The Last Remnant Xbox 360
Metascore
66 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 49 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 49
  3. Negative: 3 out of 49
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  1. G4 TV
    40
    The concept behind the battle system is solid but dragging it through uninspired dungeons and a tired story can make putting in that second disk a chore.
  2. GameShark
    42
    It’s a fairly formulaic plot, but an interesting one nonetheless.
  3. 1UP
    25
    The battle system reeks of incomplete, unfinished ideas.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 105 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 24
  3. Negative: 5 out of 24
  1. roachtbp
    4
    There are some technical issues: long load times, VERY choppy framerate in large battles (can be fixed a little by installing to the hard drive), and bad texture pop-in as textures load several seconds after the images have loaded (this can also be reduced slightly by installing to the hard drive). When the textures do load, the graphics look pretty good. The music to me was ok, but nothing memorable. The plot was so bland and boring - go save your sister. Wow. Nothing exciting really happens the whole game. The characters were boring, especially the main character Rush. The only main character I like was the four-armed panther (Torgal). The main villain, The Conqueror, looked cool, but the story was so weak that you didn't care about him. The gameplay was not very good in my opinion. There were hundreds of weapons, shields, accessories, etc., but you could only equip Rush. It was so pointless to have hundreds of weapons, etc. if you could only equip one character. The other characters requested components, and you could choose to give them the components or keep them, and when the character got enough component their weapons would upgrade. Sometimes characters would ask for a specific weapon and you could choose to give it to them. But for the most part, 90% of the items felt useless, as you could only equip one character. Also, there were hundreds of components, but you couldn't use them in battle. They could only be used to craft other items, which you didn't need since you could only equip one character. So I felt like was collecting hundreds of useless items so I could make more useless items. The battle system was tedious, and little strategy was involved. Most of the strategy occurred outside of combat when you created your teams formations. Also, in battle, you didn't really have complete control over individual characters, as you could only pick general team commands, and the individual characters would act on their own. Overall this game had a boring story with a tedious battle system. This game felt like a huge grind. Despite the fact that I didn't like it much, I racked up hundreds of hours and got 1000 gamerpoints. I think I spent more time on this game than any game I have ever played in my life, but that is merely because I have OCD. This game is not good.… Full Review »
  2. AndrewA
    10
    Amazing game! I love the graphics and battle systems. There are a few flaws with the game, but you have to consider its really the first game of its type, and only game with this battle system.… Full Review »
  3. SpunkyMonkey
    8
    The Last Remnant, whilst flawed and far from perfect, contains enough creamy goodness of the Square-Enix flavour to deliver an experience that JRPG fans will enjoy getting a good fix of. Whilst a step behind in terms of presentation (the game contains far less voice-acted sequences than most modern RPGs) this is soon forgotten once you're into the thick of the game, as what it does contain is enough actual RPG elements (stats, side-quests, exploration, etc.) to give you a very enjoyable experience. The combat system, whilst not fully fleshed out and also a little cheap at times, is a great side-step from previous Square Enix titles and could well be the base they need to build upon in order to re-invigorate the JRPG/FF series. Fighting as units, and having so much depth involved in their management (due to the stats and abilities which make up those units) truely gives you something to really get your teeth into. Combine that with a fast paced "trigger" system during battles which keeps you on your toes (eg, sometimes it's better not to hit the trigger as you want to delay your healing moves, but you only have a split second to make that decision) and battles can be very tense affairs indeed. It's just a shame that there's not a more comprehensive tutorial of the system and that some of it's elements during battles are left outside of your control and can be completely random. SE could have really gone to town with the union setups and fleshed both them and the battle system out into something fantastic - as it is though it's just good and refreshing as opposed to brilliant and epic. The game itself is also very large, but doesn't feel repetative nor padded out until the very end - and even then that's only if you choose to persue all the side-quests (which are there more as an after-game experience for you to come back to - especially the companion/collection ones). And the story? Well, it's a bit cliche'd as you would probably expect, but it's cool enough to keep you playing and it also contains some nice down to earth humour at times (as well as a diet version of the usual JRPG cheeseyness too). Those of you craving JRPG kicks for the 360 should deffinately check it out - the performance issues, whilst still present, are mostly fixed by installation to your HDD, and so long as you're prepared to bare with them and do a bit of digging around on-line to help get you into the game then there's plenty here to keep you satisfied. It falls short of being spectacular but it's a very, very, very solid game with plenty of fun to be had. If you're prepared to put a bit of time into it, and want that taste of JRPG goodness which is becoming rarer by the day due to companies such as EA raping companies which still have a creative core, then you should buy it without hesitation. It may not be for everyone, but I loved it.… Full Review »
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