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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III NA/EU trailer

Bullet Club

Member





When it seems as if peace has finally settled over the empire of Erebonia, the embers of war stir anew just a mere year-and-a-half later in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III coming exclusively to PlayStation®4 in Fall 2019!

This installment welcomes the return of certain English localization staff that have worked on previous titles in the series. Catch the excitement in the blood-pumping Announcement Trailer, and learn more about the heart we're pouring into this next chapter at our PAX South panel "JPN → USA : Danganronpa, Touhou, and Beyond" on January 18, 2019 at 11:00 AM CST, or watch it here!

Meet a new Class VII led by the "Ashen Chevalier" Rean Schwarzer, now a newly minted instructor at Thors Branch Campus. The epic story continues as the cast travels the Empire's recently acquired lands, only to find themselves ensnared in a devious plot that could plunge them into another war, or an even bigger calamity. New features, such as the "Break System," bring greater possibilities to combat, while familiar faces of friend and foe make their appearance!

The bonds shared between the new and old Class VII will be tested... Will this be the beginning of the end? See what fate holds for all in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III for PlayStation®4 in Fall 2019!
 
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Fbh

Member
So is this franchise any good and why ? (Good plot, or gameplay?).

It seems to be quite popular and I've been tempted to pick up the first chapter but just from the trailers it looks really generic and even more "anime" than tales of
 
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Dunki

Member
2 things.

1. Fuck why NISA
2. Sad to see its not on PC but will take it. I hope there are no bonuses for finishing the other games since I played both on Steam.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
The first 2 games on PS4 don't have a concrete date yet. But its great news for 3. I had no doubt it would come. And the first game starts slow, but the ending blew me a way. I haven't really played 2 yet. And troubling XSEED isn't getting this.

NIS has questionable localization efforts. Oh well.
 
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ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Good for the fans but I hope the quality of NISA can be on par with Xseed’s localization.

Also I hope this thread doesn’t descend to a PC and Switch portbegging thread and people defending “but JRPGs sell sooooo much better on Switch” crap.
 

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
So is this franchise any good and why ? (Good plot, or gameplay?).

It seems to be quite popular and I've been tempted to pick up the first chapter but just from the trailers it looks really generic and even more "anime" than talea of
I only played Trails in the Sky after seeing GAF gushing about its greatness.

It’s alright but massively overrated IMO. It’s anime as fuck and extremely slow moving.
hot springs scene where the female protagonist accidentally sees her platonic childhood friend/step-brother naked and realizes she has feelings for him.
. It’s also LOADED with missable quests that have extremely small windows to initiate. You pretty much need a guide.

Basically feels like a well-polished b-list JRPG left over from the PS1 era. If that sounds enticing then you may enjoy it.
 
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Fbh

Member
I only played Trails in the Sky after seeing GAF gushing about its greatness.
It’s alright but massively overrated IMO. It’s anime as fuck and extremely slow moving..

Yeah I also played a bit of trails in the sky because of all the internet hype and didn't really like it.
The main character (the girl) was really annoying and I ended up dropping it when after 15 hours it felt like nothing too important had happened and I just got to another spot which looked like an obligatory but ultimately irrelevant side story


But the "cold steel" games look significantly different which is why I'm asking
 

Lucumo

Member
So is this franchise any good and why ? (Good plot, or gameplay?).

It seems to be quite popular and I've been tempted to pick up the first chapter but just from the trailers it looks really generic and even more "anime" than talea of
With "franchise", do you mean the Legend of Heroes one or just the Trails games? I mean, it is the 13th game in the franchise after all and it has changed over the decades. Personally, I've always preferred the Ys games, at least until Falcom dropped the PC and turned that franchise upside down (from lone wanderer on adventures to party member with annoying side-characters, starting with Ys Seven).
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Honestly I prefer Trails in Sky much more than Cold Steel. TitS had that B-tier PS1 JRPG charm. Cold Steel on the other hand had that tropey PS3 NIS anime JRPGs that I dislike.
 

bigedole

Member
Yaaaaaay! Glad to have this officially announced. The games are heavy on the dialogue and have a well written story that is entertaining to follow. Combat is your classic turn based goodness with a delay mechanic similar to FFX/Grandia. They're dense and you get your money's worth if you enjoy these kinds of games, which I do very much!

1 is coming out on PS4 sometime in Feb and 2 should be in March, but for some reason we don't have official dates for either of those releases. Unfortunately, I'm hearing they share trophy lists with the Vita/PS3 versions so I lost my incentive to do another full playthrough of each game in preparation for ToCS3 :(
 
I'm disappointed, but this news was increasingly seeming inevitable.

While I'm not about to write-off the game, NISA is a company I actively dislike supporting, which almost certainly will factor into whether I buy their release.
 

