It was the summer of 2020, it was in the middle of the pandemic, and I see a game on sale on the steam store titled 'The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III'. Yeah, not what you were expecting me to say, but let me tell you, when I first saw the gameplay and trailer for that game, I think that's when I became a trails degenerate and decided to go to the beginning of the series, with Trails in the Sky.

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. The main thing that got me hooked into the series was the wordbuilding of Zemuria, I just thought of it as being so sick and cool and I needed more.

The beginning of the game was pretty slow and chill, sure, but I loved it. I'm also used to these types of games so that didn't really kill it for me. Estelle and Joshua bounce off of each other so well that I started to fall in love with them as a duo, Joshua especially. I could tell they were going to plot something with Joshua, just wasn't sure what it was going to evolve into. The rest of the cast is also pretty cool, with the main highlight in my opinion being Olivier. You can't top Olivier in terms of personality I'm afraid. As far as I'm concerned, HE'S PEAK!

The battle system also drew me in and probably became one of my most favourite battle systems ever. Idk there's just something that hits different about being able to interrupt the turn order and steal bonuses, guess it's just a rush. I love the orbment system and the different types of arts you could cast with the different quartz setups.

Regarding the plot, it felt like we were going on an adventure around Liberl (well that's what it was literally so I guess they hit another bullseye). I enjoyed how after every chapter we would rotate characters and be introduced to new ones. The chemistry between some of the party members was amazing. You got Estelle and Scherazard, Estelle and Agate, Estelle and Joshua, Estelle and Tita, honestly Estelle just bounces off of everyone really well. The party dynamics and chemistry was amazing and it just made the game that much more enjoyable. Honestly kind of lit how a pair of two teenagers had to put a stop to a coup that could've potentially toppled the entire kingdom. Overall, I was satisfied with the entire plot, and the Joshua plot reveal was probably the best part of the game imo. It definitely got me interested in Ouroboros as an organization, and judging by the fact that this is only the first game in like a twelve, soon to be thirteen, game series, I am beyond excited for how they expand on them.

Great game, would recommend, will be replaying it. Just play it please and give it a chance, you'll love it, unless you don't, then that's also an opinion!