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.… Expand

I really wanted to like this game since i'm a huge jrpg-fan and the only really good one i got to play on the 360 so far was "lost odyssey". unfortunately, not story, not graphics, not gameplay could keep up with "lost odyssey" by a long shot. the main character isn't just the "usual kid who doesn't know any better" but the one who is usually portrayed in jrpgs as the "annoying punk". but even if you put that aside, the story is pretty cliched and hollow. the graphics range from "halfway gorgeous" (some parts of cities - but even there texture resolutions can be too low) to "horrible" (environments with textures which are about as detailed as those of an average n64-game but still there are framerate issues. also, character models can be pretty rough at times). the towns are pretty uninteresting, nothing much to explore, just point A to B, basically just a minor distraction between battles. what's positive is the interesting battle system and the fact that party members manage the equipment themselves (one of "infinite undiscovery's" major issues...). if you really just can't wait for FF XIII and you've already finished lost odyssey, this might still be the most interesting choice available (unless you can deal with the frustrating battle system of eternal sonata - then that might be the best one) but i'd rather recommend playing some old jrpg on and old console or emulator rather than this thing.… Expand

I love RPGs. I thought Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Fallout 3, and Oblivion were all great games. But Last Remnant is only an ok game in my opinion. I downloaded the game to my hard drive to try to fix the technical problems. The loading time didn't seem long to me and the slowdown was only noticeable in huge battles. But the texture pop-up really bothered me. Also, the game itself is just not very good. You can only equip one character; the plot is very weak; many of the characters look exactly the same; battles get very redundant; not enough to do. If you like JRPs a lot then you might like this. Otherwise you should stay away from this game.… Expand

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.… Expand

I'd rather burn myself than play this game. And after receiving second degree burns before I say that rather seriously.Horrible slowdown, graphic issues, over complicated attack systems, jerky character movement, and not to mention horrible British accents. I really tried to play this game I really did but it was so bad that after 5 minutes I stopped

Hard to level up.. you fight the same monsters over and over and over and over again.. Story line is Okay.. not great.. Not worth all the time spending to level up your characters. It has nice graphics and it can be fun but it takes too much time to do anything and fighting the same enemies is a drag.. I would not buy or rent this game.. stay away and wait for Star Ocean to come out on Xbox360 in the next few months.… Expand

The Last Remnat, when i first started playing, seemed very bland in my opinion. The same kind of male protagonist that Japanese developers returns again. The game itself grows on you. The battle system is deep, and i can see where they were going with it. It gives you somewhat of a feel, of watching a larger scale war. Unlike killing 3 tiny bugs in random battles, you get a larger scale for how important battles are. The main gripe i have is the graphics, and slowdown. I personally had no idea what it was when i first started playing. I have never seen a game with this much slowdown, and texture popup. Its pretty bad in my opinion, and for me, distracts from the beauty of the game. Sometimes armor doesn't load up properly, and Ive had several times where load times have stopped and Ive to restart my whole xbox. Technical aspects aside, I think without all that mess, this game would definately be a great game. I just cant believe SquareEnix would release a game with so much problems.… Expand

I am playing J-RPG´s since the good old SNES times, and I can´t understand why so many people dislike Last Remant, there have been many many worser games in the last few years, that got higher ratings........ About the technical issues: They exist - okay, but they do not brake the fun.........if someone hates this game overall just because a low framerate and delayed textures, ask yourself why you really are playing a RPG........except these "minor" problems, the visuals are really good allover, and sometimes just stunning. I personally like the storytelling, and the characters, and the battle system is finally something new, that really makes fun if you know how it works......and a good portion of luck added sometimes......but that´s making it just more interesting and exciting, than having the same battle systems over and over again that we know since the ancient times.......... The soundtrack is just timeless, and the changing battle tunes in longer fight´s is a real good idea. To all RPG-Fans that are in doubt: At least, try to rent the game and build up your own opinion. But to do that you have to play the game for a decent amount of hours, for the first two hours I really really hated Last remnant, and I was more than disappointed, no of my expectations were fullfilled, but that opinion changed very soon after I spent a little more time with it. Give The Last Remant a chance! Together with Lost Odyssey, simply the best J-RPG on the 360.… Expand

Graphics: the overall result is good. Great character design, decent levels, textures and the towns are quite detailed. However you can actually see the normal maps being applied after a loading session, which is really bad. And you have many slow downs during combat, mostly due to the particles effects and the insane numbers of characters in a fight scene. Sounds: Voices over are sometimes great, sometimes totally horrible. The music is ok. The sounds for the monsters are great. Story: Generic for a RPG, but still interesting. The dialogues are left to be desire from time to time. And the main character name "Rush Sykes", common! That doesn't help for the credibility. The Conqueror should have taken more space in the story. Gameplay: Loading, loading and loading. On the PS3 ?? No joke, you get tons of them and it will stretch your patience. The combat system is addictive...but the game is almost only about that. Apart from fighting, the other gameplay areas are sub par. No interaction with objects, no mini games to breaks from the constant fighting. There is a ton of sub quest, which is fun. Overall it's an average good game, but it feels unfinished because of the incessant loading and the graphical issues. Don't do a follow up on that one, please.… Expand

the best since final fantasy X! You take some time to enjoy it at all but its IS worth to give it a try if you like TRUE RPGs games(despite the action-rpgs like tales of vesperia). Best RPG on 360...and the slowdown aren't that much if you play from the hard drive.... At least don't bother me... The texture pop-in occurs sometimes...like in gears of war.....don't bother with it too...because you'll be amazed with the game!… Expand

The Last Remnant is the best offering as far as epic-RPGs go on the Xbox 360. The battle system is a refreshing take on the good ol' turn based battles, while still retaining a classic feel. Visually the game is stunning, some scenes are just plain gorgeous. The voice acting is very solid, I'm pretty sure some of the voices are legit anime actors. The only real problem that I have with the game is there is some slowdown and a fair amount of loading screens, they are all pretty short though and become even shorter if you load the game onto the hard drive.… Expand

If people can learn to put the technical/graphical issues aside and look STRICTLY at gameplay, they're going to see that this is one helluva game.

