The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

Just like Trails of Cold Steel before it, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is an excellent game, and a fitting second act after the first game’s exquisite setup. I can’t recommend it highly enough – just make sure you play Cold Steel first, otherwise you’ll miss so much of what this game has to offer.

Gamer EscapeJosh McGrath

9/10

While I can’t say I’d ever want to play through Cold Steel again, the base it created lifts Cold Steel II to a point I can say it’s one of my favorite JRPGs. It doesn’t win out over Trails in the Sky SC, it comes really damn close. The unfortunate fact that you have to slog through the low points of the first game to get to the expansive high here is a bit of a blemish…but I’d say it’s worth a little bit of pain.

Capsule ComputersTravis Bruno

9/10

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II might not have seen too many additions over the first game, it offers the same engrossing and highly detailed storyline and character interactions that fans have come to love the title for, making this immense game worth the time investment.

Video ChumsA.J. Maciejewski

8.5/10

Gamers always hope that sequels live up to their predecessors. Thankfully, Trails of Cold Steel II goes above and beyond the first installment so let's go back to school and see what Rean and his pals have been up to.

RPGamerAlex Fuller

Trails of Cold Steel II on the PlayStation 4 is the definitive edition of the video game. With a rich narrative full of world-building and fleshed out character, it's a journey well worth the time sink.

GamingBoltPramath

8/10

If you've been keeping up with the series, Trails of Cold Steel 3 is the strongest outing yet, in spite of some issues that hold it back from its full potential.

TwinfiniteKhayl Adam

If you ask any modern hardcore JRPG fan who is making the best games in the genre today, they are going to rattle off a short list of developers, which will undoubtedly include Atlus and Square Enix. Keep going down this hypothetical list, though, and you’re likely to find one of the Trails games, a criminally underplayed (outside of veterans of the genre) series of staggering quality from Nihon Falcom.

Push SquareRobert Ramsey

8/10

Sequels like The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II are a rarity these days. This lengthy, incredibly in-depth follow-up to the first game is essentially the second half of the story. Most of the key plot points that were set up in Trails of Cold Steel are fully explored here, with an absolutely massive cast of characters adding significant weight to every twist, turn, and revelation.

TechRaptorJames Galizio

8/10

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II stumbles with its pacing in places where the first game doesn't, but it's still an RPG worth playing.

Twisted VoxelAli Haider

7/10

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is finally out on PS4, but is the wait for this port from the PC version worth it?

TheSixthAxisMiguel Moran

7/10

Trails Of Cold Steel II feels less like a sequel, and more like the second half of an incredibly rich JRPG experience. There’s a lot to take in between both these titles, and it can feel like a slog at times, especially with the first game. Cold Steel II does a great job of making that slog worth it, and delivers with an action packed story and a consistently challenging gameplay experience. It’s a hard sell for anyone who wouldn’t normally play a JRPG, but for fans of the genre it’s a cut above a lot of other modern examples, and for fans of Cold Steel I, it’s a must-buy.

Worth PlayingJoseph Doyle

5/10

Awakening one month after the events of Cold Steel, Rean tries to find his friends and reunite with his sister Elise. Rean and his fellows try to find the remainder of Class VII and Thor's military school.