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The Trails of Cold Steel series of role-playing games — developed by the developer Falcom during the 2010s — was an grand undertaking, accounting for the quantity of characters and events featured. It took the studio several games to fully develop these characters. Emma's personal story arc is revealed in tandem with Cold Steel’s main story, but it's via the gradual evolution in her abilities that we comprehend the significance of her emotional journey.

Warning: Our discussion contains some story reveals for the primary narrative of the Trails of Cold Steel series.

In The Legend of Heroes: Cold Steel, Emma is a ordinary young woman, just as the other members of Thors Academy's Class VII. As the class president, she's kind to each person and aims to prevent any disagreements between her fellow students. Even though the character approaches her studies very earnestly, she leads two separate lives. She's actually a sorceress, a member of the magical Hexen family. Enrolling in Thors is a component of her real mission of assisting the protagonist Rean, the leader figure of Class VII, who is meant to unleash a ancient guardian.

In each Trails of Cold Steel installment, most characters have at least one S-Craft, a unique skill that needs you to have a certain level of CP to activate. These finishing moves are meant to be your key advantage in each battle. S-Crafts are also a mechanism for the narrative to depict the changes protagonists are undergoing. They can epitomize the development of a character’s technique, like the protagonist's special ability the skill Breaking Dawn in Trails of Cold Steel IV, which he unlocks after earning the designation of master swordsman. In some situations, for instance the witch Emma's, Nihon Falcom employs special moves to convey the internal transformations a character experiences.

When the great war in the empire starts in Trails of Cold Steel I, the character's reaction to the circumstances is the inexperienced but logical notion that fighting means attacking. The struggle spills over to the next installment in the series, where the two special abilities she possesses are Albireon and Rain. Both are attack-oriented moves that affect every enemies on the battlefield.

When we have the moment to encounter the character Emma again in Trails of Cold Steel III, we witness a transformed young woman. She has moved on from Thors, and after practicing with her family, Emma seems to have realized an vital insight about her own nature. While she becomes a impressive magic user, Emma realizes that, above all else, she is a protector. She’s ready to sacrifice herself to ensure all her friends — but especially the leader Rean — safe. Her wish to fulfill this role is shown by her special ability, which in the third installment becomes Palace of Eregion.

When you use the special move Emma's new skill, the character conjures a quartet of semi-transparent magical towers, and barriers materialize linking them and encircling the battlefield. The characters under the influence of this technique obtain a few instances of total reflection, a status that negates injury of every form. The character had never been a combative character, so she shifts to a protective approach, mirroring the protective demeanor she had always shown to her allies.

It’s compelling to witness how Falcom utilizes a protagonist's abilities to enhance the series' story. JRPGs frequently use storytelling or graphics to show what a protagonist is experiencing. But Emma Millstein demonstrates that even a skill can contribute additional depth of significance.