As a general rule of thumb, the final months of any console’s life tend to yield any number of genuinely top class titles, albeit ones that are often forgotten or passed up by the masses. The Wii, however, has been quite different in that respect, with very little of any real note being released in 2012. That’s a trend that The Last Story goes a long way to bucking though, as it’s ARPG-cum-stealth approach offers Wii gamers a top quality send-off ahead of the Wii U’s launch later this year.
Originally released in January 2011 in Japan, and then in February of this year in Europe, it’s finally made it to North American shores and boy, has it ever been worth the wait. While many RPGs tend to fall into the trap of overcomplicating things, which usually gets in the way of character and plot development, The Last Story is a masterful example of how simple is almost always better.
Players will take charge of a team of mercenaries on Lazulis Island who have arrived in order to find work, but who ultimately get caught up in something they hadn’t quite bargained for. Although The Last Story features fantastic graphics for the format, some wonderful audio work and a perfectly paced story that will keep you hooked from start to finish, its real strength is its accessibility. While more seasoned adventurers might find the streamlined in-game systems a little light, those of us who want to jump right in and be rewarded with multi-tiered gameplay and great characters from the start are well catered for. Whether you’re an RPG veteran or not, The Last Story is a title worthy of dusting off that Wii for.