Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Release Date: 24th February Europe Genre: Role Playing Game Developer: Mistwalker/AQ Interactive Publisher: Nintendo The Last Story is squad-based action RPG set on Lazulis Island, where you play as a group of mercenaries that have arrived from the war-torn continent seeking work. The Last Story marks Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's return to game direction for the first time since Final Fantasy V and contains a soundtrack by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu. If you're expecting a wide-open 100 hour game like Xenoblade with a massive world to explore, or a traditional JRPG like Lost Odyssey you'll probably be disappointed. After being inspired by Gears of War, Sakaguchi has created a streamlined 20-30 hour squad-based action RPG experience. Expect a fairly linear corridor crawl with interesting battle scenarios and lots of unique party dialog for a good portion of the game. As a constrast to the linear battle chapters, Lazulis City is a open free-roaming city with dozens of sidequests, a Battle arena, and several different shops where you can buy and upgrade weapons/armor. While you don't always have access to explore the city, it is a refreshing change of pace. Overall, I would compare the game to the Mass Effect series in terms of its mostly linear map design and pacing. About 60% of Uematsu's score is filled with songs that sound more like Hans Zimmer than his traditional melodies. While this fits the game perfectly and the music is very good, some people will find the lack of an entire score of hummable melodies to be a disappointment. While the game certainly has its flaws with inconsistency of graphics, story, AI, and the lack of difficulty, I think you'll find the gameplay itself to be truly refreshing and fun. The innovative battle system allows you to block, parry, draw aggro, use cover/stealth, determine enemy weak points, shoot arrows, and command your allies to take advantage of destructible environments. The game plays unlike any other JRPG out there, and again, Mass Effect 2 is probably the closest game I've played to it (although the gameplay in The Last Story is much better). Source: Neogaf Zael ( Elza )- The main hero of The Last Story, Zael is a strong and agile swordsman who can unleash powerful Winds from his blade that can combine with his allies' magic spells to spread the magic over the battlefield and even generate Special attributes. He lost his family as a child and works as a mercenary to survive. He dreams of becoming a knight. Calista ( Kanan )- The main heroine of the game, skilled in the use of Holy magic for both healing and offensive purposes. A mysterious girl who is of noble birth and the niece of Count Arganan. She dreams of leaving the castle and exploring the world, but it is impossible due to her close supervision there. Dagran ( Quark )- The leader of Zael's mercenary group who also negotiates their jobs. Skilled warrior specializing in defense. He is like an older brother to Zael as they have traveled together since their youth. Syrenne ( Seiren )- The mood-maker of the group who fights with twin blades. Drinks a lot and has a foul mouth, but is very considerate of her allies. A squad leader who enjoys fighting on the front lines. Yurick ( Yuris )- The youngest member of the group, but most skilled. A magician who uses Fire magic in combat. Treats mercenary work as a means of survival and doesn't talk much. He is afraid of ghosts. Source: Wikipedia Official Nintendo Magazine (UK): 86/100 Famitsu: 38/40 (10, 10, 9, 9) EDGE Magazine: 8/10 Nintendo Gamer: 85/100 XGN (Dutch): 9/10 Meristation (Spanish): 9/10 M(German Magazine): 90% German Gamepro: 87% Vandal (Spanish): 9.2/10 More to follow... Original Thread Iwata Asks: Part 1 Iwata Asks: Part 2 Like Xenoblade, i'm trying to give this a bit of a push on here, hence a fresh topic. BIG thanks to Redshell for the banner and headings. Edited February 22, 2012 by Hero-of-Time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 Can't wait for my Limited Edition copy to arrive. Cancelled Shopto pre-order and gone with Amazon's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 I believe I ordered the normal version, since I'm not fussed about the extras. But if the special edition came instead I wouldn't refuse it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Well if you pre-ordered the Limited Edition from GAME you'd better cancel and order elsewhere as they've scrapped the Limited Edition version as their financial issues continue. Hopefully GAME go the way of the Dodo. They're a rip-off. Edited February 22, 2012 by Wii Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 I'll be picking this up during my lunch break at work on Friday! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 So, i've put a few hours into this now and here are my thoughts so far. The game doesn't start with any cutscenes or story pieces, instead in jumps you straight into the action, with the first 2 chapters of the game acting like tutorials. It sets the pace nicely, with little bits of talking in between the fighting. The fighting so far is pretty basic, I don't mean this in a negative way, just that it's not complicated. When spotting enemies the camera pans out so you can get a good look at your surroundings. You can then opt to try and sneak around to flank the enemies, or go in guns, or swords in this case, a blazing. If you do decide to go all Metal Gear and try the stealth approach then we will be rewarded. If you can pull off the first hit without being seen you will cause massive damage, and in the case of weaker enemies, kill them in one shot. To attack the enemies all you need to do is approach them and aim at them with the left stick, that is if you are using the CCP like myself. This causes Zael to attack the enemy that you are facing. If you do start getting overwhelmed you can move the control stick and press A to do a dodge move to get you out of trouble. Things can get a little more complex when you are fighting with mages on your team. Early in the game you a special move. You trigger this by pressing the L button and what it does is it makes the enemies attracted to you. Why would you want to do that? Well when casting a spell a counter appears above the character, this applies to enemies aswell. If you get hit while the counter is counting down then you have to start counting from scratch. So, if you use this move you attract enemies but give your team the oppertunity to cast spells. Spell casting is really cool in the game because it acts a little differently from most RPG's. Instead of directly firing a spell and being finished at that, a circle appears on the floor. If you run through the magic circle your weapons become empowered with the element of the spell. If you need healed then just get into the circle and all is well. The characters are pretty lively aswell, with each of them bringing something to the table. Mirania is a bit of a book worm and reminds me of Sora from Fire Emblem. Lowell is a ladies man and a full of pervert, he even admits it. Yurick is the loner and doesn't care for idle conversation. Dagran is the headstrong leader of the group, who seems to be all business at the moment. Zael is the typical hero of the game, who is willing to help anyone. Last but not least is Syrenne.... I can't think of any RPG off the top of my head who has a female character like Syrenne. She is a full blown alcoholic, gives off the impression she likes to sleep about and could quite possibly be a lesbian. Saucy! So there you have it, a book worm, flirt and a lesbian. The cr?me de la cr?me of an RPG lineup. Most people will know this by now but I will say it again. Don't go into this expecting a massive world to explore like Xenoblade. It is nothing like that and is far more liner. You have a hub town and then you seem to get missions from there, at least that has been my experience so far. Keep that in mind and you should enjoy it, just like I am. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) I have to say that, after 2 hours, I'm absolutely loving this. The addition of stealth mechanics is superb - I really hope this is built on through the game. I'll agree with HOT, the combat is streamlined but works really well. And just in case you've not looked at the screenies above, this game is beautiful. One question - the guy who voices bandit leader/your ex-mercenary is the same guy who voiced Dickson in Xenoblade, right? Edited February 22, 2012 by david.dakota Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 22, 2012 Ah man, my ever growing list of awesome-games-to-play-in-one-summer just keeps expanding... Hurry up you frigging exams! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Yes! Last Story Get. Thanks to shopto.net for getting it to me a day early. Looking forward to tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Well I've realized on my Amazon pre-order I've opted for free post, so can expect to receive my copy next week sometime then Mybad... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Turns out GAME aren't even stocking the normal version now. Just FYI in case anyone was intending to pick it up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 My review copy arrived today! Please don't take how lame that is to be an indictment of N-Europe. Okay, please do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Well I've realized on my Amazon pre-order I've opted for free post, so can expect to receive my copy next week sometime then Mybad... You should invest in AMAZON PRIME. Delivery is free and next day shizzle for pretty much everything. [Just pay ?49 a year. Depends how much you buy and how impatient you are] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 You should invest in AMAZON PRIME. Delivery is free and next day shizzle for pretty much everything. [Just pay ?49 a year. Depends how much you buy and how impatient you are] Well to there's no other way to reference my buying on Amazon habit and my impatience without using this classic.