All posts tagged mistwalker

Opinion – The Last Story

tls2The Last Story (Wii)
Pub: XSEED/Dev: Mistwalker and AQ Interactive
ESRB: T

Please note that this opinion piece will discuss spoilers. Therefore, I’ve implemented a jump. For those who are curious as to what I think but don’t want anything ruined, I will write the majority of the piece without spoilers, and then flag the offending words AFTER the trailer at the bottom. So you can read through the article with nary a concern until you see the trailer at the bottom, in which I will discuss some of the key story bits and how they were executed. (more…)

by WildcatJF on January 7, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Games, Opinions
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Posted by WildcatJF on January 7, 2013

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/opinion-the-last-story/

Song Highlights – The Last Story’s “Theme”

The Last Story – “Theme” (Title Screen, Wii, Nintendo/Mistwalker/XSEED, Nobuo Uematsu)

I’ve been greatly enjoying my time with The Last Story. Every time I start it up I’m greeted by this delightful, emotional piece. It fits the mood of the game pretty well, methinks. Uematsu did a pretty solid job on the overall soundtrack, so expect some more Last Story picks down the road.

by WildcatJF on January 2, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Games, Music, Song Highlights
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Posted by WildcatJF on January 2, 2013

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/song-highlights-the-last-storys-theme/

Stripping Away Silence: The First Two Hours of The Last Story

wii-tlsWith winter break fully upon our lives, I’ve decided to finally begin my playtime with The Last Story. I ranted, raved and rambled about the game since it was announced back in 2010, and I must admit, it’s still surreal having a North American copy of the game in my hands. It was quite the ride to get to this point. I know I said I would no longer do impression pieces, but this is not so much a reactionary piece but more of a analysis. Was all of the clamoring that I made worth it?

Two hours into the game, I’m feeling pretty happy with the experience so far. The demo-esque first dungeon gave a decent idea of what combat is like; I’m still a little shaky on the whole engine, but it seems intriguing. The camaraderie of your team is pretty infectious; the cast are a little derpy at times (more on that in a bit), but they genuinely have a clear fondness for each other. They look out for each other, barb each other on (especially Syrenne), and treat each other like friends. It adds a lot to the atmosphere. The early environments are a little deviant from the standard cave/underground area you normally see in RPG’s. Similar yet unique. The enemies are also nice alternates of the common tropes; the skeletons in particular were pretty cool looking. It’s too early to know for sure if I am fully supportive of the battling part of the game, but it seems promising.

I’ve spent about half of my time exploring the city and taking in its scope. The Last Story features one of the more believable and alive cityscapes I’ve played in a game. Lots of people reacting to you, little touches that sell the accuracy (hitting Zael’s head on a sign, for one), mostly solid VA work that backs the majority of the dialogue…this is grand stuff. The music is quite lovely, too.

The tavern lets Zael interact with his teammates, and…here’s where the derp mention earlier comes in. I knew Syrenne was an alcohol lover; I did not realize she was an full-blown alcoholic. Yikes. Lowell’s flirty playboy behavior is comical, but I can imagine that it’ll rub me the wrong way sooner or later. Calista (or Lisa at this early stage) takes the ignorant princess/noble routine to the extreme, and it was a little wince-worthy at times. Zael can be charmingly stupid at times, too. However, it’s really early on in the game, so I’m withholding my judgment until the end. I do hope things swing a little from this point, though. I do like the cast, but I haven’t fully embraced them quite yet.

So, two hours in, I’m curious to see where the game takes me. I admit: I dreamed about this most of the night, so despite a little criticism here I’m clearly relishing what I’m doing. When you have so much anticipation built up, it’s impossible not to feel a bit of disappointment. Luckily, my issues are fairly minor and I’m excited to play more.

by WildcatJF on December 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Editorial, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on December 16, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/stripping-away-silence-the-first-two-hours-of-the-last-story/

RPG Journal - True Friends

Reblogged from Lark's Island:

Click to visit the original post

The Last Story has been a remarkable game. I highly enjoyed the journey it took me on, which recently came to its conclusion. It was a wholly satisfying experience.

