Waifu Wednesday: Sara Valestein (Trails of Cold Steel)

It’s that wonderful waifu time once again, and today I’m going to be talking about the lovely Sara Valestein from the Trails of Cold Steel series.

Having taken a somewhat extended break after finishing Trails in the Sky and then Cold Steel 1, I recently got back into the series picking up where I left off with the main story of Cold Steel’s protagonist Rean Schwarzer — my God, am I happy I did, because good Lord these games continue to get better and better and I have been nothing short of addicted to them since! 

Before I get too deep into gushing over best girl, I will say though, a lot of the characters are great in this game, and some of the girls that I initially thought I would never usually care for ended up being characters I genuinely like — looking at you Fie!

And don’t forget, if you’re interested in celebrating all things waifu- and husbando-related then you can check out both of our archives — HERE for waifus and HERE for husbandos!

Who is Sara Valestein?

Trails of Cold Steel kicks off with the introduction of Class VII from Thor’s Military Academy, which is a new class mixing students from both noble and common backgrounds and the class in which our main character Rean Schwarzer has been enrolled in. It’s here that we first meet the beautiful class instructor, Sara Valestein. And as soon as we are introduced to Sara, she immediately puts her class through some rather interesting lessons as a means of understanding her class’s strengths. 

While her methods may not necessarily be the most orthodox and she can be somewhat carefree in situations where maybe she shouldn’t, she is a remarkably great instructor who over time gains an immense amount of respect from the students of Class VII. So much so that she becomes Rean’s ideal when he becomes an instructor himself, hoping to live up to the standards he believes Sara set. 

Before becoming the instructor of Class VII, Sara was a Bracer — a member of a non-governmental organisation acting to keep peace and protect civilians wherever it can. The members tend to be adventurers and combat specialists who take on contracts from their communities in order to help out where the government may not be able to. Before that, Sara was a Jaeger — part of an elite mercenary group based all over Zemuria, and some of the most dangerous individuals in the world. 

Why we love Sara Valestein

When playing through the first Cold Steel I could tell immediately that there was going to be some form of romance element to the game, and as predicted, there was. During the first game and partway into the second I admit that I wasn’t exactly certain on who I liked the most. Fellow members of Class VII like Emma and Laura immediately caught my eye, but throughout the sequels, the characters grow and you start to see better sides of characters you may have not considered before. 

However, I was set on my girl after seeing some of the scenes with Sara and learning more about her, and ultimately seeing her relationship with Rean grow. Sara likes to tease Rean, but at numerous points in the story she begins to open up to him more. He sees through some of her facades, breaks down her walls and after two and a half games she finally begins to talk more about her past and how she has become the person she is today — it’s really sweet. 

Sara has always seemingly had a thing for older gentlemen, so our battle was always going to be an uphill one. However, as we go into the third game we get to see her attraction to Rean really shine through as she starts to question what she likes. 

Why you’ll love Sara Valestein

Sara is an interesting character from the get-go, with her “out of left field” methods of teaching to her suddenly badass and protective instructor mode — there is a lot to be infatuated with when it comes to this best girl, for sure. While being an incredibly kind and warm character, she takes her time to open up and put her feelings out there and I think that is an extremely endearing part of her character.

She becomes a goal for our boy Rean; someone that he constantly chases after as he tries to live up to what she taught him as an instructor at Thors — despite her insisting that he has already surpassed her. I think it’s a wonderful relationship where Rean slowly breaks down Sara’s walls and allows her to be open with him. She starts to think differently as a result and their relationship is without a doubt my favourite.

To top it all off, she’s a damn badass who has a hot as hell outfit and hairstyle, and she’s a really strong character in the game — nothing but wins for this best girl.

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