Hi there!
Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 (and soon to be 3) are JRPGs under the ongoing ‘The Legend of Heroes’ series flag (not unlike the Tales series or FF series having different numerical entries). I have not played the rest of the entries so I can’t really comment on what the overarching story arc is going for.
You control the lead character Rean, who is enrolled in Thors Military Academy, under the special ‘Class VII’. The game touches on topics like the effects of war, social class discrimination, politics, etc + mixing it up with fantasy and technological elements. By the end of CS1 things get pretty epic lol
Each chapter follows a similar format, where you can choose to explore the area, battle monsters, take on side-quests, do activities like fishing, and when you’re ready you can move on in the main story. There’s a ‘social-link’ aspect where you are are given time to bond with your classmates and other important NPCs as well. Unlike Persona there’s no strict time limit for each activity.
Gameplay wise, you form a squad of 4 from your current party members to bring into battle. Enemies are encountered on an open world, and the encounters themselves are in a controlled battle space. Battles are turn based, but your attacks and actions can ‘delay’ turns. You can form ‘links’ with a fellow party member to do follow-up attacks and other benefits. Each character also gets a special move. Characters can learn skills and amplify their powers by equipping ‘Orbs’.
All in all, if you’re already into JRPGs, this will be quite a good meaty additional to your games library. Hope this helps :D