I just checked metacritic and i ended up pretty disgusted by the low scores givin.
Dont take me wrong its not a final fantasy quality game. however it should not be the low score where it is at now.
I have spent about 6 hours with the game so ill give you my impressions
Graphics: The game looks gorgeous and has its moments of looking fantastic. However there are numerous problems. There have been alot of times with slowdowns in battles. When performing a move or something the game slows down every so often. Ive only had one battle where its really effected the fluid of the gameplay at all. The game also has loading problems and textures sometimes take a second or two to load, like mass effect but not as bad. Cutscenes have been generally gorgeous and most of the combat looks fantastic and very well done. Still a good looking game.
Sound: The voice acting is actually pretty decent/good. A few of the characters are done well and some are not done well. However its been one of the best voice acting for jrpgs this gen. at least ten times better then IU voice acting. The music is good, but nothing to impressive. The combat music is fitting and sounds good. A good soundtrack and ive generally enjoyed it. Its just not final fantasy music..but then again how can you match it.
Gameplay: It all comes down to whether you like turn based games or not. The last remnant takes a interesting approach to turn based combat. Instead of single characters you have a whole legion of guys. Up to 5 legions of your own can take place in battle...or up to 25 guys. At the begining you start out with 5 legions to get a feel for it but then shortly afterwards you start with small groups and work your way up. Later on you control who you want in each legion. You base it off their strengths and weaknesses in order to create a strong group. For example you would most likely want a group that has both magic, melee, and healing, not just a complete melee group. Generals or leaders, are the strongest guys you can get but you can only have so many in each legion and your group.
You encounter enemies on the map, it is not random encounters. You can link alot of guys together if you want. Ive linked 4 guys off the map together and got my ass kicked because i had only two small legions and i went against 8 legions (each guy may have more then 1 legion in their group)
When you first start with the gameplay, it can get quite confusing. At the begining of the battle you select what legion you want to attack. YOu base this off their location, their numbers, health, etc. You also select the battle plan you want that legion to perform. One would be a all out attack. This means that all your troops will only use basic attacks. Another would be to select you want them to perform a magic attack and generally those who can use magic will use magic attacks. However sometimes they wont, but generally those who can will. Those who dont use special moves will just normal attack. There are also other moves that pop up as you get low on hp that would allow your healers to heal you, or/and have some units restore your health with items. A legion acts as one so all the characters in the group have the same hp, so you heal one you heal the entire legion. Their are other actions such as special melee attacks. And at certain points in the story, or if you are losing a battle/ meet a special requirement, other actions such as using a remnant may pop up. These are special moves that one character in the group will perform. Usually that move alone can change a battle.
Once you select your actions then the units go into battle. If a legion meets a legion head on they go into a deadlock, which no group has a advantage. Units can also flank other units if they are already in battle with other groups. THey can also hit them from behind etc. When these occur you get damage bonuses, and if it happens to you so do your foes. There have been points where one unit has been attacked by 4 legions, and as you can tell its very hard to survive. That is why multiple legions are needed, however you do not want a weak legion or they will die fast.
After getting into a battle with a foe then the combat starts. Based on what move each character is using the battle will start. Usually the normal attack occur between each other and then special moves occur. During attacks both sides can dodge and block attacks, and at right moments can counter attack if you press the special button when it tells you too. When attacking at certain times a key might pop up that u can press for the attack to hit them critically. Doing so has numerous benefits. First it makes that attack do critical damage. Second it can also effect allies to. If you make one critical attack it starts a chain so that the next ally can do it as well until the last guy attacks. Also critically attacking can also cause effects on foes and slows them down, allowing your allies attack before them. Also when you press the button at the right time it can cause "teamwork" to appear. This could allow allies to perform special moves they would normally have done such as special attacks or healing.
You do not level up, but as you use moves and take damage your hp goes up and moves level up the more u use them. So in the long run you do become stronger based on your actions.
Story: I cant say much about it yet, but i will say i like the story so far. I think SE put some decent effort into it and im impressed so far. I might say more later but its been very good and of high caliber.
Overall: Im very much enjoying the game. It would have to be my second favorite jrpg this gen, just behind LO. So far i would give the game a 8.5. Then again i dont care much for graphical problems so it might effect others more but like i said it did not hinder my enjoyment much. I also have no installed the game so that could help.
Owner of all consoles cept DS.....Currently in love with prototype!
