Let’s talk about third-party Wii games… Everyone’s favorites. Okay, so I’ve already mentioned a few Wii games like Mushroom Men and the No More Heroes series, and Madworld. While those are indeed good underrated Wii games, I am aware that there are a multitude of bad third party Wii games. But you know what isn’t bad? A good old fashioned JRPG for the Wii. And no, it’s not Xenoblade Chronicles, so if you were expecting that, then prepare to be disappointed. No, today, we are talking about the other Wii JRPG: The Last Story.
The Last Story is a game for the Wii that was made by Hironobu Sakaguchi, a renowned creator in the JRPG industry, before Square Enix screwed him out of real work and forced him into Mobile Hell for the rest of his life. But terrible company choices aside, the game is also known for having it’s soundtrack created by famous composer, Nobuo Uematsu, who made the soundtracks for a majority of Final Fantasy games. The Last Story did get some recognition, but when Xenoblade Chronicles came around, it completely wiped the floor with The Last Story. Nobody was talking about this game while Xenoblade Chronicles now has a sequel, complete with girls with very large breasts. Truly, a sign of quality. So, why did The Last Story get pushed aside? Surely, it deserved some fame, right? Well, let’s find out.
~Story~
The game follows Zael, a member of a small group of rambunctious mercenaries. This group contains Dagran, Zael’s childhood friend and leader of the team, Syrenne, a girl who i all about drinking and fighting, Yurick, a quiet mage who doesn’t like socializing much, Lowell, a flirtatious young man who is all about hitting on women, and Mirania, a young girl who cares about the earth and nature. Now, these characters may seem like your generic cast of characters, but don’t worry, I’ll talk about them later. Zael and Dagran have a dream of becoming more than simple mercenaries, and wish to become knights, so they can live a life of ease and get the respect they deserve. While on Lazulis Island, the games setting, in the capital city, Zael ends up running into a young girl who calls herself Lisa, but is actually, in secrecy, Lady Calista, the niece the island’s king, Count Arganan. While on a mission, Zael gains the power of something known as the Outsider, and with it, is able to get closer to the count and Calista, while facing off a war between a rivaling race known as the Gurak, lead by their king, Zangurak… clever. And from there, many little pieces are added to the story, and if I kept discussing the story from there, it would get a little confusing, so just believe me when I say that, as a JRPG, it’s pretty simple, but it manages to add some little pieces to it that allow you to keep going on with the story. But what’s a game without the gameplay?
~Gameplay~
The Last Story isn’t your typical JRPG. It has a very… different approach to battle. Instead of a turn-based style, it’s more action-based, allowing you to freely move. Seems simple, until you actually play it. You fight enemies by using… The control stick on the Wii’s Nunchuck controller. Stick with me on this, okay? As weird as it is the first time, I can assure you, it is very easy to get used to. Just point at an enemy and then attack. You can also learn new moves as you continue, allowing for stealth attacks, jumping attacks and ranged attacks. It never feels the same or tedious when you fight enemies and it always manages to add something new to keep the gameplay fresh and never get annoying. When you have your party with you, you can really get something done. If you have a magic user with you like Yurick, Mirania, or Calista, you can wait for them to fire a circle at the enemy, which can do either earth, fire, or ice damage. If you stand in the circle, you can get a special attack boost to your weapons, like a flame or ice boost. But, later n in the game, you can get a wind slash ability, which can increase the damage from the magic circle and hit every enemy in the area, as well as give you the attack boost. Another technique is using the crossbow. While the crossbow isn’t… the most useful tool in the game, it can allow you to hit enemies who are pretty far away. Granted, it isn’t much use and you can probably just have your mages hit them, but it is still a useful tool. Also, if you have the Prank Arrows, you can trip people in the hubworld, and that’s always a fun time.
Another thing I should mention are the graphics in this game. As far as games on the Wii go, the environments are beautiful. They may not look as impressive compared to the Wii’s competition at the time, but they are still breathtaking. From expansive kingdoms to large caves to just a simple walk across a grassy hill. It’s amazing. Can’t say the same for some NPCs. They’re fine upclose, but from a distance, they start walking really badly. So badly, you can just count the frames they are moving in. I counted at least four frames per second. It’s incredibly distracting in the hubworld, where NPCs are everywhere. But, unless your a huge nitpicking nerd like me, you will probably get used to it. What you will get used to is how simple this game is. As far as JRPG’s go, this is probably one of the more easier ones. In combat, this game can be a very forgiving. Each character has five lives at the start of every battle. When your health or a party members health is drained, they will be able to get right back up, assuming they don’t run out of lives. And after each battle, you will get all your lives back. The game is pretty forgiving, but trust me, you’ll need those lives in some boss fights. It gives you a sense to keep fighting, while also wanting you to fight the boss again with another strategy if you do fail. The game is all about strategizing your battles, as it gives you a chance to look at the enemies before you do fight them. As long as you don’t run out of health before the battle is done, you should be fine. Just keep up the Gathering to bring your party members back and you should be fine. Speaking of Gathering, you will need that. It’s a very useful tool in this game. Aside from being able to revive your party members, Gathering lures all the enemies in the area away from your party and to you. That may seem like a bad tool, but trust me, if you want your mage’s to use their magic while having a speed bonus from the Gathering, you’ll want to use it as often as you can.
