Xenoblade and The Last Story in the US?

[quote name='Indignate']Last Story just went to $8 on Amazon.[/QUOTE]

Was just about to cross post that here. But chances are by the time anyone reads this thread the deal will be dead on Amazon. People will just have to stumble upon it in the Deals forum for as long as it lasts.
 
I respect that some people here (cough-DoK-cough) really detest this game. As a result I have approached it with caution. I was going to wait for a sub-$20 price before I got it. I think $8 fits the bill and then some.

And despite the negatives here, an 80 on Metacritic means it can't be all that horrible. If anything, the wide range of views makes me even more curious to try it out.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/the-last-story

Even there the review scores range fro 40 to 92. But the 80 average means the scores are generally pretty high but just like here there are a few people who hate it ;).
 
I also read mixed reactions of the game before going in and trusted the positive ones because, well, the game caught my fancy in the first place. I wasn't prepared for what was in store for me, however.

Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
 
While it's not as bad as DoK makes it out to be, 80 is probably too high still. Slowdowns aside, the story was cliche. The controls are annoying sometimes, due to the small amount of buttons available for tasks (you could swing your sword while trying to vault over a rock, or something along those lines). The combat system mostly works.
 
It's worth checking out at least if you can get it for a price like 8 bucks, or if you can rent it. Sure as fuck not worth anywhere near full price though.
 
[quote name='io']I respect that some people here (cough-DoK-cough) really detest this game. As a result I have approached it with caution. I was going to wait for a sub-$20 price before I got it. I think $8 fits the bill and then some.

And despite the negatives here, an 80 on Metacritic means it can't be all that horrible. If anything, the wide range of views makes me even more curious to try it out.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/the-last-story

Even there the review scores range fro 40 to 92. But the 80 average means the scores are generally pretty high but just like here there are a few people who hate it ;).[/QUOTE]

Last Story isn't perfect, but it's still one of the best Japanese RPGs in years. It still feels Sakaguchi-y, and as such obviously destroys...well...any Japanese RPG not made by Sakaguchi or (sometimes) Nintendo.

First thing you'll notice is just "why is this on the Wii?" For a Wii game it looks pretty amazing and is pretty ambitious, and I like how they'll often toss frame rate to the wind during cut scenes...I don't think most people would even notice it, but they'll be going well under what it runs in during the gameplay, to kind of "cheat" and make it look better than what the Wii can do.

That is what it is though...it should be on current gen hardware, but at least it pushes the Wii as far as it can go.

Most annoying thing about it though is the spikes in difficulty for bosses. I can't tell you the number of times I've nearly thrown in the towel with bosses. Contrary to what I've read, you DO want to level up a bit at the red summoning circles. You can tell when you're supposed to move on-fight for a few minutes and suddenly your exp. drops massively when you hit a particular level. Makes bosses...occasionally even fun, at least not so crazy hard.

That battle system teeters between inspired and spastic, but at it's best is fairly satisfying, and certainly pretty original (and FAAAAAAAAR superior to relative garbage like Xenoblade or something).

Story and characters are, unsurprisingly, pretty awesome. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY above the curve for a Japanese RPG, and they kept me going even when a boss battle pissed me off. Nothing else touches this except Sakaguchi's other games, and...no, that's it, just Sakaguchi's stuff.

I'd say you absolutely want to play Lost Odyssey first, and maybe even Blue Dragon (I'd say Blue Dragon's gameplay is more satisfying, but the story and characters in this are better, and both are better in Lost Odyssey).

Oh, and obviously you'll want to plug in a real controller!
 
I've played both Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon and I loved Blue Dragon despite there being a lot of hate for that game on CAG. Lost Odyssey I was less impressed with, but still thought it was a very good game. I just absolutely hated the every-2-steps random battles.

I thought Xenoblade was the best game I've played this generation (though Demon/Dark Souls is close). So I don't expect Last Story to be better than that, but I'll definitely have to check it out. I just don't know when I'll have the time. I still need to play Skyrim as well ;). And recently I've been trying to finish up Tales of the Abyss on 3DS.

