooked.

[@10k-Noodles]

150 hours… Sounds about right. And most of it’s dialogue. Not farming/grinding.

[@mysetlist2118]

I miss the divine knight fights in later games

[@youtubesucksbutts]

Glad you finally got there man. Enjoy Reverie and all those characters, and more, not having autofilled and locked out Orbments and equipment slots in Reverie. It's a lot less cumbersome than it sounds.

[@publicenemaplays]

100% agree on the Cold Steel harem issue. Give me Estelle and Joshua over Rean’s Waifu Wars any day. Hopefully Falcom pivots away from that mechanic in Calvard