Trails of Cold Steel 3 Review, Recap & Analysis | Peak Fiction

[@DevilHunter1994]

Emma's gradmother isn't the grandmaster. Both Emma and her grandmother hate the grandmaster for convincing Vita to leave their tribe. Also, Black Alberich is not Gideon. They are two different people. Spoilers for Trails to Azure: Gideon really did die durring his mission in Crossbell. We see him die in Azure while fighting the Red Constelation, and DAMN it is brutal.

[@malphas2639]

I just finished CS3 now going blind into CS4 and hadn't interpreted any of this like BLACKDISK did. I thought it had just gone over my head. I thought the same thing you did about it all. Hopefully CS4 clears up some more mysteries.

[@JinseiKaen]

Just finished CS3 and I love Rean's character being that he would be strong enough to save someone then say he's still weak because he should be strong enough that you wouldn't be in danger to begin with. Regardless of how many people tell him to stop sacrificing himself he just genuinely lacks the self worth to actually throw away the mindset because of how everything from the previous games weigh him down. Dude is just a ball of trauma and he needs a hug.

[@Kylesico912x]

I think Rean’s self sacrificial nature is fine even in CS3. It’s directly connected to his depression. He was improving in CS2 but then Crow died. And then he was conscripted by Osborne. And then he returns to Thors after all his friends graduated and moved on with their lives. It makes perfect sense for his depression to relapse and he falls right back into old habits. I also think his regression is crucial to his character development by the end of CS4 and Reverie.

[@xaritah3266]

Thanks so much for the video! I am about to start trails 4 and i wanted a refresh, gonna watch all of it! 😊

[@SlitheringStevePhilips]

1:03:40 is why I quit the series and am now listening to your videos to see what happened in the story. After 8 games it felt like the games didn’t respect your time at all, there’s so much buildup to NOTHING happening at the big events

[@TheHiobs]

54:10 Its an Aion not a Divine Knight, and Vitas Grandmother you mixed up with ourobourus Grandmaster earlier i dont think Vita said that to be honest. She said her Love for the Grandmaster ist to strong to return to her Grandmother and her Family.

[@BaFultz1990]

This is 100% accurate. They are not the same person. Roselia is an interesting character, but not the grandmaster.

[@kjriwoutube]

I find that the cold steel series is not a quadrology but 2 duology of CS 1&2 AND 3&4 AND REVERIE IS THE SKY THE 3RD type game where its not really a main title but like sky 3rd it finishes of certain stories and starts to hint on things to come Falcom in Japan is soon going to release a box set of CS1 to 4 and reverie in one box

[@BLACKDISC]

Yeah I agree with that. CS3 felt like a completely different arc when compared to CS1 & 2

[@DarkGraid]

17:05 It's also a reference to a pretty similar side quest in Trails to Azure, where Shirley also helps finding a lost cat.

[@BLACKDISC]

nice gamercat avi, haven't seen that comic in years

[@DarkGraid]

@@BLACKDISC Didn't read it myself in a really long time, but I loved the comics.

[@alfonsillo18]

Thanks for the video man! About to start CS4 and needed a refresher on CS3 as I took a pretty long break between games since I was pretty burnt out after playing CS2 and CS3 back-to-back. Awesome video!

[@MultiYogibear]

57:35 sweet home Erebonia

[@saiyanxz6972]

Love these reviews, im entering the rabbit hole of seeing all your legend of heroes reviews. Also, yes, machias has the best S-craft; don't fail your inspection guys lmaoo.

[@radianttrails939]

bro THANK YOU for all of this. You stated so many things I didn't know anyone else caught or felt. I gotta say as well...Machias is not one of my fav characters or even one I think about much at all...but I love his growth and yes...that S Craft is my favorite

[@radianttrails939]

lets just say that S Craft did NOT fail its inspection...

[@BLACKDISC]

I'm glad you agree! 🤝 Thanks for watching!

