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[Toadthemushroom]

I always meant to pick this up when it released in early 2012, but I saved my money for the Vita launch window. Managed to grab a preowned copy recently though, and I've played an hour so far.

I enjoyed what I played - it's fast paced, doesn't mess around, and the rather action-focused combat system is surprisingly well implemented considering it was co-developed by AQ Interactive.

The collision detection for vaulting and cover just work, and the camera programming is done well. While I've only really fought about four major battles so far the arenas themselves seem to be interesting enough, offering enough choices in approaching different skirmishes.

My only real disappointment so far is that the narrative doesn't seem like it's up to much, and the soundtrack hasn't really inspired me outside of a lovely main theme and ten seconds of a battle.

So far it seems like it'll be a good complement to Mistwalker's own Lost Odyssey, in that I remembered Lost Odyssey for its touching stories and amazing soundtrack, whereas I can see myself remembering this for its focus and novel combat.

Hopefully the swift pacing keeps up and that the battle system continues to excite, but also challenge. Having five lives per character hasn't really felt important in this first hour. Still, what I have played was surprisingly refreshing.

 

[TheMoon]

My only real disappointment so far is that the narrative doesn't seem like it's up to much, and the soundtrack hasn't really inspired me outside of a lovely main theme and ten seconds of a battle.

So far it seems like it'll be a good complement to Mistwalker's own Lost Odyssey, in that I remembered Lost Odyssey for its touching stories and amazing soundtrack, whereas I can see myself remembering this for its focus and novel combat.

Hopefully the swift pacing keeps up and that the battle system continues to excite, but also challenge. Having five lives per character hasn't really felt important in this first hour. Still, what I have played was surprisingly refreshing.

The characters shine in this game. Holy cowbell. Syrenne is a riot. Wait till you get to drop oranges on the floor and watch townies slip and fall all over themselves (followed by you stepping into your own trap). Or the brilliant tavern theme. So good.

 

[tkscz]

Don't make the same mistake I did before I lost my copy. Do all the side chapters. It really expands the game.

 

[ReyVGM]

The town theme reminds me a lot of a certain Final Fantasy 6 song.

 

[BGBW]

Preferred this to Xenoblade in some way (since these two always get compared). It was a nice streamlined experience but at the same time had room for breaking off the main path. Also the English VA, IMO, was the better performance. Helped by the fact so many battles had unique dialogue.

I must compliment the armour system. My big beef with a lot of RPGs once they started making armour visible is that you could find an outift you liked the look of but were then forced to dump because you found something better. That and in the end you were basically working towards the ultimate armour set so basically everyone ends up looking the same. The Last Story's method of adding more outfit options as you leveled up gave the sense of unlocking new gear while also not "punishing" you if you had a preferred look. Also letting us choose the colours in the icing on the cake. Just another reason I preferred it a bit more than Xenoblade (which I did like, don't get me wrong) where I often found myself in cutscenes looking ridiculous if mismatched ugly armour.

Only regret, I didn't even try the online multiplayer once, despite the servers being up at the time.

 

[TheMoon]

Only regret, I didn't even try the online multiplayer once, despite the servers being up at the time.

I only played it as the servers were closing. It was the last game I played online on Wii, as long as the servers were up (past the scheduled shutdown time). It was a fascinating take on arena combat with that battle system.

I love Xenoblade over everything but I want a proper HD remastering of TLS with revived online so so so much more than anything.

 

[Jazzem]

I've got such a soft spot for this game, it has a myriad of flaws but the surprisingly fun game mechanics and lovable cast really warmed me up to it. I hope it plays nice with Dolphin soon enough, would be nice to play it with better IQ+stable frame rate. Of course I'd love an official rerelease, but I don't know how likely that is.

The characters shine in this game. Holy cowbell. Syrenne is a riot. Wait till you get to drop oranges on the floor and watch townies slip and fall all over themselves (followed by you stepping into your own trap). Or the brilliant tavern theme. So good.

Damn right And ha I forgot about the fruit slippage in town.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Very good game.

Loved the cast, the relation between the characters, the "inn" vibe.

I loved the city. Just wished it had more secrets to find.

 

[Vampirolol]

I didn't really like it. Some side quests were very good but the rest of the game was uninteresting, especially the gameplay and the story. Whenever I think about that city I feel bored to death... and to think that the first two hours seemed so promising!

 

[TheChits]

I really enjoyed this game. So much fantastic music, especially the title theme.

 

[Dragon1893]

Really liked this one. Highly recommended.

