The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Released Aug 2017
At Thors Military Academy, Erebonia’s best learn everything from the art of war to liberal arts. First year Rean Schwarzer learns he’s been selected to join the controversial Class VII, and they’ll need to deal with more than just class warfare--they’ll need to safeguard their country from chaos.
94% positive · 5,923 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam $39.99
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Evaluation
Trails of Cold Steel launched on Steam on August 2, 2017 as a complete, standalone JRPG — the first entry in the Cold Steel arc of the long-running Trails series. All 24 DLC items (costume packs and consumable item packs) were released on or shortly after launch day in August–September 2017, with no unreleased DLC remaining.
The developer (ported by Durante/XSEED) issued several post-launch patches addressing bugs and adding quality-of-life features. The final notable update was version 1.6 on November 5, 2018, which added Japanese voice acting support, Steam leaderboards, a high-resolution UI font option, and additional English voice lines. Importantly, the December 2017 patch (v1.5) notes explicitly stated: "Unless a new issue shows up based on this patch, the next patch will likely happen after ToCS2 releases" — signaling that the developer considered this game's active update cycle tied to the sequel's release, not ongoing standalone content work.
There have been no developer communications since November 5, 2018, no announced future content, no unreleased DLC, and no roadmap. This is a complete, self-contained game that launched as a finished product and received post-launch polish patches before the developer moved on to subsequent entries in the series.
Evidence
Version 1.6 — the final patch — added Japanese voice support, Steam leaderboards, hi-res UI font, and 148 additional English voice lines. No further updates or content have been announced since this date.
Version 1.5 patch notes include the developer's note: 'Unless a new issue shows up based on this patch, the next patch will likely happen after ToCS2 releases' — signaling the end of the active patching cycle for this title.
Content
24 of 24 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
XSEED Games
Achievements
51
Platform
Windows
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Verified
Players
Single-player
About this game
Among the nations on the Zemurian continent, the mighty Erebonian Empire has been quick to outwardly stake its claim militarily; yet politically, ugly bouts of internal conflict between the upper class and commoners attempting to rise to power have been steadily intensifying day by day. The Noble and Reformist Factions have been none too kind to one another over the years, and tensions between the two only stand to worsen if compromises aren’t made in the very near future.
Rean Schwarzer, like any other citizen of the Imperial Nation, is no stranger to these rising conflicts: the class system has been deeply embedded into the hearts of every Erebonian since the days of old. As a seventeen-year-old student preparing for his new life at Thors Military Academy, however, he notices that his crimson uniform differs from the standard ones issued to his peers—typically green for commoners, and white for nobles.
Enter, Class VII of Thors Military Academy. For the first time in the prestigious academy’s history, rank means nothing and skill means everything. With nine hand-picked students of various backgrounds and abilities, Rean included, Class VII readies itself to dive deep into the political quagmire that threatens not only them, but the Empire as a whole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom’s storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. Delve into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed “ARCUS” system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.
Rean Schwarzer, like any other citizen of the Imperial Nation, is no stranger to these rising conflicts: the class system has been deeply embedded into the hearts of every Erebonian since the days of old. As a seventeen-year-old student preparing for his new life at Thors Military Academy, however, he notices that his crimson uniform differs from the standard ones issued to his peers—typically green for commoners, and white for nobles.
Enter, Class VII of Thors Military Academy. For the first time in the prestigious academy’s history, rank means nothing and skill means everything. With nine hand-picked students of various backgrounds and abilities, Rean included, Class VII readies itself to dive deep into the political quagmire that threatens not only them, but the Empire as a whole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taking place on the same continent as the fan favorite Trails in the Sky offshoot of Nihon Falcom’s storied The Legend of Heroes franchise, Trails of Cold Steel (Sen no Kiseki in Japanese) is the first in the series to tread Erebonian soil and explore the inner political conflicts of this oft-mentioned powerhouse nation in detail. Delve into the expansive lore that has become synonymous with the series, enjoy school life and bond with fellow students to earn new abilities in battle, take advantage of speedy, tactical turn-based combat with the newly-developed “ARCUS” system, and uncover dramatic events that stand to change everything these two opposing social classes stand for.
- KEY FEATURES
- A World Rich in Depth for Veterans and Newcomers Alike
The events of Trails of Cold Steel are expertly told so that longtime Trails veterans and casual RPG fans alike can equally enjoy its detailed, highly nuanced storyline. - New Link System Adds Depth to Combat
Take advantage of the Combat Link System by bonding with your allies throughout the school year, netting you a variety of combat benefits including healing, guarding and more. - A Sleek Update to a Classic Growth Mechanic
Trails of Cold Steel streamlines the classic “Orbment” magic system from previous titles with new “ARCUS” units, allowing for more ready access to abilities and quicker customization. - Experience the Game as Never Before
50% more lines of English voice-overs have been added to the PC release, bringing a fresh experience to even those who have played it before on console.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 27, 2026
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