This J-RPG is way better than Western and European reviewers want. For me the best J-RPG of this generation (as of this writing). I hope people doens't read too much bad reviews and will open eyes !

Deep and complex, almost overly so. There are a lot of things to enjoy about the battle system if you are a turn-based nut like me. At first it will seem overwhelming, but once you realize the flow it becomes second nature. The story is a bit weak and generic but not so much to detract from the game play. The voice acting is rock-solid as is Square-Enix's M.O. There are a few weaknesses in the combat system with the aggregate HP of unions allowing a whole union to be crippled by one particularly fierce attack on a weak member. The system seems a bit arbitrary at times but it's not a game-breaker. Visually the game is top notch.… Expand

Fantastic game with a great usp. Scale of battles is phenomenal with great use of tactics. Quests is nice and long with plenty of side quests to complete and many optional extras to seek out. Unfortunately load times are frequent but if you save each disc to the hardrive they become non-existent. Only downside to the system is the problem of the unnerving game mechanics and how you create your unions.… Expand

While the lead character is the most unlovable alter ego I ever had to play in any game and the story is hackneyed beyond belief, what makes the game so addicting is the incredible fun and intriguing combat mechanics.
There is an astonishing amount of detail gone into the design of a really good user interface with useful features that make gaming a lot more fun. Save anywhere you want, to start with, which is something still unusual for most jrpgs.
Additionally, combat remains interesting until the very end, which is also an unfortunate rarity for JRPGs (Lost Odyssee comes to mind as an example of how not to do it.)

While the minor side-characters are a lot of fun, most of the lead characters are pretty badly characterized. The hero's sister is the only believable main character, the rest just forcibly acts in a random way to drive the plot towards the next encounter. At no point in the game do you actually feel in control or contributing anything to the game world, which is a shame.

A better story with more likeable characters, and the game would be a 10/10 without a doubt. Even so, the unique combat mechanics are definitely worth a look for anyone appreciating turn-based combat with a surprising amount of control and depths.… Expand

While some concepts are cool, and the art direction is basic if not attractive JRPG fare, this game sucks. You more watch it than really engage in the looooonnnnnggggg battles. And in a game that requires so much grinding, that just too awful. skip it, avoid it. Its awful, and a continuation of square enix sulling its good name.

Ok the beginning of this game was ok, it had potential. The graphics where decent, storyline was going well and i thought this might be a decent rpg. Nooooo, After 5 hours into the game i had 12 people plus in my party. The action battle sequences where hellish to watch, you just didnt know what was going on. The leveling system was also extremely poor. This is a game i would not recommend. You may enjoy the first few hours but trust me that will be all. Do not buy.… Expand

I was expecting big things from the makers of Final Fantasy, one of my favourite gaming series. However, The Last Remnant isn't up to the quality of its sister games. Don't get me wrong, once again the story and the characters are well rounded and the basics of gameplay work well on a simple RPG level. However, I'm not a fan of not actually being able to do anything for most of the battles you encounter. After selecting one or two command options at the start of the encounter, you just sit back and watch for the rest of it, and this can be a good ten minutes or so for boss encounters. Really boring. Nor did I like the calling system, having to call enemies into battle before they touched you in order to strike first, its repetitive and it doesn't fit with the overall feel of the game. Nor do I like not being able to customise my characters and their stats, being able only to customise a whole unit of soldiers on a basics only level. There's also a number of bugs with this game; freezing and superspeed characters and most notably, and often, poor environment textures which would look good on a N64, not a 360. Most of the environment is pop-in and the game is littered with constant load screens and jumpy framerates. Last Remnant just seems like a hash of a game that Square-Enix coughed out to fill the gap between their big releases of Lost Odyssey and FF13.… Expand

I enjoyed the story but found the combat system to be a bit of a frustrating mess which although it probably isn't, just felt unfair. i thought the main characters were likable and the voice acting was good. i just feel i would have enjoyed the game allot more if the combat system was different, perhaps if it was grid based instead of the just attacking whats in range then being stuck fighting. although i disliked the combat system, it was unique and the story kept me playing till the end.… Expand

I realize I'm incredibly late to the table for this, but it's been in my game library a long time and I never played it. Cheesy characters aside (except for Torgal!) the combat in this game is ridiculously boss. It's like playing a mix of Fire Emblem and an RTS. You have multiple unions of multiple people going around fighting enemies in different parts of the battlefield, and the angle you're attacking changes the ways you can both attack and get attacked. At times it looks like a movie. You also recruit people (like FE, again) and set them in your unions, building them up yourself. Now, the problem a lot of people had was a slowdown during combat. I think this stems from two things:
1)The game needs installed on the 360's harddrive. Having done this, I notice almost no slowdown. Almost... leading to my theory on number 2

2)There is no QTE in-battle in the beginning of the game. It's implemented later. When implemented, the battle slows down to let you hit the correct QTE button. I think, in the beginning of the game, the battle is slowing down for the QTE, but since it's not part of the game, you juts see slow down. Made sense to me, though it sucks for the beginning.

Otherwise, this game is excellent. Since it's so old now, you can pick it up for a few bucks and then blow a week playing it. Great game.… Expand

Decent game.