The Last Remnant wasn't a perfect game, but it was very enjoyable and that's what mattered

User Rating: 7.5 | The Last Remnant X360
Pros: Save anywhere, on screen enemies, great visuals, unique and engaging battle system, a lot of character choices, free dlc content, fully heal after every battle

Cons: Game texture loading during actual gameplay, stat grinding, average storyline, too many side quests that have little to nothing to do with the main plot, frequent lag during battles.


Last Remnant is a turn based RPG with a unique and very engaging battle system. There are some issues about the game, but overall it was a very enjoyable experience. While I cannot recommend this game to RPG noobs because of some steep difficult curves at a certain points in the game, RPG veterans will find this game very enjoyable and will feel right at home.

The visuals in this game are a double sided sword. The game uses the unreal engine and it's very clear that Square-Enix has little experience with the engine. The game does look really good and it is very beautiful and detailed however the game's textures don't load properly at all. In my 100 plus hours playing this game it never loaded properly. Cut-scenes will start to run, during which background and character details will still be loading. The characters or backgrounds appear plain will little details as the details slowly load into the game taking as long as 3 to 5 seconds. This problem also exists a lot during battles and roaming cities and dungeons. In other words no part of the game was immune to this issue. I should also mention I played this entire game while installed in my HDD and it supposed to cut down this problem and lag.

Last Remnant has something every RPG should have and that's the ability to save anywhere as long as you have access to the party menu. The enemies in the game appear on screen and most of the times they are very easy to evade because the main character Rush has the ability to temporarily slow down time so you can just run pass them. However this is also a double sided sword sometimes because enemies most of the times spot you and will chase you once they do. Luckily enemies in the game are different and have different behaviors and speed. However it's annoying when you're running from an enemy and it is right behind you only to bump into another group and get ambushed.

The game's battle system is unique and most of the times very engaging. You feel like you're actually part of battle. Each character (called unit) is an individual however you battle in groups called unions. Each union must have a leader followed by the other units. Each union comprises of a maximum of 5 units, including a leader. That union is what a standard RPG would consider a single 'character.' The units attack based commands that appear during battle. The commands differ a lot depending on your union's character make up, the enemies you're battling or the condition of your union(s) or units. Overall once you reach the events in the second disc, your battle teams should max out at 5 Unions and 18 Units. It's up to you how you decide to split up unions and units. The game contains a lot of recruitable units, including soldiers and leaders.

Battles itself are very satisfying however you will come across frequent lag. It shouldn't really be a surprised because at times there can be dozens of characters on screen at one time. The combat is not all watching once you select your battle commands, you have to pay attention, because very often you get a button prompt, depending on your character's weapon, to do extra damage, change battle order because of teamwork or counter an attack. Some battles are challenging in the game depending on the enemies you battle or their combination, some of them are even as powerful as some bosses. Thankfully after every battle, you units will all fully heal. This is extremely useful because it would have been a huge turnoff if you had to nurse your wounds after each battle.

Last Remnant has a lot of sidequests and I mean a lot. If you stuck to the storyline you could have completed the first disc in about 10 hours or less and the second in about 15 or so. However you will be forced to do the sidequests to get upgrades and stat because you will hit a wall with some of the very difficult boss battles. The sidequests make up the bulk of the game and most of them have nothing to do with the actual storyline. You do learn things about characters and the world, but that's about it.
The game's storyline revolves around Remnants and struggle to control and destroy them. The storyline was average and not what we'd expect from a Square-Enix title. There was little to no character development and the few emotional scenes in the game had no real weight because you didn't really care for the characters. The ending however was worthy of the Square-Enix seal of approval.

The game does have some free DLCs containing a challenging Dungeon with bosses as well as Challenge Packs with additional bosses scattered throughout the world. This adds some extra value and challenge to the game.

Last Remnant is a good game. I did lose sleep over this game and I'm sure anyone who loves RPG would do the same. This generation RPGs are a very lacking genre. Beggars cannot be choosers and this was a great stepping stone as we wait for Final Fantasy XIII