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The Cold Steel series of role-playing games — published by the developer Falcom during the last decade — was an grand project, given the quantity of individuals and events included. It required the creator five games to fully develop these protagonists. Emma's personal character development is developed in conjunction with Cold Steel’s primary plot, but it's via the subtle change in her powers that we fully understand the depth of her emotional journey.

Heads-up: The following content includes light plot details for the primary narrative of the Trails of Cold Steel franchise.

In Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Emma is a ordinary student, just as the other members of Thors Military Academy’s Class VII. As the student leader, she's approachable to everyone and strives to avoid any conflicts between her classmates. While Emma treats her academy duties very earnestly, she lives a double life. She is in fact a witch, a initiate of the magical Hexen family. Enrolling in the academy is part of her real mission of guiding the protagonist Rean, the central character of Class VII, who is fated to unleash a powerful mech.

In all Trails of Cold Steel title, the majority of characters have at least one ultimate ability, a powerful move that needs you to have a sufficient quantity of skill points to activate. These supreme skills are designed to be your ace in every encounter. These ultimate skills are furthermore a method for the developers to narrate the transformations protagonists are undergoing. They can represent the development of a character’s fighting style, such as Rean Schwarzer’s ultimate move Breaking Dawn in Trails of Cold Steel IV, which he acquires after earning the title of Divine Blade. In some situations, for instance Emma’s, the developers uses special moves to communicate the internal transformations a individual goes through.

When the great war in the empire erupts in the first game, the character's approach to the circumstances is the idealistic but logical belief that combat means striking. The war extends to the next installment in the saga, where the two ultimate skills she possesses are her first S-Craft and Rain. Each are offensive techniques that indiscriminately hit opponents on the battlefield.

After we have the moment to see the character Emma a second time in Trails of Cold Steel III, we observe a different character. She has moved on from Thors Military Academy, and after practicing with her witch community, the protagonist appears to have grasped an important insight about herself. Even though she evolves into a formidable magic user, she realizes that, above all else, Emma is a guardian. She is willing to give up her own safety to ensure everyone — but particularly Rean Schwarzer — secure. Her wish to occupy this responsibility is subtly indicated by her ultimate skill, which in the third installment transforms into her new defensive S-Craft.

When you activate the special move Emma's new skill, Emma summons four translucent pillars of magic, and barriers appear joining them and encircling the combat area. The allies affected by this skill receive several charges of Absolute Reflect, a effect that negates injury of any kind. Emma had at no point been a combative individual, so she moves to a defensive strategy, echoing the caring demeanor she had consistently shown to her allies.

It’s fascinating to witness how the developers uses a protagonist's powers to enhance the game’s plot. Role-playing games typically employ dialogue or graphics to show what a persona is experiencing. But this character shows that right down to a ability can contribute additional depth of significance.