Overall Score: 4.6
B+
Gameplay: 5
This is where this game really shines. The gameplay is that of a very well polished JRPG. The lay out of the game is something more along the lines something like Final Fantasy X rather than Final Fantasy VII. There is no world map and instead destinations are connected via road segments. The major annoyance that is random encounters, has been left behind and instead there are on-screen enemies that you can trigger an encounter with by coming into physical contact with them. But you can also attack them before triggering an encounter. Doing this results in several advantages for the player including all the enemies being in a stun state for several rounds.
Battles are conducted via a radial menu, with the usual commands, but you also have the option to move your characters around the field to put them in more advantageous positions.
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Magic, or "Arts" can be set up for each character by equipping them with "orbments". This works very similar to Final Fantasy VII's Materia System. Like material there are different kinds, some enable the use of Arts, while other alter character stats like boosting certain parameters. Though unlike FFVII, there is a separate device to house your orbment crystals, rather than equipping them to you weapon and armor.
There is also some variety in the attack styles of the members of Class 7. The main lead Rean is armed with a katana. Laura, and Jusis are also armed with swords, while Fie is armed with a pair of gun-swords, and Gaius is armed with a halbard, rounding out the melee combat characters. Their attacks pretty straight forward, single attacks against single opponents. Then there are the orbal staff users Eliot and Emma, your primary mages. The staff has medium rage and a small area of effect (AoE) allowing you to hit enemies that are close together. Then you have Alissa who is armed with an orbal bow, she's the basic long-range, attacks one target fighter. Lastly you have Machias, who is quite possibly the most over powered character. Machias is armed with a shotgun with a wide AoE effect. He can potentially hit an entire enemy party at once, if he's positioned correctly. But not just that, you can also equipped Machias with various status effect orbs, and can cripple and entire party in one strike with multiple status abnormalities. You know those damned Malboros in Final Fantasy? You equip his orbments properly and that's what Machias is.
Gameplay around towns and dungeons is about what you'd expect from an RPG. You have full control of the character and you can freely run around the environment. There are people to talk to, stores to shop at and other things to interact with, like fishing spots.
Like any other good RPG, there are some minigames and side jobs to distract you from the main plot, and I don't mean that in a bad way. You have a card game you can play against classmates, you can go fishing and earn points based on catch and you can exchange these points for items. Additionally there is also fishing journal that keeps track of your catches. The other big minigame is not exactly a minigame but rather an item synthesis system. You can actually make your own food in the game with are essentially usable items. These items grant boosts and buffs that regular store bought items don't. Though you do have to gather up the necessary ingredients and assign someone who knows how to cook the dish to make it.
Graphics and visuals: 5
The graphics of the game are done well and the game is visually appealing, with the hardware of the Vita showing that it could keep up with the PS3. Though while standing still the graphics do look nice, when in motion there's a sort of stiffness in the animations. It might be because of storage limitations of the Vita card or just a cost cutting measure, but thins like the "flow" of long clothing like Sara's duster coat when she's running, or hair bob when some of the other female characters are running has a kind of stiff appearance. Normally I'd take half a point off here, but it may be because of a techncal limitation that there wasn't much the developers could do about. You can only put so much data in a particular physical medium, and they might have reached their limit on the Vita card.
Though as far as visual glitches are concerned, they are few and far between. There are a few minor issues here and there, but nothing like an texture tearing or objects popping in and out of existence depending on what angle you rotated the camera to.
Stability: 4
Generally, I haven't had much issues in terms of stability on the Vita version of this game. However I have had instances of freezes when I wake the Vita up from sleep mode, or return to the game from the Vita's main menu. The freezes weren't often, but they did happen more than once, requiring me to reload a previous save.
Plot: 5
The plot has somewhat been done before...
...a plot centering around military academy students isn't really that uncommon in Japanese media (Final Fantasy VIII, Valkyria Chonicles 2), nor is the attractive female instructor (again, Final Fantasy VIII). Again, following in the same footsteps as VC2, a major crisis is tearing the nation apart, and fate along with the machinations of some powerful figures in said country happens to throw these unassuming students on the stage of history.
