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The Trails of Cold Steel saga of JRPGs — published by the developer Falcom across the last decade — was an large-scale project, considering the multitude of characters and plot points included. It took the creator a quintet of games to completely flesh out these characters. The character Emma's narrative journey is revealed in tandem with Cold Steel’s main story, but it's via the gradual evolution in her skill set that we comprehend the depth of her inner growth.

Note: The following content contains some story reveals for the central plot of the Trails of Cold Steel franchise.

In Legend of Heroes: Cold Steel, the character Emma is a typical teenager, similar to the other members of Thors Military Academy’s Class Seven. As the class president, she's kind to all and aims to prevent any conflicts between her peers. Even though the character takes her student life very earnestly, she leads two separate lives. In truth, she is a witch, a initiate of the magical Hexen family. Joining Thors is a component of her true goal of mentoring the protagonist Rean, the key individual of the group, who is fated to call forth a ancient guardian.

In each Trails title, nearly all party members have at least one special technique, a unique skill that needs you to have a minimum amount of Craft Points to use. These supreme skills are designed to be your ace in all fights. These ultimate skills are also a way for the developers to narrate the evolution the cast are going through. They can represent the refinement of a individual's technique, such as Rean Schwarzer’s special ability the skill Breaking Dawn in Trails of Cold Steel IV, which he gains after attaining the designation of Divine Blade. In other cases, like the witch Emma's, Falcom utilizes ultimate abilities to communicate the internal transformations a individual undergoes.

When the conflict in the nation of Erebonia begins in Cold Steel, Emma’s reaction to the situation is the idealistic but understandable idea that fighting means striking. The conflict spills over to the next installment in the series, where the pair of S-Crafts she has are her first S-Craft and her second S-Craft. These two are offensive techniques that affect every enemies on the battlefield.

Once we have the chance to see the character Emma again in Cold Steel 3, we see a transformed character. She has moved on from the academy, and after practicing with her family, the protagonist seems to have understood an vital truth about herself. Even though she grows into a formidable magic user, Emma comprehends that, most importantly, she’s a defender. She is willing to give up her own safety to ensure everyone — but especially Rean — safe. Her desire to occupy this position is shown by her S-Craft, which in Cold Steel 3 changes to her new defensive S-Craft.

When you use the special move Palace of Eregion, she summons a quartet of glowing pillars of magic, and shields appear connecting them and surrounding the field of battle. The allies under the influence of this skill gain a few charges of damage immunity, a status that blocks harm of all types. Emma had never been a belligerent character, so she moves to a defensive approach, echoing the caring attitude she had consistently shown to her companions.

It’s fascinating to witness how Falcom employs a character’s abilities to enhance the game’s story. Role-playing games often employ storytelling or visuals to tell us what a character is experiencing. But Emma Millstein demonstrates that including a ability can provide additional depth of insight.