The Last Remnant - Wow!

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What a crazy game!

I picked it up in a trade because I was in the mood for a JRPG, and this game is definitely scratching the itch and leaving me really pleasantly surprised.

The tactical combat is superb and once you edit the .ini file to allow full party equipment customization, the amount of tactics and strategy goes through the roof.

You can create parties (or unions, as the game calls them) and they can have different characters and formations. Each formation has a different strategy and even every weapon and armor has it's own strategy. Equipping a katana instead of a broadsword makes a big difference in terms of the strategy you're going to use.

This game is legit. It's in a bundle right now in a $9 tier and I would recommend it highly. It's only $9.99 on Steam and I think for that price it's a steal. It seems really highly polished.

Anyone here played it? I think this game could be one of the best JRPGs of this generation (although I haven't played too many of them recently). It's right up there with Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon for me.
 
IIRC that's micromanage till you drop dead game.
Am I right? If yes, not buying it. No RPG there just RPG elements.

And IMO the best jRPG of this generation whatever that means (original story, turn off random encounter endless respawn mobs, save anywhere) is sadly iPhone exclusive.

[EDIT]
Sorry for misninfo, meanwhile it was ported on Android too. The prequel is available also on Vita.
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/07/2...s-now-on-vita-yes-you-can-play-it-in-english/

Important snippet from comments:
2v2v4lg.jpg


So far Square Enix refuses to port any of them on PC for whatever reason.
 
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IIRC that's micromanage till you drop dead game.
Am I right? If yes, not buying it. No RPG there just RPG elements.

And IMO the best jRPG of this generation whatever that means (original story, turn off random encounter endless respawn mobs, save anywhere) is sadly iPhone exclusive.

Micromanaging? Hmm. I guess if you edit the .ini to allow you to customize each party member, then yes, there is a level of micromanaging. But if you just play normally there isn't a ton of micromanaging.

Maybe you can give me an example of what you consider micromanaging so I can tell you if it's in the game or not?

And there is plenty of RPG here. Tactical, turn-based combat, lots of strategy options, loot, equipment upgrades, crafting, tons of story and a lot of pretty cutscenes. It's heavy on the RPG scale.

By this generation I mainly meant since the Xbox 360 has been released. The Last Remnant is definitely one of the best games in the 360 generation, along with Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Enchanted Arms :).
 
Dunno about overall games on a specific platform, sorry. I ment solely jRPG. And once you try the one I've mentioned, every other jRPG will feel as grinding based crap with same old story.

When you're done with TLR, please pick this one I've suggested. It's not cheap, but unlike DX:The Fall scam, Square Enix made this one worth every penny.
 
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I loved the game, played it in 2011, here's the thread...
http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6772

my quote of when I finished it...
Just finished Last Remnant yesterday, boy is it long! (Steam says I played it for 90 hours). It is quite good, enjoyed it a lot. Plenty of tactical and strategic decisions to be made. Hard, but not too hard (except some optional bosses that I just decided to skip).
I would have preferred it if I had much more control over the characters' equipment and actions though. But overall, I'm glad I bought it.

And this is what I said then about it having grind or not...
see that's the thing. I haven't read (nor am I interested in reading) any FAQs or guides. I'm playing just the way I want to play, and it's very fun and there is no grind involved whatsoever. Just go to one of the towns, check the tavern and surrounding areas for people looking for mercenaries, help them and get rewards (and improve my members' skills while on that). After finishing the adventure, replenish my stock of herbs at the merchant, find another poor soul looking for mercenaries, and continue. When I can't find any more poor souls, I go and visit the castle to continue the storyline.
Can you grind if you want to? sure, you can revisit the same area 2 million times to get more exp, more components, etc. but it's totally voluntary and not something I'm going to do. Will I be able to craft the ultra-mega-sword-of-ultra-mega-swordiness? probably not, but I bet my mega-sword-of-swordiness will let me finish the game just the same.
 
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I like grinding for components, etc., so I'm glad that is an option. But that's the thing, it's pretty much optional from what I understand, not necessary.

If I understand correctly, grinding levels will actually make the game harder, not easier, due to the unique level-scaling.
 
Aaaand the game is kicking my ass.

Maybe I shouldn't have grinded so much :D.
 