 

[Dingens]

Didn't like the game very much EXCEPT for the english dub - which is an absolute novelty as far as my taste in gaming goes.
But besides that.... to me clearly the weakest of the 3 rainfall games, both in terms of story and gameplay

 

[jrush64]

The game has like one of the best cast of characters in an RPG ever. They have so much chemistry together its crazy.

 

[Zomba13]

I highly enjoyed the game. The Multiplayer was surprisingly fun too!

 

[BGBW]

Didn't like the game very much EXCEPT for the english dub - which is an absolute novelty as far as my taste in gaming goes.
But besides that.... to me clearly the weakest of the 3 rainfall games, both in terms of story and gameplay

Weaker than Pandora? Never played it, but I always thought that was considered the weakest.

 

[executor]

Really Really liked that game...
be sure to do all the sidequest you can and the arena, they're great !

 

[LazerRanger]

I have to say that I preferred this to both Xenoblade and Lost Odyssey. I didn't finish either of them but I marathoned this within 4 days I think.
It's probably my fave RPG experience last gen after the Mass Effect trilogy and Witcher 2.
In some ways it feels like a predecessor to FFXV but with a lower budget and different flaws.
I'd love a Last Story 2 for the Switch

 

[TheMoon]

Damn right And ha I forgot about the fruit slippage in town.

It's literally the best thing any video game ever. Also in life.

 

[Nocturnowl]

The party in this game was tops, syrenne and Lowell had that Brit banter angle down.
Also mirania was bae, that voice.

Shame about the zael and callista being cookie cutter leads by comparison.
But despite its shortcomings I fondly remember this game and its tactical gears of swords combat of diving over chest high walls.
Nice and succinct as well for a jrpg, coming to think of it a remaster here would be great to iron out performance issues, alas it's a bit too niche for that.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Wow, I wasn't expecting positive comments about the sidequests! I'll check them out. Thanks.

 

[Izuna]

I still have a mint copy of the first press (japanese). I want to play this game eventually.

 

[lonerism]

This game's final boss > Xenoblade

DAMN

 

[Bending_Unit_22]

I played about 10-15 hours of it. I enjoyed the gameplay, the quick pace, the story was fine, and yeah the sidequests actually add to the experience. The party was the best, I really liked that they weren't a bunch of 16 year olds heading out on a grand quest to save the world but just weary beaten-down 30 somethings doing a job to get by (I relate to the latter these days). My main complaint, and the reason I stopped playing was I found the city to be highly annoying to traverse.

 

[Alastor3]

Should I buy myself another Wii to play some games I didn't play like The Last Story, Wario Land, Pandora's tower, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Muramasa, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Endless Ocean 2?

....
Yeah... I guess I should.

 

[Bending_Unit_22]

Should I buy myself another Wii to play... Endless Ocean 2?

....
Yeah... I guess I should.

Don't even need to see the rest, the only answer is yes. Well a Wii or Wii U.

 

[Dascu]

The Wii got a lot of solid games in its last 1-2 years.

Weaker than Pandora? Never played it, but I always thought that was considered the weakest.

Pandora's Tower is great.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

The sidequests should be mandatory.

There's one or two fetch quests ( the frogs) but the rest are whole new dungeons with unique dialogue/events/enemies.

 

[Albino_Yeti]

Yooo I loved this game! It was such an underrated game, hurt by the fact that it came out at the tail end of the Wii's lifecycle.

One of my favorite Wii games, behind Twilight Princess and Smash Bros Brawl.

 

[foxuzamaki]

TLS is all about its characters, a reason to really love the game

 

[bennywhatever]

I loved this game. Definitely a swan song of the Wii era. Great music and wonderful characters (though a pretty mediocre story).
I remember the final boss being hard af and taking me like 5 hours to finally beat. Considering it's only a 20 hour game.... that was a lot.

 

[brinstar]

I wish this game got to live on as a series alongside Xenoblade

 

[Brandon F]

Keep meaning to play this. Put a few hours in at launch(5 years ago really??) but the combat didn't click or I was just not able to suss out what the game expected of me(particularly in handling the crossbow ammo and stealth as I recall).

Really should revisit though as I quite enjoyed Mistwalker's X360 output.

 

[Byvar]

Love this game. The story itself is pretty good IMO, though a bit predictable. The soundtrack is fantastic (it's Uematsu, and I think he did a great job making a more "real-time"/cinematic soundtrack).
However, the characters and their interactions are what makes the game really shine. The English voice work is fantastic as well - even for semi-random NPCs like the posh ladies in the castle tor the knight captain with the maniacal laugh.
Unlike Xenoblade, the game has little details in every corner, so even though it's short I think it was the best out of the three Operation Rainfall games. Would love a remaster or a sequel (there's an epilogue in Terra Battle, but obviously that's not what people want).

