izigame.me

Cold Steel IV is a incredible enigma. On one hand, it’s a testament to the long-term storytelling of the series and long-term stories in general, while on the other, it suffers from horrendously inconsistent characterizations and retcons.
CS4 delivers emotional payoffs, callbacks, and returns from earlier arcs. The negatives: The Curse of Erebonia introduced at the end of CS3 is an unexplained, omnipotent plot device that undermines past conflicts and events through retcons, and serves as a safe out, "The Devil did it", for the writers. It diminishes prior nuance of politics, characterizations, and commentary on the human condition. Osborne, our Napoleon Bonaparte-inspired antagonist built up to be a terrifying force, loses some of his impact Some characters like Musse are just poorly written due to the Curse padding the story.
However, the grand positives overshadow the story's shortcomings many times. The main cast’s dynamics, NPC side events, and the overall journey from halfway through to the end are deeply powerful. Most character arcs - especially Rean, Jusis, and Olivier - are brilliantly written due to how independent of the curse they are (Even Rean's is more of an introspection rather than curse shenanigans). Even beloved NPCs receive touching conclusions. My favorites being Kai and Tilia’s story, Anton's journey concluding, and the Hayworths' finale w/ Renne. Despite some shaky moments, the saga concludes beautifully. That ending montage ofOlivier's and Schera's Weddingmoved me to tears.
CS4 builds on CS3's combat: still fun but overly easy even on the hardest difficulty. Mecha Battles are more difficult to make them engaging, but the disproportionate amount of materials needed for Orbs make the final boss a tedious chore. Dungeons are interactive and never overbearing, but the ones during the infamous 2nd Act quickly get annoying. Having the entire Class VII roster to customize as well as getting to play as the Liberl Crew and SSS was incredibly fun and hype.
CS4's soundtrack is mostly fantastic, but some tracks blemish it. While CS3 had a few mediocre tracks composed by no-name freelancer Mitsuo Singa, CS4 mistakenly gave him more tracks. Most of his songs here are grating to the ears. Thankfully, the actual sound team's songs outshine them. In a bittersweet way, the OST also serves as a grand farewell to Takahiro Unisuga, our most talented and versatile composer, as he resigns from Falcom. His final song, Finale -Radiant Hope-, embodies the saga’s warm, hopeful conclusion, as well as a "graduation" for the beloved composer himself.
7.5/10 CS4 is flawed, but its accomplishments greatly overshadow its failings. Despite its frustrations, the rollercoaster of emotions made this so worth it. After the credits, I felt empty. Bravo Cold Steel 4. Like Rean, you saved yourself in the end.
I'm excited for Reverie but at the same time, I'm scared to say goodbye to this cast of characters I've journeyed with for 9 games.