The Last Story - Guardian Review

Simon Parkin reviews the new Wii game, The Last Story, for the Guardian.

[Knight_Cid]

"The Japanese RPG may have suffered heavy blows at the hands of Western RPGs such as Skyrim and Fable, "

I lold I know writers have to be dramatic but nobody believes that

[360ICE]

Care to elaborate how no one believes that? Clearly, while there last generation were numerous succesful Japanese RPGs the western RPG market is now overcrowded while only a few Japanese franchises like Final Fantasy are getting their time in the sun, and I gotta tell you, some of them are getting burned pretty bad by it (See recent FF games).

[Knight_Cid]

why should I respond to a 360 fanboy?

You dont know anything about rpgs.

There are even more successful japanese rpgs in the western market as well as the japanese market.

Its the reaosn so many old titles are getting a chance to shine. Because it is a very strong time

ff is getting burned? by what? BIG sales? or critical acclaim?

[MAJ0R]

Your spinning it man, JRPG's have not been doing very well lately. WRPG's have been out doing them time and time again, with popularity, sales, critical acclaim etc.

Maybe you yourself don't think so, but the rest of the market does.

[Elemental_]

@major

your completely wrong

Latest nintendo power question

" what genre do you crave more of"

unanimous answer, japanese rpgs

Dont generalize the rest of the market

japanese rpgs have been doing about as well as ever, with new companies stepping up, old dogs with some new tricks, ect

popularity - would people go that crazy over any other genre as they did for xenoblade, last story?

sales - pokemon black white sold 15 million on 1 system with bad piracy issues.

skyrim sold under 10 million on 3 platforms

critical acclaim - opinion

[360ICE]

I don't really know what not replying to a 360 fanboy has to do with this since you ddid reply to me and I'm not a 360 fanboy. Final Fantasy is a major franchise and will always sell, but RPGs in general no longer define the RPG scene like they used to. Instead western RPGs do that, with Skyrim, the Witcher 2, Mass effect 2, Dragon age and kingdom of amalur being recent examples of genre defining titles. I'm not saying Japan isn't on the map. There is still demon's souls, and old classics, but if you against all odds are more than ten years old you'll remember what hold Japan had on the genre just five years ago. A hold that beyond all doubt has faded. (When talking about reception AND sales)

[LX-General-Kaos]

From what i have seen. Most good JRPGs are now found on handheld devices. Mainly the Nintendo DS, and soon to be 3DS. Alot of the JRPG developers dont have the time, money , or resources to create these massive games for the HD consoles.

Western RPGs are taking over the living room because they can afford to take the risk.

So with that said you are absolutely %100 right about what you said.

[Knight_Cid]

Hahahahaha i think not dude.

The genre is still defined by japanese rpgs.

elder scrolls was always around, baldurs gate, all the titles with which the titles you mentioned, stem from.

You want to talk about reception and sales?

when it comes to sales on a single system, western rpgs cant compare quite honestly. Its like comparing dragon quest IX's 5+ million on 1 system, to skyrims 7 or so total on 3 platforms.

There is a reason why there is more japanese rpg dev, than there is western rpg dev. Its just more popular, and its what the fans crave

@kaos

Correction. Most good jrpgs are now found on every system. Literally. There has never been a gen were there has been such wide spread saturation.

They have the time, money and resources, BUT, they keep very tite budgets.

western and japanese rpg take risk. Thats a silly point.

Even this year. A year when systems are rotating out and new ones are taking there place.

The west just cant compete in any region with sheer quantity and quality of releases.

Hell ff 13-2 got far more 8,9's than kingdom of amakur did.

And in that time a new suikoden, and a new shining game released.

In february, yes mass effect 3 is a big deal. But we also have devil survivor 2, tales of graces, mk 2 in the west. And then you have things like xenoblade, last story, ninokuni, grand night history, kingdom hearts, gungir, growlanser in the west and more.

And in japan you have an onslaught of titles like god eater 2, beyond the labyrnth, at least 2 super robot wars, a new legend of heroes, a new pokemon, a new fire emblem, an enhanced port of persona 4, bravely default, dq 1 monsters remake, dragon quest X, and more

[LX-General-Kaos]

@Knight Cid

After all those games that you just named i have no choice but to agree with you. Once the list was put in front of me it made me realize how many actually exist.

For the longest time i always believed that the jrpgs slid into the handheld realm. I still do kinda believe that but you have more proof then i do for the moment so ill get back to you on that.

[Tommykrem]

I'm sure you want JRPGs to be as popular as ever, but even the most popular JRPGs like Pokémon, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts don't really have the impact they used to. Sure, they sell well, but the formula is more or less the same, and just doesn't add anything to gaming.
Anyway, 360ICE is right. There was just no questioning Japan's dominance in RPGs even five years ago. The PS2 and PS1 both have several JRPGs on their highest rated lists, but take a look at PS3 and the highest rated JRPG is way down on the list.

Demon's Souls, which is the highest rated JRPG on PS3, is beneath Skyrim, Oblivion, Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 3. On 360 there are even more western RPGs that are higher rated than Dark Souls (which is highest rated JRPG on 360). Now, there are still a lot of high rated, well selling JRPGs on Nintendo consoles, but that is a huge step down for JRPGs after dominating the entire market. Also, how many of these highly succesul JRPGs are new franchises? Like, one? Now, how many of them are remakes, ports and reboots? Quite a few.

