PEAK. It's controversial as the middle act was messy to some, but that ending was beautiful. The music was great for me, the characters were so beautifully made, the gameplay was evolved and honestly I thought about it for days after I beat it
This review contains spoilers
meh. feels like a culmination of both the best and worst to come out of kiseki as a whole.
Liberl and Crossbell coming together after so long feels satisfying while other aspects drag it down, had my fun just happy to move on now
For an experience of 9 games in the making it dosen’t feel nearly as satisfactory as it should be to be the end of an entire saga. In regards to lore I honestly think its some of the best in the entire series, from the depictions of the divine knights to Act 3’s lore reveal regarding Arianhrod’s past preserved from the Black Records, shes one of my favourites they’ve written in the franchise in all honestly and I feel it’ll stay that way. The lore itself feels like a gift to those who played all the previous games and avoided skipping any arc beforehand.
Even in ‘Fragments’, an intermission that does sensational work for Rean’s character as a whole picks up from a holy slog that was the first act and as a whole takes a while to get its framework from the rest of the franchise. Rean's character was iffy to me at first with the idea of accepting spirit unification then forgetting it in Coldsteel 3 but the idea of him becoming a teacher was probably the best direction they could've taken him and im happy they did. Its also rather aggravating when most of new and old class 7's development or character rely solely on Rean himself instead of other avenues (a select few characters do get this its just a shame its not most of them) but decisions like giving Machias development In CS1 then proceeding to completely forget about making him a character until CS4 is bizarre to me, even the idea of giving Gaius having the dominion just feels weird an attempt to add a semblance of importance to his character but I get why they did it. Some aspects that constantly way it down are the forced inclusions of characters like George (I took out the ‘G’ from ‘Gnome’ and went with that george) Angelica and then theres Black Alberich, that brother just feels like a waste of ‘Hikori Yasumoto’s’ voice and just stayed monotone 2 whole games with no change. It's funny saying this while Coldsteel holds the best antagonist in the series so far, Osborne. He’s been teased since the culmination of the kiseki series and from start to when the curtains close he delivers. It’s a damn shame we didnt get a final 1v1 duel here instead of a simple cutscene but thats just my own preference so I dont mind that much. Even as a soundtrack it's comfortably my least favourite in the series (blame singa)
I can wake up tomorrow knowing that I dont have to touch another cold steel game, and with that im at peace
Liberl and Crossbell coming together after so long feels satisfying while other aspects drag it down, had my fun just happy to move on now
For an experience of 9 games in the making it dosen’t feel nearly as satisfactory as it should be to be the end of an entire saga. In regards to lore I honestly think its some of the best in the entire series, from the depictions of the divine knights to Act 3’s lore reveal regarding Arianhrod’s past preserved from the Black Records, shes one of my favourites they’ve written in the franchise in all honestly and I feel it’ll stay that way. The lore itself feels like a gift to those who played all the previous games and avoided skipping any arc beforehand.
Even in ‘Fragments’, an intermission that does sensational work for Rean’s character as a whole picks up from a holy slog that was the first act and as a whole takes a while to get its framework from the rest of the franchise. Rean's character was iffy to me at first with the idea of accepting spirit unification then forgetting it in Coldsteel 3 but the idea of him becoming a teacher was probably the best direction they could've taken him and im happy they did. Its also rather aggravating when most of new and old class 7's development or character rely solely on Rean himself instead of other avenues (a select few characters do get this its just a shame its not most of them) but decisions like giving Machias development In CS1 then proceeding to completely forget about making him a character until CS4 is bizarre to me, even the idea of giving Gaius having the dominion just feels weird an attempt to add a semblance of importance to his character but I get why they did it. Some aspects that constantly way it down are the forced inclusions of characters like George (I took out the ‘G’ from ‘Gnome’ and went with that george) Angelica and then theres Black Alberich, that brother just feels like a waste of ‘Hikori Yasumoto’s’ voice and just stayed monotone 2 whole games with no change. It's funny saying this while Coldsteel holds the best antagonist in the series so far, Osborne. He’s been teased since the culmination of the kiseki series and from start to when the curtains close he delivers. It’s a damn shame we didnt get a final 1v1 duel here instead of a simple cutscene but thats just my own preference so I dont mind that much. Even as a soundtrack it's comfortably my least favourite in the series (blame singa)
I can wake up tomorrow knowing that I dont have to touch another cold steel game, and with that im at peace
they deleted my review because i said joshua should [TERMS OF SERVICE VIOLATION] but ultimately at the end of the day he really should [DATA EXPUNGED] so estelle and kloe can [REDACTED] in peace
The game is so good I bought it a second time just to replay it all over again
While I get there's a lot of missteps with this game, I just felt so good playing it. Almost every scene put a huge smile on my face, as it is finally concluding 4 game's worth of character arcs and relationships.
