Alex
Member
The very bottom, it was arranged by someone else and I think it sounds horrible due to it. There's some good tracks, for sure, but I'm really displeased with it on the whole.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Last Story (US) |OT| One of Wii's epic last breaths.
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
The very bottom, it was arranged by someone else and I think it sounds horrible due to it. There's some good tracks, for sure, but I'm really displeased with it on the whole.
Lumpy Onion
Member
Pretty high. There is a lot of Hans Zimmer sounding stuff, which I really like. He is trying something different though much of the OST, and I think he does a good job. There are some battle songs later on that sound like they could be from PS1 Final Fantasies. Uematsu fans will probably gush over those when they hear them. Overall it is one of my most listened to videogame soundtracks in recent memory.
Schadenfreude
Member
It's dat NeoGAF bump, man. Anywho, been playing it for a while now and I got to say the funny bits in the game are amazing. I love the prank banana and making Zael bump into random street signs.
I still need to check if ANY of my local game shops have a copy of the game in stock, or if they even know that this game was coming up. To be honest, I wasn't going to buy it, since I was saving to buy a PS3 or a 360, but dat packaging.
I'm going tomorrow to check, but I don't want to get my hopes up
Ugh... when it comes to games, sometimes it sucks to be in Mexico. Sure, we get a lot of the stuff that the US gets, but when it comes to niche stuff, I'm out of luck most of the times. I struggled a lot just to get a copy of Tales of the Abyss here, for example, and it wasn't that much of a niche game as many other games...
I'm going tomorrow to check, but I don't want to get my hopes up
Ugh... when it comes to games, sometimes it sucks to be in Mexico. Sure, we get a lot of the stuff that the US gets, but when it comes to niche stuff, I'm out of luck most of the times. I struggled a lot just to get a copy of Tales of the Abyss here, for example, and it wasn't that much of a niche game as many other games...
Lumpy Onion
Member
Congrats! It was a good review.
Just got to the city and I am really liking it so far. The battle system is fast paced and a lot of fun. I am also getting a real FF XII feel from the aesthetics.
Gotta love Syrene. Not used to seeing such a raging alcoholic in a game before. She was even complaining about getting the shakes during the first mission lol
haha cheers, and here's a tip: when the opportunity arises for some peeping, doing the right thing has its benefits.
Lumpy Onion
Member
Choppasmith
Member
Yeah I LOVE her. She has to be one of my favorite VG Female characters ever! I've got her clothes set up so she looks identical to Revy from Black Lagoon. Fits like a glove for her.
I know it's easy to get characters near nude, but I actually find the low-poly models rather underwhelming. I swear there seems to be more shape in the women's bust when they have clothes on, even if you get them down to a bra (depending on the armor, not the black strip)
Damn I definitely need to try that on my second run through. The dialog you get is still pretty funny though. Reminds me of MM Legends.
BroggieDoge
Member
I can't complain too much cause it was free but the soundtrack is pretty disappointing. Getting deja vu from the soundtrack that came with P4A & Catherine. More like sampler albums. I guess I was just spoiled by the set that came packaged with KoFXIII.
That being said looking forward to playing despite all the trash being said about it.
That being said looking forward to playing despite all the trash being said about it.
was never a huge fan of uematsu's work, even back in the snes days I thought his music is boring (compared to what enix composers made). but the Last stories ost is really forgettable at best, even by his standards.
for comparison: I've beaten the game not even 5 month ago, but I can't remember anything about the ost except for the main theme. on the other hand, I can still hum practically all the themes from ff6 - and I haven't even beaten that game.
And I think this is also the problem: The OST is score afer score after score. There aren't any memorable themes. It's just bland background movie-like "noise". That's not what I want from a game, and it's definitely NOT what I want from an rpg.
If you like that stuff, you'll like the ost (the little their is anyways).
For me, the OST was easily the worst part of the game, but I guess that really depends on your personal taste.
to answer the question:
so yeah, compared to his other works, this one is somewhere near the bottom
So I'm really loving the cast in this game. Syrenne is the scene stealer, and Mirania's insatiable appetite pops up at funny times, Lowell is also good, Dagran is typical and Yurick has been an insufferable snot lately (don't dilly dally Zael. "Excuse me? Were you on the raid last night? No, so shut it.") and Callista is charming.
Things I don't mind: The FF9 vibe the game keeps giving. For crying out loud, Callista replicated Garnet's escape right down to a white robe. Time will tell if Jirall's poetic antics are Kuja or Genesis, though. and Zanguran is totally Ganondorf. Like, no ifs ands or buts.
What I do mind: That goddamn Teccor fight or whatever. For crying out loud, Dagran, I heard you already about slashing the bosses head, but every time I get up to that platform, he punches me and I go flying. STOP TELLING ME TO GET ON THE HYDRA'S BACK EVERY TEN SECONDS. The camera in that fight was awful, too.
