The Last Remnant

The Last Remnant is a computer role-playing game from Square Enix. The title was released simultaneously worldwide on 20 November 2008 for the Xbox 360 In addition to a version for the PC, which first appeared on March 20 in Europe and on 9 April 2009 in Japan, a version was originally announced for the PlayStation 3. This, however, is less likely. Last Yoichi Wada said company president, one must the advantages and disadvantages of a PlayStation 3 version now weigh. However, he called only drawbacks so far he sees moderate sales figures and the long period between the previously published versions in the. Already available in addition to the Xbox 360 version and the PC version is a version that is distributed via Steam. There, The Last Remnant is available simultaneously worldwide since 9 April 2009.

A multilingual playable demo of the PC version can be downloaded as of February 25, 2009.

The Last Remnant was created under the spring of director and designer Hiroshi Takai. The title is the first game of Square Enix, based on the acquired in January 2007 by Square Enix Unreal Engine 3. In Japan also appeared on November 11, 2008 Xbox 360 bundle of the game. The soundtrack for the game comes from Tsuyoshi Sekito and has appeared on 10 December 2008 in Japan.

Action

More than 1000 years, humanity came into contact with the so called Remnants. These magical fragments of a forgotten era were used to ensure global peace. But soon the people were divided into different classes, the rulers and their subjects. Quick was from the fragments, which were responsible for the balance in the world, instruments for large and infinite power. Where once there was peace, now blood was shed. Protagonist of The Last Remnant is Rush Sykes, a 18- year-old boy from the peaceful Eulam Village. He lives there until one day his 14 - year-old sister Irina is kidnapped. Rush embarks on a search for his sister.

Gameplay

In The Last Remnant, there are no random battles that have long been typical of role-playing games from Square Enix. Instead, the player can freely be heading for opponents and attack. In the fight, the player goes with so-called associations, a group of several figures. An indicator at the top of the screen shows the player in the morality of his association, which significantly impact on the fight. Basically it is the battle system is a turn- based and command system.

Monsters and races

In the world of The Last Remnant, there are a variety of graphically impressive and lovingly detailed monsters and enemies that can be divided into 31 main categories. In each of these categories in turn are countless species, often encountered in a fight equal to several of these genres. Besides the usual monsters, there are still race -based enemies in the form of Mitra ( Humanoids ), Yama (large, fish-like creatures ), Qsiti (small, hare -like creatures ) and Sovani ( cat-like creature with four arms). A very special challenge represent the total of 238 exotic monsters, which are often very difficult to discover and come up with rewards.

Version differences

There are some substantial differences between the version of The Last Remnant for the Xbox 360 and the PC version of the game. Thus, there are three new game modes in the later published PC version. A "High Speed ​​Mode" increases the game speed during the fighting and two other game modes are available after the first play of the game. This includes a " New Game Mode" that allows you to create a second score with the money and the items of the first and a " Ransatsu Maniacs Mode", where the enemies are harder to defeat. In the PC version also in spoken Japanese and English are selectable. Compared to the Xbox 360 version, the PC version of the addition of liquid running.

Reviews and sale

In the international press have already published Xbox 360 version of The Last Remnant received very mixed reviews. The Japanese press, especially the Famitsu praised the title. Famitsu awarded 38/40 points and praised the battle system, but simultaneously criticized the length of the individual fights. American online magazines such as IGN Entertainment ( 5.3/10 ) or GameSpot ( 6.5/10 ) forgave much lower ratings. The renowned German gaming magazine PC Games awarded 67 % for the PC version of the game and criticized, inter alia, the low level of difficulty. At Metacritic, a website that brings together numerous reviews in an average rating, The Last Remnant comes to 65 out of 100.

Until 31 December 2008, the Xbox 360 version of The Last Remnant sold 490,000 copies worldwide. It went to Japan 160,000 copies over the counter in Europe and 140,000. Most Square Enix could settle in North America, where 190,000 units were sold until 31 December 2008.