Last Story

RPG is undoubtedly the weakest genre for the Wii system, but Last Story looks pretty interesting and has the potential to be a great title.

Judging from the presentation video by Sakaguchi-san (actually, that's all I know about game; didn't even read the story or character pages), the battle style is more akin to that of an ARPG or MMORPG, and you can either choose to leave it to the AI or manually control your teammates' commands. The AI for both the player's party and the enemy seem smart enough. By default, the enemies target the weakest links on the player's party, the spell casters! I'm impressed... XD

Graphics-wise, being on the Wii system means it won't look as pretty as Final Fantasy XIII, but it's well within my acceptable range. Of course, my only 3D polygon gaming experience has been the few hours spent on the 1st disc of Final Fantasy VII for the PS, so your mileage likely vary.

Attire is categorized into upper and lower body, and customization options are available to change colours or to take partial attire off (eg. changing the colour of the scarf from red to blue, or taking the scarf off). Customization is appearance-only and doesn't affect the defensive effect, and attire can also be made optional. Sakaguchi-san stripped the main character Elza down to just briefs and had him running around town and even entering a short scene with another teammate.

The music is composed by the famed Uematsu Nobuo, and from what's played during the presentation game play, it's very suitable for the game's atmosphere. さすが植松氏！

The seiyuu cast is really great as well, starring Miyano Mamoru as the main character Elza. All the other party members we saw during the presentation game play were all voiced by big name seiyuu: Ishizuka Unshou, Toyoguchi Megumi, Fujiwara Keiji, Shimono Hiro (okay, Shimono is newer, but he's still good), and Noto Mamiko. I'm sure other characters also have great seiyuu behind them.

Now, the game isn't without its flaws. There's a few based on the presentation video, the most glaring of which is when the characters pass through stone pillars and even once through the huge body of a defeated boss enemy. This is especially apparent in the online multi-player battle mode. Personally I don't mind it too much, but I kinda expected a more polished gaming experience from Mistwalker.

During battle, there's a line between an enemy and a member of the player's party, indicating that the enemy is targeting the particular member. When there's a large number of enemies in a battle, the screen can get pretty crowded with all the bodies, lines, numbers, and flashing lights from spells. Maybe it can be getting used to with time and experience, but I sometimes found myself losing track of party members and enemies during the presentation.

All in all, I think I would be sold on the game by the presentation alone...

If only I had a Wii.

Even better if it's the Last Story edition. XD