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| Yes their instructor isn't even trying to hide that she's drinking on the clock, and not a little nip either, but a mug nearly the size of her head full of beer. Oh and it's not even noon when this happens. |
Along with the schoolyard setting, Trails of Cold Steel also borrows the plot element of shady political intrigue that happens in the background. More and more things around the students aren't as they seem and even their instructor seems to be keeping somethings to herself. Though all of these different threads can start to get a bit maddening, most of them resolve themselves by the end of the game, and the ones that don't are supposedly resolved in in Trails of Cold Steel 2.
So, it's the plot is so unoriginal, why does it still get a 5? Just because the game's plot lacks a degree of originality doesn't mean it isn't solid and well written. The plot takes time to explore the backgrounds of each member of Class 7, as well as following their student lives, all the while, as the larger crisis gradually emerges from the background. And it isn't just the core nine members of Class 7 that get the attention, but other NPC students of Thors Military Academy also get some character development. You can collect character profiles in the in-game journal and you can learn things about the other students by interactions with them, which include sub-quests. The plot is well paced and will feel somewhat like Trails in the Sky, with different threads of what's going on behind the scenes seeping out from behind the scenes. Though while this seems like a lazy recycling of a previous game's plot and style, there's actually a little bit of 4th wall breaking in which one of the characters compares their studies to the experience of the two protagonists in the preceding Trails in the Sky, there is actually an in-game, plot related, explanation for this similarity. I couldn't knock off any points because they used themes that were previously used. Hell if I took off points for lack of complete originality, not even the original Star Wars Trilogy would get an A rank.
The events in the background threatening to tear the Empire apart are shown to the player though interactions with various characters associated with one of three major political factions at work. One side is the faction backing reformist Chancellor Osborne, the other is the conservative nobility faction, while the third is associated with the Imperial Family.
Overall, despite the lack of originality the plot is still solid enough and interesting enough to keep the player engaged. Normally I would knock off half a point for the lack of originality, but the plot also explores the conflicts between various students and the is plenty of character development as these students over come their differences. Or in the case of others, go from strangers to developing a friendship where they trust each other.
Music and art style: 4.5
Trails of Cold Steel is definitely no slouch in the way of music. The game has a wide variety of tracks of cover the various moods, settings, and atmospheres in the game. The general tone of the soundtrack though is upbeat. The individual tracks are also great as well with some of the fight music being some of the best I've heard, being fast paced and rousing. While other tracks like the one which plays when travelling the steppes to the north of the Empire on horseback and more serene and calming.
The art style has a more European influence to it. Thors Military Academy looks somewhat like a European castle, while the imperial capital Heimdall looks like a 1920's era Western city. There is some variety in the locations. One location you visit is rural farmland, another is a nomadic tribal village that has a feel that's something between Native Americans and Mongolians, and in another you see a massive military fortress made of steel.
The uniforms of Thors students don't really stand out too much from all the other military academy uniforms you see in Japanese media (like the SeeDs of Final Fantasy VIII), though each member of Class 7 all have their own personalized touches to them.
You can see what I mean here, you can change Machias's uniform from red to blue and he'd look like he could be attended in the same academy as Zeri. Looking at these two guys, it also looks like they could be related.
One of the issues I have with the art and design is in the design of the Imperial Army tanks. The newest tanks in service, the "Achtzehn" which is supposed to be the most advanced, top of the line model. But when you see the tank it's design is more old style. and has straight armor as opposed to sloping armor. Sloping armor is a method where a tank's armor is designed to be at an angle, this provides better protection while having thinner armor. The German Panzer V "Panther" is a good example of early sloped armor, while the Panzer VI "Tiger" is a good example of older style armoring with straight plating. Sloped armor became the dominant armoring method in post-WWII tank designs.
However when we take a look at the "old" tank design and the new Achtzehn, the old tank features heavily sloped armor and bears a resemblance to the German Jagdpanzer 38 "Hetzer". The armor of the Hetzer is 2.36in thick and sloped at 60 degrees at the front. The frontal armor of the Hetzer could stand up to the British 17 pounder gun, one of the most powerful tank guns at the Allies' disposal. Whereas the Tiger's flat armor was 3.9 inches thick to provide similar defense.