What struck me as I played through it was how well the relationships between the main characters were portrayed. From the very start, the main group of mercenaries is shown to be a close-nit bunch of friends who know each other well and work together like clockwork.

Read more… 331 more words

Check out the rest over at Lark's Island!
by WildcatJF on October 6, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Games, Opinions
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by WildcatJF on October 6, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/nesters-thoughts-on-the-last-story/

Artistic Discussion – The Good and Bad of Gaming Box Art: 7/20/2012

Good – The Last Story (Wii, XSEED/Mistwalker)

I think it may be clear by now that I adore the art for The Last Story. XSEED kept the classy Japanese box for American audiences, with Calista (Kanan) front and center, drawn beautifully by Kimihiko Fujisaka. The white background makes this art and the logo pop quite nicely. Sometimes white can be an effective trait to make your box art shine, and I think Mistwalker nailed it perfectly. Great choice.

Bad – Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge (Arcade, Capcom)

What the hell is this?!?!? Darkstalkers has some of the coolest artwork and character designs in gaming. So, why did Capcom Coin-Op take a massive crap all over them when they tried to market it in America? This, my friends, is a travesty of epic proportions. These characters are shadows, nay, whispers of their actual designs. Morrigan looks like a whore (well, a real one, not a succubus :p ), Talbain lacks any sense of his martial artist training, merely playing up the werewolf trope, Donovan is laughably atrocious, and Anita’s face is all kinds of screwed up. She is supposed to show no emotion, and terror is an emotion, fools! Pyron looks like a shitty Satan, and all of them together just mock the hard work Capcom’s Japanese design team put into them. For comparison, take a look at this:

Honestly, was this not good enough? This is incredible art done by one of Capcom’s legendary artists, CRMK (Bengus), which was DONE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKETING THIS GOD DAMN GAME. Hell, I could go for days showcasing Capcom’s other artwork for Night Warriors, all far better than what they commissioned for America! That wouldn’t erase the inexplicable and ludicrous re-imagining some lousy artist did to these icons, though. Just terrible, terrible work. Maybe this is why I’ve never seen the damn game…

by WildcatJF on July 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Artistic Discussion, Features, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on July 20, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/artistic-discussion-the-good-and-bad-of-gaming-box-art-7202012/

Nester’s RPG Reflections, Part V: …Dear Friends, Once More

Here is the fifth and final part of my RPG Reflections series, taking us right up to the present. Maybe I never really left RPGs entirely, but perhaps I just needed some time away from them.

And yet, I still maintained a peripheral interest in them. I enjoyed reading about them and hearing other people talk about them. Perhaps I was simply looking for some evidence that the genre was moving forward. I also occasionally dabbled in sub-genres, especially action-RPGs. I became a fan of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, and I took sporadic interest in strategy RPGs, such as Fire Emblem. Clearly, I had not entirely turned my back on RPGs if I was looking for excuses to stay interested.

Check out the full article at my blog: RPG Reflections, Part V: …Dear Friends, Once More

by Nester on March 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Editorial, Games
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Posted by Nester on March 12, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/nesters-rpg-refelections-part-v-dear-friends-once-more/

The Last Story is coming to America! WOOOOOOOOOOO! Update – This Summer!

Nintendo Direct happened last night, and I was secretly hoping that somehow, someway, The Last Story would at least be teased to be coming to North America.  Well, I got more than I anticipated – XSEED is localizing The Last Story for North America, according to Siliconera, and we’ll be seeing it later this year.

XSEED, you are freaking awesome, and I love you.  I will be pre-ordering this as soon as I can.  Thank you so much.

Update – XSEED has confirmed the game will arrive in America sometime this summer.  Director Hironobu Sakaguchi has this to say:

“I am very happy to be able to confirm that The Last Story will be released in North America. XSEED Games has a reputation for bringing high-quality JRPGs to America, and I’m sure they will do a great job with this release too.”

That makes it sound that XSEED will not be utilizing Nintendo of Europe’s dub work and will be doing their own, but I’ll let you know once I find out. :)

Update 2 – XSEED has stated that they will be using Nintendo of Europe’s localization after all.

