Following the events of Cold Steel 1, Rean Schwarzer is now separated from his classmates, worried about them and what happened in Trista, Rean embarks on a new adventure to reunite the class VII as the civil war rages in Erebonia. In the same manner that its predecessor, Cold Steel 2 carries on Falcom's habit, resulting with a game heavy in story, character development and world building. However, unlike the previous game, this new installment does have major problems and harbors a glimpse of the disaster that will be Cold Steel 3 and 4.
A shame, considering those problems mainly appear toward the end of the game, everything prior that is almost perfect. The gameplay is enhanced with new mechanics cleverly introduced through lore, the grimmer context is tangible both on form and substance, the new combat theme oozes with anxiety and bitterness, perfectly transcribed through the evolution the main character undergoes. Despite being classic it is well written, Falcom obliges, many details fits the narrative, such as a new in-game sprite accompanied with Kōki Uchiyama's performance, both highlighting a more ferocious and emotive Rean. A nice treatment that do not only concern the main character.
So where did it go wrong ? Simply put, Nihon Falcom's wet dream is to make the ultimate crossover, where every character from each arc would cross paths. In order to achieve that, Falcom forsook good writting to brainless fan service, doing so, they lost all perspectives of what made their own games so special.
Near the end of Cold Steel 2, after a major plot twist and as the tension reaches a new peak, Falcom, clouded by their fantasy couldn't come up with anything else but a time skip, followed by an hour section which forces you to play characters from another arc. Whether or not the player like the said characters is out of the question, the problem here is the pacing. All of sudden, all emotions and questions the player might have, are brushed off. Like a pop up commercial in the middle of a movie, or a dessert between two meat dishes, during this section ironically named divertissement, Falcom warns players that, from this point onward everything will shatter.
If that previous mistake was not enough, for some obscure reasons, Falcom decided to lock a scene behind new game plus, a short scene yet crucial story wise for both Cold Steel 3 and 4. This red flag alone, prevent me from rating this game higher than average.
It's a mess, a long game able to fit an hour fan service section, unable to fit 5 crucial minutes. Supposed to unravel at least a few questions, the narrative is even more blurry. The rule show don't tell, is not applied to the civil war context, which in retrospect isn't that bloody or devastating in consequences. Lastly, rejoice and be glad, Falcom not satisfied yet with the inclusion of one horrendous time skip in the game, decided to add another one outside the game.
In fact, between Cold Steel 2 and Cold Steel 3, a lot happens supposedly, and it somehow erased every single bit of character development Rean went through during Cold Steel 1 and 2. Do you think those events could well be a DLC for Cold Steel 2, maybe a brand new game ? None of that, instead those events are bound to a dreadful anime called Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War, which is in reality an advertisement for a mobile gacha game, and doesn't even have enough decency to answer all incoherences that later fill Cold Steel 3, which to be fair is a clusterfuck even without those incoherences, but that's for another review.
In conclusion, Cold Steel 2 is a shifting point, now privileging fanservice over good writing, Falcom prepared the ground for their so desired crossover, and the worst is yet to come in Cold Steel 3 and 4.
A shame, considering those problems mainly appear toward the end of the game, everything prior that is almost perfect. The gameplay is enhanced with new mechanics cleverly introduced through lore, the grimmer context is tangible both on form and substance, the new combat theme oozes with anxiety and bitterness, perfectly transcribed through the evolution the main character undergoes. Despite being classic it is well written, Falcom obliges, many details fits the narrative, such as a new in-game sprite accompanied with Kōki Uchiyama's performance, both highlighting a more ferocious and emotive Rean. A nice treatment that do not only concern the main character.
So where did it go wrong ? Simply put, Nihon Falcom's wet dream is to make the ultimate crossover, where every character from each arc would cross paths. In order to achieve that, Falcom forsook good writting to brainless fan service, doing so, they lost all perspectives of what made their own games so special.
Near the end of Cold Steel 2, after a major plot twist and as the tension reaches a new peak, Falcom, clouded by their fantasy couldn't come up with anything else but a time skip, followed by an hour section which forces you to play characters from another arc. Whether or not the player like the said characters is out of the question, the problem here is the pacing. All of sudden, all emotions and questions the player might have, are brushed off. Like a pop up commercial in the middle of a movie, or a dessert between two meat dishes, during this section ironically named divertissement, Falcom warns players that, from this point onward everything will shatter.
If that previous mistake was not enough, for some obscure reasons, Falcom decided to lock a scene behind new game plus, a short scene yet crucial story wise for both Cold Steel 3 and 4. This red flag alone, prevent me from rating this game higher than average.
It's a mess, a long game able to fit an hour fan service section, unable to fit 5 crucial minutes. Supposed to unravel at least a few questions, the narrative is even more blurry. The rule show don't tell, is not applied to the civil war context, which in retrospect isn't that bloody or devastating in consequences. Lastly, rejoice and be glad, Falcom not satisfied yet with the inclusion of one horrendous time skip in the game, decided to add another one outside the game.
In fact, between Cold Steel 2 and Cold Steel 3, a lot happens supposedly, and it somehow erased every single bit of character development Rean went through during Cold Steel 1 and 2. Do you think those events could well be a DLC for Cold Steel 2, maybe a brand new game ? None of that, instead those events are bound to a dreadful anime called Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War, which is in reality an advertisement for a mobile gacha game, and doesn't even have enough decency to answer all incoherences that later fill Cold Steel 3, which to be fair is a clusterfuck even without those incoherences, but that's for another review.
In conclusion, Cold Steel 2 is a shifting point, now privileging fanservice over good writing, Falcom prepared the ground for their so desired crossover, and the worst is yet to come in Cold Steel 3 and 4.