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[wackojackosnose]

How accurate is the game clock in this game?

I completed it (new game+ file) at 30:49, but if I count up the time I spent on the game via the Home Brew Channel under the Wii Records I'd have spent about ~39 hours instead which feels like a more accurate number. Hrmm.

Awesome game but it is quite a technical mess. Not sure how they can proudly show off late game cut scenes that judder in barely double digit fps.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

In general: Game clocks tend not to count during loading screens. Maybe scenes of slowdown also slow the clock.

 

[RpgN]

Done up to 25 chapters. This game just keeps getting better and better. It has been a blast to play so far. It feels fresh, yet you can tell it's a Sakaguchi game and appreciate it for that :3

 

[Oxx]

I just reached the epilogue.

I was hoping to finish the game today, but I don't want to rush through the final moments. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[flyover]

Started this yesterday and played about four hours (through Chapter 11).

I'm really enjoying it. So far, I don't have the feeling I sometimes get when I'm playing something really special. But I love the characters (and voice acting), like the plot and pacing, and find the gameplay interesting. It's a well-made, three-chord pop song of a game.

From a technical standpoint, I don't often notice a lot of graphical flaws/quality in most games. I'm more into the general art direction. And I like the art direction for Last Story pretty well, except for the color palette and the horizontally stretched UI elements. I keep having this feeling that my TV's aspect ratio is off.

 

[Oxx]

I'm glad i decided to take my time with the Epilogue. There certainly seems to be a lot to do. I have no idea in which order to tackle things, or if I'll unwittingly trigger the ending.

Endgame spoilers:

Spoiler

Marry Calista? Fight Therius? Talk to Lowell? Fight the Reptids?

 

[Gambit]

I'm glad i decided to take my time with the Epilogue. There certainly seems to be a lot to do. I have no idea in which order to tackle things, or if I'll unwittingly trigger the ending.

Endgame spoilers:

Spoiler

Marry Calista? Fight Therius? Talk to Lowell? Fight the Reptids?

Yes, the epilogue is quite meaty.

Spoiler

Talk to Lowell last. For the others it doesn't matter.

Although I did it the other ("wrong") way round, I would also suggest you marry Calista and fight Therius BEFORE fighting the Reptides. This has absolutely no significance story-wise, but I prefer it. The reason is that I really liked the camaraderie and this way you have everyone with you on your last mission.

 

[Oxx]

Thanks.

Seems like a lot to do and I still haven't finished exploring.

 

[thefro]

Don't forget to do the last season of the Arena... that's almost like a whole other chapter.

 

[Oxx]

Don't forget to do the last season of the Arena... that's almost like a whole other chapter.

I was wondering where season 3 was going to pop-up from. I thought I had missed something when I could only select 1 or 2 just before the story entered the end-game.

 

[Oxx]

The epilogue went on a bit, but it was mostly worthwhile stuff.

24.50 on the game clock (or 27.47 according to Nintendo Channel), so I seem to have taken my time with the game. And I'm sure there's a load of stuff I missed.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Shame that they probably won't get a chance to refine the good bits and remove the bad parts in a sequel.

I'm not sure if I'll try the multiplayer. Anything good regarding New Game+?

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

I beat the 3 cave cougars last night aroung level 38 or so. I totally cheated but it was worth it - I got the level 35 one stuck in the water and the remaining two level 40s trapped between the blocks on the treasure chest all side. So about 10 minutes of bowgunning and I took the two big ones down, then lured the remaining one back onto land and fought him 1 on 1. I just used Defender to block until my burst filled up then switched to the Blood Sword. A couple accelerates didn't hurt either.

 

[Dynedom]

Welp, finally had enough time to burn through the the rest of New Game +.

It's pretty obvious this game wants you to spend money and Particles of The Outsider upgrading your weapons and armors past their normal limits. The latter bosses seem to have ridiculous amounts of HP and can almost instakill you with their attacks (this was with all my characters at level 99). Just seems kinda lazy. I would have liked to seen different attack patterns or new attacks instead of an HP and damage boost. The battles ended up the same, just taking nearly 3 times as long. If you work your heal circles and diffuse them and spam Mirania's Revive, it's not really challenging.