“There will be no translation specific to the North American version as it will be comparable to the in-game English text of other territories.”

Source.

Update 3 – XSEED’s press release:

XSEED Games Announces The Last Story Exclusively for Wii

Highly Anticipated Wii-exclusive Action RPG to be Released for the North American Market

Torrance, Calif., (February 22, 2012) – XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, today announced a partnership with Nintendo that will bring The Last Story™ to North America, exclusively for Wii™. Developed by legendary creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, and his studio, MISTWALKER, in conjunction with Nintendo, The Last Story has players taking charge of a band of mercenaries and journeying with them into a sprawling cinematic adventure. The agreement with Nintendo grants XSEED Games exclusive publishing rights to The Last Story in North America when the game ships this summer.

“I am very happy to be able to confirm that The Last Story will be released in North America,” stated Hironobu Sakaguchi, CEO of MISTWALKER. “XSEED Games has a reputation for bringing high-quality JRPGs to America, and I’m sure they will do a great job with this release too.”

Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games, shared Mr. Sakaguchi’s sentiments. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work on such a unique and ground-breaking RPG. I’m sure that North American gamers will love this title.”

The Last Story follows Zael and his band of fellow adventurers as they go to Lazulis Island, the only region prospering as the mainland of the Empire slowly rots away, in search of work and a better future. After securing employment with the ruler of the island, Count Arganan, Zael dreams of finally achieving a secure life as a knight and putting his unstable mercenary past behind him, but things don’t exactly go to plan when events during their first mission change his life forever…

The Last Story was developed by Nintendo and MISTWALKER, exclusively for Wii. The game will be published by XSEED Games in North America in Summer 2012. XSEED Games will release more product updates in the coming months.

©2011-2012 Nintendo / MISTWALKER. Published by XSEED Games.

Wii and The Last Story are trademarks of Nintendo.

Source.

by WildcatJF on February 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Games, News
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Posted by WildcatJF on February 22, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/the-last-story-is-coming-to-america-wooooooooooo/

Europeans AND Americans – I urge you to consider buying The Last Story


On February 24th, The Last Story arrived on European store shelves, and courtesy of XSEED Games, Americans will be able to own this game as well sometime this summer.  Mistwalker’s latest title has been receiving several accolades from the Japanese and European press thus far, and I would like to urge Western gamers to consider picking up The Last Story.  It was thanks to European RPG fans that allowed Xenoblade Chronicles to be brought here, and also granted us all a chance to play The Last Story.  Let’s show Nintendo that these games are not a niche market worthy of bypassing – let’s make the risks Nintendo of Europe and XSEED have made be absolutely worth it to them.  It will reward us with more localizations of more excellent games.

Here’s some refreshers on The Last Story in case you’d like to know more about it:

LVLs. The Last Story Imagery

Wikipedia entry on The Last Story

Nintendo of Europe’s Official Page for The Last Story

Operation Rainfall Roundtables on The Last Story – Part 1 / Part 2

Review at NintendoLife

All LVLs. posts relating to The Last Story

To all of you who purchase The Last Story, my full appreciation,

Jerry Fieldsted (Wildcat), admin, LVLs.

by WildcatJF on February 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Editorial, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on February 12, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/europeans-i-urge-you-to-consider-buying-the-last-story/

Operation Rainfall Music Medley

Operation Rainfall has posted a video on its YouTube channel featuring a medley of songs from The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower, and Xenoblade Chronicles, along with artwork from the games. It’s embedded below for your listening pleasure.

And of course, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of Xenoblade Chronicles exclusively from GameStop (or EB Games in Canada), or from Nintendo’s online store.

by Nester on January 13, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Games, Music
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Posted by Nester on January 13, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/operation-rainfall-music-medley/

My The Last Story Localization Letter for Operation Rainfall

Click to see the full size!

I’m REALLY happy with this.  Don’t forget to get your The Last Story letters out this week for Operation Rainfall!

by WildcatJF on July 18, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Games
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by WildcatJF on July 18, 2011

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/my-the-last-story-localization-letter-for-operation-rainfall/

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