[@vlonewolfv]

For me, Rean’s self sacrifice showed how he hadn’t grown as much as he had wanted, or we expected. Which actually made complete sense to me. It really highlights how Class 7 was beaten down in Cold Steel 2. They straight up lose that game in devastating fashion. So Rean while having grown, is still showing his weakest tendencies here as his arc is still in progress.

[@celestialsylveon6453]

Dang this would make a good recap video to remember what happened, also was very interesting and I had a lot of the same reactions. Thank you very much for the video!!!

[@BLACKDISC]

thank you for watching! :)

[@kagekun1198]

Long time Trails veteran here. Here are my side-thoughts: Prologue - I gasped in delight too when I saw Tita and Agate, it took awhile for me to comprehend Randy is also here too. - It was pretty fun seeing the New Class VII and Rean react to the floor trap in Einhel Keep. Altina's growth journey begins here! (Of the spirit, not the body) - Genial and Balmy is so relaxing Chapter 1 - Notice this: When Shirley and Duvalie attacked the Derfflinger, only Tita's team required no help from Rean to bail them out. Looks like her rodeos in Liberl, Liber Ark and Phantasma is paying off! - Hamel was a long time coming for Sky players. Also, Fie is unstoppable if you gear her right. Chapter 2 - Special Sports Section? I know a devoted player when I see it! I still prefer Special Support Suction tho XD - When you were showing the VM game, I was screaming for you to pick the Water Natial - When I entered the gym and saw Aurelia in the gym with her sword out, I immediately turned around and ran out without breaking pace. It was a real Grandpa Simpson burlesque showroom moment - When Cedric made his offer, the highlights were Major Michael facepalming in exasperation and Juna stress-eating pancakes in the cafe afterwards! - Ah, Tio, my little Artillery cannon. She and Elie were my heavy hitters during the endgame of Azure. They did her dirty with the unadjustable gear. But in Reverie when you can fully customize her again, the Artillery cannon is back in business! Chapter 3 - I really wanted Rean to refer Sara as their Grandinstructor to the New Class VII, Sara worrying about her youth is always a hoot! - My favorite exploit during the Arianrhod fight is to blitz them with LeGuin's order and Rean's Spirit Unification. Whenever an enemy is broken, I will always link Rean to whoever is attacking, so that he gets the follow-up with boosted stats and gain CP in the process. Also, I make sure someone can cast Admantine Shield and keep it topped up on all characters at all times. Nothing takes the gravitas out of Arianrhod's S-Craft by seeing Guard after all the song and dance. Chapter 4 Radiant Heimdallr is one of the best chapters of the game. Aside from the somber theme playing at the streets, you get to experience everything a big city has to offer. The darkest cryptids below, the joys of the Old Class VII reunion, the huge cast gathering as you all gang up to find one single lost Calvard agent, the entire Summer Festival, the grandeur of a royal reception, the revelations by Osborne, and finally the attempted assassination by Ash on the Emperor. Then the chapter ends. And you see the chapter title once more: Radiant Heimdallr. Finale This is where the dynamics you've been honing all game pays off here. In Cold Steel III, there is nothing more potent than Juna Breaking enemies, and Kurt ensuring they stay that way. Alongside Rean being an unstoppable DPS and Musse casting arts non-stop, this team is unstoppable. After seeing everyone separated and Rean gone berserk, seeing the title screen with the upbeat theme showing the Thors Branch Campus and New Class VII in happier times was a huge gut punch.

[@Ryan-hy7tt]

Rean’s regression makes sense to me in CSIII for a couple reasons. 1) He has been separated from Class VII for awhile now who kept him in check. 2) The events of the North Ambrian war and similar government orders where he was forced to participate against his will or have more innocent deaths occur (self-sacrifice tendencies being validated)

[@stefannelson5785]

Rean's inability to put himself first is like the core part of his identity and the main reason he's not just a self-insert. I feel like he's supposed to regress in CS3 because the events at the end of Cold Steel 2 are just so earth-shattering for him. His whole identity, and the purpose he chose for himself (reuniting class VII) is ripped from him and he's forced to be a tool for s system he hates, because that system dangles the lives of others in front of his face. It kind of makes sense that by this point, he is more or less consumed by that self-sacrificial side of himself (IMO)... even if it drives you, as the player, crazy xD...