Also: Dragon Armor + Ancient Barrier= LOL. Mash A and prosper.

Also, the slowdown really is UNBEARABLE in NG+. It wasn't really a factor on first playthrough but I found it to be a major issue in NG+. Mostly because the sheer slowdown totally interrupts the flow of battle. W your enemy getting the odd hit in on you didn't much before, its often devastating in NG+. The

Spoiler

final fight with Zangurak is particularly painful. He has absurd HP and he hits hard and half the time, you can't even SEE his bloody attack because it's just a mass of orange EVERYWHERE

. Unacceptable. That alone ensures this game never touches "great" territory for me (and this is not even considering the other problems the game has).

I guess I'll do a proper "review" in a bit, now that I've done just about everything about the game (except multiplayer). All in all, it's average, bordering on terrible because of the technical issues and repetition.

 

[Alexios]

Just finished the game last night (33 hours, wandered lots) and did some of the post-ending stuff, it was a satisfying experience from start to finish with minor issues like some voice overs or animations (maybe directing) killing the mood in scenes, and the frame rate issues (eh, just consider it Wii's Shadow of the Colossus tech wise) but overall it's fantastic. It's pretty amazing how they made a JRPG battle system that works well in both crowded skirmishes and in 1 on 1 duels. Not that it's without issues but, what is? I also liked the loss of frame rate actually slowed down the game instead of altogether skipping a bunch of frames, which meant most of the time you basically got a slow motion effect and could still pull off the things you wanted within the same game time frame despite the lower response time. Although it did get annoying in certain scenes in the later half of the game and toward the end I didn't feel it harmed actual playability, it was mostly annoying on a visual level when it got too bad.

 

[Peagles]

HMV copy just arrived. Surprised to see it's slightly more squished than the 365Games/OzGameShop copy. Might just keep it sealed and put it aside for a rainy day...

 

[RpgN]

Made it to chapter 39, not long left now!

Though I have a couple of questions:

1. There's a side mission that involves bringing an ordinary pumpkin. I've tried harvesting some a couple of times with or without fertilisers. I keep getting mini pumpkins without or giant pumpkins with normal and quality fertilisers. What's the trick to just getting normal-sized pumpkins?

2. There was an early side mission in the game that was pretty impossible to do with the current stats. It was defeating 3 Cave Cougars between levels 35 and 40. When I was still in chapter 31 with level 39 it still felt very tedious and impossible to beat with the weapons and equipment I had. Are you meant to clear it first time without too much of a problem? Or is it better to do it in new game plus? Or would that make it even worse? I realize now that I'm in chapter 39, I can't do this mission anymore which sucks but oh well...

 

[Shiggy]

After not playing for a week and a half, I've finally beaten that chapter 21 boss. I don't really understand how that thing could heal itself though.

How can I level up my team now? I'm at level 28 now, while some of my team mates are at level 20 only. I've been to the arena several times in a row and that didn't help too much. Does it even matter too much?

I'd better hope that there won't be too many bosses in the upcoming chapters, but I fear there will.

 

[thetrin]

After not playing for a week and a half, I've finally beaten that chapter 21 boss. I don't really understand how that thing could heal itself though.

How can I level up my team now? I'm at level 28 now, while some of my team mates are at level 20 only. I've been to the arena several times in a row and that didn't help too much. Does it even matter too much?

I'd better hope that there won't be too many bosses in the upcoming chapters, but I fear there will.

Find one of those battle seals (I don't know what they're called in the English version) in a dungeon while doing regular missions. You can grind those to level up your dudes.

 

[thefro]

After not playing for a week and a half, I've finally beaten that chapter 21 boss. I don't really understand how that thing could heal itself though.

How can I level up my team now? I'm at level 28 now, while some of my team mates are at level 20 only. I've been to the arena several times in a row and that didn't help too much. Does it even matter too much?

I'd better hope that there won't be too many bosses in the upcoming chapters, but I fear there will.

You don't need to worry about evening out levels, the game does it for you.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

To the person that hinted you can use summon circles twice in a row (so a second set of enemies appears when you're facing the first; generally giving more EXP) you saved me a lot of hassle near the end.

 

[Oxx]

I took on the end of the game at level 69.

