Fans have been waiting impatiently for Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel III to continue the story that started so many years ago. The newest title in the beloved franchise is proving to be everything fans have been hoping for and is a unique tactical JRPG experience.

That being said, there are some things players both new and experienced with the franchise wish they’d known beforehand. Whether it’s new game mechanics, capabilities of certain characters, or certain details about the franchise as a whole, here’s what you probably should know before getting started.

10 You’ll Understand The Story Without Playing The Series

By and large, the plot of this story is self-contained and independent of previous events. Sure it ties into the lore, the characters, and the world as a whole, but you don’t need to have a deep understanding of those things to understand what’s going on and why the characters are doing what they’re doing.

If you do happen to find yourself lost on what’s going on or feel like you need some historical context, the game includes a hefty recap you can spend some considerable time reading through to gain perspective.

9 You Need To Play The Series To Know The World & Characters

That being said, the world is a rich and complex place full of deep and layered characters. This depth was achieved over both the Cold Steel series and the larger Legend Of Heroes series, which incorporates a number of different games.

To truly understand and appreciate what’s going on in the story, the references, and the character arcs, you need to at least play the Cold Steel series and while not required, you would benefit from playing every title in the Legend Of Heroes franchise.

8 Socializing Is Important

While there is combat in this game, it is balanced out by a fair amount of storytelling and life simulation-style gameplay. Between fights, your character must interact with other characters.

At first, this might seem non-essential or optional but socializing with other characters develops stronger bonds which improve Link Levels and as these grow, Tactical Links will strengthen. This has the result of making the characters more capable on the battlefield as they tap into their potential and cooperate with others.

7 Juna Crawford Can Style Change

There’s a unique game mechanic that’s reserved for one character, Juna Crawford. Without spoiling too much, Juna has the unique ability to Style Change.

Think of Styles as battle modes. She can be in either Gunner Mode, a battle mode that operates at range, or in Striker mode, a more melee based style of fighting. Learning when to alternate between these styles is important to using Juna to her full potential. It’s not entirely clear why she’s the only one who possesses this ability, but you’ll find yourself using her a lot and she’s a powerful force on the battlefield when you master this.

6 Give Brave Orders

Unique to this game is the ability to issue Brave Orders. Brave Orders are squad-wide buffs that can increase damage, improve critical hit rates, restore any lost health, and so on. They last for a certain number of turns and can be a huge benefit to your teammates.

To use a Brave Order you must spend Brave Points, which are accumulated by successfully performing an assist attack. As such they are a crucial, but relatively hard to amass resource that can change the tide of war when used properly and at the right time.

5 Break Into The Break System

Another game mechanic unique to this title is the Break System. Each enemy has a Break Gauge that determines their overall level of defense. When depleted through repeated attacks or special moves, the enemy can drop items, lose boosts, and be knocked off balance for a period of time.

This results in the enemy being more vulnerable and causes them to take increased damage from attacks. Learning how to break and exploit an enemy’s defenses is key to succeeding in battle.

4 Placement And Weaknesses

Speaking of which, it’s important to note that Cold Steel III is a tactical JRPG like the rest in the series. Meaning while you should be doing everything in your power to improve and strengthen your allies, it’s much more vital to position and utilize them properly.

Learning proper placement and how to take advantage of an enemy’s weaknesses is the core of this type of gameplay. There’s a lot of strategy involved and you want to be thinking a few moves ahead if you want to win battles and progress.

3 It’s Slower Compared To Other Games

Because of the tactics, storytelling, and socializing, Cold Steel III plays much slower when compared to other titles. This is part of the appeal as players enjoy diving into a rich storyline where they get to know the characters and the world, but for newer players unaccustomed to this type of game it can be jarring.

There is combat, but it’s split up by a lot of other activities and talking. Take your time, take a moment to become more invested in the characters, don’t be in such a rush to beat the game and you’ll find that it’s much more enjoyable.

2 Free Time

There is a lot of downtime between battles in this game. This free time is designed to give players ample opportunity to learn the lore of the world, get to know other characters, and build those Links that will make them more effective teammates.

Because of this, your free time is arguably your busiest time in this game as there are a number of things you can be doing to improve your character, knowledge, and squad. Don’t feel like you need to do everything, but finding ways to maximize the things you do between battles is key.

1 It’s Anime

This is often the aspect of the game that’s most divisive and controversial. Cold Steel III is very much an anime-style of game. It’s colorful, it’s animated, and the kawaii is very thick at times. There are a lot of goofy and silly characters who have a tendency to say ridiculous things and you’ll find yourself resolving issues that likely would never exist in the real world.

Having said that, it’s important to remember that it’s an anime-style game, so the story is just as capable of taking the characters to extremely dark places and doesn’t shy away from showing the grit and gore that comes with wartime and the effect it has on people. This results in a roller coaster of emotions as you watch characters go through eye-rolling events one moment and experience relatable horrible things the next.

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