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  3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

Released: 12/22/2015

Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom's storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. With a standalone story that also delves into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, players can enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed "ARCUS" system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.

Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom's storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. With a standalone story that also delves into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, players can enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed "ARCUS" system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.

Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom's storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. With a standalone story that also delves into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, players can enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed "ARCUS" system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.

Critics
79
Steam
95
Metacritic
83

Score Breakdown

78.9

Critic Average

48 reviews

95

Steam User Score

5,816 reviews

83

Metacritic User Score

211 reviews

Disparity Breakdown

Steam Disparity
-15.7
Metacritic Disparity
-4.1
Combined Disparity
-9.9

Average of both sources

Review Timing

19 launch window (40%)29 late (60%)

Review summary

Updated May 8, 2026

Based on 48 scored critic reviews, critics give this game an average score of 78.9/100. Critics score this game 15.7 points lower than Steam users and 4.1 points lower than Metacritic users.

How these comparisons are calculated
Sources behind this summary(5 recent of 48)+
  1. Audra BowlingviaRPG Fan
    Sep 7, 2024·Late review
    70/100View review
    Steam 94.6/100 · -24.6 ptsMetacritic 83/100 · -13.0 pts
  2. Se Yun JeonviaINVEN
    Apr 29, 2021·Late review
    75/100View review
    Steam 94.6/100 · -19.6 ptsMetacritic 83/100 · -8.0 pts
  3. Alex ChessunviaMovies Games and Tech
    Feb 10, 2021·Late review
    75/100View review
    Steam 94.6/100 · -19.6 ptsMetacritic 83/100 · -8.0 pts
  4. Pascal TekaiaviaRPGamer
    Sep 5, 2019·Late review
    100/100View review
    Steam 94.6/100 · +5.4 ptsMetacritic 83/100 · +17.0 pts
  5. Dustin MurphyviaBlast Away the Game Review
    Jul 10, 2019·Late review
    80/100View review
    Steam 94.6/100 · -14.6 ptsMetacritic 83/100 · -3.0 pts