Trails of Cold Steel III & Trails of Cold Steel IV PS5 ESRB Ratings Spotted

The ESRB has rated unannounced PlayStation 5 ports of the Nihon Falcom-developed turn-based JRPGs The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV.

These ratings are helmed by publisher NIS America, which is unsurprising given that they have done native PlayStation 5 versions of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, as well as both Caligula Effect entries.

We’ll keep you all updated with the official announcements of these ports. Both ESRB ratings are quoted below:

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

This is a role-playing game in which players follow soldiers as they attempt to uncover secret plots and prevent a war. From a third-person perspective, players explore fantasy settings, interact with characters, and engage in battles with enemy soldiers and creatures (e.g., fish-like monsters, robots, jaguars). Combat is turn-based, with players selecting attack moves from a menu before watching brief cutscenes of their fighters slashing swords.

A handful of cutscenes depict splashes of blood (e.g., a character with a bloody chest wound); in one sequence, blood-splatter effects occur during combat with fish-like enemies. The game contains some suggestive material: a character groping a female character’s chest under her armor/chest plate, with accompanying dialogue (e.g., “Hmm, the armor makes ’em seem small, but they’re actually about as big as Lady Bell’s.”); a student flirting with her teacher (e.g., “A student and her instructor alone in a quiet classroom…Truly an ideal setting.”).

A few scenes depict characters drinking alcohol; one scene shows a character smoking a cigarette. The word “sh*t” can be heard in the game, and a character can be seen holding up his middle finger.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV

This is a role-playing game in which players follow a group of heroes as they attempt to stop a war. Players explore various environments (e.g., fields, dungeons) and engage in battles against human soldiers and fantasy creatures (e.g., dragons, giants mechs, demons). Players use swords, axes, firearms, and magic to defeat enemies. Slashing sounds, light effects, and explosions highlight the turn-based combat.

One character’s special attack depicts large blood-splatter effects, as several scythes spin to attack enemies. The game contains some suggestive material: dialogue such as “…[Y]ou’ve got quite the promising pair…though they pale in comparison to Emma’s”; a prolonged sequence in which a woman gropes another character’s chest (e.g., “Ahh, smooth and squishy to the touch…I could just do this forever.”).

As players progress, they can visit a casino to play and bet on games of Poker and Blackjack. A handful of sequences depict a character drinking alcohol and smoking cigars, and one sequence involves a drinking contest. The words “sh*t” and “a*shole” are heard in the game.

Thanks to Gematsu for spotting these ratings.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

• In case you missed it, check out our review.
• View the launch trailer.
• Read all of the connected III & IX story.
• PC Port Features
• All Rean Beach Dates
• 100% Guide
• 100% Fishing Guide
• 100% Recipe & Cooking Guide
• 100% Books Guide
• 100% Chests Guide
• Latest Update

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie takes place after Trails of Cold Steel IV and features a new mechanic that has players switch between playable protagonists and parties at a moment’s notice.

The Trails of Cold Steel protagonist, Rean Schwarzer, Crossbell protagonist, Lloyd Bannings, and the brand new character C, are the leaders of these three parties. They face their own unique threats before eventually uniting against something especially grand.

A prominent feature is the Reverie Corridor, highly akin to Phantasma from Trails in the Sky the 3rd, where a plethora of side activities await players, such as combat challenges, minigames, a fake gacha, over 50 playable characters, and teases toward the Calvard arc seen in the Kuro games.