I did kinda abuse the summon circles.

 

[Gambit]

To the person that hinted you can use summon circles twice in a row (so a second set of enemies appears when you're facing the first; generally giving more EXP) you saved me a lot of hassle near the end.

You're welcome.

Spoiler

it might have been me

You don't need to worry about evening out levels, the game does it for you.

I agree. It all goes smoothly.

Also @Shiggy: Forget the Arena for now. Summoning circles work far better. The Arena is, imo, only necessary every time you get a new season.

 

[Shiggy]

The arena got somewhat boring tbh with always the same season. So I'll just wait for the summoning circles then - haven't come across one for some time now.

Meh, it looks like I've just spoilt the last world/area in this game thanks to the online mode. I also tried the boss battle online mode but had no clue what to do.

By the way, am I the only one who's a bit wondering about the order of the chapters? I'm now in chapter 24, needing to do chapter 23 later on

 

[Gambit]

The arena got somewhat boring tbh with always the same season. So I'll just wait for the summoning circles then - haven't come across one for some time now.

Meh, it looks like I've just spoilt the last world/area in this game thanks to the online mode. I also tried the boss battle online mode but had no clue what to do.

By the way, am I the only one who's a bit wondering about the order of the chapters? I'm now in chapter 24, needing to do chapter 23 later on

I didn't try the online modes until I finished the game for fear I'd spoil myself. Apparently it was the right choice. With the small caveat that now that I have finished the game I don't feel like playing online. Will try, though. Eventually.

The mandatory chapters, I think, are in order. The optional ones have the chapter number of when they are first available. So let's say in chapter 22, (optional )chapter 23 and (optional) 24 open up. If you continue the story, you'll be in chapter 25 and only later on go back to 22.

At least, that's how I think it is.

 

[RpgN]

Heh, the last fight was an intense fight that kept me on my toes the whole time, and that's with making preperations and grinding up to around level 61. Still I managed to do it first time (talking about chapter 40). It was great.

Spoiler

To have Dagran betray the party wasn't much of surprise but it was suprising that he took the power of the Outsider and was the last boss. Also I thought the way Lowell was revived was odd though I am glad he's back and was sad he had to die in the first place!

The chemistry has been really natural and great between the party members. The jokes were also very spot on, it makes you chuckle the whole time. It's rare to have every character's motive to feel convincing and you end up really caring about all of them.

Currently I'm in the epilogue and still have the optional chapters to do, so it's not done yet!

 

[Oxx]

Regarding the final boss:

Spoiler

I was actually quite surprised. I couldn't quite remember why he had split from the party - actually, I'm still not sure when that happened - so, it was quite a cool moment for me.

And the battle itself was pretty spectacular. Kinda weird that the Wii could handle that kind of scene, but had major problems showing a cutscene without stuttering.

 

[RpgN]

Regarding the final boss:

Spoiler

I was actually quite surprised. I couldn't quite remember why he had split from the party - actually, I'm still not sure when that happened - so, it was quite a cool moment for me.

And the battle itself was pretty spectacular. Kinda weird that the Wii could handle that kind of scene, but had major problems showing a cutscene without stuttering.

Spoiler

It was around chapter 32 that you see the last of him until you fight him in chapter 40. In chapter 32, he was trying to fight Zael to stop him from runnig off and changing his mind about accepting knighthood. Before that, Dagran admitted he set-up Jirall for the murder of general Asthar. Those bits kind of hinted at him willing to do anything to get what he wants and his more sinister side to me. I didn't think he was using them all along in a twisted way though. I thought he was doing it for his friends in his own dark way, but it was more for vengence and wanting more. I have to say, I liked the way Zael and Dagran's relation was fleshed out. Usually, stories are about love and saving the world. While friendship/bond is not that original, it was fleshed out more deeply and convincing here.

Now that you mention it, it did run pretty smoothly in comparison to how usually the game runs. Chapter 40 was pretty smooth and not nearly as bad as I feared. I'm guessing it's because they didn't render huge areas realtime but they loaded each small room separately most of the time, and the last couple of fights have been more one-on-one with less enemies displayed. Still though, Dagran's final form was massive, it was pretty impressive.

