Author Topic: The Last Remnant (Square Enix - Unreal Engine 3) (Read 7446 times)

TheApprentice · « **on:** May 10, 2007, 04:51:31 PM »

When Square Enix announced back in January that they were licensing Unreal Engine 3 for an upcoming game, it sent major ripples throughout the rest of the industry. Besides the obvious shock of a major Japanese publisher using an American game engine for one of its titles, the deal seemed like an incongruous pairing. On the one hand, you had Square Enix, maker of blockbuster RPGs like the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series. And on the other, you had Epic's middleware engine, optimized mainly for FPS and action titles. What would come from such an unlikely union?

Well, the time for speculation is over, as Square Enix officially announced their new project at a special pre-conference press meeting today, in anticipation of the Square Enix Party 2007 to be held in Chiba, Japan this weekend. This new title is called The Last Remnant, and will be a completely new franchise set in a fresh universe. Unlike recent one-off titles such as Drakengard and Radiata Stories, Square Enix intends The Last Remnant to kick off a new brand on par with Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts.

To complete the list of firsts, the new game will see a simultaneous release in Japan and the U.S., and will be multiplatform to boot, with versions due for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Square Enix seems to have designed this game from the ground up with a Western audience in mind.

"Titles in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series achieved million-seller status even in the United States, proof that our [read: "the Japanese"] RPG genre has been accepted abroad," said Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada. "When one considers the marketability of the newest console generation, worldwide business development and hit titles become an urgent task. [The Last Remnant] is a title with a global, not just Japanese, perspective."

From the footage shown at the press meeting, the game will apparently focus on a character named Rush Sykes as he is swept up in a multilateral struggle revolving around the symbols of power known simply as "Remnants."

A view of Aslam, one of the towns. Apparently, these "Remnants" are gigantic sword monoliths. And you thought Cloud was packing...

The developers are also promising some new innovations in the battle system. If the use of the Unreal Engine made you think that Square Enix would be coming out with a Gears of War-like action shooter, think again: The Last Remnant will retain the typical field/battle screen dichotomy, as contact with enemies visible on the field map will instantly trigger a battle. Once in battle mode, the tried-and-true command-based menu system will appear, but this time around, the player will not be controlling a small party, but instead a small army. In fact, the company's press release promises heated battles with up to 70 characters. In addition, the battle system is dynamic so that available commands may change on the fly depending on certain conditions, and players will be able to intervene in the battle in real time. The developers promise that the system brings a new level of suspense to RPG battles, and cuts down on the grind elements typical of a menu-driven scheme.

You and the bad guys aren't lined up in nice rows anymore.

Being the first major new franchise in five years from the undisputed king of Japanese RPGs, as well as being built from the same game engine as Gears of War, The Last Remnant marks a bold new entry in the next-gen console RPG lineup for Square Enix. The only caveat: producer Nobuyuki Ueda and director Hiroshi Takai are both veterans of the SaGa series, which has long been the dark horse among Square's franchises, notorious among fans for veering away from too many RPG conventions. Whether The Last Remnant will join the likes of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, or meet with a mixed critical reaction like Romancing SaGa is, of course, too early to tell. With the Square Enix Party happening this weekend in Japan, expect more details on this new project to emerge on GamePro very soon.

Concept art showing main character Rush, one of the Remnants, and an as-of-yet unnamed female character.

http://www.gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4590

Carigamers · « **on:** May 10, 2007, 04:51:31 PM »

W1nTry · « **Reply #1 on:** May 21, 2007, 11:35:02 AM »

Looks/sounds great so far... and the UT3 engine??? SUWEET!!! since it'll be cross platform I am hopign this will solve my RPG fix.... Oblivion is GREAT doh get me wrong, but i'll soon start and demolish Shivering Isles and i'll be in need of something else...

TheApprentice · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2007, 01:18:05 PM »

It looks alright so far...

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BloodWar · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2007, 05:55:31 PM »

damn my bro is on resistance i cant see trailer o.o this sounds so awesome o.o

rassmatic · « **Reply #4 on:** March 21, 2009, 09:49:39 AM »

noticed that no-one really following this game, but it came out for the PC recently and I just had to say how good it is. the PC version BTW is leaps and bounds better than the console counterparts. here's the review.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thelastremnant/review.html?tag=topslot;img;1

Carigamers · « **Reply #4 on:** March 21, 2009, 09:49:39 AM »

Crixx_Creww · « **Reply #5 on:** March 21, 2009, 12:19:14 PM »

thanks for this post rage
looking for a title like this since i slowed down on my mmos recently

rb · « **Reply #6 on:** March 21, 2009, 12:34:24 PM »

How is the combat system ? Last console to pc rpg I played was Grandia 2 and I loved it (outside of the voice acting)

Eroo · « **Reply #7 on:** March 21, 2009, 02:00:05 PM »

Tried out the demo and its pretty good.

rassmatic · « **Reply #8 on:** March 21, 2009, 02:46:28 PM »

Quote from: rb on March 21, 2009, 12:34:24 PM

How is the combat system ? Last console to pc rpg I played was Grandia 2 and I loved it (outside of the voice acting)

the combat is turned-based. here's a quote explaining it.

Quote

The Last Remnant's battle system is intriguing, though you will be several hours in before you can appreciate its intricacies. Rather than controlling party members during combat, you recruit leaders and soldiers, and group them together into unions. Although each unit has his or her own stats, equipment, and arts (the game's versions of spells and combat skills), you issue union-wide, turn-based commands on the field. Whereas in most RPGs you choose very specific actions, such as casting a particular spell or using a particular item, in The Last Remnant you choose broader commands. These may include healing unions that need it; performing mystic arts (though you can see which arts the units will use, you can't micromanage them on a unit-by-unit basis); or summoning Rush's awe-inspiring, beautifully designed cyclops to assist in battle.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thelastremnant/review.html?tag=topslot;img;1

here's the video review of the console version

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43107.html

same game for PC minus just about all the console's flaws (no slowdown, no popup, shorter load times, etc.)

AR!Ø · « **Reply #9 on:** March 21, 2009, 03:20:26 PM »

This game looks awesome

lol rage I just got through watching the series that your avatar is from.

shivadee · « **Reply #10 on:** March 21, 2009, 03:47:09 PM »

the console version that was reviewed was under the same "effects" as Lost Odyssey.
The reviewers received a "gold" build of the title but not the FINAL build. Lost Odyssey got so so reviews because of the same framerate issues. Owning both of these titles on console, the patch updates on LIVE and final release has removed the slowdowns on the console. Just an FYI

Last Rem is a fantastic game. Any FF style fan should do well to get it. You control teams rather than individuals, you set their attacks and they use them accordingly. Its more macro management with little micromanagement so to speak. Its a nice change. Its pretty brutal when ready...you die on a boss fight and may find yourself WAYYYYYYYY back when in the level, meaning you gonna have to old school save point like crazy, which is not an issue if you've been playing RPG's for a while.