I’m saying this right off the bat, despite the problems that Trails of Cold Steel II has, it’s still the best Cold Steel game since it doesn’t have CS Is pacing, CS IIIs ending or the bottomless list of shit wrong with CS IV.
The game's story is an amazing follow-up to the ending of CS I. It’s really cool seeing a country, especially one as well fleshed out as Erebonia, in a state of civil war like this. I definitely think Falcom should have leaned further into this, but what they have now gets the job done. Especially since Rean, Fie, Jusis, and a lot of other characters who were still getting setup in CS I have some really great moments here. Rean in particular goes from a kind of generic Stock Light Novel Hero to a really interesting deconstruction of that kind of character and it's one of the things that I really wish CS IV didn't ruin by the end of the arc. But here and in CS III you see the potential, and what they have in both games is truly something special.
The pacing is kind of sporadic and the shrines in the middle feel a lot like mandatory side quests, but overall this is a huge step up from the first game. My biggest gripe with this is how the game ends like 3 fucking times, with you still having about 5 to 10 to 15 hours of gameplay left by the time you beat the finale and think the game is over.
Despite these issues, I really like Cold Steel II. The story is really great, even excellent at points, all the characters are likable and well fleshed out, the introduction of mech fights was an awesome idea (if a little underdeveloped mechanically) and it’s one of the few modern JRPGs to give you an airship (something that I wish more modern games would bring back). It’s kind of sad how this is where the arc peaked with how much CS III and IV were supposed to tie into the rest of the series, but it and CS I are a great story when you take the two together and if Falcom just stuck with what they had here instead of veering off into the stupid Curse shit, this could have been the best arc in the series instead of the most disappointing.
The game's story is an amazing follow-up to the ending of CS I. It’s really cool seeing a country, especially one as well fleshed out as Erebonia, in a state of civil war like this. I definitely think Falcom should have leaned further into this, but what they have now gets the job done. Especially since Rean, Fie, Jusis, and a lot of other characters who were still getting setup in CS I have some really great moments here. Rean in particular goes from a kind of generic Stock Light Novel Hero to a really interesting deconstruction of that kind of character and it's one of the things that I really wish CS IV didn't ruin by the end of the arc. But here and in CS III you see the potential, and what they have in both games is truly something special.
The pacing is kind of sporadic and the shrines in the middle feel a lot like mandatory side quests, but overall this is a huge step up from the first game. My biggest gripe with this is how the game ends like 3 fucking times, with you still having about 5 to 10 to 15 hours of gameplay left by the time you beat the finale and think the game is over.
Despite these issues, I really like Cold Steel II. The story is really great, even excellent at points, all the characters are likable and well fleshed out, the introduction of mech fights was an awesome idea (if a little underdeveloped mechanically) and it’s one of the few modern JRPGs to give you an airship (something that I wish more modern games would bring back). It’s kind of sad how this is where the arc peaked with how much CS III and IV were supposed to tie into the rest of the series, but it and CS I are a great story when you take the two together and if Falcom just stuck with what they had here instead of veering off into the stupid Curse shit, this could have been the best arc in the series instead of the most disappointing.