Chapter 40 was pretty fantastic, with epic fights and some great looking areas with nice effects. At certain points, it almost felt like a PS3/Xbox 360 game.

 

[Alexios]

To the above.

Spoiler

There are other hints showing him being to be a good guy too, random NPCs - well, at least one - that spoke of some mystery person aiding them without revealing himself finally say they found out it was Dagran post-ending. I was just annoyed that I lost the gear I gave Dagran and then he wasn't even wearing that in the ending scenes, even though I kinda saw it coming I was careless near the end and missed the cut off point where he no longer is part of the party, saving past that and all.

Spoiler

Also, I'm evil, I looted all the stuff from the Gurakk castle and then those that lost them find out when they see me carrying it all. I was kinda expecting it's bad the way it gave you a choice for those chests but I also wasn't entirely sure, and just took them in case I meet the NPCs to give it to them later, which didn't happen until that part they're sad I took them

 

[ajim]

Same as above:

Spoiler

I was really surprised Dagran had betrayed everyone. I always wondered where he had got to for the longest time, but thought he had felt bad for wanting to stop Zael on the bridge, and would make a Heros return toward the end to aid us in a final battle or something. He always seemed to be behind the scenes 'fixing' things for everyone, so, I just assumed he was doing something along those lines. I really wasn't expecting him to be the bad guy.

That unveiling was pretty disappointing to me, and the whole 'I used you all along!" seemed pretty weak-sauce, that was my only gripe with the game.

 

[Firemind]

Also to the above

Spoiler

The first time you're in Gurak Castle, Dagran already showed his intentions albeit very secretly. My memory is hazy, but I remember he had no qualms to invade the castle and leave Lowell and Syrenne behind. Or something akin. There was something fishy the way he acted. I also remember he went up ahead on his own against Zangurak for some inane reason. Well, now we know.

 

[RpgN]

To the above.

Spoiler

There are other hints showing him being to be a good guy too, random NPCs - well, at least one - that spoke of some mystery person aiding them without revealing himself finally say they found out it was Dagran post-ending. I was just annoyed that I lost the gear I gave Dagran and then he wasn't even wearing that in the ending scenes, even though I kinda saw it coming I was careless near the end and missed the cut off point where he no longer is part of the party, saving past that and all.

Spoiler

Also, I'm evil, I looted all the stuff from the Gurakk castle and then those that lost them find out when they see me carrying it all. I was kinda expecting it's bad the way it gave you a choice for those chests but I also wasn't entirely sure, and just took them in case I meet the NPCs to give it to them later, which didn't happen until that part they're sad I took them

Spoiler

I haven't gone to the town yet after post epilogue. That's a surprise to find out he was funding the kid's studying and rest of the kids (was it?). Are you talking about the random father near Artisan's Way? Yeah, he definitely had good bits in him. It's refreshing to have characters that are not all black and white. Even Zangurak didn't feel that evil, both were very driven by their motives and losing sight of what they're doing is the right thing or not.

I would have looted all the stuff as well if I didn't read about it in advance. This was one of the choices that you don't expect and just have to read about. There was no warning or anything special about those chests. It's a nice touch that they have sad face on their look

And the soundtrack was really enjoyable to listen to btw. I've made research about the official soundtrack and find it a big shame they didn't include the following tracks to the Premium Soundtrack:

When Hearts Connect [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
Just Being Near You [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
Castle Ruri [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
Fallen Nobles [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
out of Arena ~ Battle Banquet [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
Invitation to Madness [The Last Story OST] - YouTube
Death Dance [The Last Story OST] - YouTube

They had more than enough space to make it 14 tracks in total I thought Uematsu did a really good job in this game. It feels like a return to true form since his Lost Odyssey OST was pretty forgettable with a few exceptions. Falling Nobles feels a bit like a track from FFVIII and Death Dance sounds like a FFVII Bossfight, he might have composed those tracks on purpose for nostalgia sake. Even though The Last Story sounds pretty different for someone like him, you can still tell it's made by him.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

With regards to the "mistake" you can make

Spoiler

Think about the context of it. Opening the chests seems a bit hypocritical considering the scenes and what Zeal thinks of them

 

[Zornica]

I am finally done. It took me about 25 hours, epilogue included. I am not sure on what to make of it. It certainly was fun, but the story was really stupid...
thank god the localisation was awesome and the jokes were funny and omnipresent - it is easily the best part of the game.
some parts of the plot and the decisions they mad were just ridiculous. The plot "twists" were laughable.

