Frey Holland – Forspoken

Ella Balinska is an incredibly talented actress, but even she couldn’t salvage the horrible writing and characterization that ruined Frey Holland, Forspoken’s protagonist. When the demo was first released, we thought it was just the frequency and quality of the ambient dialogue that was bad (and thankfully, you could reduce it with an in-game setting).

Unfortunately, despite an interesting set-up and reveal near the end, Frey is almost completely unlikable in her general outlook and how she deals with people. The excessive cursing doesn’t help, and even if the final game is allegedly nothing like what was originally pitched, she drags down an already problematic experience.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Initially, you pity Daniel – he’s trapped in a strange castle with no memories of how he got there and with a murderous Shadow that’s out to get him. Nothing can stop the Shadow and it becomes more commonplace as time goes on. However, it’s revealed that Daniel accidentally unleashed the Shadow upon discovering a strange orb during an archaeological dig. With no other options, he would eventually be contacted by Alexander, a mysterious being who says he can help repel the creature.

Doing this requires gathering vitae from people suffering from immense pain. And so Daniel helped Alexander to capture and torture people (whom the latter claimed to be criminals but were in fact not), using amnesia potion to ensure they remain terrified throughout. Eventually, however, it’s revealed that Alexander is harvesting the vitae to return to his own dimension using the orb. Daniel is betrayed in the process and seeks revenge, using the amnesia potion on himself to push past his guilt.

Upon venturing into the inner reaches of the castle, where Alexander is conducting a ceremony to open a portal, the player can either let him continue and thus be killed by the Shadow, or disrupt it, causing the Shadow to only kill Alexander. The latter seems pretty good but given Daniel’s hand in the torture of innocents, it’s hardly all sunshine and rainbows by the end.

Another choice is to throw the head of Agrippa, a prisoner with knowledge of the orb, into the portal. Both Daniel and Alexander then die to the Shadow but the former won’t descend into darkness because Agrippa will help him…or something. Even if you were being kind and felt Daniel deserved to be saved, there’s no guarantee that the Shadow wouldn’t still be pursuing him.

XSEED Games has announced that Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 will arrive for PS4 in North America on June 4th. PS4 players in Europe will get it on June 7th. Check out the announcement trailer below.

Taking place a month after the first game, the Western release includes some dual voice-over options for English and Japanese audio. Those who stick with English voice-overs will hear some additional recorded dialogue. Turbo Mode, which was available in the PC version, is also available to make backtracking and exploration that much quicker.

If you decide to preorder the physical Relentless Edition for $49.99/£44.99, you’ll receive a physical version of the game, a CD track with 23 songs, a Steelbook case with only artwork, and an Ouroboros Emblem Pin. You even get a pack of Sept-Terrion cards. The digital version will be slightly cheaper at $39.99/£34.99.

If you’ve been wanting to get into The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Nihon Falcom’s classic RPG series, then now might be the right time. The first two games are on sale for PC users via Steam. On top of this, publisher XSEED Games has released updates that also add Japanese voiceovers to both games.

That means you can play both RPGs with their original voice actors (or just select an alternative if you don’t like the English voiceovers). Update 1.6 for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel also adds an online leaderboard measuring total victories, Angler Points, Academic Points, and more to compare with friends. Other improvements to the graphics, text, and voice, along with a higher resolution UI font are also available, among other things.

Update 1.4 for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 also brings an online leaderboard and higher resolution UI font, along with the Japanese voiceovers. Players will also be available to natively load modded textures if they so wish. Both games are also available on PS3 and PS Vita, with PS4 versions of the same out in early 2019 for the West.

After what seems like forever, Xseed Games has announced that it’s bringing the PS4 versions of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 to the West in early 2019. Both releases will be sold separately for $49.99 and will have physical launch editions.

Not only that, but they’ll include dual-audio options. That means fans can listen to the Japanese voice acting in a first (in the West) for the entire series. English voice-acting will also be available, and ported from the PC version. Speaking of which, PC players will also be receiving the Japanese voice acting as an option for both games with a free update.

In terms of content, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Decisive Edition will include the following:

• Physical copy of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel on PS4 system
• 50 Mira replica Collector’s Coin
• Musical Selections CD containing 21 full-length tracks
• SteelBook case featuring only artwork, with a separate outer package design

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 Relentless Edition is pretty similar, in terms of offering a Steelbook case and an OST on CD.

• Physical copy of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 on PS4 system
• Ouroboros Emblem Pin
• Musical Selections CD containing 23 full-length tracks
• SteelBook case featuring only artwork, with a separate outer package design

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 have both been available on PS3, PS Vita, and PC. The PS4 versions were previously available in Japan only, but now English-speaking audiences across the world will have a chance to enjoy them.

Note: This list contains console and timed exclusives as well.

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

After numerous delays, Level-5’s epic RPG will finally be releasing in March for the PlayStation 4 and PC. Set several years after the first game, players will control Evan, the young king of the Cat tribe after his kingdom is overthrown by the Rat tribe. With numerous allies to gather, a new mode for kingdom building and revamped combat, Ni no Kuni 2’s gorgeous visuals are just one of the reasons for hopping back into the world.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

There isn’t any solid sources of information on the development of the new PS4 and PC port of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II. It can only be assumed that the PS4 and PC versions were fairly simple ports, farmed out to an outside studio to do the conversion.

