Ok, Az is busy, so guess I'll plop this in for the release!

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Ok, now this is an interesting one. I picked up this game mainly thanks to another one, the Persona series. This new game dealt with similar concepts...balancing school, relationships, and combating vicious creatures. Technically, it's less "supernatural"...at least at first, so there's some more grounded-ness to this particular series....

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

Honestly, I've never played any of The Legend of Heroes series, so I went into this with zip previous knowledge. Hopefully though, while some things may have gone over my head, I think the story's contained enough to be enjoyed without prior info.

Set in the Erebonia Empire, the first game starts centering on Rean Schwarzer, a newcomer to Thors, a military academy that has both aristocrats and everyday citizens as applicants, albiet in separate dorms and classes. However, Rean and a few other students have been selected to be "Class VII", a special group that composes of both social classes. But even more than that, Class VII get special "field training" in places across Erebonia. Through the game, we see Class VII learn and evolve in both their abilities and perception of the world around them and the events going on in their home from both noble and commoner view points, which is a highlight of the game. Class VII consists of:

Rean: An adoptee of the Schwarzer family (making him a sorta mix of noble and commoner) and wielder of a tachi, who's looking to find his path in life
Alisa: Daughter of a manufacturing empire who is seeking independence from her mother, and weilds a bow.
Elliot: Son of a general in the army and a lover of music, Elliot uses an orbital staff in battle, but is more of a healer.
Laura: Daughter of the most famous swordsman in Erebonia, she's looking to improve her sword skill even further....she uhh...wields a BIG sword.
Machias: Son of an imperial governor who hates nobles (including the one in Class VII), and uses a shotgun.
Jusis: (see above) Second son of Albarea family, one of the great houses of nobility in the empire, Jusis is on difficult terms with his father but is ok with his older brother. A fencer.
Emma: First on the entrance exams, Emma's kind and smart...but she's hiding quite a lot from everyone. Uses a staff like Elliot, but she's more of the strongest mage.
Fie: A seemingly lazy individual, Fie is actually a very skilled and deadly fighter with a past involving a mercenary group. Wields some pretty cool gunblades.
Gaius: A Nord Highlander, Gaius entered the academy under a recommendation, he brings a foreign outlook on things to the group. He uses a spear.

Sara: Homeroom teacher of Class VII. While she may seem like a ditz and a drunk (holy crap is she a fuuuuuuunnnn teacher), Sara is actually a very powerful and famous individual who has Class VII's best interest at heart. She wields a custom-made sword and orbital gun at the same time...and for the short time she's playable in this game...shows just how much she's earned her title as the "Purple Lightning".

The variety of characters and their backgrounds and the interactions you can have with them are a real draw to the game. As said, they remind me a lot of Persona, and these bonds are made even more personal because you fight beside these people in both combat and moral and perspective struggles.

Game wise, things are formulaic, which is fine, that's what's to be expected. As time goes on, some little sub-plots start to develop which continue through the series...and by the end of the first game, something so unexpected happens that it blows everything out every window of Thors Academy!

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The first game is split between days of doing quests around Thors Academy and the town of Trista. You can also use a sorta relationship points to talk and interact with both party members and important characters to learn about them and improving "Links" (in terms of party members, which increase special abilities when characters are linked together in combat).
It seems a bit limiting, but you get more openness with the field studies. Here, you take a trip to various places in the empire, taking on quests from specific characters with their own stories. There's usually a town, but there's also the fields where you fight creatures and search for stuff, as well as a dungeon or two here and there.

Combat in the game is somewhat simple. Linking is more of a gimmick that deals with the plot, but it's something you're going to be doing anyway and has no drawbacks I can think of. Each character each has "Crafts", which are essentially their special abilities. From Rean's sword techs that delay turns of opponents, to Elliot's "increase defense and get HP regen" music, there's a small but diverse variety through the characters.
Magic is handled through "Quartz". First though, you got your Master ones, which bestow different abilities. Rean's for instance, restores CP (Craft Points) with each enemy he defeats. As his Master Quartz levels up, he'll get more CP per kill, as well as other new abilities from having. There's also the lesser Quartz that, when equipped, can increase stats, cause ailments when attacking, or use single or multiple types of magic.

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The second game actually improves things quite a bit! More freedom, more characters!
So as to not spoil it...things are grim in the world now, and Rean has been separated from Class VII. When an incident at his hometown leaves his sister and another important individual kidnapped, Rean endeavors to reunite Class VII and fellow Thors students to find them. This leads to conflictions with aggressive Noble factions, strange occurrences happening in the world, robotic knights of great power, and revelations of some of Class VII's members.

As a sequel, a lot of the similar, but good, elements remain. There are still bonding events with characters and the like, but there are even MORE of them now. Some strong characters in the previous game actually becoming party members that join (most of them joining for a time and then leave, but you get them back at the end) with you. While you're limited (like the first game) on members you choose for a time, later on you can practically change anytime you want.
And since Thors Academy is...erm...indisposed at this time, you're not overly restricted to the school format. You have much more freedom this time. At first, you're a little linear while you get Class VII together, but from a point, you get the ability to go anywhere you want (locations become open as you go down the story)! This freedom just makes the second entry in the series that much better!

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Overall, the Cold Steel series is pretty great. Intuitive combat, some customization, interesting characters...and evolving plot that leaves some holes here and there to get you anticipating for the next entry. It has some weird moments, sure, but that shouldn't stop it from being great.

I don't know how Cold Steel 3 is going to go. It's been over a year since the end of the second entry...and apparently we'll look into Rean's origin story...which is good because that's been a nagging issue since mid-entry-one. But, looking forward to the twists and turns that will come about and if these is going to be the last one or not.
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Personally, I don't like school. Can't remember my time in it and I, and I'm pretty sure others would agree, don't care to remember. But I decided to drop in anyway, and Rigel was enthusiastic to come along for...some reason.
And naturally we're Class VII. I don't think either of us would be Noble, but just because you're not snooty and rich doesn't mean you can't swing a big sword like my replica of Sara's (again, great teacher). Rigel went with an orbital staff, which I guess kind of fits, I always brought Elliot into my party whenever possible.
Rigel seemed to pitch the idea to Arryn of coming too, given it's a MILITARY Academy and all, to which I wanted to bat him over the head for. Amazingly, she actually SHOWED UP. If you can't tell, the disparaging, moody, blue-hair-highlighted harridan under the bridge. Honestly, I'm looking at Rigel's happy mood and am debating whether to toss him in the Trista river with the Giant Swordtail fish...before Arryn possibly does it to us if she thinks Sara is a caricature we made of her....