Otherwise, I'm really loving this game. I just wish it didn't feel the need to repeat instructions less than thirty seconds after giving them.
Things I don't mind: The FF9 vibe the game keeps giving. For crying out loud, Callista replicated Garnet's escape right down to a white robe. Time will tell if Jirall's poetic antics are Kuja or Genesis, though. and Zanguran is totally Ganondorf. Like, no ifs ands or buts.
What I do mind: That goddamn Teccor fight or whatever. For crying out loud, Dagran, I heard you already about slashing the bosses head, but every time I get up to that platform, he punches me and I go flying. STOP TELLING ME TO GET ON THE HYDRA'S BACK EVERY TEN SECONDS. The camera in that fight was awful, too.
Otherwise, I'm really loving this game. I just wish it didn't feel the need to repeat instructions less than thirty seconds after giving them.
I have no life and played this for most of the day. The armor customization is infinitely amusing, especially once you get the
.
I'm thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected so far, the characters are generally amusing and the fighting is pretty fun overall. Story's pretty typical so far but I still like it quite a bit. Calista is pretty adorable.
invisible dye
I'm thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected so far, the characters are generally amusing and the fighting is pretty fun overall. Story's pretty typical so far but I still like it quite a bit. Calista is pretty adorable.
I have no life and played this for most of the day. The armor customization is infinitely amusing, especially once you get the.invisible dye
I'm thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected so far, the characters are generally amusing and the fighting is pretty fun overall. Story's pretty typical so far but I still like it quite a bit. Calista is pretty adorable.
I like how the game is secretly a fashion rpg. I've spent way too much time playing with the party's outfits.
Re: the ost - it has some really great tracks ( the theme on the main menu load save screen is fantastic). overall the soundtrack is unobtrusive. But the music is consistently good. No clunkers yet.
My biggest gripe so far is def the story, specifically zael. I wish he wasn't such a kid. This game is begging for an older protagonist like Kaim or Geralt of Rivia.
Lol, it kind of is, isn't it? I'm just consistently amused that even the guys can have the lowest neckline shirts possible too. Right now, I have all the guys shirtless and with pink pants, it's the best.
I have no life and played this for most of the day. The armor customization is infinitely amusing, especially once you get the.invisible dye
I'm thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected so far, the characters are generally amusing and the fighting is pretty fun overall. Story's pretty typical so far but I still like it quite a bit. Calista is pretty adorable.
I would like to add that I also am enjoying the costume customization. It's something more JRPGs should have. Remove the belts from Squall's pants, ditch Zidane's cuffs, etc. And the
invisible dye
works on pants
I also think that any game that lets you customize a character's appearance is going to have some element of fashion involved. Freakin' Dragon Quest 9 and Four Heroes of Light I tended to forgo better armor in favor of more stylish armor.
For the
invisible bottoms, I think you have to do a quest that shows up in Chapter 19. I just got there myself, so I'm kind of excited to get it.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
Will be picking this up tomorrow. Really looking forward to it.
Insane Dead
Member
Got the game yesterday, Played a few hours of the story and i like it so far. I have been addicted to the online mode though. Love playing co-op.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
Does the disc come with a system update and do you have to install it to play online?
Insane Dead
Member
I didn't get any update when playing it. Guess it depends really when the last time you updated.
It's looking more likely that upgrading is going to be a big part of weapon and equipment advancement instead of normal buying. Or is that the wrong impression to take?
The
caused the frame rate to take a huge dive. I think the problem is the city is built in sections and each section needs at least a few seconds to load or to start streaming. Move to quickly into a new section (doesn't mean you can't run) and the game struggles a bit to catch up. Once I get to a open area I wait a second or two (or slow to a walk) and then start moving and haven't had any issues. That one section though you simply can't do that and I doubt it was ever designed for that type of thing. Though it had to be done that way I think. Haven't had any issues since then though.
As I said before I'm really happy with the other elements in the game. Syrenne has to be my favorite character so far.
Edit: Pop-in is the issue. There isn't any of it that I can recall (I could be wrong as it is late. Someone correct me if I am). There is a LOT and I mean a LOT of it in Xenoblade. That possibly could be the cause of the performance issues in The Last Story and why Xenoblade runs so well, especially given it's scale.
The
chase section when you meet Lisa
As I said before I'm really happy with the other elements in the game. Syrenne has to be my favorite character so far.
