The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Review Summary

Satisfying and enjoyable conclusion: The game offers a satisfying and enjoyable conclusion to the saga, with a fun and creative gameplay experience that concludes the story well.

In-depth and engaging story: The game features an in-depth and engaging story with detailed twists and high stakes narrative, making it compelling and interesting for players.

Excellent combat system: The combat system is praised for its variety, mechanics, and overall quality, providing a versatile and enjoyable combat experience.

Technical improvements: The game includes technical improvements such as better animations and overall enhancements compared to previous installments.

Important and rewarding side quests: Side quests play a crucial role in the story experience, adding depth and offering rewarding content for players.

Bad pacing issues: The pacing of the game is widely criticized as a disaster, particularly at the start. It is described as painful and horrendous, with a lack of earned payoff.

Excessive and confusing number of characters: The game features too many playable characters, which can be confusing and overwhelming. This leads to underdeveloped characters and a bloated feel.

Repetitive plot and gameplay: The game suffers from a repetitive plot, with repetitive situations and recycled story elements. This extends to repetitive boss fights and formulaic plot development.

Poor story execution: The story is poorly executed and feels childish, leading to frustration among players. Many reviewers cite the story as the worst part of the game.

Long and excessive dialogue: The game is criticized for having excessive dialogue and long expositions, which can make the story feel dragged out.

Combat system similar to previous games: The combat system in this game is largely carried over from previous titles, particularly Cold Steel 3, with some improvements and strategic customization options.

Complex story with multiple arcs: The game features a complex narrative with multiple story arcs, bonding events, and a grand finale. It includes various side activities like fetch quests and fishing.

Side quests and mini-games: The game includes a variety of side quests and mini-games, some of which are crucial for achieving the true ending.

Varied character builds: Players can experiment with different character builds and customization options, allowing for varied gameplay experiences.

Divine Knight battles expanded: The game expands on Divine Knight battles, introducing new mechanics and abilities.

Frequent game crashes: Multiple players reported experiencing crashes while playing the game. This includes general crashes as well as specific instances such as crashes during transition scenes.

Optimized and smooth performance: Players noted that the game has optimized performance, resulting in smooth gameplay on various systems, including older PCs.

Good performance on Steam Deck: The game performs well on Steam Deck, with players reporting smooth gameplay and good optimization for this platform.

Colorful and charming visuals: The game features colorful and charming visuals, which have been appreciated by players. Graphic enhancements and custom shaders have also been noted.

Minor bugs and issues: Players encountered various minor bugs and issues, such as character freezing, FPS drops in some areas, and issues closing the game.

Play previous games first: The game is best experienced after playing previous entries in the series. Newcomers are advised to start from the beginning to fully understand and appreciate the narrative and emotional impact.

Not recommended for newcomers: Newcomers may find the game nearly impenetrable without prior knowledge of the series. It is suggested that they either play previous games or watch their content to better understand the story.

Recommended for series fans: The game is highly recommended for those who are already fans of the series. It is suggested that only players heavily invested in the series will fully appreciate the experience.

Mixed recommendations on gameplay: Some players recommend experiencing the game despite its dramatic story, while others suggest getting through it quickly without skipping side stories. There are also recommendations to play future games in the series.

Consider cost and time: Potential players should consider picking up the game on a deep discount or watching important scenes on YouTube. Additionally, the game is part of a larger series that requires a significant time investment.

Community fair range: $40.00 - $60.00.

Game completion: 175.0h.

Story completion: 90.0h.

Session length: 5.0h.

Endgame: 500.0h.

The game starts with an engaging narrative but becomes tedious after the initial excitement. The fun anchors after a slow and repetitive early phase.

Reported time to anchor: 40h.

Lore-Devoted Veteran: Strategic and invested in character development and story progression. Motivation: Deep lore and emotional payoffs from long-term engagement. Stance: buy.

Genre Enthusiast: Engaged with character interactions and story progression. Motivation: Enjoyment of JRPG elements like characters, soundtracks, and storytelling. Stance: buy.

Critical Completionist: Focused on completing the game quickly and utilizing the combat system. Motivation: Seeing the story through to the end despite pacing issues. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: The game generally performs well on the Steam Deck, with users reporting a positive experience. However, there are some stability issues such as occasional crashes and problems with save data management. Additionally, there are minor inconveniences like occasional long loading times.