IIRC that's micromanage till you drop dead game.
Am I right? If yes, not buying it. No RPG there just RPG elements.

And IMO the best jRPG of this generation whatever that means (original story, turn off random encounter endless respawn mobs, save anywhere) is sadly iPhone exclusive.

[EDIT]
Sorry for misninfo, meanwhile it was ported on Android too. The prequel is available also on Vita.
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/07/2...s-now-on-vita-yes-you-can-play-it-in-english/

Important snippet from comments:
2v2v4lg.jpg


So far Square Enix refuses to port any of them on PC for whatever reason.

What is joxer praising a phone game?!?!?! did the sky fall down ?!!?
 
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I actually pulled an "all-nighter" last night playing this game, like I was a kid again :). Okay, it was more like a "half-nighter", because I got pretty tired and went to bed around 1:00, but still, the fact that this game drew me in like it has really says something.

I think this game is amazing. There's really no other way to put it. It really feels like a Square Enix masterpiece, which is something I haven't experienced in a long time.

Interesting story? Check. With great visuals and cutscenes to boot.
Interesting game mechanics? Oh my goodness, yes! So much strategy and customization, it's awesome.
Interesting characters? Absolutely. The characters I'm rolling with now are main story characters and they kind of feel like the Jedi Council in a way :)
Challenging gameplay? Yup, I died a lot so far and the last area I was in was really rough.

Oh, and the world map is enormous! It feels like a Lord of the Rings map or something, it's really nice.

Do yourself a favor and acquire this game! You won't be disappointed. :)

Edit - Oh, but finish Konung 2 first... :).
 
I thought that game had one very major flaw, and that is how it refuses to explain a lot of things. There are plenty of stats that are not explained anywhere (the character unique ones also often have names that don't really indicate what they do), which in turn makes it very hard to make informed decisions. I played that game for a couple of hours, but finally I just gave up, due to in large how poorly the system is explained.
 
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I thought that game had one very major flaw, and that is how it refuses to explain a lot of things. There are plenty of stats that are not explained anywhere (the character unique ones also often have names that don't really indicate what they do), which in turn makes it very hard to make informed decisions. I played that game for a couple of hours, but finally I just gave up, due to in large how poorly the system is explained.

I somewhat understand where you're coming from, because stats like Love, Mental Acuity, and all those special stats are not explained, but in a way, they are self explanatory, no? At least in the sense that when those stats get raised, you know something good is happening. A few of them, like Hardworking, Bravery, etc., make sense to just be raised, whereas some like Gluttony seem to be a hindrance.

But to give up because of that is a mistake, IMO. Those stats are just a small part of the game. The actual depth and complexity of the game is not that hard to understand once you really dig in, and the rabbit hole goes very deep, even if a few things do remain a mystery.

I've had no problem understanding the system in the other aspects of the game. The combat system has some quirks, but for the most part they ease you into everything and it makes sense after awhile.

To each their own, but I would give it another shot sometime if I were you. The game is too good to give up over a very small aspect of it like that.
 
Man, your making me want to play this. I bought it a few years ago and its been sitting in a to-be-played stack since then. Might be time for me to actually unwrap it.
 
Man, your making me want to play this. I bought it a few years ago and its been sitting in a to-be-played stack since then. Might be time for me to actually unwrap it.

Well, if you have any desire for deep, tactical combat and endless customization in your JRPGs, then definitely go for it. It's also got a great story so far and is utterly addictive in all ways.

I would recommend reading up a bit on how to tweak the .ini files before you start playing for maximum enjoyment. One crucial thing for me was to change the setting that allows you to swap equipment out for all your party members (the default setting only let's you change the main character's gear). Now the customization level is even higher because of that.

The game is pretty much a masterpiece, IMO. It's not as slept-on as Konung, but it's still pretty under the radar for how good it is. And with a price tag of $9.99, it's a no-brainer.

Playing this game is like drinking a mug of warm cocoa on a snowy night. Brings me right back to my youth.
 
I somewhat understand where you're coming from, because stats like Love, Mental Acuity, and all those special stats are not explained, but in a way, they are self explanatory, no? At least in the sense that when those stats get raised, you know something good is happening. A few of them, like Hardworking, Bravery, etc., make sense to just be raised, whereas some like Gluttony seem to be a hindrance.

