Trails of Cold Steel II is the direct sequel to the first game, picking up roughly one month after CS1’s dramatic finale as the Erebonian Empire plunges headfirst into civil war. I had already played through the entirety of Trails of Cold Steel 1 (it’s basically mandatory ,pretty much every discussion of CSII assumes you have), and I was dying to see what happened next with Rean, Class VII, and the escalating conflict. I played the PS5 version, logging about 68 hours on my first playthrough and the time of this review.
Overall Feeling After Finishing
When the credits rolled on Trails of Cold Steel II after those 68 hours, I was genuinely speechless. This game feels like a pure love letter to anyone who fell in love with CS1, and it delivers massive emotional payoffs for every single member of Class VII, ties up the civil-war threads in the most satisfying way possible, and gives you some of the most unforgettable scenes and boss fights in the entire Trails series. The middle portion does drag a little with all the province-hopping and a few repetitive “go here, talk to everyone” segments, but the highs are so ridiculously high that they completely erase any fatigue. For me, CS2 is straight-up peak Trails (at least up to that point in the series). It took everything I adored about the first game and cranked it to eleven, leaving me emotionally wrecked and immediately hungry for Cold Steel.
Story & Plot
The main plot structure is divided into clear arcs: a powerful prologue that sets the tone of despair, the long central section focused on “reuniting Class VII” as you travel across different provinces (Nord, West Zemuria, etc.), a quieter intermission, and then an absolutely explosive final act that delivers one jaw-dropping revelation and set piece after another. Pacing is definitely the game’s biggest flaw.
The middle portion of the “getting the band back together” phase can feel quite slow and repetitive. There’s a lot of province hopping, talking to every NPC, and doing side quests before the story advances significantly. However, this pays off beautifully in the final act, which is one of the strongest endings in the entire series.
CS2 dives much deeper into Erebonia’s class struggles, the empire’s history, and major lore reveals involving the Sept-Terrion, the Grandmaster, and Ouroboros. The civil war never feels like a simple “good vs evil”; both sides have understandable motivations, making the conflict feel tragically real, and character development is where CS2 truly shines. Rean’s internal struggle with his powers and identity reaches new depths.
New (or newly prominent) characters add excellent layers, and the twists are shocking, and certain late-game emotional scenes had me tearing up. The writing quality is classic Falcom: extremely text-heavy, with long conversations and tons of bonding events. The voice acting elevates it, and the emotional payoff is immense. The epilogue and final scenes are masterfully done and will stick with you for a long time.
Characters & Bonds
Class VII’s dynamic evolves beautifully from CS1. What started as a group of classmates thrown together now feels like a true found family willing to fight and die for each other. The bonds between them feel earned and much deeper this time around.
My favorite character arcs were definitely Crow and Rean’s continued development. Laura, Fie, Emma, and Alisa also had fantastic moments, and the bonding system is even better than in CS1, with more meaningful conversations and some genuinely touching scenes. The voice acting is strong overall. I played with English voices and thought most performances were excellent (Rean, Crow, and Millium were standouts). Some characters still feel a bit stiff, but the Japanese voices are also available if you prefer.
Gameplay & Combat
The turn-based combat system sees nice improvements over CS1. The ARCUS system gets more depth, new Crafts and S-Crafts are flashy and powerful, and the addition of the Brave Order and Spirit gauge adds meaningful strategic layers. The Divine Knight and Panzer Soldat battles are visually spectacular and fun in small doses, though they start to feel a bit samey toward the end.
They never become tedious, but they’re definitely more spectacle than deep strategy. Exploration feels a bit more open than CS1 with larger field areas and multiple provinces to visit, though it’s still fairly linear in structure.
Difficulty is well-balanced on Normal. I didn’t need to grind much, but the game gives you plenty of opportunities if you want to overlevel. Missable content exists (especially bonding events and certain weapons), but New Game+ is excellent and makes a second playthrough very worthwhile.
Presentation (Visuals, Sound)
Visually, CS2 improves on the first game with more detailed environments, including the snowy Ymir region and the vast Nord Highlands. The mix of 2D character sprites in 3D environments still works great and has charm. The music is outstanding. Falcom Sound Team JDK knocked it out of the park again. Standout tracks include the new vocal songs, several intense boss themes, and the emotional pieces that play during key story moments.
Voice work is generous with fully voiced major story scenes and many bonding events. On PS5, the performance was smooth in my experience, only experiencing a few crashes during one quest. The UI and menus received nice quality-of-life upgrades over CS1, especially the fast-travel and quest tracking.
Comparison to Cold Steel I & Expectations as Sequel
CS2 is noticeably better than Cold Steel I in almost every department: story payoff, character writing, emotional weight, and combat variety. While CS1 was excellent world-building and setup, CS2 is the emotional and narrative climax of that arc, and it feels less like a “bridge game” and more like the true second half and conclusion to the Civil War storyline. At the same time, it masterfully sets up Cold Steel III with several massive late-game reveals that completely recontextualize the larger Trails universe.
Final Score & Recommendation
This game is an absolute must-play for anyone who finished and loved Trails of Cold Steel I. If you’re a fan of JRPGs, you’re going to adore CS2. Lore completionists and people who enjoy political intrigue will also eat very well here. If you really struggled with the text-heaviness and slower pace of CS1, you might find the middle of CS2 frustrating, so maybe take a short break before jumping in. Otherwise, there’s no reason to wait; it’s one of the best direct sequels in the JRPG genre I have experienced.
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