surprisingly really good
It's important to realize right from the get-go that The Last Remnant is not a game for everybody. For many the game's cliché story, forgettable cast and atrocious technical problems will turn them away from what is an otherwise solid game. This is not one of Square Enix's best efforts, I certainly realize that, but there are enough good ideas in this game to make me recommend it, even if it's only a tepid recommendation. For me there was a moment when the whole thing just clicked; I still disliked a lot of the elements, but enough of it worked to where I started to have a lot of fun. It's a shame that Square Enix made so many questionable design decisions along the way.
The Last Remnant starts out promising enough.
While nothing about the story is especially new or innovative, the gameplay manages to mix together enough interesting ingredients to make something wonderful. The Last Remnant's combat system takes a lot from the turn-based gameplay of other classic Square Enix games (Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, etc.), but adds an interesting tactical RPG element that quickly becomes the most compelling reason to keep playing the game.
Instead of controlling individual characters, you are in charge of an entire union of characters. You choose which group of bad guys you want to attack, how you want to attack them and then start your battle. What sets this system apart is how the battles come together. For the most part you're orchestrating how you want your turn to play out before taking your turn, doing nothing more than telling the group where they need to go and what they need to do. However, when you see the battle take place it's like nothing else Square Enix has ever done. Even when you're only controlling one or two unions, you're still seeing a half dozen characters go at it in the middle of a gorgeous battlefield.
But there's an inherent problem with this interesting union vs. union combat mechanic. For starters, what makes this fun isn't immediately recognizable. Chances are you'll find yourself hating the combat until you're finally given the chance to control more than one grouping of units. By the end of the game you'll find yourself commanding dozens of characters, all battling these huge bosses and impressive armies. It's at this point that you realize how new and exciting this combat mechanic is, it just takes you the better part of ten hours before it hits you.
Sadly, in the six hours before this game picks up steam you'll encounter literally dozens of good reasons to completely stop playing. In fact, there are so many problems with the game's first act that I fear I don't have enough space to go over all of them. We'll start with the most obvious problem - the game's horrific technical problems. I've played a lot of games in my years, but never have I seen a game with so many technical problems. For one thing, at no point does this game run smoothly. From the first seconds of the story you'll notice that there are non-stop frame rate problems, inconsistent textures, horrible clipping problems, rampant slowdowns and graphical pop-ups. And that's just what you'll notice in the first few seconds. From beginning to end, The Last Remnant is full of these issues, to the point where you just get used to textures popping at random times, or how just about everything requires a five second loading screen, or how it feels like the game is going to break down at any time. These are things that you just put up with, which is a real shame. One more godthing is that every playthrough is different weather you enjoy this game or not don't make you mind only on reading reviews and try it for yourself