As for the controller, I had a Classic Controller Pro sitting still sealed in a box (have no idea where/when I got this) and finally cracked it open for Xenoblade. Whatever I got it for, I got my money's worth just using it for that game.

My copy of The Last Story did finally ship from Amazon today so I'll have it Weds.
 
[quote name='io']I've played both Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon and I loved Blue Dragon despite there being a lot of hate for that game on CAG. Lost Odyssey I was less impressed with, but still thought it was a very good game. I just absolutely hated the every-2-steps random battles.

I thought Xenoblade was the best game I've played this generation (though Demon/Dark Souls is close). So I don't expect Last Story to be better than that, but I'll definitely have to check it out. I just don't know when I'll have the time. I still need to play Skyrim as well ;). And recently I've been trying to finish up Tales of the Abyss on 3DS.

As for the controller, I had a Classic Controller Pro sitting still sealed in a box (have no idea where/when I got this) and finally cracked it open for Xenoblade. Whatever I got it for, I got my money's worth just using it for that game.

My copy of The Last Story did finally ship from Amazon today so I'll have it Weds.[/QUOTE]

I thought LO had a pretty average battle rate... it never felt too frequent, no more so than random battle frequencies of most PS1/SNES RPGs. The battle loading though, was annoying as fuck. Before the HD install option, I remember battles taking forever to start. It was still bad after the install option, but much more bearable.

I don't think TLS is as bad as some people make it out to be (though I think Wolfpup's critique is way too generous), I think having Sakaguchi's name on it probably built up people's expectations at bit too much. It's not the best RPG by a long shot, especially after having played Radiant Historia and Xenoblade back to back, but the combat system is pretty good and the game isn't without its charms.
 
It still feels Sakaguchi-y, and as such obviously destroys...well...any Japanese RPG not made by Sakaguchi or (sometimes) Nintendo.
Click to expand...

Ok, that only sounded like a slight hint of bias. Which I guess probably plays a part with most positive impressions of this game. Sakaguchi and Uematsu, underdog title on the Wii, it's not exactly a fun game to speak poorly about. Quite depressing to admit its failings, really.

And I don't think TLS is a love or hate game at all, clearly people either dislike it, or simply muster up reasons to claim that, "hey, it isn't terrible." I don't know why we have to beat around the bush with JRPGs all the time, them being under the radar doesn't dismiss them from criticism. Japan has a lot of talented developers even in this generation, they don't need us always lowering the bar for them.
 
[quote name='Vinny']I thought LO had a pretty average battle rate... it never felt too frequent, no more so than random battle frequencies of most PS1/SNES RPGs. The battle loading though, was annoying as fuck. Before the HD install option, I remember battles taking forever to start. It was still bad after the install option, but much more bearable.[/QUOTE]

Part of it is because I was missing just one single achievement - the one for opening every treasure chest. And going back to look for those while dealing with random battles against now weak enemies was just unbearable. I don't like random battles in any game by the way - one reason I don't like playing those "classic" games all that much. The only one I played in which it was somewhat tolerable was DQ VIII just because the game was so awesome otherwise. But I much prefer the Blue Dragon method of being able to see enemies on the field (and later the ability to "bump" them off was a nice tweak).
 
Lufia 2 was a classic that lets you see monsters on maps. And had Pokemon-like pets. And puzzles. It's been 5-6 years since I last beat it...
 
[quote name='elessar123']Lufia 2 was a classic that lets you see monsters on maps. And had Pokemon-like pets. And puzzles. It's been 5-6 years since I last beat it...[/QUOTE]

Lufia 2 was a great game. Awesome turn based RPG with some pretty action/puzzle oriented dungeons. I think the dungeons in Wild Arms were the closest match that I've encountered (although they have random battles). It was definitely way ahead of its time IMO. Although there were random battles on the world map, it was definitely one of the only games I played at that time that didn't have random encounters in dungeons.