Edit: Pop-in is the issue. There isn't any of it that I can recall (I could be wrong as it is late. Someone correct me if I am). There is a LOT and I mean a LOT of it in Xenoblade. That possibly could be the cause of the performance issues in The Last Story and why Xenoblade runs so well, especially given it's scale.
darkiguana
Member
Well, you guys talked me into it. Just ordered from Amazon. It should be here on Wednesday. It has been about 2 years since I played a JRPG(FF13). I hope this is good
olimpia84
Member
Well, you guys talked me into it. Just ordered from Amazon. It should be here on Wednesday. It has been about 2 years since I played a JRPG(FF13). I hope this is good
You should get Xenoblade as well. I haven't touched Last Story yet, but if you're into JRPGs it seems that the consensus is that Xenoblade is the best on the genre this generation.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Just chiming in with my own opinion here, but playing this game at the same time as Final Fantasy IX on ePSXe, to me at least, really amplifies TLS's many shortcomings.
Supposedly this is the most involved Sakaguchi has been with a project since FFIX, and the comparison between the two is really quite unfavorable. TLS just feels so dull and empty next to FFIX. Even though there are many similarities in the story, TLS feels like it's been dumbed down for western audiences, similar to how the movie 'The Spirits Within' felt. Another thing I feel this game has in common with that film is how bland it is visually.
I'll agree some of the writing and characterization is good (feels more mature and vivid, but then again that may be due to good localization). Also there are some memorable set pieces such as the chase scene, and I do appreciate the effort put into making the world feel alive and tangible (bumping into people and objects, tons of voiced NPC dialogue, stuff blowing in the wind) but these things should be the cherry on top and not the primary substance of an RPG. Just as having the option to mess around with character's wardrobes, or having a completely unrelated multiplayer component should obviously serve to enhance the core experience, not take away from it.
The game tries so hard to innovate it forgets to put the emphasis on mandatory staples of the genre, or of any good game for that matter. So while there are some intriguing additions such as the original battle system, almost everything else that matters from the plot, the forgettable characters (literally everybody but Syrenne), the score, the totally linear world design, the color palette, the enemy designs and more just feel so generic I find it hard to believe this game is the product of the same mind that gave us so many colorful and magical experiences in the 90s...
tl;dr The Last Story feels, to me, like a tech demo. Anyone else share the feeling?
Supposedly this is the most involved Sakaguchi has been with a project since FFIX, and the comparison between the two is really quite unfavorable. TLS just feels so dull and empty next to FFIX. Even though there are many similarities in the story, TLS feels like it's been dumbed down for western audiences, similar to how the movie 'The Spirits Within' felt. Another thing I feel this game has in common with that film is how bland it is visually.
I'll agree some of the writing and characterization is good (feels more mature and vivid, but then again that may be due to good localization). Also there are some memorable set pieces such as the chase scene, and I do appreciate the effort put into making the world feel alive and tangible (bumping into people and objects, tons of voiced NPC dialogue, stuff blowing in the wind) but these things should be the cherry on top and not the primary substance of an RPG. Just as having the option to mess around with character's wardrobes, or having a completely unrelated multiplayer component should obviously serve to enhance the core experience, not take away from it.
The game tries so hard to innovate it forgets to put the emphasis on mandatory staples of the genre, or of any good game for that matter. So while there are some intriguing additions such as the original battle system, almost everything else that matters from the plot, the forgettable characters (literally everybody but Syrenne), the score, the totally linear world design, the color palette, the enemy designs and more just feel so generic I find it hard to believe this game is the product of the same mind that gave us so many colorful and magical experiences in the 90s...
tl;dr The Last Story feels, to me, like a tech demo. Anyone else share the feeling?
Exentryk
Member
Yup. Fully agree. Last Story is a linear dungeon crawler. I had more fun playing XIII-2 and that's saying something.
I agree, but I might add that I had fun with the game regardless, most of the time anyway.
But, I can't agree with your ff9 comparison, because I have no connection with that game what so ever, so I can't comment on that. But I don't think you need a comparison to point out all the weak spots.
in short: It tries to hard to revolutionize the genre by copying worse elements from others and fails in the process. Of the 3 rainfall games, this one is imho the weakest and the most unoriginal - it has however the best localisation, and thats its real strongpoint.
Sakaguchi hasn't been heavily involved in a FF since VII and hadn't directed a FF since V. Whatever comparisons there are between IX and TLS have nothing to do with him. People have this weird belief that "last FF game I thought was great = Sakaguchi's involvement" and for a lot of the games, particularly during the PSX era, its not true (he was too busy with his awful movie).
A lot of negativity in this thread. I thought The Last Story was awesome. The only real problem I had (played it in Japanese) was with the side quests. Hard to keep track of what to do, but the combat was awesome. I wanted to fight everything in my path because it was so awesome. Even enjoyed the online portion of the game as well. I hope that part is still intact in the U.S. version.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
My mistake - I should have been less specific or used a better comparison. My main point was that I was expecting a lot more from a Sakaguchi game, given he himself said his level of involvement with TLS was greater than any of his other recent works.
And if I may dare be so blasphemous, after experiencing TLS and The Spirits Within, I'm no longer sure how much the brilliance of his earlier works was even due to him alone. Perhaps he's one of those geniuses that is at their best when working within a group.