[@BLACKDISC]

I agree! After seeing his whole story I've come around to understanding his character more. Looking forward to his development in Reverie!

[@deejmeister78]

Thank you so much for these recap videos of CS 1, 2, & 3. I started with CS and after starting 4 and not knowing what was going on I went back to the older games. These have been an incredible recap after finishing Azure and getting ready to start CS 4 again.

[@Raj-vy2yn]

I think Rean continuing to sacrificing himself works well for his character and it never frustrated me to much, especially since prior to the end of CS3 the worst he experienced was a few days of a coma, which is bad but better than his students dying.

[@TheSixers88]

This is a hidden gem. Thank you for the video I myself just finished 3 and I'm about to move onto 4.

[@BLACKDISC]

thanks for watching! enjoy cold steel 4! :)

[@RomanJr316]

My brother, I just watched ALL your Cold Steel videos including Reverie. I can tell that we have a lot of similarities in our gaming tastes. You mentioned Xenogears a few times which is my all time favorite game. I’m old. I’m 40 years old so I’ve been playing since 1988 and Xenogears is my favorite game, and Trails is my favorite series. I’m very happy to hear that you’re about to start your career after college. I’m going to miss your long videos but at least I know it’s because you’re doing something as important as starting a career. I have a 13 year old son who has special needs and an 11 year old son in addition to work so I understand you that it’s difficult to have the same time we had before adult life. I hope you give your thoughts on Daybreak and the rest of the series even if they’re not over an hour long lol. Congratulations on your success in college and your new career, man. Love your videos. Good luck moving forward and I’ll continue watching your videos

[@BLACKDISC]

Thanks for watching and sharing! I appreciate it

[@skyknight0408]

Yeah, I started with Cold Steel, but I decided very early in that I would go back and play the older games after that game, but ended up having to play CS2 first, because I didn't want to leave on that cliffhanger. So I went back to the Sky games after CS2 and while I was playing them, the Crossbell games released in the West. So I played those too, before going back into Cold Steel and I feel that was the best decision I could've made, because it seriously enhanced the experience of playing CS3+4 for me. I'm in the final act of Reverie now, but I still have so much sidestuff to do, that I think I will still take 2-3 weeks, before I can finish that game.

[@BLACKDISC]

Glad you're enjoying the series!

[@randomzombie5579]

awesome video! thanks for the recap and your thoughts

[@Ben_osrs]

Thanks so much! I finished cs3 six months app and I needed a summary but no one had it. Well thought out analysis as well.

[@stacob]

I just finished this game this morning and watched this. I really enjoyed this one and love these types of vids after I finish a game with so much dialog and information.

[@BLACKDISC]

glad you enjoyed it! thanks for watching!

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

I played one but since I don’t have my ps5 with me anymore, I have to get recaps for 2 and 3 so I can buy 4 on my switch.

[@jesserivera2043]

I already commented on this video, but here's another: this isn't a spoiler, but when you play Daybreak you will learn how several iconic songs in this series are diegetic.

[@BLACKDISC]

is it the radios in the endgame? 🤔

[@jrpgaddict7726]

ty

[@thefloodwatch785]

dude just finished CS3 here to watch your video ill see you in a week when im done speedruning Cs4 lmaooo

[@guccidonbuzzflightyear4440]

Just beat this game I needed this video so bad, easy sub

[@CaptainAmerica2k7]

As far as I know, Emma's grandmother is not the grandmaster of Ouroboros. Not sure where you got that information.

[@reishinsekki1524]

Thank you very very much for the video!!!

[@Envy973]

Great video ! Keep it up =)!

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

Most pointless spoiler if hajamari (it has nothing to do with plot): Rip Rean's glasses 🥺had him wear those all of cs3

[@SantosOverlord]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[@OneManCast]

Just platinumed all four Cold Steel games. Its honestly my least favorite out of the four, but that doesn't matter as long as we all love Cold Steel.