Developed originally by Nihon Falcom and released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita  back in 2014, Xseed Games would translate the title, the act of localization itself, including adding nearly 11,000 lines of dialog that would itself take about a year, and publish it in North American territories for release on the same platforms two years later. NIS America would perform the same for EU regions.

Story

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II picks up about a month after the events of the first game, with protagonist Rean escaping from Divine Knight, Valimar and waking up alone lost in the mountains. He makes his way to Ymir, hoping to reunite with his friends within Class VII, the rest of Thors Military Academy and continue the fight against the Nobel Alliance and end the civil war.

The story of the game is focused more on traveling around the world as you hope to reunite your allies, and players explore many locations through the game world both returning from Cold Steel 1 and brand new. New traversal methods become available like horseback or the Airship, the Courageous.

Gameplay

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II has a similar set of gameplay systems to the first title in the series, however it drops the Persona reminiscent, school schedule system from the first game altogether. Instead players will advance by exploring the world, recruiting new characters as they find them.

Players command a party of up to five characters in box standard Japanese Role Playing Game turn based combat. Outside of battle you can customize your party’s gear, including different gems which alter your abilities and stats. Battles progress in a turn based fashion, where selected attacks can attack one or more enemies, which may or may not use MP. Specific conditions can result in chain attacks with other allies in your party, all with various effects. Successfully completing battles will earn EXP which will level up your party.

Save files from the original release are said to be combatible, if fans wish to upgrade. Saves from the preceding title can also be loaded to allow the game to reference relationships and decisions players made in that title.

When not in battle, players explore the field and towns in segments. The player can participate in mini games found throughout the field with a variety of bonuses to completion, usually money.

Characters

There’s way more characters in the game than we can possibly go over in a single space, but we’ll run down some core members of both Class VII and the Noble Alliance.

The player character and lead protagonist for this title is Rean Schwarzer, who acts somewhat as a de facto leader of Class VII of Thors Military Academy. Raised as a noble, he has a knack for finding common ground with almost everyone. He’s a positive person who can’t leave someone who needs help. He’s a powerful swordsman in his own right, and displays abnormally good instincts in battle. The player will have the chance to grow his relationships with any of the other major characters during limited periods of free time.

Alisa Reinford is the daughter of the president to the influential Reinford Group industrial enterprises. Her fiery temper often gets the better of her, and she’ll keep grudges over the smallest of things, but has a strong moral compass that helps guide her and her allies.

Emma Millstein is the class president of Class VII, a kind girl who’s quick to befriend those around her, Emma isn’t known for being involved in arguments. She’s recently been revealed as a Witch of the Hexen Clan, and feels some guilt over hiding this during the previous game.

Her vice president is a serious young man by the name of Machias Regnitz. He’s incredibly hostile towards the nobles who cling to their traditions, but eventually chills out a bit towards those within Class VII whom he’s learned to trust.

Elliot Craig is the timid son of one of the most renowned Imperial generals. While he would rather be a musician and is something of a pacifist, he’ll pull it out when the chips are down. He was Rean’s first friend at Thors Military Academy, which he only joined because his father left him few other options.

Heiress to the legendary Arseid family, Laura S. Arseid is the constantly composed powerhouse of Class VII, who trains endlessly to better herself. Though she can seem a bit cold, she’s very loyal.

Millium Orion is a friendly girl with a cheerful personality who can never quite sit still. The battle instructor and homeroom teacher for Class VII joins the crew as well. Sara Valestein, the “Purple Lightning” is known as the youngest Bracer to reach her high A-Rank. The Noble Alliance is the antagonistic faction that Class VII hopes to stop from removing Giliath Osborne from his seat and forcing the empire back to a time where noble blood was all that mattered. The supreme leader of the Noble Alliance, Duke Cayenne is the highest ranking noble within the order, in control of the Lamarre province. A pompous man who believes fully that his blood grants him a rule by birthright, he reflects this by making others do his dirty work.

His governor, General, Rufus Albarea is a poised young man from the Albarea house. He carries himself well and always seems capable of getting close to those in power. He presents as a well-brought up, patient man who always thinks his next move through, but through such elaborate scheming no one can say what his true allegiance is.

A mysterious, detached girl named Altina Orion is another key member who goes by the codename of “Black Rabbit”. Her exact connection to Millium Orion is unknown, but their surnames definitely  suggest that there is one. She carries herself in a more mature, emotionless fashion, and also seems to have her own agenda to pursue.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

If Nihon Falcom’s latest financial results are an indication, it seems that the PS4 will be receiving remasters of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2. If you’ll recall, the third game in the series had recently released in Japan for the PS4.

The remasters are apparently slated for the current fiscal year without any other information mentioned. Whether the titles will be exclusive to PS4 or not was also not mentioned. Will they even be in the same package? One could certainly hope but alas, there are no details on this either.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 originally released for PS3, PlayStation Vita and PC, exploring the Erebonia Arc as opposed to the famous Trails in the Sky trilogy. For those wanting to get into The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel on PC, it’s currently available on Steam.