Choose The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Choose The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. 3,462 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel vs Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter both land in RPG on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are RPG games on Steam. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (2017) is 8 years older than Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (2025). Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter scores higher on Steam reviews (96.2% positive) than The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (94.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Choose Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter if you want an Action and Adventure game with HDR available. On Steam, it's the newer release (2025) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 2,148 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter sit in RPG on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (94.5% vs 96.2% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel |  Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2025 |
| Genres | RPG | Action, Adventure, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 39.99 USD | 38.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 94.5% positive (3,462 reviews) | 96.2% positive (2,148 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Nihon Falcom | Nihon Falcom |
Side by side
- Both are RPG games on Steam.
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (2017) is 8 years older than Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (2025).
- Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter scores higher on Steam reviews (96.2% positive) than The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (94.5% positive).
- Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is currently ~3% cheaper on Steam than The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (38.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel vs Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — FAQ
- Which is better, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel or Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel sits at 94.5% positive (3,462 reviews), Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter at 96.2% (2,148). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel or Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter first?
- If you want chronology, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (2017) came out before Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (2025). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter similar?
- They overlap on RPG on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.