its peak.
GOAT
I'm still not over what they did to Osborne.
what a rollercoaster of a game
when i finished this game initially i didn't really know what to think and was mostly leaning towards being positive on it. whenever it focuses on the romance aspect of rean and most of the female characters it's a headache, but whenever the big story moments hit and you get the characters in more casual situations that do not include romance OHHHH does this game peak a lot. overall, i think this game is awesome and i'm a big fan for what it tries to do and achieves.
when i finished this game initially i didn't really know what to think and was mostly leaning towards being positive on it. whenever it focuses on the romance aspect of rean and most of the female characters it's a headache, but whenever the big story moments hit and you get the characters in more casual situations that do not include romance OHHHH does this game peak a lot. overall, i think this game is awesome and i'm a big fan for what it tries to do and achieves.
too big cast size for every character to get enough spotlight, slow start, some repetitive quests but overall some decent plot twists in the final arc
Horrible pacing and character writing. A few highs and a lot of lows.
This game has some very high highs and some super low lows, for one the pacing is absolutely awful in this
The moments that are peak are super good, but some of the characters in this game get there arcs killed off and it makes some of the writing very silly
Still a decent game though, and i enjoyed my time with it
The moments that are peak are super good, but some of the characters in this game get there arcs killed off and it makes some of the writing very silly
Still a decent game though, and i enjoyed my time with it
I could write this more eloquently but i think i will just copy the shit i wrote in discord when i finished it. It cant handle the cast size, it doesnt know what it wants to be, the character development beam only hits certain characters while completely avoiding others, the plot was lacking direction and then at the end we get answers for weird questions i forgot i even had cause i was too busy being mad at how absolutely stupid the gnome memoey erasure masks are, humanity being the cause of everything should have been the focus instead of literally talked about 2 times and brushed over very quickly, prologue to the beginning of act 2 is some of the best cold steel has to offer and then act 2 is some of the worst cold steel has to offer, why is some of the best character writing in this entire arc delegated to bonding events why cant you write that in. They needed to have actual stakes and have their rules actually fucking matter, and you can fucking tell they planned to kill off or shelf some of the cast but idfk man they were going for with this its like theyre trying to appeal to a certain demographic by being like we have all these characters you can choose who to play, but its like they cant properly write scenes because they are accounting for everyones diffferent party makeup. FOR THE RECORD I LIKE A GOOD CHUNK OF THIS CAST BUT LIKE they are written like this is a tokusatsu for 8 year olds im losing my mind man. IF there was no act 2 and no cast bloat(as in they at least focus on a certain amount of characters and have like old class 7 do other shit) then this would prolly be my fav cold steel game. Why does everyone say nothing theres so much said that isnt anything, the side quests in this game however are some of the best in the series and at the very least the best cold steel has to offer. The atmosphere , the NPC's, the sidequests, a good chunk of the tracks, a lot of the bonding event scenes are the best part of the game and imo this game is the trails game to do the first 3 the best, but man if only the could actually write the main fucking scenario without copy and pasting the same paragraph 4 times. Also sucks that sometimes they can write the old cast well and then sometimes they fucking treat the old cast as hollow fucking call back fan service material. Anyways, sky through cs2 are some of my fav games ever, and i even enjoyed cold steel 3 quite a bit, and I LIKED A LOT OF WHAT THIS GAME HAS AND WHAT IT ADDED TO ZEMURIA but man this game just spent all of my goodwill sky-azure built up and i really hope falcom remembers they can fucking write cause ive seen em do it, dont know why theyre hellbent on writing like this but anyways. Crow altina juna 4 life, i am praying they can somehow salvage this shit in reverie but it would take a lot to pull this off, and im sayin this shit as a fan of cold steel 2, just so you know I really wanted to see the full potential of this arc realized.
