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The Last Story. Sounds very final, doesn't it? Well, it's by the man who created Final Fantasy, a series which has spanned a quarter of a century and spawned no fewer than fourteen main titles, so that should come as no surprise. It's also helped to create a mass of anticipation for the title, which launched in Japan in January 2011 and was almost immediately branded "one of those games we'll probably never get". A year later, here it is on European store shelves and about to launch in North America - and we're very, very happy to have it.
The Last Story is based in and around Lazulis Island, once a thriving empire with a long-standing bloodline at the helm. Now, the empire is withering and the land is dying, with the empire's only aim to strengthen and expand. You take the role of Zael, the frontman of a group of mercenaries along with his best friend Dagran in a land where mercenaries are often looked down upon. It's the aim of both Zael and Dagran to become knights of the empire and the pair are soon of interest to Count Arganan, the ruler of the House of Arganan, after Zael obtains a rare power called the Power of the Outsider early in the game's story.
Through the game, you control Zael in battles, which are plentiful and often pose something of a challenge: not only do you have to fight your own battles, you'll also need to make sure everyone else in your group (which can have up to six people at times) is doing alright. Attacking is automatic and done just by moving close to an enemy, but by using the Power of the Outsider you can also use special powers such as Gathering, which draws the attention of all enemies to you, and Gale, which lets you move quickly to another spot on the battlefield to attack faraway enemies.
Another benefit of the Power of the Outsider is the ability to revive fallen allies. In battle, each person in your team has five lives, and when they're beaten they lose one life. Whether you use your Power to revive them yourself (which can also provide stat boosts and other bonuses), they will eventually be revived at some stage, but after losing all five lives they're out for the remainder of the battle. This goes for Zael, too, so once you lose all five lives it's game over. In the early stages of the game you'll probably be able to win battles without losing any lives, but in later boss battles and the like those lives are going to seem really useful.
The Last Story is split into chapters and you won't be taking part in battles in every single one of them: some chapters are long, some are short, and each usually takes place in a different location. Most early chapters will take place on Lazulis Island, where you'll have free roam of the city, its shops and many winding alleyways. It's a good idea to use early chapters to explore as much as possible, since the city is massive: you wouldn't be blamed for not having a clue what to do or where to go. In some cases, when you need to get somewhere fairly urgently, an arrow will appear on the screen to guide you there, but otherwise it's all up to you. Once you've been somewhere once, though, there's a good chance you'll be able to use the world map to skip there in the future, which makes travelling a little easier at times.
The game features quite a few customisation features as well: naturally, you're able to equip weapons and armour to your characters to improve their attack and defence stats, but on the aesthetic side of things you're also able to change the colours of the garments the characters are wearing. You'll only start off with a few colours to choose from - namely, the default colours for the six main characters - but by collecting certain materials in your quest, you'll be able to buy new dyes to use on your clothes. In a similar fashion, you can also use materials to upgrade weapons and armour, though a number of items can be upgraded without any materials (just a nominal fee, of course). For those who don't care for customisation, you can just let the game automatically assign the best items to each character, which will also cut down on the time you spend in menus.
The level of customisation features is just one example of how much work has gone into the game's finer details. In battles, every part of every setting has been made use of, whether for hiding behind or jumping over to surprise enemies. In the city, you're able to sidle through small gaps to get to different areas, and NPCs will nudge past you (that is if you don't push them aside by running into them) instead of just stopping you dead like in many other games. Even as you walk past people in the street, you'll be able to stop and listen to the conversations they're having, so it's clear to see just how much translation work had to be done. The wide variety of British and Irish accents heard in the game is also very welcome.
On a grander scale, the general design of The Last Story is outstanding. Even though the graphics may not be the best on Wii - the game still looks fantastic regardless of this - each area in the game looks fresh and inspired, while the pre-rendered cutscenes look spectacular. Areas are vast, yet never feel empty, as every different part of an area has something interesting in it, whether it be part of the main story or a sidequest. One issue which does tend to rear its ugly head at the worst of times, though, is lag: the game is clearly jam-packed with detail, but when in busier locations (and worse, battles), the game can start to lag somewhat. Either you notice it or you don't, but if you do it can be highly off-putting.
Thankfully, where the graphics might dip at times during the game, the music is never anything less than sublime. The Last Story features a fully orchestrated soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, who has composed some of the most memorable Final Fantasy tunes in the series' long history, and the main theme of The Last Story is just as beautiful. It's often haunting and emotive, perfectly balanced out by the humour of some of the game's main characters. Owners of the limited edition version of The Last Story received a seven-piece soundtrack CD In the package, which includes some of the game's best tunes. The music is never out of place in-game, with relaxing melodies in quiet environments and stronger pieces giving urgency to battles.
The game also features online multiplayer, which is surprising to say the least: The Last Story isn't the sort of game you'd expect to feature online multiplayer, even moreso considering there's no local multiplayer included. Up to six players can take part in either a co-op game, in which you can take part in difficult battles against opponents from the main game, or deathmatch, in which each player is set to a more balanced level to make the battles a bit fairer. In deathmatch mode, you can either battle as single opponents or in teams, with a number of items available to aid you. Online multiplayer is continental only, so only European gamers can play online with each other, but online battles are still as exciting as those in the main game. You might not have missed it if it wasn't included, but it's still nice to have the option of online multiplayer.
Another point of note is the game's controls, which are intuitive despite being a little overwhelming in the early stages of the game. You'll most likely find yourself using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination over the Classic Controller, if only because the game clearly favours the former, telling you what the controls are whenever you learn new moves before leaving a little sidenote of "if you're using the Classic Controller, these are the controls instead". Your focus is immediately drawn to the controls of the wireless combo, making it an easier choice in the long run. You'll have tutorials thrown at you left, right and centre early on, but it's best to ignore these for the most part and practice using new moves yourself. Do it as soon as you can, though, because there are very few random battle chances for you to hone your skills.
The Last Story is widely considered the third of four major releases in the Wii's autumn years alongside Xenoblade Chronicles, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Pandora's Tower. As a result, much has been expected of it, especially following the outstanding praise given to the two titles before it. It's safe to say it doesn't disappoint: while it might not be as open-plan as Xenoblade Chronicles or as innovative as Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Last Story remains an immersive experience with a hugely enjoyable storyline and characters, stunning locations and a great script among other positives. If it just so happens that this is the last game you buy for Wii, trust us: you could do an awful lot worse.
