Sakaguchi makes The Last Story for Nintendo Wii, Japan Exclusive and Localization: My Thoughts

Final Fantasy is a very well known series around the world and has a million of fans. It was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who was with Square until 2004, when he moved onto a company named Mistwalker that he founded in 2001. Ever since then he has made quite a few other RPG games such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. His latest work is The Last Story for the Nintendo Wii, an RPG game announced early last year and was just released in January of 2011 in Japan. There is no word yet on if it will be released outside of Japan, but a lot of people actually want it to. So, for my final blog in my game design class, I will give my thoughts on the game based off of what I have seen and heard online.

From what I have seen from the game play, it looks like a strategy action RPG. When you go into battle you control your own character, but you can also control the strategies of your teammates. The player can even use the environment during battle, from hiding behind objects to sneak up on enemies or to even do some specific attacks. When you are not in battle, you would normally be traveling around the town to buy weapons and armor, as well as going through the cut scenes from the story. I actually think this sounds pretty cool and it looks like it would be a game that people, especially RPG fans, would like to play. The battle system seems to require a lot of strategy, especially when there a ton of different enemies, and I think that it could actually get the player more involved in the battle.

In terms of graphics and presentation, it would be one of the best looking Wii games I have seen so far. I would put it alongside the likes of the Mario Galaxy series, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and the upcoming Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. It actually looks like a lot of effort was put into the game, which a lot of 3rd party companies need to start doing when it comes to creating Wii games. The art style seems like the basic Final Fantasy style, a sort of anime design that is normally seen from Japan and from what I have noticed, the environments seem to have been really well done at well, with quite a bit of detail. I can’t really say much else on this subject since it would be more of me repeating myself, but I think it was pretty well done. Could it have been a little better, sure, but I think it is good.

I don’t have much knowledge on the sound of the game, because I have only barely heard any of the music from it and only have heard a couple lines of dialogue from the characters, which are also in Japanese, which leads me to not know what they are talking about. However, it does seem like you could switch on some English subtitles from what I have seen as well as some of the writing actually being in English. But beside the point, the music I have heard actually sounded quite good. It is your standard style of music you would hear in an RPG and was well put together. And even though I don’t know Japanese, the voice acting sounds pretty well done and from what I have heard online, a ton of it was packed into the game.

Just like the music, the story is another thing I really don’t know much about as well. After reading a little bit online, the game seems to take place at a place known as Ruli Island. The main character of the game is known as Elza and he has traveled there alongside his mercenary group looking for work. So, I would assume the basic gist of the game is going on missions to help out the people of the town and defeat this Gurg race, an enemy of mankind as what the Internet has said. I can’t really give my thoughts on this, since I haven’t actually played it to see for myself, but could possibly be a cool story. I am guessing you would have to experience it yourself to actually have an understanding of what your opinion could be.

Also included in this game is a multiplayer mode, where you can go online and battle other players, assuming that you will probably use your powered up characters from your main story file. From the videos I have seen on YouTube, the multiplayer part of the game seems to be pretty well done and looks just like the combat from the main game. I didn’t exactly see any slowdowns or lag either, so that looks good as well. The thing is that I don’t know how good the online is overall since I have not played it but other people online who have at least had the chance actually say it was pretty fun and well put together.

In the end, The Last Story looks to be a great RPG game for the Wii and shows just what a Wii game can be like when a ton of effort is put into it. It looks fun and that is why it is one game I would actually look forward to playing, so I would love for it to come out of Japan. And it also fills the need for RPG games on the Wii. Not saying that the Wii doesn’t have any RPGs or anything, because it does in the likes of Arc Rise Fantasia and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles the Crystal Bearers, but I actually think it needs more. And if The Last Story can be localized for America and Europe, alongside the likes of Earth Seeker and Xenoblade, as well as the future Dragon Quest X that is coming out, RPGs could make it big on the Wii and become popular, just like any other Nintendo console. So get on with it Nintendo, and you too 3rd parties, because Nintendo fans want their RPGs.

The Return of an Nintendo 64 Classic, an Goldeneye 007 Wii Review

Do as anyone else remember the classic Goldeneye game made by Rare that back in 1997 on the Nintendo 64? I am sure a lot of people actually do, and have a lot of fond memories of it as well. Well, to me, it is not all that nostalgic because I only barely played it back then, but I have to admit that it was a great game for its time. Now, years later, we have a reimagining of the game, this time created by Eurocom, for the Nintendo Wii and I am sure a lot of people are wondering how well that is. So here, in this blog review, I will give you my thoughts on the games and how well I think it stacks up to the original.