FStubbs

Member
This sucks. XSeed was a much better localizer, supported PC, and even put their games on GOG. NISA screws up localizations, has spotty PC support, and when they do do PC, it's Steam only.
The game is already on PC, and I doubt Sony would bother moneyhatting this game, so the PS4 only release is pure spite. I do believe this game's fanbase is more on PC than Playstation.
 

Bullet Club

Member
Staff that worked on the previous translations are involved with this one.

NIS America announces The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III to release in North America and Europe in Fall 2019 for PlayStation 4

NIS America has announced that they will release The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III for PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe in Fall 2019. NIS America will also be holding a panel regarding the game at PAX South tomorrow on January 18 at 11 AM CST. Trails of Cold Steel III originally released in Japan in September 2017.

NIS America also states that this release will see the return of certain English localization staff that have worked on previous titles in the series. The game supports both English and Japanese voice overs with English and French text options. An English website can be found here.

About the game:

Nearly a year and a half has passed since the Erebonian civil war, and much has changed since then. From the shifting stances of countries to the internal politics of the Empire, and even the life of Rean Schwarzer, the shadows of the past have given way to the embers of a new chapter. Now graduated from Thors Military Academy, Rean has become an instructor at the Thors Branch Campus, a newly-opened academy that quickly finds itself thrust onto the national stage. It is here that he takes the lead of a brand new Class VII, and must guide a new generation of heroes into an unknown future. Though all is calm now, the nefarious Ouroboros organization continues to weave a dark plot that could engulf the entire continent in war...or perhaps something even more sinister.​

Trails of Cold Steel III invites players into a world full of intrigue and excitement that is years in the making. They will embark on a whirlwind tour through the never-before-seen lands of the recently expanded Erebonian countryside, and encounter fresh faces as well as old friends familiar to fans of the series. In true Trails fashion, the deep, engaging story pairs with an incredible cast of characters and a combat system refined over decades of innovative RPG worldbuilding. This renowned title has also now been developed natively for PlayStation®4 hardware, a series first.​

Key Features:

Welcome to the New Class VII – Explore the newly annexed lands of the Empire with a brand new squad, and catch up with familiar faces from the past.​

An Immersive Story – Experience an epic story developed across three titles, and crafted for new and old fans alike. Also includes an interactive introduction to catch up new players to the ongoing story so anyone can dive right in to the world of Trails of Cold Steel.​

Combat Honed to a Fine Edge – Challenge oncoming threats with a combat system that has been refined over the course of decades. The addition of features like Brave Order and the Break System opens up new possibilities in battle.​

XSEED Games had previously handled the localization and publishing of the series, including the previous two titles in the Cold Steel sub-series. XSEED isn't completely divorced from the franchise yet, however, as they are releasing PlayStation 4 enhanced ports of the first two Cold Steel titles soon in 2019.

NIS America previously handled the localization of Nihon Falcom's other flagship franchise with Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana in 2017. This was not a smooth endeavor, however, as Ys VIII suffered a poor initial localization that had to be significantly overhauled, as well as a troubled PC port that met several delays and patches. One can hope that Trails of Cold Steel III's eventual release won't be as problematic.

Source: RPGSite
 
Yeah I also played a bit of trails in the sky because of all the internet hype and didn't really like it.
The main character (the girl) was really annoying and I ended up dropping it when after 15 hours it felt like nothing too important had happened and I just got to another spot which looked like an obligatory but ultimately irrelevant side story


But the "cold steel" games look significantly different which is why I'm asking
My experience with the first Cold Steel game is almost identical to your experience. You are going to play for a fuckton of hours and then look back and be like wtf even happened during that time? At some point i ended up losing a bunch of progress because my vita powered off while in sleep and never bothered to pick it up again.
 
For those interested, NISA is supposedly offering further information on the game, including previous TitCS staff returning to work on this third entry, at their Pax panel, tomorrow at 11 am CST. The panel should be available to stream on Twitch.

I'd probably feel better about NISA getting this game, if I was confident Falcom cared about the quality of the final product, but reading comments from the company's president and other random insanity that proliferates online, I come away with the impression Falcom is fine with the game merely being serviceable, especially if it meets sales estimates.
 

CatCouch

Member
I don't keep up on all the localization news for these games to know everything but what are the chances of this coming to the Switch or PC in the future?

I played and beat the first two on the Vita (got the plat on the first!) but I don't play my Vita of PS4 anymore.

I know I won't finish this if I can't play it on handheld. I never would have finished the first two if I was tied to my TV.
 
I don't keep up on all the localization news for these games to know everything but what are the chances of this coming to the Switch or PC in the future?
Considering CS1 & CS2 ultimately saw PC releases through Xseed, and part of the online gossip surrounding why Falcom shifted their partnership from Xseed to Nippon Ichi Software is due to the company's ability to more readily create ports of newer titles, getting an eventual PC port at least seems a possibility. I tend to read the lack of an outright PC announcement to mean we wouldn't potentially see a release on that platform until sometime down the road.