I'm not sure that there was a single aspect of Lufia 2 I didn't like. Definitely one of the most under-appreciated RPGs of all time. It seems it's loved by everyone who played it but that unfortunately was a very small segment.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']And I don't think TLS is a love or hate game at all, clearly people either dislike it, or simply muster up reasons to claim that, "hey, it isn't terrible." I don't know why we have to beat around the bush with JRPGs all the time, them being under the radar doesn't dismiss them from criticism. Japan has a lot of talented developers even in this generation, they don't need us always lowering the bar for them.[/QUOTE]

It also shouldn't just be two ratings, "great" and "awful" to describe games. There are gray areas in the middle. Personally, I think TLS is pretty solid, if unspectacular. I'd say the biggest flaw is that there isn't much to the battle system, but I don't find it gets in the way of enjoying the game. I certainly think it is worth getting at $8, and I didn't regret paying $38 for it.
 
[quote name='TheLongshot']It also shouldn't just be two ratings, "great" and "awful" to describe games. There are gray areas in the middle. Personally, I think TLS is pretty solid, if unspectacular. I'd say the biggest flaw is that there isn't much to the battle system, but I don't find it gets in the way of enjoying the game. I certainly think it is worth getting at $8, and I didn't regret paying $38 for it.[/QUOTE]

I think the biggest reason the battle system seemed hollow is because they rarely forced you to use any of the strategy measures. Besides a few bosses, the enemies were too easy- you can basically rush every single battle and win. Character development would have helped as well.

I think it's a good base though, if they never make a sequel... which they won't.
 
The Last Story is everywhere also. I bought it on day one to make sure I would get it, but the distribution was much wider than I thought. I hope it sold/sells well enough to make future games like this released in U.S.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']So are these games ever going to become rares? Every Gamestop in my area still has Xenoblade in stock.[/QUOTE]

Xenoblade is already semi-rare--sealed copies sell for $70+ on eBay (Gamestop.com is sold out) and used copies seem to hit $40-$50.

On a related point, I finally started playing Xenoblade...! Only up to
the knee
so still very early days, but immensely enjoying it thus far.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']The Last Story is everywhere also. I bought it on day one to make sure I would get it, but the distribution was much wider than I thought. I hope it sold/sells well enough to make future games like this released in U.S.[/QUOTE]

It's amazing that Newegg still has the first print in stock. I skipped the last time they had that on sale. I'll probably pick it up next time they do that.

[quote name='wampa8jedi']Xenoblade is already semi-rare--sealed copies sell for $70+ on eBay (Gamestop.com is sold out) and used copies seem to hit $40-$50.

On a related point, I finally started playing Xenoblade...! Only up to
the knee
so still very early days, but immensely enjoying it thus far.[/QUOTE]
I can buy dozens of copies of Xenoblade including 5 or 6 sealed copies. It's probably too much effort for the current price point though.
 
The Last Story looks sold out on Amazon unless they pulled the inventory to put on a surprise Black Friday sale. I might have to buy this from some eBay seller new for 40 if Newegg does put it on sale again.
 
That is awesome actually. I was getting worried because I see lots of copies in stores. Hopefully they're talking about sell-through and not just sales to retailers. Does this mean we get the last game of the trilogy also? And will Nintendo (and others) learn to give us better games in N.A. when everyone else gets them?
 
[quote name='J7.']Sweet! Just picked up Xenoblade today, didn't want to buy this very soon, and now it's already getting a nice pricecut. :applause:[/QUOTE]

I'm kind of upset I had to pay full price for Xenoblade. I absolutely HATE paying that much for a video game. Considering how rare it's becoming, I felt like I had to do it. If they reprint that with a $30 sell price I'll be annoyed...to say the least.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']I'm kind of upset I had to pay full price for Xenoblade. I absolutely HATE paying that much for a video game. Considering how rare it's becoming, I felt like I had to do it. If they reprint that with a $30 sell price I'll be annoyed...to say the least.[/QUOTE]

For one of the very rare times I feel kind of bad that I bought a game used. But because it was $50 and only available at GS anyway, I decided to get it used during a B2G1. After playing it, I wouldn't have minded one bit if I had spent the full $50 on it new.
 