This review contains spoilers
This really is just Cold Steel 2 but you have Crow and Duvalie with you, it even pads the game out in nearly the same way CS2 does. The game itself is just okay but that really encompasses Cold Steel as a whole, it's just okay.
Lotta fans will tell you this the "worst" of the series, or an uninspired end...do NOT listen to them crybabies dude. Like most games it does stretch the game out a bit more than it should in the middle, but also there's just so much side content that if you're doing a completionist route it slows the narrative even more. Rean Schwarzer, I do this for you. Juna Crawford, you are the second coming. I got Erebonia on my back man. Crazy send off for class 7 and boy did they pull out everybody for their goodbye party.
The curse is one of the worst things they could have added to the series. Brought the writing quality of the series down to the level of Persona 5
This game is a VERY mixed bag. I enjoyed the experience overall cause it's still trails at the end of the day but man the story can drag a lot at times. It makes up for it with the game being fucking amazing at times too though so i can't complain too much. Overall it's good but has some extremely noticeable flaws
A beautiful ending to the Cold Steel saga. I cried so much during this game. Act 1 was a great follow up to the ending of Cold Steel 3 temporarily taking away our Main Character leaving us emotionally empty and gameplay wise forcing us to adapt.
People hate Act 2 and while I admit it was very slow I still think it was good. Does a great job showing Rean's character after CS3 and him coping with the reality he's created. It is absolutely necessary and gives us a hint at the normal ending for the game.
Act 3 and the finale were absolutely amazing, the boss fights, lore drops and bonding events just brought so many emotions. The normal ending actually sent me into a break down but the True ending saved me afterwards. Even during Act 3 I started feeling empty and didn't want this saga to end.
This is definitely my favorite game in the franchise so far and I can't wait to see how Reverie wraps all of it up as there are a couple of loose ends to be taken care of.
People hate Act 2 and while I admit it was very slow I still think it was good. Does a great job showing Rean's character after CS3 and him coping with the reality he's created. It is absolutely necessary and gives us a hint at the normal ending for the game.
Act 3 and the finale were absolutely amazing, the boss fights, lore drops and bonding events just brought so many emotions. The normal ending actually sent me into a break down but the True ending saved me afterwards. Even during Act 3 I started feeling empty and didn't want this saga to end.
This is definitely my favorite game in the franchise so far and I can't wait to see how Reverie wraps all of it up as there are a couple of loose ends to be taken care of.
I had so much fun with this one. All the previous games in the cold steel saga didn't focus too much on the other characters present in the trails series, so seeing them all come together was a bit overwhelming but exciting. Got me hyped to play all the games that came before this arc.
oh my god Act 1 and 2 are sooo bad except for like 3-4 scenes (carried by Juna btw), Act 3 and Finale are ok even if some story choices are very questionable and the gameplay is more or less like Cold Steel 3 with some balancing changes. Sadly even on the hardest difficulty (nightmare) the game, just like its predecessor is way too easy, except for the mecha battles, those are a real nightmare. All in all I liked it, but it's probably the weakest game in the series.