But to give up because of that is a mistake, IMO. Those stats are just a small part of the game. The actual depth and complexity of the game is not that hard to understand once you really dig in, and the rabbit hole goes very deep, even if a few things do remain a mystery.

I've had no problem understanding the system in the other aspects of the game. The combat system has some quirks, but for the most part they ease you into everything and it makes sense after awhile.

To each their own, but I would give it another shot sometime if I were you. The game is too good to give up over a very small aspect of it like that.
It does make it hard to design parties though, if you don't know what the different stats mean. The fact that I could win most fights with parties I just threw together, and by just sending people in with little actual thought made it boring after a while. It felt like the game was more or less playing itself, as I had put very little thought into anything. Steam claims that I've played more than 4h, so I was not just right at the start either.
 
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It does make it hard to design parties though, if you don't know what the different stats mean. The fact that I could win most fights with parties I just threw together, and by just sending people in with little actual thought made it boring after a while. It felt like the game was more or less playing itself, as I had put very little thought into anything. Steam claims that I've played more than 4h, so I was not just right at the start either.

I have no problems designing parties, even without knowing what those special stats mean. You just have to focus on having enough melee people, some mystic arts people and also healers.

I'm definitely not experiencing what you're talking about here, though. I tried just "sending people in with little actual thought" and I got destroyed, especially in a few boss fights, and even in normal encounters in a difficult area.

I find that you have to be careful about sending people in because you could get flanked or surrounded. You have to have a proper strategy for the more difficult battles. When things get hairy there is a lot of strategy to managing your unions to ensure they survive. Even with careful management you can still fall victim to some critical attacks or special moves that wipe you out, so it's tricky.

Have you tried fighting any optional bosses? They are very difficult depending on how strong you are and you have to use every tactic at your disposal.

Even formations are important and can be used strategically. Can you ignore them altogether? Maybe, but you're going to make the game harder on yourself by not using them.

I guess we all perceive things differently, though. I'm finding some great mechanics and gameplay here but I'm sure not everyone will agree.
 
Its been a while, but I think I tried to get my squads as even as possible so any given one was less likely to be instagibbed.

The combat had a really different feel than most games, there were a few times when I wanted to scream at them to cast heal but it just wouldnt appear as an option, but it was magnificently fun. I do with there had been a bit more battlefield command, or a strategic view, but thats a small deal.

I never had much of a sense for the stats, but it never really felt important. I dont think you could equip items to boost them? I could easily be wrong about that though.
 
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Its been a while, but I think I tried to get my squads as even as possible so any given one was less likely to be instagibbed.

Yep, that seems to be a good strategy. I also like to make sure that each union has a healer or an herbalist, very important.

The combat had a really different feel than most games, there were a few times when I wanted to scream at them to cast heal but it just wouldnt appear as an option, but it was magnificently fun. I do with there had been a bit more battlefield command, or a strategic view, but thats a small deal.

Yeah, that would have been cool!

I am actually quite impressed at the level of intelligence of the battle system. It seems to always have the right options that I need at any given time, and the unions act pretty intelligently overall. Rarely do you see turns wasted with dumb moves.


I never had much of a sense for the stats, but it never really felt important. I dont think you could equip items to boost them? I could easily be wrong about that though.

The special stats you mean? Not sure about those, but you can definitely raise the primary stats. I unlocked the game so I can fiddle with all party member's inventories and I definitely give them accessories to boost their stats up a bit. Customizing your party in that way is half the fun!

Responded to you in bold. :)
 
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Yeah, I really like this game as well. I actually bought it again yesterday (independent of this post) due to it being part of the Humble Bundle which I topped up on some other Hitman and Deus Ex titles I was missing.

I quite like that they tried to solve the "grinding" problem in RPGs by making the game actually harder if you grind the game for XP. I do wish they made it more apparent and one can argue if it was successful but they really did make it more punishing.
 
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I remmember playing the demo for this.. I didn't really get hooked, but after reading this, I obviously have to buy the full version!
 
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I got The Last Remnant dirt cheap awhile back during a Steam sale. I've never had a chance to play it though, and it's further down my backlog than ever with so many games coming out in the next few months.
 
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