Japanese RPG 'The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel' is out this week

It might have taken XSEED Games two years to release it, but fans across the globe can finally play “The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel” when it comes out later this week. In an interesting move, the Japanese role-playing game (RPG) will only be coming to the PS3 and Vita, showing that there is still some life for both platforms.

According to an article from Warpzoned, “Trails of Cold Steel” is the first game in the “Erobian Arc” and is a very good jump-off point for newcomers of the series. At the same time the game also expands on the mythology of the franchise, making it a deeper story for those who have played previous games in the “Legend of Heroes” series.

While “The Legend of Heroes” series has used a traditional turn-based combat system, there were a few things that made it stand out from other games that used it; particularly the craft, s-craft and arts skills. Both craft and s-craft are abilities earned by leveling up the characters, while the arts are magical moves that are gained through orbs or orbments.

“Trails of Cold Steel” introduces a new gameplay mechanic called the Combat Link system which has two characters teaming up for guarding and healing benefits, as reported by Siliconera. All of the combat mechanics mentioned can be seen as well, demonstrating how tactical the game’s combat can be.

Though it never reached the worldwide popularity of games like “Final Fantasy,” “The Legend of Heroes” is a pretty big series in Japan. While gamers all over the world will be able to try the first chapter of the Erobian Arc, Japan is going to get the third game in the series soon.

So far, there is no word on the second game in the arc coming outside Japan, so it seems like that will depend on the sales of “Trails of Cold Steel.” It took two years for the game to get ported, so it might take even longer for the sequels.

“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel” will be available on Dec. 23 for PS3 and Vita.

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