[@BLACKDISC]

most nuanced cold steel take of all time 🤝

[@OneManCast]

@@BLACKDISC Thank you for hearing me out at the least.

[@BLACKDISC]

always!

[@jzblue345]

I definitely agree with you Trails 3 blew my expectations out of the water. I couldn't put the game down. I've put over 250 hours into my first playthrough on normal and a similar amount for CS 4.

[@Delarocha21]

Great video! Looking forward to you dropping the 4th, and hoping you do videos for the others in the series. I've been a Kiseki fan since Trails in the Sky first released on Steam, and I'm glad to see the series getting more and more recognition/attention. I actually rotated my bench pretty often, but my main team through pretty much the entire series is Rean, Laura, Fie, Emma. I also agree that Towa is best girl, but the companionship between Rean and Laura can't be denied either

[@BLACKDISC]

Thanks for watching!!

[@RomanJr316]

Brother, even if the dialogue at the end had some parts as optional dialogue you know that you and I as well as others like us would have spoken to everyone anyways so it was going to take long no matter what lol

[@BLACKDISC]

LMAO you're so right

[@IamVerilance]

Good discussion!

[@BLACKDISC]

thanks for watching!

[@guccidonbuzzflightyear4440]

Alisa is real best girl

[@spironan]

nice premiere!

[@BLACKDISC]

Thanks for watching! 🤝

[@jeradwaas]

After playing through cs1-3, and then hopping back to the sky trilogy and finally now the cross bell arc, it was great to have a recap video before diving into cs4! Thanks for putting so much time into this video. Looking forward to watching your cs4 video after I finish the game.

[@jesserivera2043]

I love this! Juna to Lloyd is like Sakura to Ryu from the Street Fighter series. Analyze all the characters please 🥺

[@BLACKDISC]

Glad you enjoyed it! I plan to make more character/thematic analysis videos for Trails after I finish CS4 (I've already started writing a script for Estelle)!

[@subtorren4928]

will you be reviewing the fourth one? Cause I am waiting for it! Great content by the way!

[@BLACKDISC]

Yeah! I have the script for the CS4 video done I just need to find time to record and edit everything. Thanks for watching :)

[@SantosOverlord]

those books are gonne by Azure you go there to pick some up on a side quest and they are gonne

[@jzblue345]

Trails of Cold Steel III is my favorite game of the CS arc. I love all four games but three really just ups the ante so much.

[@duelisttaiga5938]

Have you started playing CS4 yet?

[@BLACKDISC]

I haven't! I'll probably start it towards the end of the year. I want to take a break from playing longer games + editing longer videos this after the amount of work that went into making this one

[@Podcastsportscape]

Cold steel 3 isn’t a bad game by any means but it’s hands down my least favorite. I think my biggest gripes are 1. Solidifying the cold steel problem of no one really dying. All of a sudden everyone who’s ever died is brought back and it makes me feel nothing at what should be a shocking ending. Obviously they aren’t gonna kill off three major characters if they can’t even keep the minor ones dead 2. General pacing and structure of the field studies. They just felt too long and not interesting enough. You technically only visit two brand new locations and honestly they’re not even that interesting. It also made me feel less connected to the branch campus compared to the main campus since you were there for less time then the main campus. 3. The plot twist build up. The end of game plot twists are cool but they have literally no build up to them. Unlike in sky FC, zero, and CS1 none of the previous chapters build to the curse and ash’s assassination attempt, it’s just “hey orobouros is doing stuff with aions”, something that doesn’t even get a proper conclusion and reason for until CS4. It makes the end of game cliffhanger feel cheap, rather then sky FC’s and CS 1’s cliffhanger they don’t resolve anything in this game before the plot twist, they just throw everything at you at once and then say “oh now you have to play cold steel 4 to see a resolution to literally any plot point”. Not to mention with that many plot points the game struggles to give any of them appropriate time. The branch campus and main campus rivalry gets introduced and then goes away until the end of the game, whereas the class 1 and class 7 rivalry of CS 1 and 2 felt like it got proper time to develop. Again, I still enjoy CS3 but I just can’t get past all my gripes