There were 3 really good ideas near the end, and they didn't took advantage of a single one of them...

Spoiler

- in that scene where you kill your friends, It would've been awesome if you really killed them. not just some drug dream bullshit

- if you dare to kill one of the best chars the cast has to offer (lowell), he should stay dead. reviving him 5 minutes later makes his death pointless.

- dagran should've turned much sooner and face zeal directly. He wasn't endboss material, and his motives weren't either.

so... yeah I did enjoy the game a lot...
(well actually I really did, but certainly not for the train wreck they call a plot.)

 

[Oxx]

It's a simple story that is badly told.

I guess I was able to appreciate the simplicity and forgive the storytelling.

 

[flyover]

I loved the story: A young man wants to be a knight, but then decides to spend the rest of his life shooting banana peels at people's feet and never makes it past chapter 31.

 

[Shiggy]

So I returned to the game and did chapter 24, 22, 25, and now I'm at 23, the tower. Any tips for the "final" challenge in that chapter? Didn't upgrade that hammer.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

All I can think is using slash.

 

[Shiggy]

All I can think is using slash.

Hmm, seems to be luck. The third time I tried it, it worked.

Now watching others who kill civilians, I really enjoy these "slow" passages without bosses

 

[Thoraxes]

Woo I just saw the US release date: It comes out on my birthday!

 

[Wazzim]

The story is so cliché, I'm only playing it because of the gameplay and because it's Mistwalker.

 

[Shiggy]

I seem to be approaching the ending.

Spoiler

I am still annoyed by the bosses, even though the "Neburous" boss was kind of easy the second time around. In addition, I felt that the framerate during the chapter 34 battle against Mitra was pretty annoying. The worst thing are those water-healing spiders though

The story's also become pretty absurd with the huge cannon and so on. Why exactly did the Count die?

Nonetheless, it's a nice game and it doesn't feel as if they tried to push the game length artificially like in Skyward Sword. Unlike that game, I also really enjoyed the sidequests. Lazulis could've still needed something that made it more "alive".

I'll definitely pass on the New Game + though, but I rarely replay games anyway. I hope the last few bosses aren't too annoying (now in chapter 37)

 

[flyover]

The worst thing are

Spoiler

those water-healing spiders though

Oh, I hated them! Worst things in the game. Worse than any boss. In that last room with them, I could not get the last one of them (or any of my party members) to

Spoiler

stay out of the water

, for some damn reason. Took longer than any other battle.

 

[Shiggy]

Oh, I hated them! Worst things in the game. Worse than any boss. In that last room with them, I could not get the last one of them (or any of my party members) to

Spoiler

stay out of the water

, for some damn reason. Took longer than any other battle.

That was the first summon circle I did not abuse
And int the place you are talking about, there I told them to go to the healing place so that I could slash it outside the water.

 

[Worthintendo]

So I finally got this finished over the long weekend after having it since launch but getting distracted by other things, finished it up at around 2:30 Saturday morning and all I gotta say is wow. That was one hell of a god damn ride and I'm really glad I experienced it.

I really loved how the battles seemed more like large events then battles. The battles were just soo much fun and really good and keeping you moving while also thinking about what you need to do next. I felt like I had just the right amount of control so I wouldn't get bogged down in over thinking tactics but enough control over what my team could do to make me quickly think out what needed to be done on the fly.

I know it sounds odd but I really liked that everyone only really had 3 actions to be commanded in battle. Again just made things flow soo well and made it so I didn't have to think too hard about what needed to do. I needed a fire spell, easy done. Add those to using Gale to do status effects and so on was such a great move. Hopefully if Mistwalker do a The Last Story 2 on WiiU or 3DS or whatever they stick close to this and just make only slight improvements although I'm not sure what they could improve to make me like it anymore then I already do .

Now onto my thoughts on the story.

Spoiler

For the most part I really enjoyed the story, all the characters where likeable and each had their own unique personalities, no one felt really just there for the sake of it. While not the best story to have ever graced an RPG I did enjoy it, I just wish they could have tidied it up abit more.