Edit: Adding the above quote to this post to make clear the fact that I haven't finished the game yet either. I was at this same point in the story (about 15 hours in) when I made my critical remarks. I do intend to give more feedback upon completion, and based on the short time I've spent with the game since it's possible my overall impression will be more positive. I'll be sure to go into more detail about what parts I loved and what parts I hated when I do so.
Sakaguchi's philosophy has changed a lot since he was at Square. He doesn't seem to be interested in making the types of games he's best at anymore.
I've played up to returning from enemy's island base. I don't love this game so far. May be that will change. I tried to use some strategy in combat, but it's all so hectic and any resemblance to strategy just went to shit.
No customization of characters, except for armor (well, that's on par with old school jrpg, but I guess newer rpgs spoiled me).
We'll see if my impression change. God damn awesome art though.
No customization of characters, except for armor (well, that's on par with old school jrpg, but I guess newer rpgs spoiled me).
We'll see if my impression change. God damn awesome art though.
Barrel Cannon
Member
Despite it's shortcomings TLS's stories combat is a breath of fresh air.
polyh3dron
Banned
My long ago preordered LE finally arrived to me from Amazon right now. The packaging is beautiful, well done XSEED.
Karsticles
Member
Can you flesh this claim out for me?
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Gotta echo everyone in this thread regarding the packaging. It looks quite pretty!
Gonna nap for a bit then gonna play this and Darksiders II after.
I hope it certainly isn't as easy, then...
Gonna nap for a bit then gonna play this and Darksiders II after.
Gross. :/Exentryk said:
I hope it certainly isn't as easy, then...
I just got the game!!! What a gorgeous box set this is!!!
Thousands of 'thank you' for you XSeed!!
Its good to know you guys are working hard grant us the chance to get games like this locally.
Ditto...now I have 2 great Wii JRPG's to play once summer is over(I barely touched Xenoblade,just wanted to check if the CD worked lol).
Not sure if they're referring to this, but I just read an Iwata asks all about The Last Story: http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/iwata/iwata_asks_the_last_story_47439_47440.html
The Gooch implies he doesn't want to make turn based RPGs anymore, as they feel outdated. Can't say I blame him.
I'm finding it a lot easier.
Back from work, I'll rip it immediatly and try some tests with Dolphin and hopefully it'll work good enough for me to take some pics.
Again, that box set is wonderful, thanks to XSeed it feels really complete with the given soundtrack that I got at my EBGames, plus selling this at common retail price is quite something. (Thanks for not putting that 'Recycle' thingy too!)
It really stands out in my Wii games collection since I had no special edition of anything Wii back then, there was only Metroid Prime Trilogy with it's metallic case but it barely stands out, the game itself shines like a thousand suns though.
Again, that box set is wonderful, thanks to XSeed it feels really complete with the given soundtrack that I got at my EBGames, plus selling this at common retail price is quite something. (Thanks for not putting that 'Recycle' thingy too!)
It really stands out in my Wii games collection since I had no special edition of anything Wii back then, there was only Metroid Prime Trilogy with it's metallic case but it barely stands out, the game itself shines like a thousand suns though.
I really have a hard time with most turn based RPGs these days. Persona is probably the only series I'll play at this point.
I ws going through my collection and saw Disgaea and while that game was fun, I don't know how I managed to get through it.
Edit:
And of course Fire Emblem. SRPGs are a different beast though.
I ws going through my collection and saw Disgaea and while that game was fun, I don't know how I managed to get through it.
Edit:
And of course Fire Emblem. SRPGs are a different beast though.
I don't know that I'd blame Sakaguchi or whatever, but I most definitely get major FF9 vibes from TLS. I mean, the entire Lisa segment was a shout-out to Garnet's escape in FF9.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Uuuuuuughhhhhh...
Gonna get some sugar in my system then try it out.
Edit: Maybe it's because I'm lazy and thus am not playing this with glasses or Gravol, but does this game seem really darkly lit to anyone else? Love the title screen theme / the Wii splash screen theme when you load it up. Gonna be using the CCPro for this (man, I wish this had GCN controller support...).
Edit: Oh hey the dub's not bad. oh god this is going to be like end of eternity where all i do is play with people's clothes... And, uh, you guys weren't kidding about the difficulty. Especially with the summon circles which don't seem to expire.
DidntKnowJack
Member
Finally got my copy. God damn this is nice.
I just don't know what to do with the back flap on the box. As a collector, I always keep everything. Storage might be a bitch.
I just don't know what to do with the back flap on the box. As a collector, I always keep everything. Storage might be a bitch.
brandonh83
Banned
I hate those so much. Every time I buy something with one of those I'm always just like why
It's especially prevalent with special edition Blu-rays and such.
Similar threads
- Locked