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#32
YoY: -4 My Rating: 9.2/10
The second of many The Legend of Heroes games on my list, Trails of Cold Steel III was akin to a second start for the series, as it not only made the jump to a new console generation, but also introduced a new set of main characters that took the center stage for much of the game. In general, the four Trails of Cold Steel games feel like two distinct pairs, the first two centering around the same core group of characters and storyline, while the latter two take place after some time has passed and, as mentioned, feature many entirely new characters in addition to the already familiar cast.
This soft reset is both a blessing and a curse. It definitely gives the game a feeling of freshness, but on the other hand in some ways it also feels like you're restarting a lot of stuff from scratch. Once the story gets going, the new characters have been introduced and made familiar, then the game hits its stride again. Not that the beginning is bad or anything, the game just takes a moment to essentially collect itself after the new start. Effectively, we're setting up new pieces on the board for the final game in the series after quite a few of the major storylines were wrapped up in the second game. It doesn't make the game bad by any means, just one that takes a little while to get going.
