The Last Story Wii Review

The Last Story is a JRPG game for the Nintendo Wii (rated T for Teen). The game was developed by Mistwalker and AQ Interactive and directed by the famed Hironobu Sakaguchi. It was originally released in the Asian market and later to the European market. However, Nintendo of America refused to publish the game in North America. As a result, through the efforts of Operation Rainfall, Nintendo of America finally relented and agreed to localize Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story. The campaign is now currently trying to persuade NOA to localize Pandora's Tower as well. Those who purchased The Last Story when it first came out were rewarded with the Limited Edition version that included a soundtrack CD, a 44-page softcover artbook, and a steel game case. Anyhow, The Last Story tells the tale of a group of mercenaries who have come to Lazulis Island in hopes of seeking work and achieving their dreams of living a better life. Throughout this process, the group soon learns that the land is dying and that the land is under internal conflict and ravaged by bandit raids. Meanwhile, a reptilian race known as the Gurak are also seeking to bring down the land and assume power.

Controls: Somewhat surprisingly for a Wii title, the game uses absolutely no motion controls. You control your character by moving the joystick on the nunchuck and also aim Zael's crossbow with it. While this does remove the frustrations of bad motion controls that prevent you from easily completing a level, there are times that I do miss the motion controls. I found it fairly fun slashing the Wii remote to move Link's sword in the Legend of Zelda games, and I wish that the game had somehow implemented this feature (maybe as a set of optional controls). Through the menus, you'll also be able to change the controls by assigning different moves to different keys for a more customized/easier experience. While this games does not require a Classic Controller to play, I've heard some people say that the game is much easier with the Classic Controller. But, honestly, I've had no problems with the game so far by just using the usual Wii remote and nunchuck.

Battle: The battle system in The Last Story is done in real-time. You'll only be able to fully control Zael as you run around the battle field attacking your enemies. Attack controls are set to automatic so all you need to  do is to let Zael run up to an enemy and he will automatically slash at the enemy with his sword. If you want to make the battles more of a challenge, you can change the attack to manual. Battles also require some strategy. For example, later on in the game, when you're able to give commands to your fellow party members, you will be able to decide which attack method is the best. Knowing which magic circle to use Zael's Gale on is also very critical to victory, as diffusing a magic circle can either reduce enemies' armor or heal your comrades. Before a battle, you're able to get a bird's eye view of the area to see where all your enemies are in order to help you plan your strategy. However, when combat actually begins, I've found this to be rather useless. Either everyone has moved, thus ruining the formation, or your AI has already taken down your target. It's also a fairy good idea to listen to what your party members have to say during battle, as they can give you some nice tips as to how to defeat a certain enemy. The game's unique Cover system allows you to hide behind pillars and walls to either defend yourself against enemy arrows and attacks or to give you stealth to help you sneak up and kill a target. Using his crossbow, Zael can also damage enemies from afar. The battle system though essentially haves you baby-sitting your mages by using Gathering to draw away enemy attention so that your mages can have the time to cast. This can be somewhat tricky as mages have somewhat long cast times and are vulnerable during casting. If a mage gets hit in the middle, the casting counter will reset. Generally, I have found that it is very important that no matter what you do, you cannot let your mages get KO'd, as their spells are often crucial to winning. The AI also do a pretty good job defending on their own. More often than not I've found the battle ended too quickly for me to even comprehend because the AI were doing such a good job. As a result, I've often found myself laying back and just letting my AI do the majority of the work. Then again, the battles in The Last Story lean toward to easy side. Each character gets five lives in battle and the character will become KO'd when he or she has lost all five lives. Zael can use his Gathering ability to speed up the revival of fallen comrades. There are no such things as potions in the game as you start every battle with a full health bar and your life counter reset. Battles can also be a bit chaotic as it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between enemy types. In Gathering mode, where there are glowing symbols and lines to help you locate enemies, battles can become even more chaotic. Even so combat is still very fun to do and it's actually one of those games where I wished there was more combat.


Side Quests: There are a number of side quests available in the game, most of which are located in Lazulis City. You'll have to talk with the various characters around town in order to obtain them. Unfortunately, none of the characters offering side quests have any symbols hovering over their heads, so finding them can be somewhat difficult. You basically have to just talk to whomever you see in hopes of receiving a quest. Unlike the typical fetch quests of the form "Bring me X number of items from monsters" or "Kill X number of monsters", the quests in The Last Story have a little more substance in them. For example, you might have to chase children down alleyways in order to retrieve your stolen wallet, or help a young boy catch his missing frogs. However, since the game has no quest log, it's not always easy to remember quest details and your progress. This, sadly, in turn, forces you to have a piece of paper and a pencil handy nearby if you don't want to risk forgetting. Most of the quests are located in Lazulis City and Lazulis Castle, and, of course, not all quests are immediately available. Taking on certain quests also opens optional chapters that allow you to either explore more of the game's world or to learn more about a character's background story.