Fav Char:Rean
if you were at odds with how these games tend to give up on anything interesting to go all in on anime nonsense toward the end buckle up. This whole game is "toward the end" and it's dumb anime nonsense all the way through
After letting things settle a bit I think I’m ready to talk about it. Honestly I think cold steel 4 is an impressive achievement in and of itself. How it was able to to showcase the amalgamation and build up of the entire series and showcase its interconnected nature yet again was so exciting as a fan to see. So much thought and care was taken into this series and ultimately opening other doors into what future instalments will yield is one of my favourite aspects about trails. It’s a never ending story that keeps on evolving.
I kinda view CS4 as like a benchmark as to where the series has gone after all this time and quite frankly it’s crazy. Like u have some of the series highest peaks to boot. The game isn’t “flawless” by any means with some pacing issues here and there but tbh they are pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things. You are getting some of the craziest moments in the series in this game right here.
As a guy who has been playing games all their life, I really think that we aren’t going to get another experience or universe like trails ever again. This is a once in a lifetime kinda franchise and to think a game could tackle that grandiose nature of having all these worlds, characters, lore converge onto one stage and it being done gracefully is just incredible man. All the callbacks and all the referencing being brought forth kind of makes the experience sweeter after playing everything and witnessing this journey.
I gotta talk about Rean cause man, I think he’s my favourite Trails Protag as of right now. His journey of self discovery was really great to see, him battling his self deprecating nature of his perception of self and breaking down those barriers was nice to see. A lot of the time he values what everyone else brings into his life but pictures it that he has nothing to return to others and doesn’t deserve their kindness. But over time he understands that bonds and relationships with people are two way, you’re always going to provide something special to the other person in some shape of form. I think his journey through his struggles is very organic and well done. I cannot fathom the slander Rean receives in any capacity.
I think giving it some time off after finishing it has been the best for me so that I could figure how I feel about it in the grand scheme of things. Albeit not necessarily my favourite entry in the series but as a climax game I think it’s like close to the best (Behind Azure for me personally). It’s an incredible experience worth all the hundreds of hours I’ve put into this series up until this point.
I already claimed that after azure I was gonna be a fan of this series forever but CS4 has strengthened my stance on it. My love for interconnected series is only growing by the day and Trails is no exception. The more I think about it I’m happy with this rating but over time it might change depending on how reverie paints it but I’m happy with this.
I kinda view CS4 as like a benchmark as to where the series has gone after all this time and quite frankly it’s crazy. Like u have some of the series highest peaks to boot. The game isn’t “flawless” by any means with some pacing issues here and there but tbh they are pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things. You are getting some of the craziest moments in the series in this game right here.
As a guy who has been playing games all their life, I really think that we aren’t going to get another experience or universe like trails ever again. This is a once in a lifetime kinda franchise and to think a game could tackle that grandiose nature of having all these worlds, characters, lore converge onto one stage and it being done gracefully is just incredible man. All the callbacks and all the referencing being brought forth kind of makes the experience sweeter after playing everything and witnessing this journey.
I gotta talk about Rean cause man, I think he’s my favourite Trails Protag as of right now. His journey of self discovery was really great to see, him battling his self deprecating nature of his perception of self and breaking down those barriers was nice to see. A lot of the time he values what everyone else brings into his life but pictures it that he has nothing to return to others and doesn’t deserve their kindness. But over time he understands that bonds and relationships with people are two way, you’re always going to provide something special to the other person in some shape of form. I think his journey through his struggles is very organic and well done. I cannot fathom the slander Rean receives in any capacity.
I think giving it some time off after finishing it has been the best for me so that I could figure how I feel about it in the grand scheme of things. Albeit not necessarily my favourite entry in the series but as a climax game I think it’s like close to the best (Behind Azure for me personally). It’s an incredible experience worth all the hundreds of hours I’ve put into this series up until this point.
I already claimed that after azure I was gonna be a fan of this series forever but CS4 has strengthened my stance on it. My love for interconnected series is only growing by the day and Trails is no exception. The more I think about it I’m happy with this rating but over time it might change depending on how reverie paints it but I’m happy with this.
Curse/10
I hate this fucking game
I hate this fucking game
I love Giliath Osborne more than my own family
PEAK FICTION!