Another thing about The Last Story is the customization choices. From the different amount of clothing to the new kinds of colors you can wear, you don’t have to keep the same clothing on your characters throughout the entire game. Sure, you could if you wanted to, but you never have to. Every armor choice is different for your characters, and they will always wear them, both in cutscenes and in game. Armor always shows up on your character, and so do dyes. Dyes are… a color option. You can… use it to change the uniforms to… any color… Okay, I’ll be honest, I never used dyes in this game. I never needed them. But, for those who really like to make their party whatever color they want, I’ve heard that this is some of the best character customization to ever be in a JRPG. So take solace in the fact that the option is in fact there and a huge offer in fact if you ever want to use it. So, while I didn’t do any dyes, what I did do were sidequests. There are many skippable chapters in The Last Story, mainly because these could be sidequests and nothing more. But you really should do these side quests, because every character is enjoyable in some way or another. Yurick distances himself because of his father’s leave and suspected betrayal, and helping him find out the truth allows him to have more faith in his comrades. Mirania’s worry for the earth comes into play if you join her on the island to find out what has happened. There is no boring sidequest in this game, and they make the characters that some would find to be one-dimensional appear to have more character to them, and become some of the best characters in a JRPG. But of course, there is the story between Zael and Calista. This story had no reason to be as good as it was. When it comes to main character romances in a JRPG, this should have fallen flat on it’s ass super hard. So why is it so good? Sure, it’s no Casablanca when it comes to romance stories, but neither character goes through some bullshit misunderstanding, they don’t mope about their pasts to each other, and they don’t constantly bicker. In fact, they are incredibly loyal to each other, they always stick to each other’s side, and if something bad does happen, they always feel terrible about it, and always regret it immediately, but they don’t shove it in the players face for a good portion of the game. It’s got just the right amount of charm to make you say, “Aw, that’s sweet”, and not, “Just shut up already and be a couple!”.
~Ending~
-Actually, I think, for the first time on Hidden Gems, I’m going to not talk about the ending. At least not in great detail. Because it’s got way too much plot, and has too much good twists in it that I’d rather just hold off on it. I will say some things about it. First off, the final boss is a real pain if you aren’t ready. Starting off with a simple first phase, then a tolerable second phase, and just a strong third phase that will kick your ass if you aren’t prepared. You need a good strategy if you want to beat the final boss, because he is not easy. It got incredibly hectic for me in the last part, having constant healers and revivers as everyone just zerg rushed him with their strongest weapons. It was hard as hell, but a very satisfying conclusion. But even after that, there is even more game. The Last Story has as much endings as the third Lord of the Rings film. It takes the Atlus approach where, if you still have control of your character, then there is still more game. Shut up and do this quest. The game keeps going after you think it’s over. Final boss dead? More story! How is the kingdom doing? More story! Zael and Calista’s relationship? More story! But it never out stays its welcome and just adds more to this game. And I appreciate it greatly. And after all that, the game ends with where Zael and Calista first met, as the game finally ends. I say finally, despite being twenty hours long. May seem like a lot, but that is nothing for JRPGs. They can go on for eighty or more. But hey, take what you get with this game.
~Legacy~
Thanks to the group who started Operation Rainfall, a campaign to get Japanese exclusives to western audiences, we were able to get The Last Story here in the west, along with Xenoblade Chronicles. The game became Xseed’s highest selling game and their most successful game to ever be released, even getting a PRemium Edition. While it did pretty well when it first came out, it was eventually forgotten and would just fall into the bargain bin of your local store. Is what I would say if the game didn’t cost almost sixty dollars online. I’m serious, this game is real pricy. I only got a hold of this game because my local library had it on the shelves. Sometimes, I hate the retro gaming market.
~Rating~
I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t one of the better JRPG’s I’ve played. It had style, it had a wonderful story, it had a unique way of gameplay, and it managed to not shove typical tropes in my face and, if there were tropes, they were surely made less annoying in every way possible. The Last Story is a game that I say is worth a search (Assuming you can find a copy with a reasonable price). It is a game that I highly recommend to all JRPG fans or, hell, anyone who just owns a Wii. It is worth it to have this game with you. It’s no Xenoblade, but you know what, that is okay. The Last Story gets a well deserved Hidden Gem ranking.