[@KnightCrown]

Just finished cs3. Had to rant that I thought the same thing about Musse. Terribly written character in the first half of the game just because they wanted to make her mysterious and they overdid it. Her reaction to absolutely everything with her carefree smiling and going "fufufu" even in crazy dangerous situstions made me think she better be at least secretly be an enforcer for her reaction to make sense. There's no scene where she's even slightly affected by giant killer robots spawning in her face or when she's in a literal warzone. Aidos herself would have expressed more sense of self-preservation. THERE'S NO WAY SHIT IS UNDER CONTROL AND GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN WHEN YOU'RE JUST SOME DUKE'S NIECE FFS SHOW MORE EMOTIONS! Also the Clare x Rean kiss scene maybe the translation is iffy, I played it in Japanese and it's more like she saw her brother in Rean... Maybe there's better ways to express it than use the word "compare". It's less awkward but still wierd.

[@Snzn_7]

Gideon is not Lughman lol, Gideon dies in Trails of Azure, Rose is not the Grandmaster

[@firestar6]

You know I love this game the most out of the 4 cold steels but there was one thing I've always hated. I hated the fact that Rean legit couldn't do anything without new class 7 up his ass like we get it you wanna be involved and you're curious but my boy couldn't even have a simple conversation with Towa without them eavesdropping. Or what about the time he simply wanted to to stop them from fighting McBurn and Campanella, yeah you wanted to show you're instructor that you grew and that you're strong but one wrong move and you could have died and Rean would have gone Kratos mode like with Millium. Another time was the first time he went with old class 7 Musse just had to get in on it and bring new class 7 to them which makes sense because it was kind of part of her plan so I can't really hate that one that much. Overall just let my boy Rean be please.

[@thelazywanderer_jt]

He already had party management issues in cs3. Reverie meanwhile : lmao get ready to arrange 43 characters boyo

[@blackdragoncyrus]

I don't like Rean because I dislike harem protagonists. I don't like the concept and I didn't like watching everyone throw their panties and the kitchen sink at him for bonding events instead of just having bonds that are "just friends". For 4 games they did this shit and even his students did this which felt fucking creepy. Then the other thing that burns my ass about him is that he gains the title of Divine Blade, but yet acts like the most passive jobber in the world and after 5 games still doesn't get he needs to be confident in himself or else he will always be shit at combat. Even in reverie, he jobs against Shizuna because yet again, he doesn't believe in himself. He's always bitching he has to train more, not that he can take a fight and he's strong enough. And his entire personal monolog is "I have to be strong enough to stand on my own so no one will help me" but yet never strives to be stronger or succeeds at being stronger. It's always bitching he needs to git gud, but never actually gits gud worthy of a divine blade. Then finally over 4 games, he says "I'm strong enough on my own to protect the ones I love" fails and every game there's without fail some 10 minute monologe about how Rean isn't strong enough to do it on his own and he needs to trust his friends more to have his back. Which always ends with "I guess you guys are right, I'll trust you more" to only have this same conversation and character arc next game yet again. Then in CS3-4 it goes from his classmates/equals having his back, to his class babysitting him when he goes full retard because even in a teacher position, he has to have his fucking students wipe his ass and do the emotional labor he cannot do. Oh also every time he fights anyone worth shit they keep saying the same thing "Bro stop holding back, address that shit inside of you that is cucking you from being the warrior you can be." and then he never does.

[@nairbtj]

weissman also got capped too at the end of sc, so there are characters that die

[@nairbtj]

and joachim Guenther in zero

[@BLACKDISC]

facts and facts

[@Ghalion666]

Yeah but its true its really rare, and its always an antagonist. I prefer my fiction to have meaningful deaths myself, but trails isnt really a dark fantasy, but a more ideallistic fantasy with dark moments, so its ok that they just decide to not so this as part of the feeling of the setting I suppose. Hopefully it wont be like the original transformers where nobody dies, then the movie comes out and murders like 2/3rds of the characters in the first 10 minutes lol, that would be nuts.