The game play of the game is what you would basically see in any other first person shooter, you just go around each level shooting at the enemies and making it to the end. As you go through each level, you must complete certain goals given to you in order to complete it. As you raise the difficulty, just like in the original, you are given more goals to complete for each level. It may be similar to other shooting games, but it does have its own style that has really only been seen in the likes of the original Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and the Timesplitters series.

There are multiple control styles that you can play the game with. You can stick with the standard Wii Remote and Nunchuck or even use the Classic Controller Pro that comes with the bundled edition. Or even if you want, you can go back and use a Gamecube controller as well. The only two styles I tried so far are the Wii Remote and Nunchuck and the Classic Controller Pro that came with it and if I had to pick one that felt better, it would definitely be the Wii Remote and Nunchuck since it just so much more better and accurate. The Classic Controller Pro is nice and all, but it is a little harder to use for this game especially when you are online against people using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, where you will pretty much die any time. So, I will just use my Classic Controller Pro on other Wii games such as NBA Jam, Samurai Warriors 3, Sengoku Basara, and WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2011. To me, the Wii Remote is perfect enough for such a game as Goldeneye. But it is all based off preference, and others are bound to think differently.

Game Play: 9.5/10

Based off what I have seen so far from the game, the graphics and presentation are also pretty well done. They get the characters to look pretty realistic and the style of the game fits the typical James Bond feel. Each level is pretty detailed enough and they fit into such a game. And outside of the actual game, the menus are pretty well put together and are quite detailed. It is not the best looking game on the Wii but for what it was, they did a pretty good job. But I have to say that I am impressed by how well the game looks for a first time effort and want to give credit to Eurocom.

Graphics/Presentation: 9/10

When it came to the original Goldeneye, the game was only loosely based off the story. This time around, the game deals with a lot more of the story from the movie but it is changed up and is made to be different. In other words, this is a reimagining of Goldeneye. Yes, the overall story is there but it has a different feel and is quite a different experience. One of the major changes to it is that majority of the characters are played by different actors. Unlike the original which had Pierce Brosnan, the current Bond at the time, as James Bond, this one has the current one in Daniel Craig. This is the most dramatic change to the game but it really is nothing major, no matter how much people seem to complain about it.

Story: 9/10

The sound in the new Goldeneye is pretty well done. They get the voice actors that are in the movies, such as Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, and it all seems to fit well together and sounds good. Outside of the actual voice acting, the background music fits the mood of the game as well and each level has something different to offer. It actually sounds like music you would normally hear from James Bond and that is why it is quite good.

Sound: 9/10

Last but not least, I come to the multi-player section. This section was the most played and praised part of the first game and a ton of people put thousands of hours playing the game with family and friends. The same thing applies to this game, it has a large focus on multiplayer as well. You can either play with up to three others in the split-screen section in a ton of different game modes ranging from team deathmatch to capture the flag. And besides just that, online multi-player has been added to this game where you can play with up to seven other players from around the world as well. And just like the original, there are classic characters to play as alongside the typical soldier or scientist from the game. Characters like Jaws and Oddjob return and we see the debut of the likes of Scaramanga and Dr. No. I haven’t got a chance to play the split-screen multi-player yet, but online has been a pretty good experience and is a lot of fun.

Multi-Player: 9.5/10

In the end, Eurocom did a great job with the new Goldeneye. It is a fun game and, in my opinion, it does rival the original and in some cases, it is better especially in the control section. I am sure a lot of people would not agree with me, but this is my opinion after all. I recommend anyone out there that have either played the original or just likes to play first person shooter games to at least try this game out to see if they like it. Between the many modes for the multi-player to the great single-player, it is bound to be something you will enjoy. I did and I liked the game, and I think that especially comes from the fact that I am a fan of the James Bond series. Yes, they could have had a few more classic Bond characters, and a few other things could be fixed, but for a first effort, Eurocom did do a good job.

And this now leaves us to one thing, if Goldeneye was brought back, could another 007 shooter come back or even a return to Nintendo for Perfect Dark. I think it is time Eurocom, to start working on a remake of 007 The World Is Not Enough and Perfect Dark. I would sure want them, and I would bet want them too.

Final Score: 9.2/10