The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV

The game plays very similarly to Trails of Cold Steel III as a traditional JRPG with turn-based battles, bringing back features such as the Order system, Orbment system, mini-games and battle commands being mapped to specific buttons rather than various menus. Each character from the new Class VII in the game has new, unique S-Craft techniques in combat.[2] Additionally, characters will be able to utilise Lost Arts which are significantly more powerful than regular Arts but expend a full EP gauge.[3]

The game is a direct sequel to the prior three Trails of Cold Steel games. It features a large number of returning characters from the Trails in the Sky trilogy,[4] the Crossbell duology,[5] and the previous titles in the Trails of Cold Steel tetralogy.[6]

Two weeks after the battle with the corrupted divine beast, Juna, Kurt, and Altina awaken to find out that while they and rest of Rean's friends managed to escape, Rean himself was captured by his father, Giliath Osborne. Determined to rescue Rean and put a stop to Osborne's plans, Juna takes charge of Class VII and travels all over Erebonia and Crossbell to try and figure out what Osborne and Ouroboros' plans are. During their investigation, they discover that the governor of Crossbell, Rufus, had been using his position to find and take possession of the last remaining Divine Knight. The group finally discovers the location of the facility where Rean is being held at and stage a rescue mission. Upon arriving, they find Rean has already fully succumbed to his Ogre curse, but the presence of all of his friends allows him to reconstruct his heart and regain his senses. Crow decides to rejoin Rean's side. Osborne then arrives and explains that now that all of the Divine Knights have been awakened, they can begin the "Rivalry", which involves the Divine Knight holders battling each other until only one remains, with the survivor becoming the new vessel for the Great One, Ishmelga. Rean swears to put a stop to Osborne's plan as he makes his escape.

As Rean and his friends regroup, it is also revealed that Millium had survived, having taken the form of the sword Valimar now wields. Rean decides to proceed with the Rivalry for now, as it is their only means of reaching Osborne. They first confront and engage Rutger and Arianrhod, and they are both defeated. Rutger passes away peacefully while Arianrhod is murdered by Rufus before she can defect to Rean's side. Both Rutger's and Arianrhod's followers join forces with Rean. Meanwhile, as the Curse begins to take hold over all of Erebonia, the entire country begins to mobilize for war against Calvard Republic. Osborne and Ouroboros then raise a massive floating fortress where they wait for Rean's arrival.

While his friends and allies disable the fortress' defenses, Rean and the new and old Class VII board the fortress itself and fight their through its defenders, defeating Cedric, Rufus, and Black Albreich, leaving Osborne as the final Divine Knight holder. It is also revealed that Osborne is in fact the resurrected form of Dreichels, an ancient hero who was instrumental in the formation of Erebonia who had taken the Curse within himself and arranged events as Chancellor as part of his plan to permanently destroy the Curse. Rean and Osborne then face off in one final battle, with Rean being victorious.

In the game's default ending, with Osborne's defeat, Rean inherits the Curse but is not strong enough to contain Ishmelga. Instead, he, Crow, and Millium sacrifice themselves to destroy Ishmelga, freeing Erebonia of the Curse at the cost of their lives.

In the game's true ending, which is unlocked by clearing the game once, Rean is able to find a way to separate Ishmelga from his soul. While Rean is freed from the Curse, Ishmelga physically manifests. Rean and all of his friends and allies work together to defeat Ishmelga for good. Rean has one final farewell to the spirits of Osborne, Rutger, and Arianrhod. With their duty done, the Divine Knights use up the last of their power to restore Crow and Millium's bodies before disappearing. The Emperor recovers from his wounds and retakes control Erebonia. War with the Calvard Republic is averted and Rufus is arrested, with Osborne being made the scapegoat. Cedric escapes and joins Ouroboros. Crossbell manages to win its independence. Later, Rean and his friends all attend Prince Oliver's royal wedding and celebrate.

In a post-credits scene, the remaining Ouroboros members meet with their leader, the Grandmaster, who assures them that despite the setbacks Ouroboros suffered, events are still going as planned. She estimates that Rean's efforts have given the world three more years before its end, and declares the beginning of the "Eternal Regression Plan".

Plans for a fourth title in the Trails of Cold Steel metaseries were revealed in an interview with Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo in November 2017, stating that the company originally intended to end the metaseries after Trails of Cold Steel III but thought it would be difficult ending it there, therefore making the decision to develop a fourth entry to properly conclude the series' third story arc.[7] The game was initially given a release window of Q4 2018 in Japan for the PlayStation 4,[8] which was later narrowed down to September 27, 2018.[9] Like the previous entries in the tetralogy, the game was developed using the PhyreEngine game engine.[10]

An official English localization by NIS America was announced on April 1, 2020,[11][12] scheduled for release on October 27, 2020 for the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe, and November 3, 2020 in Australia and New Zealand. Ports for the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows are scheduled for release in 2021.[13]

• Official website
• Official publisher site