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The Cold Steel series of RPGs — published by Nihon Falcom across the 2010s — was an large-scale project, given the quantity of individuals and storylines involved. It took the studio several games to completely flesh out these characters. Emma's personal character development is developed in tandem with the series' central narrative, but it's via the subtle change in her abilities that we fully understand the significance of her emotional journey.

Warning: The following content contains light plot details for the central plot of the Cold Steel series.

In The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Emma Millstein is a regular young woman, similar to the other members of Thors Military Academy’s her class. As the student leader, she's kind to each person and aims to prevent any disagreements between her peers. Even though she takes her student life really seriously, she leads two separate lives. She is in fact a sorceress, a initiate of the Clan of Witches. Attending Thors Military Academy is one step in her underlying objective of assisting Rean, the leader figure of her class, who is destined to unleash a Divine Knight.

In each Trails title, the majority of characters have at least one special technique, a special attack that needs you to have a certain level of CP to execute. These ultimate abilities are intended to be your ace in every encounter. S-Crafts are also a way for the narrative to narrate the evolution protagonists are undergoing. They can symbolize the refinement of a persona's fighting style, for example the protagonist's S-Craft Breaking Dawn in Cold Steel 4, which he gains after reaching the title of Divine Blade. In different instances, like the witch Emma's, Falcom utilizes S-Crafts to communicate the personal growth a character goes through.

When the war in Erebonia erupts in the first game, Emma’s reaction to the events is the idealistic but logical notion that fighting means striking. The struggle continues to the next installment in the series, where the pair of ultimate skills she wields are Lord Albireon and Zodiac Rain. Each are offensive techniques that indiscriminately hit enemies on the battlefield.

Once we have the chance to meet Emma again again in the third game, we witness a changed girl. She has moved on from Thors, and after honing her skills with her clan, she clearly to have grasped an crucial revelation about herself. Even though she becomes a powerful magic user, she comprehends that, most importantly, she is a protector. She is prepared to give up her own safety to ensure the group — but particularly Rean Schwarzer — out of harm's way. Her goal to occupy this role is shown by her ultimate skill, which in Trails of Cold Steel III changes to her new defensive S-Craft.

When you activate the S-Craft Palace of Eregion, she calls forth a quartet of glowing magical towers, and magical walls materialize connecting them and surrounding the combat area. The party members affected by this skill receive one or two stacks of total reflection, a status that negates damage of every form. She had never been a belligerent individual, so she transitions to a defensive approach, echoing the protective demeanor she had consistently extended to her allies.

It’s intriguing to witness how Nihon Falcom uses a persona's abilities to enhance the series' plot. Role-playing games typically use storytelling or visuals to tell us what a protagonist is thinking. But Emma shows that right down to a skill can provide another layer of insight.