4. Trails of Cold Steel II
Trails of Cold Steel II is the follow-up to the massively entertaining JRPG from last year, Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. All your favorite cadets from the academy are back, and this time you get to visit Rean’s hometown, which was never featured in the first game. While there really isn’t anything new here in terms of gameplay, the combat system and the Orb and Quartz mechanics remain just as solid as ever. It’s still incredibly fun to place your party members around the field while strategizing and deciding between using a Craft or a regular attack.
Bonding events are back, of course, and they look like they’re just as well-written as ever. An XSEED rep at E3 also informed me that some of your Cold Steel data will carry over if you’ve completed the game. You’ll gain level boosts, as well as some exclusive references to the choices you made in the previous game’s ending. Trails of Cold Steel II might not bring anything new to the series, but it’s looking like a good successor to an already solid story.
