Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 83 | 45 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 91% | 85 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 89% | 83 | 392 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Dec 9, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 392 total reviews in window · weighted 243.4 up / 30.7 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (74)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 75
“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III drops JRPGo fans into the middle of a massive story arc and then has a tendency to meander. However, it provides more than enough thrills and compelling moments to make this an adventure worth taking.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Cold Steel III is a solid followup to its predecessors, further expanding upon what made the previous two games great. Fun combat, great writing, well-developed characters, excellent quality of life features, it has all the makings of a great JRPG. It did take a step backwards with regards to its pacing and story structure (more in-line with Cold Steel I than II), but it’s still a solid JRPG all things considered and definitely one I would recommend.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a large scale classic JRPG with well-designed characters and an interesting storyline, which may seem a bit long with interludes and digressions on the "normal" life of the main characters and political intrigue. This is a small masterpiece that will encourage you to buy the two previous parts of the trilogy and make you look forward to the announcement for the European market of the fourth and final part of the story.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Trials of Cold Steel III is another excellent addition to a franchise that gains so much of what makes it absorbing from the huge amount of background detail and world-building that's been achieved in earlier entries in the series. Newcomers should be aware that taking the time out to play Trials of Cold Steel I and II is advised to get the absolute maximum amount of enjoyment out of this one but, even if you're jumping in fresh, there's still plenty to love here once you find your feet. With a massive cast of well-written characters and tons of excellent combat and exploration spread across its epic running time, this is a top-notch addition to the Switch's library of JRPGs.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“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.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“JRPG fans who can look beyond the dated graphics will discover a tremendous wealth of characters, gameplay, story, and an overall world that you can happily dive into for dozens of hours.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“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.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“All in all, Trails of Cold Steel III is an excellent Legend of Heroes game that brings the series to a more modern standard. The graphics are a lot better, the battle system is a lot more in-depth if not easy to break and the story is intriguing throughout. If you’re new to the series or have only played the previous Cold Steel games however, you’ll find yourself lost at times with the overall plot and many of the new areas and characters introduced here.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Despite the excellent story and characters… well, because of these, it’s hard to recommend Trails of Cold Steel III to people that have never touched the franchise before. You could feasibly enjoy the game even without playing the previous games, but with how the story is building up to Cold Steel IV, newcomers will be left in the dark even more than before. If you have played at least the first two Cold Steel games, then this is another great JRPG for you to enjoy.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“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.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III continues to craft an excellent story with solid combat and is handled with enough care that fans can rest easy when it comes to the series’ future.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“If you've never played a Trails game, this release has everything you need to catch up and dive right in, and stay tuned for the finale of the tetralogy, Trails of Cold Steel 4, coming to Switch in 2021. If two roads diverge in a yellow wood, you better take the trail of cold steel. That will make all the difference.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
cublikefoot
GameMAG
Nintendo Life
RPGamer
VGChartz
Cubed3
Gamer Guides
The Switch Effect
Push Square
Capsule Computers
NintendoWorldReport…and 62 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Trails of Cold Steel III Version 1.07 Patch NotesDec 9, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Trails of Cold Steel III Version 1.06 Patch NotesFeb 11, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Trails of Cold Steel III Demo Update 1.02Mar 11, 2020
- Trails of Cold Steel III Demo Update 1.01Mar 10, 2020significant · resets scoring window