I can see the flaws others have but honestly I loved this game from start to finish. It definitely helped that I like the new class VII more than the original (idk if that’s a hot take) and seeing all them take on the spotlight in the early parts of the game was amazing to see for me.
The emotional peaks and hype moments are just simply the best the series has to offer. So many instances where I started bawling when I least expected to… that’s the magic that trails has. These characters feel like family and no other franchise has made me feel this way.
What a journey Cold Steel has been and can’t wait to start Reverie after i sit with what I experienced with this game for a little. I love trails.
I can see the flaws others have but honestly I loved this game from start to finish. It definitely helped that I like the new class VII more than the original (idk if that’s a hot take) and seeing all them take on the spotlight in the early parts of the game was amazing to see for me.
The emotional peaks and hype moments are just simply the best the series has to offer. So many instances where I started bawling when I least expected to… that’s the magic that trails has. These characters feel like family and no other franchise has made me feel this way.
What a journey Cold Steel has been and can’t wait to start Reverie after i sit with what I experienced with this game for a little. I love trails.
just when i thought the dev would tie every loose end in this game... but that aside, i still feel like cold steel iii and iv could've been one game by reducing the fluff in each game. the intro of this one was too long tbh. but some events were so touching and inspiring. tho this is my least fav arc in trails series, but i've grown to like and be comforted by the characters and the in-game world. that just means that the worldbuilding and the writing are top notch. kudos to the game dev!
6/10.
To sendo generoso em questão de nota, não serei tao imparcial hoje.
Cold steel 4, o fim de um saga de quatro jogos, fim de um arco...
Resolução: Vingadores ultimato so que melhor porem nao bom + Light novel energy+ battle shounen+ one piece pós time skip+ Full metal alchemist brotherhood
Com essa descrição pode soar bastante ruim esse jogo e olha... ele nao é tanto, mas pode se dizer que sim.
Cold steel 4 é um jogo pretensioso eu diria, na real o arco de erebonia vulgo toda quadrilogia cold steel é pretensiosa, porém com uma execução ruim e insuficiente quando sai do aspecto ruim.
Nao posso negar que existia potencial latente pkrl nesse jogo pra ele ser excelente, mas não foi o caso.
Realizei quase 100 por cento desse jogo ns minhs primeira run, em termos de conteúdo opcional, 75 horas de duração.
Devo dizer que até em termos de conteúdo opcional ficou inconsistente a qualidade, ainda que este seja o núcleo mais prazeroso e frutífero deste jogo.
Muitos personagens tem sua conclusão de arco narrativo de personagem neste jogo, outros so se tornam decentes, outros se mantém a mesma merda e etc, os bounding events (social links do Paraguai) se tornaram muito bons em texto de personagem do que este em história central direta.... PARABÉNS FALCOMM, SUA ARROMBADA.
O protagonista deste arco havia demonstrado traços de evolução em sua escrita e tendo substância em cold steel 3, mas cold steel 4 meio que é uma prosa fraca, um texto fraco e uma conclusão incompleta a tal personagem, então como digo.... eles escolheram o arquétipo de protagonista de light novel e deram um resolução absurdamente genérica pra ele e ficou um gosto amargo na minha boca.
4 jogos pra desenvolver um protagonista e não foi decente.... pqp, torcendo pra reverie salvar pq senão....
Dito isso o plot desse jogo tem tantas coisas chatas, retcon, plot armor e etc que sendo sincero foda se.
Gameplay, em resumo é cold steel 2 2.
Eu odeio a estrutura de cold steel 2 e esses malditos refizeram ela melhor, mas isso nao significa muito pra mim, ja que os problemas dessa estrutura ainda se mantém.
Nao vou entrar em detalhes, mas esse jogo meio precisei grindar, fazer builds e etc, foi divertido fazer certas coisas, mas enjoa dps de um tempo.
A trilha sonora deste camarada sofre igual a de cold steel 2, so uma musica ou duas marcantes.
