Metacritic: 82
Opencritic: 85
RPGamer - 5.0/5
Minus needing an entire further game to get to the saga's full conclusion, Trails of Cold Steel III is everything I want from an RPG with a world that fully sucks players in, amazing music and locations in which one can just sit and relax, and a twisting and fascinating story involving incredibly deep characters that are easy to get attached to. Erebonia once again gets some fantastic attention to detail that really brings its complex story and people to life, as the many threads that have been introduced throughout the series further intertwine and begin coming to a head. Combined with a further improved combat system and further quality-of-life improvements, it marks yet another step up for the rightly beloved series. Now all that's left is just the agonising wait for the fourth and final part of the Cold Steel saga to see how it all ends.
ZTGD - 9/10
After a long, grueling wait, the Legend of Heroes makes its triumphant return and I am more than happy to report that the wait has been worth it as Cold Steel III delivers on all fronts with improved visual fidelity, performance and a slew of meaningful new mechanics. Led by a cast of unforgettable characters and an intriguing story arc that will have you begging for more when the credits roll.
Hardcore Gamer - 4.5/5
It may not achieve the same immediate and resounding brilliance as its predecessors, but The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is brilliant nonetheless. By modern design standards, albeit not a graphical showcase, one of the best examples of what JRPGs can be.
Digitally Downloaded - 4.5/5
Essentially, Trails of Cold Steel III is just more Trails of Cold Steel, but with a bunch of new characters, some new ideas for the narrative to explore, and some welcome design tweaks. I mean that as an absolute compliment, though—Cold Steel and Cold Steel II are two of the best JRPGs in recent memory, so having more of the same is hardly an issue. I'm still not entirely sold on the idea of the original Class VII being pushed to the background for much of this game, but the new Class VII are fantastic additions to the roster who bring a lot of new ideas with them.
Cubed3 - 9/10
Trails of Cold Steel III is an important title for both Falcom and NIS. For Falcom, it's the penultimate entry in a story arc half a decade in the making - and an incredibly engrossing one, at that. For NIS, it's a step in the right direction after Ys VIII, and proof that The Legend of Heroes' localization is still in good hands moving forward. This is a continuity-heavy RPG with 13 years of video game history, and seven titles building up to it, but the combat and world are strong enough where even newcomers can enjoy the ride. Trails of Cold Steel III is the Erebonia arc at its best.
Vandal - 8.5/10
USgamer - 4/5
Trails of Cold Steel 3 doesn't offer much in the way of gameplay innovations, but if you're even glancing in the direction of this game, you're not interested in new ideas. No, you're interested in continuing the dramatic, twisty-turny story of the Erebonian Empire's shenanigans. Trails of Cold Steel 3 resumes the series' magic-infused story of politics and scandal, and the unique battle system still holds up well.
Twinfinite - 4/5
If you are a JRPG fan, this series is a must-play. It's one of the strongest running, second only to Persona in my opinion. It's funny, charming, engaging, and occasionally heartbreaking. And it's absolutely worth the investment.
CGMagazine - 8/10
Trails of Cold Steel III marches the long-running series ever closer to an explosive climax with satisfying combat, characters, and music.
Game Informer - 8/10
Trails of Cold Steel III's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. While the story takes its sweet time to unfold, it offers a lot of shocking outcomes.
DarkStation - 4/5
Trails of Cold Steel III is a must play if you enjoyed the first two games in the series. The game is not radically different from the previous titles, so if you didn't love them or just do not like JRPGs in general, it won't change your mind. If you're a newcomer to the franchise, I strongly recommend playing the first two games in Trails of Cold Steel series before getting into this one.
Millenium - 80/100
Featuring charismatic characters and a story that keeps getting stronger throughout the adventure, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is a model of J-RPG. It's not flawless, but it's dense, rich and so well brought together that you can't help but have a great time discovering it all. The title skillfully mixes old school elements with more modern ones to create an exceptional role-playing game.
PSBloggen - 10/10
GameSkinny - 10/10
Trails of Cold Steel 3 is a masterclass in storytelling that improves nearly everything in the franchise's history.
