For decades, RPG fans looked enviously over the ocean towards Japan and the incredible variety of high-quality console games that prevailed there. Fortunately, it has become more and more of a trend in recent years that the Far Eastern manufacturers are also releasing their new and old hits in the West. A large number of cult games find their way onto our hard drives via GoG.com or Steam, one of these pearls was released yesterday The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Technically high quality PC port
Released in Japan in 2013, there is now not only a 1: 1 console port, but also one of the best PC implementations in recent years. With improved graphics with 120 FPS +, a widescreen mode, and the built-in turbo mode, there are improvements that make other console ports with years-old bugs and 30 FPS look really old.
One of the reasons for the quality of the implementation is Peter "Durante" Thoman. The Austrian computer scientist has been making a name for himself in the scene for years. As a fan, he developed updates and patches for console implementations in his spare time. With the implementation of the cult game Dark Souls for PC, Durant delivered an update within a few days and enabled fans to adjust the graphics, higher frame rates, better textures and other useful features.
Since then, Durante has taken on PC ports and updated them again and again. In the meantime he has also published some very interesting blog entries on the subject. In it he gives an insight into his approach and the quirks of many implementations. Quirks that the paid programming teams either cannot or do not want to fix, but which Durant fixes.
The Legend of Heroes is a traditional role-playing game series that began in 1989. For the PC version, publisher Xseed Games attached great importance to a contemporary implementation and hired Durant as a programmer. If you want to take a look behind the scenes of the procedure and the new features, you can read about it in Peter “Durante” Thoman's blog.
Graphics options and improvements - Blog 2
Is it worth the effort?
Does the game and the story deserve all this effort? Definitely. Not only because of the advance praise that the previous titles in The Legend of Heroes series have earned, but also because The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a lovingly designed RPG with a captivating world. The title is the ideal introduction to the series, even without prior knowledge of offshoots such as Trails in the Sky.
The protagonists are the students of Class VII of the Thor Military Academy. The cadets quickly find themselves in the middle of the political intrigues that threaten the existence of the empire. The new ARCUS combat system offers tactical round-the-clock battles that are nevertheless extremely quick, but at the same time demanding.
RPG fans will definitely love the PC port of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. The title has been available on GoG.com and Steam since tonight and is even 10% discounted at the moment.
