The Last Remnant

Alright, so far this blog was solely a about programming. Time for a change of pace.

The Last Remnant. Yes. I'm having such a hard-on for this game right now.
It's an jRPG, by Square Enix (the Final Fantasy guys). Like any respectable jRPG it is full of Guide, Dang It! moments, but WHO CARES. Seriously.

This is probably one of the most epic games I have played so far, despite having menu-based combat. Really. The game starts off really fast, having you battle overwhelming numbers of enemies with only three or so squads at your disposal. The epicness is hard to describe, really. And all of this underlined by the AWESOME soundtrack. It is... powerful, yet humble enough as not to overshadow what is happening. It's tremendous. Here, listen for yourself. Or this.

Also, I've enabled the japanese voiceover. It's just funny to hear japanesemen attempt to say "Yes, My Lord!" - it sounds roughly like "YES MA ROD" :D Or there is this large pigman guy thingie named "Blocter", I chuckle everytime I hear "BUROKTA" yelled ingame.

The game was criticised for it's extremelly stupid and childish main character, which incidentally happens to be, y'know, a stupid child. Nevermind the fact that he lived most of his life on a secluded island without parents or whatnot. And, from what little japanese I understand (which is virtually none), I gather that he simply gained a little obnoxiousness in the translation. For example, in the original voiceover, I've heard him thanking "Dave" several times, which is absent in the translation. Really, he has some disregard for authority (not weird in his position), this is commented on in the game (later on only by exasparated sighs and shrugs from David, who happens to be a marquis).

I don't claim I like him, but neither is he the annoying useless character everyone says.

Anyways. This game.
THIS GAME.

Epic. More music.

The battles are really intense for some reason. Unlike other menu-based jRPG's, you don't give exact commands to your troops. Each "Union", consisting of one to five characters, is given a general order by you at the beginning of the turn. Examples include the regular "Attack", "Attack with Combat Arts!", "Keep your HP up!", and others. The regular attack changes its name depending on the situation, which is yet another detail that makes everything more epic. You don't "Attack" bosses, you "Charge" them. If you fight against something significantly stronger, you tell your troops: "Don't be afraid to die!" There are other situational commands: If one union is getting battered, another can be given the command "Save them no matter what!".

There's also a morale bar. It increases when you pull of maneuvers like back attacks, interceptions and so on, or defeat enemy unions, decreases when the enemy does any of that. It influences how well your units fight.

Sometimes, a unit may suddenly disregard your command. This sounds wrong, but actually is really cool - your union is getting hammered apart suddenly, and one of the spellcaster decides on his own to heal the group. Especially during boss fights - the without doubt most intense parts of the game - this adds a lot to the experience.

While picking your commands, all fighting unions sparr with each other, the battlefield never rests - no damage is dealt or anything, but it looks cool.

 Really, all this builds up to an extremely immersive and FUN experience.

Buuuuut, getting down from my unrestrained fanboyism for a moment...

This game has flaws. Lots of things are confusing and make no sense unless you read an in-depth guide (up to and including the levelling system). You might find out a lot through experimentation... but that would take thrice the time, I guess. Sometimes, you will be crushed by relatively weak, or equal enemies through no fault of your own (it's rare.) Advancing the story may make things unavailable, a problem for completionists. Sometimes you will run into superpowered enemies who will, again, crush you within seconds - with no warning whatsoever. And maybe at least a dozen other pet peeves.

Despite all this, this game...

Here, have another battle theme.

Despite all this, this game is PURE. Awesome.