How to get acquainted with the Trails series before Trails of Cold Steel IV

JRPG fans: Check your eyes and get ready to read as The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV will release west on October 27, 2020 for the PlayStation 4. It will be the last entry in the gargantuan Cold Steel cycle, which has regularly received localizations over the past few years.

However, this series can be intimidating. These are long games, renowned for their deep and unique fantasy world building. Between turn-based battles, there are oars and oars of text to read and dialogue to listen to. But if that sounds like your cup of tea, you're in for a treat and now is a great time to catch up.

Isn't Trails of Cold Steel IV actually Game 14?

Technically, there are currently 14 games in The Legend of Heroes series dating back to the '80s, but the Trails series itself is more of a sub-series and is completely independent from the rest of The Legend of Heroes games. To further complicate matters, the The Trails series is split into three sub-sub-series or cycles, only two of which have been released in the West. We know - it's complicated. But each cycle in the The Trails series takes place in a different country, and while there are various references, each can be played completely independently of the other.

What is the real start of the Trails series?

The first cycle of the Trails series begins with Trails in the Sky, is followed by Trails in the Sky SC, and ends with Trails in the Sky on 3. While the first two have western locations on the PSP, the best way to playing this trilogy is on a Windows PC. That said, you certainly don't have to play Trails in the Sky cycle in order to enter the Trails of Cold Steel cycle, and the cycle that takes place between Sky and Cold Steel has never had a Western version at all. .

Where to start with Trails of Cold Steel?

Since all of these games take an awfully long time to complete, if you want to update in time for the fourth and final version of the Cold Steel cycle, it's probably best to start with Cold Steel. The Cold Steel games are all available in the west on modern consoles, and feature welcome quality-of-life upgrades (like a turbo mode to let you go through the grindier parts of the game).

In the West, Trails of Cold Steel I, II, and III were all released on PlayStation 4 in 2019, and Trails of Cold Steel III specifically was also released on the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC in 2020. Each entry takes at least dozens of hours to complete, but it's well worth the effort if you're looking for a great JRPG to dig into, and Trails of Cold Steel IV is fast becoming a stellar conclusion.