Majestic roar ou coalecense e to the future foram as osts que mais curti, mas em suma tudo música ok.
Cold steel 4 tem muitos problemas, pouco tempo pra fazer algo que demoraria 2 ou 1 jogo a mais pra se realizar de forma verdadeiramente interessante, muito personagem controlável e uso mal regulado de alguns e etc.
Chegou num ponto que peguei síndrome de estolcomo com esse jogo e começei a gostar de muita bullshit.
Conclusão: cansativo e fraco
To sendo generoso em questão de nota, não serei tao imparcial hoje.
Cold steel 4, o fim de um saga de quatro jogos, fim de um arco...
Resolução: Vingadores ultimato so que melhor porem nao bom + Light novel energy+ battle shounen+ one piece pós time skip+ Full metal alchemist brotherhood
Com essa descrição pode soar bastante ruim esse jogo e olha... ele nao é tanto, mas pode se dizer que sim.
Cold steel 4 é um jogo pretensioso eu diria, na real o arco de erebonia vulgo toda quadrilogia cold steel é pretensiosa, porém com uma execução ruim e insuficiente quando sai do aspecto ruim.
Nao posso negar que existia potencial latente pkrl nesse jogo pra ele ser excelente, mas não foi o caso.
Realizei quase 100 por cento desse jogo ns minhs primeira run, em termos de conteúdo opcional, 75 horas de duração.
Devo dizer que até em termos de conteúdo opcional ficou inconsistente a qualidade, ainda que este seja o núcleo mais prazeroso e frutífero deste jogo.
Muitos personagens tem sua conclusão de arco narrativo de personagem neste jogo, outros so se tornam decentes, outros se mantém a mesma merda e etc, os bounding events (social links do Paraguai) se tornaram muito bons em texto de personagem do que este em história central direta.... PARABÉNS FALCOMM, SUA ARROMBADA.
O protagonista deste arco havia demonstrado traços de evolução em sua escrita e tendo substância em cold steel 3, mas cold steel 4 meio que é uma prosa fraca, um texto fraco e uma conclusão incompleta a tal personagem, então como digo.... eles escolheram o arquétipo de protagonista de light novel e deram um resolução absurdamente genérica pra ele e ficou um gosto amargo na minha boca.
4 jogos pra desenvolver um protagonista e não foi decente.... pqp, torcendo pra reverie salvar pq senão....
Dito isso o plot desse jogo tem tantas coisas chatas, retcon, plot armor e etc que sendo sincero foda se.
Gameplay, em resumo é cold steel 2 2.
Eu odeio a estrutura de cold steel 2 e esses malditos refizeram ela melhor, mas isso nao significa muito pra mim, ja que os problemas dessa estrutura ainda se mantém.
Nao vou entrar em detalhes, mas esse jogo meio precisei grindar, fazer builds e etc, foi divertido fazer certas coisas, mas enjoa dps de um tempo.
A trilha sonora deste camarada sofre igual a de cold steel 2, so uma musica ou duas marcantes.
Majestic roar ou coalecense e to the future foram as osts que mais curti, mas em suma tudo música ok.
Cold steel 4 tem muitos problemas, pouco tempo pra fazer algo que demoraria 2 ou 1 jogo a mais pra se realizar de forma verdadeiramente interessante, muito personagem controlável e uso mal regulado de alguns e etc.
Chegou num ponto que peguei síndrome de estolcomo com esse jogo e começei a gostar de muita bullshit.
Conclusão: cansativo e fraco
this game is so good when rean isn't the protagonist
a shame that only happens during the first 10 hours
a shame that only happens during the first 10 hours
After a horrendous Cold Steel 3, this new installment self described as the finale of Cold Steel Saga, will prove to be another disaster.
In the same fashion as its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 showcases Nihon Falcom's struggle to create anything new, Cold Steel 3 copied Cold Steel 1's formula, naturally Cold Steel 4 is a copy paste of Cold Steel 2 on many aspects, and just like its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 fails to match and replicate the original game greatness.
