After posting the Last Story discussion thread on the forum, I was asked if I'd be interested in writing a little review on my experience of the game so far. This is that review. I haven't done much in the way of game reviews before, so I apologise if it seems a bit rushed or lacking or if I ramble a bit in some parts of the review.
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The Last Story is the latest Wii RPG offering created by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi's development company, Mistwalker. Accompanied by music from the equally legendary Nobuo Uematsu, this is a game that should excite you, especially if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy franchise.
First off I should mention that if you have a HDTV or a TV that supports the use of component cables, you should seriously consider buying a decent quality (preferably official) component cable for your console. The game only supports 60 Hz (480i) and EDTV/HDTV (480p) modes, and 480i mode makes the graphics look fuzzy and terrible, at least on my TV screen. I was thinking of getting some component cables before this game came out, but as a result of playing the game in the lower resolution mode I now have a set of component cables coming in the post which will hopefully turn out to be a worthwhile purchase.
The game itself, (Wii graphical issues aside), is very pretty and smooth. Nice colours, interesting dungeon layouts and character designs, and there's even the use of cinematic scenes reminiscent of the old FMV cutscenes in the PS1 Final Fantasy games. Obviously you're not going to get the design detail you'd expect on a console like the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, but it's definitely a game that plays to the Wii's strengths and it certainly offers a very interesting visual experience. There has clearly been a lot of attention to detail with regards to scenery and character design and it lends itself towards an altogether more appealing experience. The game doesn't really rely on the motion controls and can be played using either the Wiimote and nunchuk or with the classic controller if you prefer a more familiar feel.
The sound, as is to be expected from a game composed by Uematsu, is amazing. Tense battle themes and background music that seems to perfectly fit the given situation permeates the game. The most noticeable (arguable) downside on the audio front is the English version of the game's voice acting. The characters in the game have accents and mannerisms that are common through the British Isles. The game doesn't rely on English stereotypes, there aren't really many over-the-top posh "Tally ho, anybody up for tea and a game of cricket?" voices in the game, instead it borrows all kinds of accents from the lovable cockney to the warming northern England accents, one of the main characters seems to be Scottish and I'm sure I've heard a Northern Irish accent in there somewhere, too. While I've got nothing against Britain or British accents - I myself am British - I can't help but feel that some of the voices were done by people who either didn't really grasp the whole "voice ACTING" concept or simply aren't actually British and are just trying to force an unnatural accent, and it really does show. Some of the character dialogue seems a little bit forced to the point of trying to create some sort of bad mockery of a stereotype, while other characters seem a little emotionless at times. Still, it's remarkably easy to overlook the few shortcomings in the audio and focus on the other aspects of the game that generally please all five senses. It, (presumably, when you acquire a component cable), looks good, sounds good, smells good, (I can't be the only person to enjoy a bit of Eau de Instruction-Booklet), it probably tastes good too if you're into that sort of thing and it certainly leaves you feeling good.
But what about the important stuff, the reason you bought the game and/or are reading this in the first place? The gameplay itself is pretty darn sweet. You start off in control of Dagran, (the leader of the gang but not the main character), and Syrenne, (a rowdy young woman who likes nothing more than to drink and kick some arse), members of a small band of mercenaries crawling through a dungeon to retrieve something for a rich client in the city. You mainly follow a few corridors, handle a few tutorials and get to grips with a few basic battle skills, as well as starting to make a little progress on getting to know the characters. Before you get much further in the game, you're introduced to fellow band members Zael, (here comes the main guy in the story), and Yurick, (the anti-social mage).
Battles are easy to get to grips with, though additional commands/battle modes/abilities etc. will be popping up frequently, so it certainly becomes a bit more of a game of tactics with some bigger enemies. Much like Final Fantasy XIII, you are mostly in control of just the one character in battle. By default attacks are carried out automatically, so you only have to waltz up to an enemy at your own leisure to initiate a string of melee attacks until defeat or are out of range of the enemy. The game says that you can switch to a manual mode which I assume allows you to attack at your own pace at the push of a button, though I haven't experimented with that yet. Other characters support you in battle by either attacking enemies directly, using magic or setting up magic circles that deal damage to enemies or are beneficial to allies. Not too long into the game you are able to utilise the Gale command - a technique that lets you disperse magic circles to activate and/or negate certain effects. For example, dispersing an ice circle can deal ice damage while causing enemies to slip over, or dispersing a fire circle deals fire damage and can lower the defence of enemies.
Zael also has an ability called Gathering in his arsenal, an ability that allows him to draw the focus of his enemies to allow mages and archers to carry out attacks without being beaten down, while also having a negative impact on the enemy's status, such as speed, and giving you access to additional abilities, such as speeding up spell casting and being able to revive fallen party members by touching them with Gathering activated. While it seems like you can just blaze through all the battles with Gathering active, you really do need to use it wisely. With it activated most enemies will target you, so if you're not careful then you'll only end up getting quite acquainted with the pavement. You have a health bar that increases as you level up, but also five lives that replenish after each battle. Every time you get knocked out you lose a life, and once you lose all five it's game over.
Before each battle begins, you're given a birds-eye view of the battlefield so you can see what monsters you're up against and see what sort of support they have, such as mages, healers and archers. Your party members will often give you advice on the best method of attack is, whether it's setting up an ambush and flanking the enemy, taking out certain units such as healers or mages first or just charging in with all guns blazing, but ultimately the choice is down to you. Zael also makes use of a secondary weapon which, at the beginning of the game at least, is a crossbow. A variety of different arrows can be equipped to different effect, (you can even find prank banana peels to fire around outside of battle for a little light comic relief), but the crossbow really is an important tool for attacking enemies from afar, or shooting a far-away enemy to lure him close in curiosity so you can strike before he calls for backup.
Another essential battle tactic is hiding. Taking cover is obviously useful when trying to avoid long-range attacks, and hiding with Gathering activated makes all enemies lose sight of you altogether, but it also allows you to execute extra abilities such as popping out of nowhere, (from the other guy's perspective), with your Slash ability to deal some heavy damage. Eventually you'll also gain access to the Command ability, which lets you give basic commands to your battle comrades so you get just a bit more control over what happens in the battle. Battles happen in real-time so there isn't much in the way of loading/battle set-up screens, you just wander up to the enemy and start your assault. Drops and spoils also appear during battle, so make sure you don't forget to collect them. Most enemy drops and spoils, as well as items found in most treasure chests, are actually selected at random rather than being fixed. So if you find money in the first treasure box in the game on your first run of the game, you might end up with something totally different such as a weapon or an item the next time you decide to play through. The game tells you that most items you find are chosen at random, although it doesn't exactly hide that fact from you as it displays a sort of roulette wheel when you open a container. Anybody who has ever played a Mario Kart game will know what I mean.
Before I start talking about the plot and give too many spoilers away, I'll conclude this little review simply by saying that this is a game with familiar elements of love, hope, dreams, destiny and silly humour that fans of Sakaguchi's previous work should definitely appreciate and enjoy. Having said that, the game certainly injects some fresh life into the genre and a lot of new elements are introduced which I think really pay off. I would recommend this game to any fan of JRPGs and would encourage anyone who reads this to at least give the game a try. Some aspects might seem a bit complicated or a bit too simple when you first hear about them, but I think that in general the game balances everything well and it makes for a wholly enjoyable fresh yet familiar gaming experience. Sakaguchi's gamble has certainly paid off - but really, was there any doubt that it wouldn't?