The Last Story is a game for the Wii that was made by Hironobu Sakaguchi, a renowned creator in the JRPG industry, before Square Enix screwed him out of real work and forced him into Mobile Hell for the rest of his life. But terrible company choices aside, the game is also known for having it’s soundtrack created by famous composer, Nobuo Uematsu, who made the soundtracks for a majority of Final Fantasy games. The Last Story did get some recognition, but when Xenoblade Chronicles came around, it completely wiped the floor with The Last Story. Nobody was talking about this game while Xenoblade Chronicles now has a sequel, complete with girls with very large breasts. Truly, a sign of quality. So, why did The Last Story get pushed aside? Surely, it deserved some fame, right? Well, let’s find out.
~Story~
The game follows Zael, a member of a small group of rambunctious mercenaries. This group contains Dagran, Zael’s childhood friend and leader of the team, Syrenne, a girl who i all about drinking and fighting, Yurick, a quiet mage who doesn’t like socializing much, Lowell, a flirtatious young man who is all about hitting on women, and Mirania, a young girl who cares about the earth and nature. Now, these characters may seem like your generic cast of characters, but don’t worry, I’ll talk about them later. Zael and Dagran have a dream of becoming more than simple mercenaries, and wish to become knights, so they can live a life of ease and get the respect they deserve. While on Lazulis Island, the games setting, in the capital city, Zael ends up running into a young girl who calls herself Lisa, but is actually, in secrecy, Lady Calista, the niece the island’s king, Count Arganan. While on a mission, Zael gains the power of something known as the Outsider, and with it, is able to get closer to the count and Calista, while facing off a war between a rivaling race known as the Gurak, lead by their king, Zangurak… clever. And from there, many little pieces are added to the story, and if I kept discussing the story from there, it would get a little confusing, so just believe me when I say that, as a JRPG, it’s pretty simple, but it manages to add some little pieces to it that allow you to keep going on with the story. But what’s a game without the gameplay?
~Gameplay~
The Last Story isn’t your typical JRPG. It has a very… different approach to battle. Instead of a turn-based style, it’s more action-based, allowing you to freely move. Seems simple, until you actually play it. You fight enemies by using… The control stick on the Wii’s Nunchuck controller. Stick with me on this, okay? As weird as it is the first time, I can assure you, it is very easy to get used to. Just point at an enemy and then attack. You can also learn new moves as you continue, allowing for stealth attacks, jumping attacks and ranged attacks. It never feels the same or tedious when you fight enemies and it always manages to add something new to keep the gameplay fresh and never get annoying. When you have your party with you, you can really get something done. If you have a magic user with you like Yurick, Mirania, or Calista, you can wait for them to fire a circle at the enemy, which can do either earth, fire, or ice damage. If you stand in the circle, you can get a special attack boost to your weapons, like a flame or ice boost. But, later n in the game, you can get a wind slash ability, which can increase the damage from the magic circle and hit every enemy in the area, as well as give you the attack boost. Another technique is using the crossbow. While the crossbow isn’t… the most useful tool in the game, it can allow you to hit enemies who are pretty far away. Granted, it isn’t much use and you can probably just have your mages hit them, but it is still a useful tool. Also, if you have the Prank Arrows, you can trip people in the hubworld, and that’s always a fun time.
Another thing I should mention are the graphics in this game. As far as games on the Wii go, the environments are beautiful. They may not look as impressive compared to the Wii’s competition at the time, but they are still breathtaking. From expansive kingdoms to large caves to just a simple walk across a grassy hill. It’s amazing. Can’t say the same for some NPCs. They’re fine upclose, but from a distance, they start walking really badly. So badly, you can just count the frames they are moving in. I counted at least four frames per second. It’s incredibly distracting in the hubworld, where NPCs are everywhere. But, unless your a huge nitpicking nerd like me, you will probably get used to it. What you will get used to is how simple this game is. As far as JRPG’s go, this is probably one of the more easier ones. In combat, this game can be a very forgiving. Each character has five lives at the start of every battle. When your health or a party members health is drained, they will be able to get right back up, assuming they don’t run out of lives. And after each battle, you will get all your lives back. The game is pretty forgiving, but trust me, you’ll need those lives in some boss fights. It gives you a sense to keep fighting, while also wanting you to fight the boss again with another strategy if you do fail. The game is all about strategizing your battles, as it gives you a chance to look at the enemies before you do fight them. As long as you don’t run out of health before the battle is done, you should be fine. Just keep up the Gathering to bring your party members back and you should be fine. Speaking of Gathering, you will need that. It’s a very useful tool in this game. Aside from being able to revive your party members, Gathering lures all the enemies in the area away from your party and to you. That may seem like a bad tool, but trust me, if you want your mage’s to use their magic while having a speed bonus from the Gathering, you’ll want to use it as often as you can.
