The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II picks up exactly where the first game left off, at the moment the Erebonian Empire is torn apart by civil war and Class VII is scattered across the country. Rean Schwarzer wakes up alone in the mountains, and his first task isn't to save the world but to find his former classmates, convince them to reunite, and only then try to intervene in a conflict far larger than himself. As a result, the game naturally combines the collect-the-party structure of its opening chapters with a map that gradually opens up. As allies and modes of transport are added, the whole territory becomes accessible, along with a wealth of side quests through which Falcom, as always, builds a sense of a lived-in world.

The combat system remains turn-based with a strong tactical layer. Positioning on the battlefield determines who gets caught by area attacks, a turn-order gauge reveals upcoming bonuses worth fighting for, and a linked-partner system lets you chain finishers as well as shield allies from lethal blows. Orbments can be tuned into very specific roles, so even routine skirmishes leave room for optimization. The second game also adds several entirely new modes, including battles in mechanical armor that serve as flashy climaxes to key chapters. Technically, it's solid work on Vita: the game runs smoothly and keeps a legible interface even on a small screen.

The soundtrack from Falcom's in-house sound team ranks among the strongest the series has offered, blending rock themes for battles with calmer melodies for traveling, and handling callbacks to the previous game with sensitivity. Reviewers praised the narrative cohesion and the way the game rewards familiarity with earlier stories, while noting a slower start and a heavy amount of text. Today, Trails of Cold Steel II is among the titles worth hunting down a Vita for: the portable format suits a long conversational chronicle, and the game proved that a sprawling story about politics and school friendships doesn't get lost on a handheld console.