[Elemental_]

your completely wrong

you thing elder scrolls isnt the same formula? Hell even the kongdom of A devs said the games are exactly the same. They dont add anything to gaming

And since when do you have to?

Japan has had dominance in rpgs for the last 25 years, and theres no stopping

Stop making things up. The ps2 and ps1 were both number 1 in japan, so of course they would have a genre that thrives on the top systems. The ps3 was notr a top system

And please dont bring up metacritic to me because most devs realize its a bias, manipulative site.

demon souls is an amazing game

Lost oddessy is better than any generic elder scrolls mass effect 2 or fallotu 3.
Hell disgaea 4 is better, ninokuni is better, ect.

Why is being on nintendo a huge step down? are you a bias idiot?

Nintendo systems were number 1 this gen. THATS DOMINATING THE ENTIRE MARKET

FACT

JAPANESE RPGS HAVE NEVER BEEN ON MORE SYSTEMS AND MORE HAVE NEVER BEEN LOCALIZED

How many are new franchises?

valkyria chronices
inazuma eleven
the world ends with you
zhp
luminous arc
etrian oddessy
ect

Your western rpg saviors, bioware and bethesda, make the same exact games over and over, but you dont seem to care

even this year japanese rpg output in every region smokes what the west is offering.......

Lets look at the west

you have kingdom of Amakur (mixed reviews), mass effect 3, risen 2 and thats about it

ff 13-2, tales of graces, devil survivor 2, mk 2, grand knight history, xenoblade, last story, disgaea 3 ultra port, fire emblem, gungir, growlanser, kingdom hearts,ninokuni, agarest 2 at the very least

And the discrepencies only get worse when you add in japanese only titles ( maybe for now) like bravely default, legend of heroes, god eater, suikoden, shining blade, pokemon, new nis japan titles, etrian IV, ect.

the rpg king is quite clear

[Tommykrem]

@Elemental
No, the RPG king is not quite clear, as meainstream gaming over the last years have become something completely different than what it is. Mainstream gaming is no longer about Sony VS Nintendo, and while JRPGs are still very strong on Nintendo platforms and fairly strong on PlayStation they are being ignored by PC gamers and to some extent also by Xbox gamers, platforms where western RPGs are vey strong. Western RPGs also seem to have left a bigger impression even on PlayStation this year, even with FFXIII selling well you have Skyrim pushing 7 million in one week (naturally across all platforms). You say Metacritic is biased, but it's a nice way to see the opinion of mainstream videogame critics, which is where JRPGs have lost their impact. Sure the fanbase is still there, but then again having an impact on gaming in general is having an impact outside your fanbase to get new fans.

And how about mentioning Fallout? Skyrim? The Witcher 2? Massive titles that appeal to a broader audience. Most gamers won't have heard about several of the titles you're mentioning, if anyone besides KH, Pokémon and FF.
JRPGs are still relevant but there is definitely a point to saying that western RPGs are now more relevant.

[Elemental_]

you are rightm the rpg king is quite clear. Mainstream gaming is more or less exactly the same.

And isnt it sony vs nintendo? Both have sold the first and second most hardware this gen.

Dont brag about skyrim pushing 7 million on 4 platforms ( onlive)

pokemon black white did 15+ on 1 platform

You know why meta critic is bias?

1) not all games have the exact same amount of reviews

2) not the same reviewers review the same games

3) Metacritic will choose what reviews count and what ones dont

Its a money game.

Do you think japanese rpgs have ever cared about western reviews?

suikoden II is widely considered to be one the the best games ever. But it routinely got 7 reviews on most mainstream publicatins.

And most gamers wont know about fallout, skyrim, witcher 2 either

If anything Ive seen more hate for skyrim than any rpg in the last 10 years. Theres a disconnect between rpg fans and media.

Dont get me wrong, western rpgs have always been relevant. They are the other piece to the puzzle as far as I am concerned.

But if theres a king, its japan. rpgs are life, and life is good

[Tommykrem]

@Elemental
What is wrong with you? You can just say things that obviously are not true. Mainstream gaming is not more or the less exactly the same, and no even remotely educated person who's heard about the industry would believe so.

Pushing 7 million (in one week) is very good, and that it's on several platforms means it's reaching out to a wider audience. Yes, OnLive. a gaming frontier. You don't see Japan there do you? Also, try giving factual statements a root in actual fact.

Western consumers care about western reviews. This isn't about you, and not about the established fanbase.

And lastly, RPGs are not life so defending JRPGs as if they were your life.

[Relientk77]

I almost thought it said The Last Guardian review lol

[Mclaren193]

Haha, now that's what i'll always see when I look at it :P

[jspencep]

I was about to post the same thing! Lol
I was very confused for a moment...

[Knightofelemia]

This is a day one purchase for me already have it pre ordered same with Xenoblade. I prefer Western Rpgs and JRPGS.

[Kos-Mos]

How on earth can you compare this to a dull lifeless and utterly boring fable and oblivion?
Oh, I forgot, people thinks hd graphics makes a game very good.