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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
英雄伝説 閃の軌跡 II
Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki II
Developer(s) Flag of Japan Nihon Falcom Corporation
Flag of Taiwan SCET
Flag of South Korea SCEK
Flag of USA XSEED Games
Publisher(s) Nihon Falcom Corporation
NA: XSEED Games
Release Flag of Japan Flag of China Republic Flag of HK Flag of South Korea September 25, 2014
Flag of USA September 6, 2016
Flag of Europe November 11, 2016
Flag of USA Flag of EuropeWindows newlogo February 14, 2018
Genre Story RPG
Modes Single-player
Ratings CERO B ESRB T
Platform(s) Playstation 3
Playstation Vita Playstation-vita-brandlogo-blue
Microsoft Windows Windows newlogo
Media BD-ROM [PS3]
VITA Card [PSVITA]
Chronology
Previous LoH-ToCS official logo
Next Title
External Links
Official Page(Japanese)
Official Site (English)
その一発の銃声, 帝国の運命を変えた.
Upon a single bullet, the wheels of imperial fate begin to turn.
—Title Catchphrase

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (英雄伝説 閃の軌跡II Eiyuu Densetsu Sen no Kiseki Two) is the direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, and second in the tetralogy.

While being the seventh instalment, Trails of Cold Steel II marks the 10th Anniversary of the Trails series. It was first released on September 25, 2014 in Japan, in North America on September 6, 2016, and in the European Union on November 11, 2016.

An enhanced edition by Falcom has been announced, titled The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki II: Kai -The Erebonian Civil War-. It is a remaster of the original Trails of Cold Steel II for the PlayStation 4, set to release in Japan on April 26, 2018. The game is a 4K remaster and will be compatible with save data from the previous versions and add new features.

Synopsis[]

Rean Schwarzer awakens one month after the events of Cold Steel I alone near the Eisengard Mountains. Determined to save both his friends and country from war, he quickly sets off to reunite with the rest of Thors Military Academy, and Class VII, whom he was forced to leave behind.

The game's setting expands significantly to include more locations within the Erebonian Empire, with the player revisiting many areas seen in the previous game. The player will have access to more varied methods of travel across the Empire, including the use of motorcycles and horses. The player will also have command of the Courageous, which functions as the player's primary base of operations.

Characters[]

Class VII[]

Playable Sub Members[]


Guest Members[]

  • George Nome: Rean's senior and supporting mechanic at Thors.
  • Olivert Reise Arnor: A recurring character of the Trails Series, he is the Imperial crown prince and superintendent of Thors Academy.
  • Victor S. Arseid: Known as the renowned "Radiant Blademaster," he is the Viscount of Legram and father of Laura S. Arseid.
  • Lechter Arundel: Chief Negotiator and informant of Erebonia's Intelligence Division. Also a member of the Ironbloods known as Scarecrow.
  • Giliath Osborne: The iron-blooded chancellor of Erebonia and head of the Ironbloods. He was assassinated in the events of the prequel game and was declared "dead."

Antagonists[]

Noble Alliance[]

  • Duke Cayenne: The head of the Noble Faction, and top of the Four Great Nobles.
  • Rufus Albarea: Jusis's older brother and eldest son of the Albarea Household. First introduced as one of Thors Military Academy's board directors, now realligned with the Alliance as their chief-of-staff.
  • Altina Orion: A girl of unknown origin and background while sharing characteristics with Millium Orion. Codenamed "Black Rabbit."

Zephyr[]

  • Xeno: Former member before being hired as Duke Cayenne's bodyguard, known as the Trap Master.
  • Leonidas: Another former member hired as Duke Cayenne's bodyguard, known as the Behemoth..

Ouroboros[]

  • Vita Clotilde: A mysterious woman who doubles as the Empire's famous opera singer and radio personality under the alias "Misty." Revealed in the first game, she is the second Anguis of the Society and an exiled witch of the Hexen Clan.
  • Bleublanc: The mysterious Phantom Thief B and Enforcer No. X.
  • McBurn: Enforcer No. I, known as the Eternal Flame and said to have strength that rivals Arianrhod.
  • Duvalie: Head knight of the Stahlritter, Arianrhod's elite knights.

Imperial Liberation Front[]

  • Crow Armbrust: Former Thors Military Academy student and friend/mentor of Rean Schwarzer. Revealed to be "C," leader of the Imperial Liberation Front, and the awakener of Ordine, the Azure Knight.
  • Vulcan: Known as Comrade "V," a commander of the ILF and former head of his own Jaeger Corps.
  • Scarlet: Known as Comrade "S," a commander of the ILF and former church squire.

Returning Characters[]

Additionally, there is an extra chapter which involves the events in Crossbell after the ending of Ao no Kiseki.

Development[]

The game was released in Japan on September 25, 2014. It was then later licensed and translated into English by XSeed Games. The massive translation project began since February 2015, and over 1.45 million characters were transcripted taking approximately a year, following 11,000 lines of English dialogue addition by XSeed for the English release. The game was released in North America almost two years after the original Japanese release on September 2016, and two months later on November 2016 in Europe.

Reception[]

Aggregate Score
Metacritic PS3: 90/100
PSVITA: 80/100
Review Score
Publication Score
Hardcore Gamer 4.5
Famitsu 31/40
Game Informer 8/10
RPGSite 9/10
Awards
Publication Award
Playstation Award 2014 User's Choice - Winning Award
Japan Game Awards 2014 1st Place
Best of E3 2016 Awards 3 nominations
RPGFan Best Story of 2016

The game was generally well received by critics, according to review aggregator, Metacritic

Chris Shrive of Hardcore Gamer strongly praised the game for being "a modern JRPG masterpiece" with "the perfect blend of the classic JRPG formula mixed with contemporary features" concluding that "the emphasis on story-telling and immense cast of memorable characters make the large time commitment worthwhile."[1] Kimberly Wallace of Game Informer was similarly positive about the game's story and characters, but the game's tedious design of the dungeons were extensive to be desired. Despite the shortcomings, she still felt that the game "takes the cast and story in such engaging directions and provides so much to do that it’s hard to put down."[2] Darren McPhail of RPGSite was similarly positive about the game, stating "For fans of the previous LoH games and especially the first Cold Steel, picking up Trails of Cold Steel 2 is a no-brainer easy recommendation. While this sequel is unevenly paced and lacks shocking plot twists until the conclusion, the Trails of Cold Steel games are some of the best of the genre and well worth a look for most hardcore RPG fans."[3] All three reviewers agreed that, while possible to enjoy the game's story as a stand-alone experience, the story was better for people who played the original Trails games, due to their interwoven ties to one another.

In Japan, the game sold 86,283 physical retail copies on the PSVITA and 65,498 for the PS3 within its debut release week, representing a shipment sell-through of 71.96% and 77.3% respectively.[4] Within that week, the Vita version placed second amongst all Japanese software sales, while the PS3 version placed fifth.

Opening Movie[]

Videos[]

References[]

Navigation[]

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