As for Switch, again, part of the rumored appeal of Nippon Ichi Software was their ability to develop for the platform. That said, I'm only expecting to see Switch ports, if NIS can get all four Cold Steel games working on the system.
 
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Komatsu

Member
It has taken so absurdly long for ToCS III to come over to the West that my interest in the franchise has all but disappeared. I played ToCS I & II and loved both games but I won't waste my time with III knowing I'll have to wait another 3 or 4 years to play IV.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker




7CZA.gif
 

KiteGr

Member
So is this franchise any good and why ? (Good plot, or gameplay?).

It seems to be quite popular and I've been tempted to pick up the first chapter but just from the trailers it looks really generic and even more "anime" than tales of
It depends on your tastes.
And you might need to know some backstory to appreciate them.

Nihon Falcom had made a major comeback in recent years with the revivals of their Ys and Legend of Heroes franchises.
They look like typical cheap J-rpgs at first glance (understandable since they are pretty much an indie-dev now), with anime graphics and plot, but once you look a bit deeper you'll see that they put tremendous effort and passion into the little they offer. For example: every single NPC besides some random soldiers is named, and everyone's dialogue and actions update every time you advance the story. They also remake nearly every old Ys game up to 4 using the engine and mechanics from their most recent games.

From the legend of heroes franchise, only the recent games mater that have "trails" in the tittle (the other are to old or japan exclusives), but trails in the Sky looks like a PS1 game and it's a bit slow (the steam version has a god-sent fast forward), and Trails of cold steel looks like (and is) a ps vita game. Their battle system is more of a simpler tactic tile based RPG. If you are not into that you might prefer their Ys series.

As for the Ys series, they have action fast combat and IMO they are much more enjoyable. Similarly to Zelda, each game besides the first two follows a brand new adventures with mostly hints and Easter eggs to the old ones. It's a wonderful chance as to get into them as the latest remake of nearly all of them is available on steam.
Ys 1+2 are the only ones to have kept the old strangely addictive bump combat.
Ys 3, 6 and Origins have the refined fast action combat of Ys 6.
Ys 4, 7 & 8 have the new Party combat introduced in Ys 7. (Some vintage players don't like you having and controlling party members, but most love it!)
Ys 5 has never seen any English release (at least not official), but then again, it was the one that almost killed the series, so we are not missing much.

See these Ys reviews for more info. It covers most important ports and remakes, with the exception of the recent remake of YS 4 "Memories of Celceta"
 
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To further the NISA-disappointment train, seems the individual generally viewed as the main translator on CS1 & CS2 is not one of the returning staff for CS3.



I worry CS3 will be handled much the same as the updated-translation patch for Ys 8, with these returning staffers primarily used to punch-up an existing script. Supposedly NISA has had CS3 for at least a year. I hope they've used the time to work on a localization that is accurate and faithful to the previous games; because at this point, NISA knows an English-language anime-sounding dub with wonky dialogue is often enough to placate their general audience.
 
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Falcom: Friendship ended with XSEED. Now NISA is my best friend.

I'm incredibly excited for the game being localized but I'm just wary of NISA. Normally I'd be rushing to pre-order a Trails game but I'm taking a wait and see on this one.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Looks like every anime I have ever seen ever with a C tier budget and I guess now a C tier localization too.
 

Lucumo

Member
Ys 4, 7 & 8 have the new Party combat introduced in Ys 7. (Some vintage players don't like you having and controlling party members, but most love it!)
Citation needed. Calling players who enjoyed the franchise until 2009 "vintage players" is pretty funny. I mean, how is 2008 vintage or 2006, if you want to refer to a specific game (Ys Origin). Fans of the series have an obvious gripe with the fact that Adol turned, and I wrote it already above, "from lone wanderer on adventures to party member with annoying side-characters". They changed the very foundation of the series which was a grave decision indeed. And also, what some guy/gal who started with the series on Steam or whatever says has absolutely no relevance for obvious reasons.
 
On the downside, the Lead Editor and main Translator are the two that worked on Danganronpa V3.

These are the individuals from Xseed brought onboard to assist with the game.

1y0ybw1.png


Keeping in mind these three sound to be working as contractors and not directly writing the script, the end result will still probably depend on how NISA wants to handle things, particularly with regards to the English dub. As I said previously, I can see these three being used for consistency and to punch-up the existing script, but I won't be surprised if issues remain with the finished product. Ultimately, it's probably gonna be a wait-and-see situation.

And for some clarity, based on what was said during the PAX stream, Ryan sounds to be involved with lore consistency, Brittany is involved with the dub, Kris is helping with editing.
 
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