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The Cold Steel collection of RPGs — published by the developer Falcom during the 2010s — was an grand undertaking, considering the multitude of individuals and events involved. It needed the creator five games to mature these cast members. Emma Millstein's narrative journey is revealed in tandem with the series' main story, but it's through the subtle change in her abilities that we fully understand the depth of her inner growth.

Warning: This article features light plot details for the main storyline of the Trails of Cold Steel series.

In Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Emma is a typical student, just as the fellow pupils of Thors Military Academy’s her class. As the class president, she's approachable to everyone and works to prevent any disputes between her peers. Although she approaches her studies very earnestly, she has a secret identity. In truth, she is a witch, a part of the Clan of Witches. Attending Thors is part of her true goal of assisting Rean Schwarzer, the central character of the group, who is destined to unleash a powerful mech.

In every Trails series game, most playable personas have at least one ultimate ability, a powerful move that requires you to have a sufficient quantity of Craft Points to use. These supreme skills are meant to be your ace in each battle. S-Crafts are furthermore a mechanism for the narrative to narrate the changes the cast are going through. They can epitomize the refinement of a individual's fighting style, like Rean's ultimate move his new technique in Cold Steel 4, which he acquires after earning the rank of master swordsman. In some situations, for instance Emma’s, Falcom utilizes S-Crafts to convey the emotional changes a individual experiences.

When the great war in the nation of Erebonia begins in the first game, Emma Millstein's response to the events is the inexperienced but logical idea that battle means striking. The conflict extends to the second game in the saga, where the pair of special abilities she has are her first S-Craft and Rain. These two are offensive techniques that indiscriminately hit foes on the battlefield.

Once we have the moment to see the character Emma a second time in Cold Steel 3, we observe a different girl. She has graduated from Thors Military Academy, and after training with her witch community, Emma clearly to have realized an crucial truth about her own nature. Even though she grows into a formidable sorceress, she realizes that, most importantly, she’s a defender. She is prepared to sacrifice herself to protect everyone — but especially Rean — secure. Her goal to fulfill this position is hinted at by her S-Craft, which in Trails of Cold Steel III changes to her new defensive S-Craft.

When you activate the ultimate ability Emma's new skill, the character calls forth a quartet of glowing arcane structures, and barriers appear linking them and enclosing the combat area. The characters benefiting from this technique obtain one or two charges of damage immunity, a effect that blocks damage of any kind. She had not once been a combative person, so she shifts to a protective approach, echoing the nurturing look she had always shown to her companions.

It’s intriguing to see how Nihon Falcom utilizes a character’s powers to complement the game’s narrative. JRPGs typically use storytelling or graphics to tell us what a protagonist is experiencing. But this character shows that including a skill can provide another layer of meaning.