Here's some advice:
- Do all of the sidequests. They're great and some unlock really fun missable chapters. I recommend looking up when those sidequests are unlocked, because some of them are really easy to miss.
- Put the combat on manual. It's so much more fun that way.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I wonder why this was never released on Wii U but Pandora's Tower was? It would be great playing directly off the Gamepad.

 

[Dingens]

Weaker than Pandora? Never played it, but I always thought that was considered the weakest.

I guess that's part of the problem.... nobody played it, since there was hardly any hype surrounding it - it was always "just the 3rd game". But yeah, for what it is (a quite competent 3d castlevania with slight dating sim elements and a somewhat unique story), it's absolutely worth your time if you like 3d castlevania with a hint of Zelda. Also the bosses were top notch.

This game's final boss > Xenoblade

DAMN

... I don't get it... are you saying that TLS' shitty (and predictable) final boss is better than the whole of XB?

 

[Dantis]

Finished it back when it first came out.

I felt like it was really, really average. The final boss music was good, but that's about the only thing I can remember from it. The characters and story did nothing for me.

Weaker than Pandora? Never played it, but I always thought that was considered the weakest.

I thought Pandora's Tower was miles better. I even thought the story was more enjoyable.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Not perfect by any means but I ended up enjoying it the most out of the whole rainfall trilogy. The characters are the real star of the show. I really would love to see the series go further but I doubt it will at this point.

 

[Alastor3]

Don't even need to see the rest, the only answer is yes. Well a Wii or Wii U.

why would i buy a 250$ hardware when i can bought a 50$ wii ? are the wii game looking better on the wii u ?

 

[blitzwolf215]

I wish this game got to live on as a series alongside Xenoblade

Out of curiosity, who owns the IP?

 

[meow]

I really liked this game too, and had some very good times with the online. I would love a sequel or even a remake.

I liked Xenoblade too but it was too ambitious for me. I put 50 or 60 hours into that one and I'm still stuck somewhere on Mechonis.

 

[Shiggy]

Out of curiosity, who owns the IP?

Nintendo, copyright for the game is shared between Nintendo and Mistwalker.


Last Story was one of the best Wii games for me, up with Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. Unlike other JRPGs, it didn't have much bloat; it was a very streamlined experience with no backtracking, a great battle system, and a good story with great VA.

What I'd do for a new Mistwalker x Nintendo collaboration

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

You can wack your head by running into store signs. And there is a creepy guy in an alley that claims he's a dragon.

Best game 10/10

 

[sublimit]

Bought and played it when it first came out (in Europe).I have fond memories of it and a sequel that improves a lot upon the first game's shortcomings would have been great.

Too bad Sakaguchi is not interested in console games anymore...

 

[TheMoon]

Weaker than Pandora? Never played it, but I always thought that was considered the weakest.

The weakest in a trio of "Best games on the platform."

 

[lonerism]

I guess that's part of the problem.... nobody played it, since there was hardly any hype surrounding it - it was always "just the 3rd game". But yeah, for what it is (a quite competent 3d castlevania with slight dating sim elements and a somewhat unique story), it's absolutely worth your time if you like 3d castlevania with a hint of Zelda. Also the bosses were top notch.



... I don't get it... are you saying that TLS' shitty (and predictable) final boss is better than the whole of XB?

I mean TLS's final boss > Xenoblade's final boss

Funny because I love both games and I find the whole

Spoiler

Zanza

thing very predictable

 

[TheMoon]

btw, OP, once you find yourself inevitably underleveled for the final boss: go back out to where the save spot is and grind there for a few minutes (it goes super fast! you don't ever have to grind during the game prior) and then whoop its ass.

 

[jb1234]

Yeah, it's an alright game. Story is vanilla and only the supporting cast has character but I did like the combat. Unfortunately, it has one of Uematsu's most disappointing soundtracks, arranged within an inch of its life to sound like Hans Zimmer.

 

[KojiKnight]

My favorite Rainfall game by far... It was the real Final Fantasy 13, even if it's scope was a bit trimmed. It is sad we'll likely never see another one.

 

[-shadow-]

This game's final boss > Xenoblade

DAMN

As much as I enjoyed the final fight, it was way over done in terms of what the Wii could handle. The frame-rate went down the crapper for the entire thing, it was actually really weird that they went with such a terrible frame-rate and didn't dial it back a bit.

Well that and the game continues for a hour or two after that fight. Was such a huge anti climax after the amazing fight.

 

[Necron]

I love the voice acting and characters in this game.