Voice-Acting and Script: Because this game was first localized in Europe, most of the characters in the U.S. version have some sort of British accent. The accents are plentiful and serve as a good representation of the British Isles. Voice-acting for the most part is excellent, though I've found the performances of Syrenne and Mirania to be a little lacking or forced sometimes. It is also very clear from the lively script that the British team worked hard to adapt the game for a western audience. There are a number of colloquialisms and even a few jokes scattered here and there. The story itself seems to be a fairy simple one at first, but it gets much more complicated as the game progresses. Politics become involved while betrayals and new friendships forms. While any single character does not stand out, their characterization as a whole is excellent. Players will soon become attached to the characters and want to see their dreams and goals achieved. All in all, the characterization ends up really driving the story forward.

Gameplay Structure: The game is divided into chapters, much like that of a book. There are plenty of long cutscenes interspersed in the game. While the cutsenes are great, their amount sometimes cut into the gameplay itself. It's basically travel from one location to another, battle a few monsters, cutscene, rinse and repeat for good measure. Typical to any RPG game, characters will gain experience after they've defeated monsters and level up. It can be somewhat difficult to figure out just how much experience a battle gives and how much there is still left in order to level up. Thankfully, there's not a lot of grinding needed, which can save some time. The world in The Last Story is fairly small compared to games such as Xenoblade Chronicles. As a result, there's not a whole lot of exploration that the game offers. Many areas are inaccessible due to locked doors. While some of these areas are later opened, many doors will unfortunately remain closed forever. The game itself also has a "linear" structure. Apart from sidequests and optional chapters, you don't really get a chance to explore. One consequence of this is that it's easy to miss things and not be able to go back. The good thing though is that most of these "missing" items are only required for side quests so they will not affect the main story. However, for completionists such as me, I've found this to be somewhat troublesome, as there have been numerous instances where I have to load a previous save point and replay the chapters to get the items I need. When talking with characters, you'll be able to choose from two or three options as responses. Most of the time, only one option will actually allow you to advance in the game, so sadly you will not be able to create multiple endings based on your responses. I admit that the ability to do so or to change my level of relationships would certainly have been a nice addition to the game. The game sets itself at a brisk pace and is fairly short with the average length being around 20 to 30 hours. While I do wish that the game was longer, the good thing about it is that there's no menial fluff preventing you from focusing on the story itself.

Customization: Typical to any RPG game, you'll be able to determine what types of weapon, armor, and other equipment you'll want your characters to equip. Through shops you'll also be able to upgrade them in order to make them more powerful. However, the only true customization in the game is the use of dyes to change the colors of your characters' clothes to give a more individual look. The game starts off with some dye options, and you can eventually unlock more either through side quests or purchases at the local dye shop. Unfortunately you will not be able to customize the look of your weapons or any facial features such as hair or eye color. More customization options would certainly have been a nice addition to the game, but I guess you can't have everything.

Graphics: Of course, with this being a Wii title, the game's graphics can hardly compare to XBox or PS3 titles as it's not HD. However, the graphics really push the Wii to its max, and you can often hear the Wii groaning in the background as it struggles to keep up. It's able to handle itself fairy confidently, and overall has superb graphics for a Wii title. The artwork itself is also absolutely amazing (It was also part of the reason why I ended up purchasing the game). However, the colors themselves are a little brown and grayish, and I wish that they had been a little more lively.



Soundtrack: Composed by renowned Nobuo Uematsu, The Last Story's soundtrack is absolutely wonderful. It is simply a masterpiece. The music is mysterious and epic and served as a major contribution in the decision-making of purchasing this game. Often times I've found myself just pausing the game so that I may enjoy the beautiful music.

Aesthetic Design: Honestly I really love the game's menu design. Its minimalistic design make it very pretty.  My main complaint about the design is the size of the text. Everything is so small that you either need to squint or need a magnifying glass to be able to read. It's not that bad in cutscenes, but it's absolutely horrible in the other menus. For example, it's very difficult to be able to easily read what I have in my inventory. Equipped items will have a small profile pic of the character next to it, but this is also very small. I should not have to constantly move my position in front of the TV just so that I'll be able to read what's on the screen.

New Game+ and Multiplayer: If the end of the game has left you wanting more, you'll be able to restart the game in New Game+ mode. In New Game+, you'll still have all of the items you've collected on your first playthrough and you'll be able to use them in the new playthrough. Monsters are also a little bit more difficult to make the game somewhat more challenging. This game mode would be a good way for anyone wanting to relive the game's experience or to complete a few quests that they might have missed. In Multiplayer mode, you'll be able to cooperate with other players to take down monsters. There are also certain items that are only available in Multiplayer mode. However, if you don't have a friend with the same game, the waiting time to connect with other people can be long.

Conclusion: Despite a few flaws here and there, The Last Story is an excellent game for the Wii. With compelling characterization, great voice-acting, and an innovate battle system, the game is a must have for any JRPG fan and a superb addition to any Wii game collection. I give it an 8.5/10.

+ Innovative Battle System
+ Great Characterization
+ Masterpiece Soundtrack
+ Beautiful Artwork
- Restraints in Exploration/Customization
- Small Text