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Out of curiosity, does the text always appear sharp and clear on the US version of Xenoblade? I still have my PAL version running on the Homebrewed Wii and often see squished/blurred text here and there...maybe due to NTSC and PAL fonts being a bit different or maybe it has to do with resolution? Does anyone have both versions for comparison's sake?
 
So...any opinions on if the extras on the limited edition of The Last Story are worth $10? It's still available at Best Buy's site for $40 and of course Amazon has the reprints for $30. Not sure if I should pick up the $40 one or just wait for Amazon to have it on sale for $20. In that case, are the extras worth 20?
 
[quote name='Blaster man']So...any opinions on if the extras on the limited edition of The Last Story are worth $10? It's still available at Best Buy's site for $40 and of course Amazon has the reprints for $30. Not sure if I should pick up the $40 one or just wait for Amazon to have it on sale for $20. In that case, are the extras worth 20?[/QUOTE]

The soundtrack is great. The case is nice, but it's odd-sized and difficult to deal with if you're getting the game out with any frequency. The artbook is small and has the usual art. Nothing that really stands out.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']The soundtrack is great. The case is nice, but it's odd-sized and difficult to deal with if you're getting the game out with any frequency. The artbook is small and has the usual art. Nothing that really stands out.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'll just wait on Best Buy or Amazon to put one of those on sale before buying.
 
Pandora’s Tower is coming to North America

January 16th, 2013 Posted in News, Posted by Valay, Wii | 1 Comment » It’s official: the Wii RPG trifecta is complete in the states. XSEED has just announced Pandora’s Tower localization for North America.
Pandora’s Tower will arrive in the states this spring. XSEED reached an agreement with Nintendo for publishing rights, just as it did for The Last Story.
Wii (and Wii U) owners will now have access to the console’s last three major RPGs from Nintendo. Xenoblade arrived last year, and The Last Story followed a few months after. Pandora’s Tower was the final title waiting to be localized.
 
[quote name='Erad30']Pandora’s Tower is coming to North America

January 16th, 2013 Posted in News, Posted by Valay, Wii | 1 Comment » It’s official: the Wii RPG trifecta is complete in the states. XSEED has just announced Pandora’s Tower localization for North America.
Pandora’s Tower will arrive in the states this spring. XSEED reached an agreement with Nintendo for publishing rights, just as it did for The Last Story.
Wii (and Wii U) owners will now have access to the console’s last three major RPGs from Nintendo. Xenoblade arrived last year, and The Last Story followed a few months after. Pandora’s Tower was the final title waiting to be localized.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the heads up, I was expecting this to come across the pond sooner or later. XSEED has taken riskier moves in localizing than this, and PT will do well enough, even with those who just have a Wii U and are looking for something to pad their early collection with.
 
I'm not as sure about this one though, Xenoblade & Last Story have near universal praise, Pandora has more of a mixed reception to date.
 
[quote name='Erad30']I'm not as sure about this one though, Xenoblade & Last Story have near universal praise, Pandora has more of a mixed reception to date.[/QUOTE]

Though I liked Pandora's Tower, I don't think it'll receive much praise. But I think it'll sell fine simply because of how it's tied to Xenoblade and TLS.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']So...any opinions on if the extras on the limited edition of The Last Story are worth $10? It's still available at Best Buy's site for $40 and of course Amazon has the reprints for $30. Not sure if I should pick up the $40 one or just wait for Amazon to have it on sale for $20. In that case, are the extras worth 20?[/QUOTE]

Are the reprints any different? I've got my last one of the Last Story LEs.
 
Gamestop sent me an email offering me $45 or $48 with Pro Member for trading in Xenoblade. Regular TIV for it is $30. They also offer me Fire Emblem RD Wii $24/$25.60 after the 50% promo.
 
Gamestop raised the price for Xenoblade used to $60. It is selling on ebay for $80-90 used and $150-160 new.
 
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