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The Trails of Cold Steel series of RPGs — published by the developer Falcom during the last decade — was an large-scale project, considering the number of individuals and events featured. It required the creator several games to mature these characters. Emma Millstein's story arc is revealed in parallel with the series' central narrative, but it's through the gradual evolution in her skill set that we truly grasp the extent of her personal transformation.

Warning: The following content includes minor spoilers for the central plot of the Trails of Cold Steel franchise.

In The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Emma is a regular student, just as the other members of Thors Academy's her class. As the class president, she's friendly to each person and strives to prevent any disagreements between her fellow students. Although Emma treats her academy duties really seriously, she lives a double life. She's actually a sorceress, a member of the magical Hexen family. Enrolling in Thors is a component of her true goal of assisting Rean, the key individual of the group, who is meant to awaken a ancient guardian.

In every Trails series title, the majority of playable personas have at least one S-Craft, a unique skill that needs you to have a sufficient quantity of skill points to use. These finishing moves are intended to be your key advantage in each battle. S-Crafts are also a method for the developers to depict the transformations protagonists are experiencing. They can symbolize the development of a individual's technique, such as Rean's special ability the skill Breaking Dawn in Trails of Cold Steel IV, which he gains after earning the title of Divine Blade. In different instances, like Emma Millstein's, Falcom uses S-Crafts to convey the emotional changes a individual goes through.

When the war in the nation of Erebonia erupts in the first game, Emma Millstein's response to the situation is the naive but understandable notion that battle means attacking. The war continues to the next installment in the franchise, where the pair of ultimate skills she has are Albireon and Rain. These two are offensive techniques that target all opponents on the arena.

After we have the chance to meet Emma once more in the third game, we witness a changed character. She has moved on from Thors, and after honing her skills with her witch community, she appears to have realized an crucial revelation about her own nature. Although she becomes a powerful spellcaster, the character understands that, most importantly, she’s a protector. Emma is prepared to give up her own safety to ensure everyone — but especially Rean — safe. Her goal to fulfill this role is subtly indicated by her ultimate skill, which in Cold Steel 3 changes to Eregion.

When you activate the special move Palace of Eregion, Emma conjures a quartet of translucent pillars of magic, and barriers appear connecting them and enclosing the battlefield. The party members benefiting from this ability receive a few charges of total reflection, a effect that prevents harm of all types. The character had not once been a aggressive person, so she transitions to a protective style, mirroring the protective demeanor she had invariably demonstrated to her companions.

It’s intriguing to observe how the developers utilizes a protagonist's powers to enhance the series' narrative. Role-playing games typically use storytelling or cutscenes to tell us what a character is experiencing. But Emma demonstrates that including a skill can provide an extra dimension of meaning.