However, unlike its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 does have some improvements, even if it's only a few, credits where it's due. The gameplay is less repetitive than Cold Steel 3 with a sightly wider amount of possibilities. Story wise, after so much pointless hesitation in Cold Steel 3, they finally made the crossover a reality in this game, it's still badly written and was a terrible idea from the start, but at least now that Nihon Falcom achieved their fantasy, the post-nut clarity will allow them to move on, doing something maybe different than just brainless fan service, that was I thought until I saw Reverie trailers, oh well...
Cold Steel 4, is a prime example as to why quantity should never be prioritized over quality, the number of characters this game features is simply bonkers, but when there are too many people, nobody gets to shine.
This game does not do justice to any Trail cast and certainly not Cold Steel's cast which get all the developer's hate, predictable considering what they have done in cold steel 3. As if developers themselves couldn't accept Cold Steel was the one arc to make them more popular and they have the urges to tell the player : you're wrong, we do prefer the other arcs. If that statement was more subtle in the previous game, Cold Steel 4 at least is honest about it and give players a good old middle finger for playing Cold Steel 1 and 2.
How so ? Well, during the prologue of the game, Rean is still missing, and despite having recovered, the original Class VII does nothing to save Rean, no research, no planning, nothing. Instead, they wait until the new class VII's members wake up from their comas, just to talk and asses the situation.
And now quiz time, who would lead and motivate the others to save Rean, to provoke the change so they all escape their current slump which apparently justifies them to have done nothing for their leader for months ? Surely, it's a member of the OG class VII, the very people Rean shared 2 whole years with, grew up and fought during the civil war with, maybe it's Alisa the canon romance of the saga, maybe it's more fitting for Sara as their old instructor to take the lead ? Nope, Nihon Falcom went and chose Juna, the retcon character whose met Rean recently and spent her whole time insulting and belittling Rean.
The intention is crystal clear, the player is supposed to feel that the old class VII is trash, and the new one is badass, especially Juna. This is such a middle finger to anyone who played and liked Cold Steel 1 and 2, as if the hundred of hours they probably poured into those two games are worthless. Over the years, we've seen multiple instances of developers insulting their player base, but this one is a real contender.
But this middle finger alone, does not suffice to match Cold Steel 3's level of stupidity, Nihon Falcom couldn't leave at that. Heavily hinted in Cold Steel 3, confirmed in Cold Steel 4, Crow is back, revived from the dead.
It's dreadful practice to revive a dead character, doing so, the story cannot no longer be trusted, everything stated can be reverted, it nullifies any sort of stakes, intensity or tension. But Nihon Falcom doesn't seem to care as Crow isn't even the only one getting a revival.
As for the gameplay, as mentioned, it is slightly better than Cold Steel 3, however some points clearly are left to be desired. Many playable characters are actually considered guests, so you can't even fully customize them. On a similar topic, with that many characters, it would have been interesting to have some sort of ways to save an arcus setup with different quartz, and apply it with one button, in other word some sort of quality of life, but I should stop dreaming and proceed to end this review.
In conclusion, Cold Steel 4 is Nihon Falcom's fantasy, a crossover featuring an absurd number of characters. This is a game with so many characters that nobody gets to shine, with a story so badly written, it resorts to deads revivals, and abuse coincidences to advance the main plot. A game which structure is once again a copy paste of a previous title of theirs, highlighting Nihon Falcom's incapacity to create something new. Despite being ridiculed in Cold Steel 3 and 4, I ended up liking even more the original class VII, betrayed by its makers Rean Schwarzer, truly faces great adversity in Zemuria but also in our world, where he will eventually be pointed out as guilty by the mass if the Cold Steel 3/4 formula is milked one too many time.
Regardless of what happens, I have nothing but affection for Rean Schwarzer and class VII during the Cold Steel 1 & 2 era.
In the same fashion as its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 showcases Nihon Falcom's struggle to create anything new, Cold Steel 3 copied Cold Steel 1's formula, naturally Cold Steel 4 is a copy paste of Cold Steel 2 on many aspects, and just like its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 fails to match and replicate the original game greatness.
