The Last Remnant Remastered Review (PS4)

[Nergal]

 

The Last Remnant was one of first JRPGs I played on the Xbox 360, a system facing a severe drought of Japanese games at the time. It was part of Microsoft’s increased effort in bringing over JRPGs from developers like Square Enix and was accompanied by games like Star Ocean 4, Infinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and the like. Developed by the folks behind the acclaimed SaGa and Final Fantasy series, The Last Remnant featured a vibrant world full of mystery accompanied by a very unique battle system. The Last Remnant Remastered takes the original game and improves over it with quality-of-life and graphical improvements for the PS4.

The Last Remnant stars Rush Sykes, a hyperactive good guy that’s not afraid to charge into battle as he journeys out to rescue her kidnapped sister. The game features a unique cast of characters that for the most part are interesting, however, Rush is one of the most annoying protagonists in gaming. Thankfully Rush’s own story is a small part of the overarching plot at hand.

The game’s narrative isn’t much to write about as the 50-hour long main campaign tells a disjointed confusing story that leaves with you with more questions and answers. The game also does a poor job at explaining the events and game systems forcing you to seek help from others facing the same issues online. Although the story does have some interesting portions, investing so much time for such little payoff isn’t worth it.

The Last Remnant’s battle system is the highlight here as it features a tactical turn-based hybrid system that’s unique to this very game. Players will be assigning main characters and units you hire in unions. You can customize these unions to use certain formations, positions, custom gear, and roles and more. The whole union system is very deep and you’ll be unlocking new formations and styles throughout the game.

It has to be noted that although the battle system is fun for the most part it can get very unfair in certain situations. Some engagements with the enemies are downright unfair and can only be beaten by using certain formations. There’s also an unwinnable battle that locks you in unless you have a prior save file, forcing you to restart the game which unfortunately is still in the remastered release. The battle system’s camera is another thing that could’ve used some work. As I mentioned earlier the battle system takes heavy influence from tactical battle systems but since The Last Remnant doesn’t feature a top-down view it can get tough to plan future moves to intercept your opponents and avoid flanking. You have to wait till the long turns end after every union has made their move to get a brief idea of where your units are currently at.

Another unique aspect to The Last Remnant is that there’s no level up system and progression depends on how you use your unions. If a certain union focuses on using Magic, they’ll get stronger Magic attacks after a certain amount of uses. It tough to gauge progress with this however since the game doesn’t tell how many battles or experience it’ll take to learn certain moves and skills. I wish they improved upon this in the remaster so you know what you’re actually grinding for but alas that’s not the case.

The Last Remnant Remastered is certainly an improvement over the original release and should be enjoyable if you’re looking for a tough JRPG, however, the story and accompanying game system may leave you disappointed.

The Last Remnant Remastered Review (PS4)

Game Reviewed on: PS4

Game description: The Last Remnant captured the hearts and minds of gamers with its enthralling story, countless characters and intricate battle system.Now this classic RPG is back with a Remastered version and is coming to PlayStation 4 with even more beautiful graphics, enhanced via an updated game engine.

Final Score - 7/10

Summary

The Last Remnant Remastered is certainly an improvement over the original release and should be enjoyable if you're looking for a tough JRPG, however, the story and accompanying game system may leave you disappointed.