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 I wish Amazon would dispatch my fucking order already. I pre-ordered it as soon as it was listed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Amazon dispatched my 'fucking' order this morning!!! Sooo... if I'm lucky I shall have it by tomorrow??? haha I am so close to finishing Xenoblade!!!... I can't bear to have two Epics on my shelf... I need to complete Xenobladeeeee once and for all!!! The Last Story though... it looks fantastic. Oddly I feel like the production values of TLS are notably higher??? I might be mistaken, I mean what do I know but certainly things like character models are much more detailed... then again the trade off is only one Hub city in the game... Either way I am very excited to get this game!!! I won a copy at the Midlands comic-con but I am sure it was standard... Signed though... so I kept my Limited Edition pre-order... sad I know... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Amazon dispatched my 'fucking' order this morning!!! Lucky bastard. I don't get the delay, my status was changed early this morning to 'dispatching soon' and there's been zero progress. At least my delivery date still says the 24th of Feb, I always manage to claw back my postage when they fuck up getting me my stuff on time and some times a partial refund. Either way, hell will hit their chat service tomorrow if it still hasn't budged! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 I can't bear to have two Epics on my shelf... I need to complete Xenobladeeeee once and for all!!! I wouldn't call this game an epic. The game is less than 20 hours long and having put around 5-6 hours into it, i'm nearly halfway through the 40 odd chapters it has to offer. The amount of slowdown in the game is becoming something of an annoyance, granted it's only when there are a fair few enemies on the screen, but this happens quite often. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 I wouldn't call this game an epic. The game is less than 20 hours long and having put around 5-6 hours into it, i'm nearly halfway through the 40 odd chapters it has to offer. The amount of slowdown in the game is becoming something of an annoyance, granted it's only when there are a fair few enemies on the screen, but this happens quite often. Not an epic? Somewhat a relief actually haha I love RPG mechanics... whatever story they are woven around is no matter, big or small... How did you get to play it early??... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Not an epic? Somewhat a relief actually haha I love RPG mechanics... whatever story they are woven around is no matter, big or small... How did you get to play it early??... My copy from Shopto arrived yesterday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 My copy from Shopto arrived yesterday. Haha lucky so and so. So... how does it stack up to Xenoblade? or other RPG's recently released on any console?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 To be honest it's very meh at the moment. I recently played Final Fantasy XIII-2, which was fantastic, and although Xenoblade got too boring for me, it still had more charm and better production values than this. So, both of these are better than this...at least so far. I'm not saying that this is a bad game by any means, just that it's a little underwhelming, especially considering it comes from the father of Final Fantasy. It's also not a patch on Mistwalkers other RPGs. Both Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon look to be alot better than this aswell. It's still early days, so my opinion may yet change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 Mine arrived today. I must say, the packaging is beautiful. I don't think I've seen such great packaging since I got MH3 or RS2 special editions. Defo one of the best, if not the best packaged special edition on the Wii. The steel book is incredible, truly lovely. Actually, it is the best Special Edition on the Wii - FACT! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 To be honest it's very meh at the moment. I recently played Final Fantasy XIII-2, which was fantastic, and although Xenoblade got too boring for me, it still had more charm and better production values than this. So, both of these are better than this...at least so far. I'm not saying that this is a bad game by any means, just that it's a little underwhelming, especially considering it comes from the father of Final Fantasy. It's also not a patch on Mistwalkers other RPGs. Both Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon look to be alot better than this aswell. It's still early days, so my opinion may yet change. Haha Wow, either you're very hard to please or we obviously don't have the same taste in games... Xenoblade BORING? Ouch. That's fine though, would be a lot less interesting if everything worked for everybody. I personally think XIII and it's sequel are souless and horrible to play and experience... weirdly the sequel DID perk things up for me a bit but I still couldn't care less for the characters of that world... roll on Final Fantasy 15. I have to say I have always been cautiously optimistic about The Last Story... purely because Blue Dragon really let me down... it looks fantastic, it was really off the wall but my god that game slumped quickly and bored the hell out of me... Lost Odyssey I absolutely loved so who knows, lets hope the best parts of both form a whole... lol Time will tell! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 23, 2012 ...and although Xenoblade got too boring for me,... Where did it get too boring? Or did you make it too boring by trying to do all sidequests? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