However, unlike its predecessor, Cold Steel 4 does have some improvements, even if it's only a few, credits where it's due. The gameplay is less repetitive than Cold Steel 3 with a sightly wider amount of possibilities. Story wise, after so much pointless hesitation in Cold Steel 3, they finally made the crossover a reality in this game, it's still badly written and was a terrible idea from the start, but at least now that Nihon Falcom achieved their fantasy, the post-nut clarity will allow them to move on, doing something maybe different than just brainless fan service, that was I thought until I saw Reverie trailers, oh well...
Cold Steel 4, is a prime example as to why quantity should never be prioritized over quality, the number of characters this game features is simply bonkers, but when there are too many people, nobody gets to shine.
This game does not do justice to any Trail cast and certainly not Cold Steel's cast which get all the developer's hate, predictable considering what they have done in cold steel 3. As if developers themselves couldn't accept Cold Steel was the one arc to make them more popular and they have the urges to tell the player : you're wrong, we do prefer the other arcs. If that statement was more subtle in the previous game, Cold Steel 4 at least is honest about it and give players a good old middle finger for playing Cold Steel 1 and 2.
How so ? Well, during the prologue of the game, Rean is still missing, and despite having recovered, the original Class VII does nothing to save Rean, no research, no planning, nothing. Instead, they wait until the new class VII's members wake up from their comas, just to talk and asses the situation.
And now quiz time, who would lead and motivate the others to save Rean, to provoke the change so they all escape their current slump which apparently justifies them to have done nothing for their leader for months ? Surely, it's a member of the OG class VII, the very people Rean shared 2 whole years with, grew up and fought during the civil war with, maybe it's Alisa the canon romance of the saga, maybe it's more fitting for Sara as their old instructor to take the lead ? Nope, Nihon Falcom went and chose Juna, the retcon character whose met Rean recently and spent her whole time insulting and belittling Rean.
The intention is crystal clear, the player is supposed to feel that the old class VII is trash, and the new one is badass, especially Juna. This is such a middle finger to anyone who played and liked Cold Steel 1 and 2, as if the hundred of hours they probably poured into those two games are worthless. Over the years, we've seen multiple instances of developers insulting their player base, but this one is a real contender.
But this middle finger alone, does not suffice to match Cold Steel 3's level of stupidity, Nihon Falcom couldn't leave at that. Heavily hinted in Cold Steel 3, confirmed in Cold Steel 4, Crow is back, revived from the dead.
It's dreadful practice to revive a dead character, doing so, the story cannot no longer be trusted, everything stated can be reverted, it nullifies any sort of stakes, intensity or tension. But Nihon Falcom doesn't seem to care as Crow isn't even the only one getting a revival.
As for the gameplay, as mentioned, it is slightly better than Cold Steel 3, however some points clearly are left to be desired. Many playable characters are actually considered guests, so you can't even fully customize them. On a similar topic, with that many characters, it would have been interesting to have some sort of ways to save an arcus setup with different quartz, and apply it with one button, in other word some sort of quality of life, but I should stop dreaming and proceed to end this review.
In conclusion, Cold Steel 4 is Nihon Falcom's fantasy, a crossover featuring an absurd number of characters. This is a game with so many characters that nobody gets to shine, with a story so badly written, it resorts to deads revivals, and abuse coincidences to advance the main plot. A game which structure is once again a copy paste of a previous title of theirs, highlighting Nihon Falcom's incapacity to create something new. Despite being ridiculed in Cold Steel 3 and 4, I ended up liking even more the original class VII, betrayed by its makers Rean Schwarzer, truly faces great adversity in Zemuria but also in our world, where he will eventually be pointed out as guilty by the mass if the Cold Steel 3/4 formula is milked one too many time.
Regardless of what happens, I have nothing but affection for Rean Schwarzer and class VII during the Cold Steel 1 & 2 era.