“The Last Remnant,” by Square-Enix, is a port of the console JRPG (Japanese role-playing game) that will satisfy many PC gamers that are also JRPG fans. Despite a number of porting issues, the gameplay manages to maintain the playability of the game.
The story of “Last Remnant” starts off in a pseudo-Euro setting that has a mixture of medieval and futuristic elements. The people and species of this world depend on the technology of the giant artifacts called Remnants that have the power to alter and possibly destroy the world. You play the role of Rush Sykes, the son of scientists involved with Remnant research, who is about to migrate to Elysion to rejoin his family. That is, until his sister, Irina Sykes, gets kidnapped by shady henchmen utilizing Remnants. Throughout your journeys, you uncover a political conspiracy revolving around a villain known as the Conqueror. The story is cliché and some of the characters you meet along your travels aren’t at all interesting. But the details of the entire setting keep it from being dull.
The meat of this game lies in its combat system. The player controls not one party of characters but several. The parties you control are called unions. You are allowed to play up to six unions, each limit number of controlled unions increased throughout the game. During combat, the player gives each of the unions commands and they are played out in turn-based rounds. Each of the characters in a union will perform an action that is based on the command you give them. Main characters such as Rush hold Remnants which gives them powers in combat that may turn the tide of battle. However, it seems a bit random when the player is suddenly given the option to use Remnant powers.
An interesting feature in combat lies in the morale and flanking system. Unions with high morale will be able to avoid or take less damage from attacks. Unions that are flanking will be able to cause more damage to opponent unions. On the other hand, opponent unions can do the same to the player, so if the battle goes bad, be sure to expect the game over screen.
The game does not utilize experience points; instead, characters grow in increased attributes after successful battles. If you fight more enemies in battle, you can expect better rewards and character growth, making unions more effective in battle.
During map traveling, enemies are placed on the map, instead of randomized encounters after a number of paces traveled. You can use a Remnant power called Time-Shift, which will slow down time. During the Time-Shift phase, you can link enemy unions together by making contact with them and activate the battle-initiation command to fight more than one union. The more unions you fight and successfully defeat, the greater your loot and increase in characters’ attributes and skills.
The greater over-world map is one huge map with landmarks. You can select the landmarks to travel to areas. This makes traveling in “Last Remnant” less banal. If you travel through the area maps you can unlock new landmarks to new areas where powerful monsters and treasures await.
The main characters will join your unions if you play through the main storyline quest, but you have to recruit new ones to fill your ranks. Character recruitment can be done at guilds or recruitment offices located in cities and towns. Some characters can be unlocked and recruited if you complete their quests. You can also change the formations of your unions. Each formation can increase or change the capabilities of the union. For example, a formation can increase the attack power of front ranks, while another increases magic power at cost of defense capability. You can uncover new formations by opening treasure chests or completing quests.
Nevertheless, there are several issues with the game. Models clip (disappear and reappear) during combat, interrupting the visual immersion of the gameplay. The controls of the game, despite being configured for the keyboard and mouse, depend mostly on the Xbox controller and certain button triggers are hard to press because of its reliance on Xbox button commands. The player can still hook up the Xbox controller to the PC, making the game a bit easier to play.
“The Last Remnant” isn’t a bad port. The gameplay differentiates the game from any other PC role-playing game. Get it, if only to support Square-Enix’s effort to bring its games from consoles to the PC.