Here's the older tank design, we can see the frontal armor is sloped at around 45 degrees, and the rear armor looks to be the same angle if not more so.
Overall, despite the lack of originality the plot is still solid enough and interesting enough to keep the player engaged. Normally I would knock off half a point for the lack of originality, but the plot also explores the conflicts between various students and the is plenty of character development as these students over come their differences. Or in the case of others, go from strangers to developing a friendship where they trust each other.
Music and art style: 4.5
Trails of Cold Steel is definitely no slouch in the way of music. The game has a wide variety of tracks of cover the various moods, settings, and atmospheres in the game. The general tone of the soundtrack though is upbeat. The individual tracks are also great as well with some of the fight music being some of the best I've heard, being fast paced and rousing. While other tracks like the one which plays when travelling the steppes to the north of the Empire on horseback and more serene and calming.
The art style has a more European influence to it. Thors Military Academy looks somewhat like a European castle, while the imperial capital Heimdall looks like a 1920's era Western city. There is some variety in the locations. One location you visit is rural farmland, another is a nomadic tribal village that has a feel that's something between Native Americans and Mongolians, and in another you see a massive military fortress made of steel.
The uniforms of Thors students don't really stand out too much from all the other military academy uniforms you see in Japanese media (like the SeeDs of Final Fantasy VIII), though each member of Class 7 all have their own personalized touches to them.
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One of the issues I have with the art and design is in the design of the Imperial Army tanks. The newest tanks in service, the "Achtzehn" which is supposed to be the most advanced, top of the line model. But when you see the tank it's design is more old style. and has straight armor as opposed to sloping armor. Sloping armor is a method where a tank's armor is designed to be at an angle, this provides better protection while having thinner armor. The German Panzer V "Panther" is a good example of early sloped armor, while the Panzer VI "Tiger" is a good example of older style armoring with straight plating. Sloped armor became the dominant armoring method in post-WWII tank designs.
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However when we take a look at the "old" tank design and the new Achtzehn, the old tank features heavily sloped armor and bears a resemblance to the German Jagdpanzer 38 "Hetzer". The armor of the Hetzer is 2.36in thick and sloped at 60 degrees at the front. The frontal armor of the Hetzer could stand up to the British 17 pounder gun, one of the most powerful tank guns at the Allies' disposal. Whereas the Tiger's flat armor was 3.9 inches thick to provide similar defense.
Here's the older tank design, we can see the frontal armor is sloped at around 45 degrees, and the rear armor looks to be the same angle if not more so.
The model here on display is the "more advanced" Achtzehn. We can see all around other than the lower forward hull of the tank, is protected by straight armor. It's simply older design style, built bigger, rather than an advanced design.
Yes it's largely a minor thing, but if you're someone who's followed military history, then it's something that kind of bugs a little. It's a less efficient design, though it's said to be the most powerful, most advanced tank in the land.
The other issue I had with the art style was in the Imperial Army uniforms. The uniforms don't really have a military influence on them, and in fact they don't even look like military uniforms. The undecorated uniforms that the grunts wear look like bellhop uniforms when paired with the matching cap.
To the left is Major Vander of the Erebonian Imperial Army. His uniform doesn't really look like a military uniform. Rather he looks like a traveling swordsman that is common in a lot of RPGs. Maybe his looks could be a mercenary or maybe he's some kind of private bodyguard for an aristocrat. By contrast, on the right is Captain Julia Schwartz of the Liberl Royal Guard (Royal Army uniforms look the same only green instead of blue, same with the Intelligence Division's which are black instead of blue) from the previous Trail's in the Sky. Her uniform has a clear military styling to it. You know right away, looking at her she's part of some military or police organization.
For these I had to knock off a half a point on the art style.
Final Verdict: Definite Buy
Trails of Cold Steel is a great, solid Japanese RPG, that successfully hits all points. The JRPG landscape isn't as rich as it once was during the mid '90s to early '00s, so that makes this game an especially welcome addition to the genre. If you miss the JRPGs of the previous gaming generation, then don't pass up on this one.
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