PSX Brasil - 100%
Despite the challenges of having to carry the story behind two of the best JRPGs of the last decade, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III more than lives up to its legacy, delivering an experience anchored in a narrative that, despite taking a little bit to truly develop, manages to be one of the most surprising ones of its genre, and a gameplay even more challenging and fun than its predecessors.
Just Push Start - 8.5/10
Graphics aside, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a story-driven experience that delivers that in spades. It's more than enough to make up for some of the shortcomings and is a more intricate story than you'd probably expect. That being said, if story isn't your thing, gameplay and graphics are nothing special. Nothing about them ruins the experience, they're just not on the same level as the story. So if you want to get sucked into a fascinating world, it's hard to say no, though if you're just in it for the gameplay, you might want to look elsewhere.
The Outerhaven - 4/5
Cold Steel III is still a niche JRPG, but it's time that more people gave this series a shot, especially with this game's incredibly detailed onboarding features like character bios, lore summaries, and full recaps of previous games.
Video Chums - 8.8/10
Trails of Cold Steel III is a phenomenal RPG that genre fans need to play. After completing it and watching how it ends, I absolutely cannot wait to play the fourth and final game in this incredible series.
SmashPad - 4/5
Trails series is quite possibly the best modern JRPG series we have today, and Trails of Cold Steel III finally gives us some more, and more is exactly what we needed.
GameOver.gr - 9/10
The latest entry in the Trails Series offers an excellent continuation of the saga, which presents a great escalation of the story, accompanied by new and old well-developed characters from the series.
GamingBolt - 8/10
If you've been keeping up with the series, Trails of Cold Steel 3 is the strongest outing yet, in spite of some issues that hold it back from its full potential.
TheSixthAxis - 7/10
If you're a newcomer, it's a daunting and probably foolish task to try and play this game. If you're a die-hard fan of the Cold Steel series already, you'll get plenty of satisfaction out of the continued plot development and engaging combat. Even the most dedicated of fans, though, are likely to be turned off by the dated visuals and confusing Legend of Heroes crossovers that mar an otherwise impressive story-driven JRPG.
Push Square - 9/10
Trails of Cold Steel III is the best game in the series so far. You're going to have to play the first two titles to get the full picture, but you'll be rewarded with one of the most enjoyable RPG sagas in modern gaming. This latest entry strikes a near perfect balance between story and gameplay, all while juggling an ever-growing cast of great characters and an in-depth, hugely rewarding battle system. Cold Steel III is JRPG joy from start to finish, and it sits alongside the likes of Persona 5 and Dragon Quest XI as one of the PS4's finest.
RPG Site - 9/10
Trails of Cold Steel III is an absolutely massive game, as even with utilizing turbo a large portion of my playthrough, I still sunk over 90 hours into the game by the time the credits rolled. There's so much more I could talk about. Side activities like the new card game, Vantage Masters, which is absolutely a Gwent styled game on its own - with dozens of characters throughout the adventure willing to play a set with you - and more. At the end of the day, however, I'm just happy to see that the series appears to be in good hands with NIS America.
PlayStation Country - 8/10
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is more of the same and that's not a bad thing. People who have yet to sample the delights of the series should start at the beginning but fans of the series, and JRPG genre, are sure to be drawn back in to Rean's tale before eagerly awaiting part four.
Metro - 7/10
A few unfortunate backsteps make the first native PlayStation 4 entry something of a disappointment, but Trails Of Cold Steel is still one of the best old school JRPGs around.
GamePitt - 9.8/10
I honestly doubted that Trails of Cold Steel III could topple the incredible experience I had with the previous two games, oh how I was wrong. Taking everything which made the last two games great, Nihon Falcom has created a more advanced and enhanced version of the game we all know and love. There's little to fault when a game manages to keep me invested and hooked for over 120 hours on my first playthrough, sat on the edge of my seat with each and every revelation and event, both cheering and getting emotional along with the characters. JRPG fans have to buy this game, it's mandatory if you've played the previous two and enjoyed them as you're guaranteed to simply love this game without any doubt.
Remember, don't break the dreaded rule and play this before the first two entries or your mogwai will transform into gremlins or something.
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