The huge "twist" with Dagran being the guy behind the scenes was soo badly telegraphed, I really would have liked it if they had of been more subtle with it all. I think from the moment you saw him go off after the General and then found the General dead you knew this guy was working against you. It also annoyed me during the big attack on the Gurak castle that no one mentioned where the hell Dagran was. It was cool him turning out to be the big bad at the end, but I just think they could have handled it abit better.

It also kind of annoyed me that they were all just seemed to forgive him after it was all said and done. I know you need a happy ending and all but they seemed to downplay what he had done by manipulating everyone so he could get this power. He was a cool character and his motivation kind of made sense and all but they just could have been abit better about the turn and the way everyone was after.

Another point that annoyed me was the killing of Lowell only to be bought back to life right after the final fight. I loved Lowell, he was easily one of my favourite characters in the game and I was really upset when they killed him. But to bring him back to life so soon after killing him sort of cheapened it. I would have preferred they had the balls just to leave him dead and leave a sour note on the ending. Would have made the victory mean more in that yes we won, but we lost many people including people we cared about.

I liked Zangurak for what he was, however I think they could have developed him abit more. Sure he was this awesome bad ass villian but he didn't really do much, we didn't get to see what his motivations for everything were barring I want power. I would have liked to have seen them give him alittle more depth.

All up I loved this game and I think its going to be pretty hard to top as my Wii game of the year, its by no means a perfect game, I had major issues with slow down in some areas and it was a major pain, the story wasn't as good as it could have been but was pretty good. Its a shame this game didn't come out 3 years sooner as I think it could have started a huge push for JRPGs on the Wii, plus I think more people would have paid it attention had it came out in the Wiis glory days not while the systems life is almost at its end, but it is a nice swan song for the system.

Its scary when I think about it, but I'm fairly certain this is the first console JRPG I've finished since I played Chrono Trigger.

 

[Shiggy]

HELP! Chapter 38

Spoiler

What am I supposed to do in the quick time event with Jirall? I press up, that works, I press something between down and right, it doesn't work

Now it worked, fucking QTE.

 

[thefro]

Never had any trouble with the QTEs in this game... pretty easy ones, IMHO.

I think I may have messed up once on one in 2 runs of the game.

 

[flyover]

I know the QTE you're talking about. You may have had the same problem I did, the first time. Up until that point in the game, I think the few QTEs you'd seen

Spoiler

only pointed up and down. But then Jirall throws one in that points left, and my brain tricked me into thinking it was actually pointing down (and maybe a little to the right), where one of the other triangle corners was pointing.

I got it the second time, but it did fake me out.

 

[GC|Simon]

I think I made some significant progess with the game today. I'm around 17 hours in (probably a bit more) and just reached chapter 39.

I thought about finishing the game today but I guess there are still three or four hours to come? What level should I be on for the final boss(es)?

Spoiler

That second dragon thing was so annoying... I needed to do the whole thing again three or four times. However, all the other enemies were not a big deal so far. Hopefully the upcoming bosses won't be too frustrating.

 

[Shiggy]

I know the QTE you're talking about. You may have had the same problem I did, the first time. Up until that point in the game, I think the few QTEs you'd seen

Spoiler

only pointed up and down. But then Jirall throws one in that points left, and my brain tricked me into thinking it was actually pointing down (and maybe a little to the right), where one of the other triangle corners was pointing.

I got it the second time, but it did fake me out.

Oh wow, I must have been blind.
Despite taking a look at a Youtube walkthrough for this, I did not see that it was pointing to the left.

Instead of playing chapter 40, I did some online play. The bosses are really fun, though way too easy when there are 6 player, but too hard when there are only 2. The normal battle mode is a bit weird with how players can choose to play as enemies (which then have really weird attacks).

So how does it look with saving spots in chapter 40? Are there at least some?

 

[flyover]

Oh wow, I must have been blind.
Despite taking a look at a Youtube walkthrough for this, I did not see that it was pointing to the left.

Exactly what happened to me.

So how does it look with saving spots in chapter 40? Are there at least some?

Spoiler

Yes. Some summon circles, too.