IMHO.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel vs The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III 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 3 years older than The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (2020). The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel scores higher on Steam reviews (94.5% positive) than The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (93.3% 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 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. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 3,462 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

Choose The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III if it's currently about 40% cheaper on the Steam Store. 1,837 Steam reviews back the pick.

Both The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III sit in RPG on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (94.5% vs 93.3% 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 vs The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III — Steam metadata comparison
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel — Steam game coverThe Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold SteelThe Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III — Steam game coverThe Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
Released20172020
GenresRPGRPG
PlatformsWindowsWindows
Steam DeckDeck VerifiedDeck Unsupported
Price39.99 USD23.99 USD
Steam reviews94.5% positive (3,462 reviews)93.3% positive (1,837 reviews)
MultiplayerSingle-player onlySingle-player only
DevelopersNihon FalcomNihon Falcom, Engine Software BV, PH3 GmbH

Side by side

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel vs The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III — FAQ

Which is better, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel or The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III?
On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel sits at 94.5% positive (3,462 reviews), The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III at 93.3% (1,837). 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 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III first?
If you want chronology, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (2017) came out before The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (2020). 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 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III 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.