Another thing about The Last Story is the customization choices. From the different amount of clothing to the new kinds of colors you can wear, you don’t have to keep the same clothing on your characters throughout the entire game. Sure, you could if you wanted to, but you never have to. Every armor choice is different for your characters, and they will always wear them, both in cutscenes and in game. Armor always shows up on your character, and so do dyes. Dyes are… a color option. You can… use it to change the uniforms to… any color… Okay, I’ll be honest, I never used dyes in this game. I never needed them. But, for those who really like to make their party whatever color they want, I’ve heard that this is some of the best character customization to ever be in a JRPG. So take solace in the fact that the option is in fact there and a huge offer in fact if you ever want to use it. So, while I didn’t do any dyes, what I did do were sidequests. There are many skippable chapters in The Last Story, mainly because these could be sidequests and nothing more. But you really should do these side quests, because every character is enjoyable in some way or another. Yurick distances himself because of his father’s leave and suspected betrayal, and helping him find out the truth allows him to have more faith in his comrades. Mirania’s worry for the earth comes into play if you join her on the island to find out what has happened. There is no boring sidequest in this game, and they make the characters that some would find to be one-dimensional appear to have more character to them, and become some of the best characters in a JRPG. But of course, there is the story between Zael and Calista. This story had no reason to be as good as it was. When it comes to main character romances in a JRPG, this should have fallen flat on it’s ass super hard. So why is it so good? Sure, it’s no Casablanca when it comes to romance stories, but neither character goes through some bullshit misunderstanding, they don’t mope about their pasts to each other, and they don’t constantly bicker. In fact, they are incredibly loyal to each other, they always stick to each other’s side, and if something bad does happen, they always feel terrible about it, and always regret it immediately, but they don’t shove it in the players face for a good portion of the game. It’s got just the right amount of charm to make you say, “Aw, that’s sweet”, and not, “Just shut up already and be a couple!”.
~Ending~
-Actually, I think, for the first time on Hidden Gems, I’m going to not talk about the ending. At least not in great detail. Because it’s got way too much plot, and has too much good twists in it that I’d rather just hold off on it. I will say some things about it. First off, the final boss is a real pain if you aren’t ready. Starting off with a simple first phase, then a tolerable second phase, and just a strong third phase that will kick your ass if you aren’t prepared. You need a good strategy if you want to beat the final boss, because he is not easy. It got incredibly hectic for me in the last part, having constant healers and revivers as everyone just zerg rushed him with their strongest weapons. It was hard as hell, but a very satisfying conclusion. But even after that, there is even more game. The Last Story has as much endings as the third Lord of the Rings film. It takes the Atlus approach where, if you still have control of your character, then there is still more game. Shut up and do this quest. The game keeps going after you think it’s over. Final boss dead? More story! How is the kingdom doing? More story! Zael and Calista’s relationship? More story! But it never out stays its welcome and just adds more to this game. And I appreciate it greatly. And after all that, the game ends with where Zael and Calista first met, as the game finally ends. I say finally, despite being twenty hours long. May seem like a lot, but that is nothing for JRPGs. They can go on for eighty or more. But hey, take what you get with this game.
~Legacy~
Thanks to the group who started Operation Rainfall, a campaign to get Japanese exclusives to western audiences, we were able to get The Last Story here in the west, along with Xenoblade Chronicles. The game became Xseed’s highest selling game and their most successful game to ever be released, even getting a PRemium Edition. While it did pretty well when it first came out, it was eventually forgotten and would just fall into the bargain bin of your local store. Is what I would say if the game didn’t cost almost sixty dollars online. I’m serious, this game is real pricy. I only got a hold of this game because my local library had it on the shelves. Sometimes, I hate the retro gaming market.
~Rating~
I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t one of the better JRPG’s I’ve played. It had style, it had a wonderful story, it had a unique way of gameplay, and it managed to not shove typical tropes in my face and, if there were tropes, they were surely made less annoying in every way possible. The Last Story is a game that I say is worth a search (Assuming you can find a copy with a reasonable price). It is a game that I highly recommend to all JRPG fans or, hell, anyone who just owns a Wii. It is worth it to have this game with you. It’s no Xenoblade, but you know what, that is okay. The Last Story gets a well deserved Hidden Gem ranking.