[@Ghalion666]

Thanks for the video! I enjoyed it. Texting on phone, please ignore typos. 1: altina is younger than millium, not older. 2: emma/vita's grandmother Rosalia is NOT the grandmaster. She is the leader of the hexen clan (the witches), NOT oroborus. Oh. And she is the pure blood vampire girl in the book series btw. Have you read the books in game yet? 3: giddeon is NOT professor lughman, or alisa's dad. Professor lughman IS her dad, but has no relation to Giddeon other than being a fellow professor. Some comments: How dare you make Altina your primary bench lol. I found it doubly weird since you said Millium, of all people carried for your chapter 3 boss fight. Altina has a similar move, only kinda better because it can help you survive multiple hits in one use and let you cast something like a full party res in the meantime. Not to mention her orb colour limitation lends to better spellcaster type spells. The vallflame palace part is probably my fave part in the entire damn series. I suggest you slow down on the festival part next time so you dont burn out next time. Last. Rean being frusterating with his self sacrifice thing. Man I totally agree. I think people who like rean more than estelle are effing nuts and only like him to cater to a power fantasy or something. He grows and matures SO LITTLE compared to estelle despite having way more game time AND im-game time (with the gap between cs2 and 3 alone being as long as sky 1's start to 2's end I believe. Edit: just in case anyone wonders. Juna is my primary bench. I dont like moves like accel burst because they require careful gear setup to use well, and then when you do they kinda break the game, and I prefer not to go out of my way to break the game. That aside, she is basically like worse fie to me. She cant evasion tank as well as fie, and she almost can, but again not quite aoe debuff spam as well as fie.

[@BLACKDISC]

Thanks for watching + the corrections, tips and feedback!

[@jiragon2049]

Altina and all of new class 7 are not available for the arianrhod fight.

[@Ghalion666]

@@jiragon2049 I never said she was. My point is Black said 1: Altina was his main class 7 bench. And 2: Millium, of all people carried in a hard fight that gives youbop Aurelia of all people, yet Millium carried, not aurelia. My point is if you can make use of Millium in THAT fight which gives you some serious firepower, that you can similarily use Altina to basically carry for the same exact reason (only better since her immunities last longer due to cloak) for all the times she is deliberately benched.

[@davidtimmer596]

Kurt's my main bench, because he's so useless and irrelevant. Can't fill a particular role. I never even used his Brave Order either.

[@chubbyman2564]

dont wanna be mean, but idk what is your obsession with "G", he is already dead in Azure, he aint even that interesting, im so confused as to why you connect every theory to him lol

[@BLACKDISC]

I thought I was cooking but I forgot to turn the stove on

[@nelsonl5501]

Cold steel 3 was too easy break order break the whole game.

[@trakeespree]

I did not like this game because the just recycled the main characters with a new class 7 and Juna is so annoying.

[@Oggre]

Overrated serie except for Zero, Azure and Sky (1,2)

[@BLACKDISC]

you not rocking with 3rd?? 😔

[@ruganzureggie385]

I didn't like the game

[@BLACKDISC]

i can understand that

[@rpghero46]

.......you think this is peak function. 1) over expositiry dailouge. (heavy exposition is a poor way of communicating lore and it hides at times that your story is not that deep) 2) troupe characters (including incest crazy people with no nuances of its take even for japanise standard) 3) a world building that amounts to sequel baiting (because the Croswell issues are not fixed until reverie) 4) a main theme that literally every jrpgs have done better (perseverance and companionship can get you through hard times....wow reverting...and what else all these characters just for this) 5) since trails if the sky they Bern telling the same story beats hardworking mercenary/studen meets troupe characters ( Lolita cult victim in each of them) there a political plot that the organization has plan shit hits the fan the church gives them a help they band together with ncps plot fixed sequel bait. I dont get what you people see in this series it's not bad but this is far from peak anything not jrpg,not writting at best this is a young adult teen writting level).

[@someguy3263]

People just enjoy things.

[@NeravarSneed86]

56:15 lmfao