The-Last-Remnant posts (Subscribe to this feed)

It seems as though Square Enix's attempt to reach out to Western gamers with The Last Remnant has done little in the way of olive branch extension, with the title selling 220,000 units since its release last year. According to Siliconera (and corroborated with info from VGChartz.com), the game sold even worse in Japan, where 360 saturation is notably low, moving only 160,000 units, making the game a relative success with Western audiences.

That being said, combined worldwide sales for the game totaled just over half of a million units, with 560,000 selling altogether (more than 400k of which were sold in North America and Europe). Hopefully the acquisition of Eidos will do more for the Japanese company in the west than The Last Remnant did.

Square Enix first announced The Last Remnant, its Unreal Engine-powered RPG, as a multiplatform title for Xbox 360, PC and PS3. With both 360 and PC versions out, some are wondering what happened to the PS3 version.

Hiroshi Takai from Square Enix spoke at GDC, commenting on his experiences working with an externally produced engine for a project targeted at a global market. Lackluster reviews in America led Takai to admit that the game was "scored too high" in Japan.

According to Gamasutra, Takai was asked about the PS3 version of The Last Remnant. Though noting that the PC version had just shipped, he said, "I can't answer for the PlayStation 3," We've requested an official comment from Square Enix, and will update when we get a response.

In a move that we'd have considered entirely out of the ordinary just a few years ago, Japanese developer Square Enix has shored up on the west coast of the US and opened shop. According to Ars Technica, this new development studio plans to cater to a western audience not by changing the type of games they make, but by employing western developers.

"It's not a good idea to make a game for people you don't understand," game development manager Fumi Shiraishi told AT." According to the piece, this new studio won't set out to develop "another FPS" but will push the envelope with regards to traditional Square Enix-developed titles. Considering the tepid reviews The Last Remnant received in the States, we're hoping this new studio can bring the signature Square Enix style to us with some much needed fresh ideas.

Shiraishi wouldn't reveal what the studio will be working on next, though he did say it falls under the "western niche" banner. So, an Infinite Undiscovery RTS, eh? Well played, Shiraishi. Well played indeed.

European PC gamers got their hot little hands on the Games for Windows version of Square Enix's The Last Remnant today. Don't be too jealous, Americans -- the PCified RPG is coming stateside next Tuesday. Actually, don't get jealous at all -- according to a number of consumer reports via Eurogamer, the game refuses to accept the activation codes printed on the title's manual. Any attempt to install the game is met with a prompt informing the user the game hasn't been unlocked on Steam yet. More troubling, Steam's separate launch isn't coming until April 9.

Hopefully, Square Enix will rectify this verification blunder before the Steam launch date rolls around. We heard a rumor that most folks don't appreciate not being able to install the games they've rightfully purchased. Weird, right?

[Update: Square Enix reports that copies of the game should now be activating just fine, saying, "This issue was actually fixed early this morning so any technical glitches were resolved within a few hours."

If you believe most reviews, The Last Remnant's outing on the Xbox 360 was mired in technical issues, evoking the kind of strain and unexpected farting more closely associated with the plane-pulling segment of a strong man competition. The most obvious solution, then, is to get a bigger man or perhaps a better metaphor.

According to Japan's Famitsu magazine (via 1UP), the PC version of Square Enix's strategic RPG is set to arrive in the region on April 9 for the hefty price of ¥8,190 ($90). That heft nabs you the ability to speed up battle animations, include more leader-class characters in a union, preview equipment in the menu and switch between Japanese and terrible voice acting.

And, provided your rig has enough muscle, the Unreal-powered graphics should look (and hopefully perform) more in line with The Last Remnant's rampant epicness.

It's a slow week for sales in the Great White North, but role-playing fans are in for a treat this week at Best Buy Canada. For a limited time, Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant have been discounted to $39.99 each. Both published by famed developer Square Enix, each title has been a staple in Microsoft's role-playing game push, over the last year. The Last Remnant was developed by the powerhouse Square Enix using Epic's Unreal Engine 3 and Infinite Undiscovery was developed by JRPG fan favorite tri-Ace and offer two very different game play experiences. Canadians looking to spend some quality time with two popular Japanese role-playing games should take notice to this promotion.

[Sale Links: Infinite Undiscovery | The Last Remnant]

The two FREE downloads include Challenge Pack 1: Purgatory's Sins which we're informed requires "adequate game progression" (whatever that may be) and The Key of Ancient Ruins which should unlock some pretty spiffy stuff. Remember too that more DLC is headed down the pipeline, so watch for it and keep hope that it isn't just an unlock code.

If you thought you've seen the last of The Last Remnant, Square's recent East-meets-West RPG, you've got another thing coming -- actually, you've got four things coming. Throughout December, Square will be releasing four downloadable expansions to the already expansive title. The first two will drop simultaneously on Dec. 1 for Gold Xbox Live members (Silver members will have to wait until Dec. 8) -- "Challenge Pack 1: Purgatory's Sins" will add difficult new guild tasks to the game, while "The Key of Ancient Ruins" will... unlock some in-game Ancient Ruins.

On Dec. 22 (Dec. 29 for Silver members), Square will release "Challenge Pack 2: The Price of Lies", which will bestow even tougher guild tasks upon the game's more masochistic players. Finally, the "March to War" set, which unlocks three new battle formations and was rewarded to pre-orderers of the title, will be available for everyone to download Dec. 15. It will run players 100 -- the other three expansions will be totally free.

If you've been able to look past the numerous reported technical issues with The Last Remnant, you should be happy to hear that that three downloadable content packs are on the way for the game. The first, Challenge Pack 1: Purgatory's Sins, will be available to Xbox Live Gold members on December 1 and Silver members on December 8. This pack includes new guild tasks. Also available on these dates will be The Key of Ancient Ruins which, appropriately enough, unlocks the Ancient Ruins in the game. The third bit of DLC, Challenge Pack 2: The Price of Lies, which includes more guild tasks, will be available to Gold members on December 22 and Silver members on the 29th. All three of the above content packs will be completely free.

Finally, March to War, which was previously available only to those who had pre-ordered the game, will be made available to both Gold and Silver members on December 15 for 100 Microsoft Points. March to War adds three more formations for the game: Scatterswarm, Goblet and Catapult.

Well, so much for that fancy "platinum" score from Famitsu. Western critics have passed judgment on role-playing epic The Last Remnant, deeming it an intriguing turn-based affair that's unfortunately mired in plodding pacing and abundant technical issues. Did nobody think to send Square Enix the Unreal Engine's instruction manual?

• Gametrailers (80/100): "The Last Remnant is a hard game to judge. A person's enjoyment of it will be directly related to how much they can tolerate persistent graphical issues. If you can get past it, there's a lot to enjoy in the smart design decisions and its unique battle system."
• Gamespot (65/100): "How unfortunate that such a renowned RPG developer has buried a potential classic under a humiliating technical fiasco."
• Eurogamer (60/100): "It's a unique and compelling combat system buried beneath choppy pacing, too much wandering around, disappointing presentation problems and an awful lot of loading, and whether that's worth accepting depends largely on your tolerance or affection for long-winded self-indulgence, and whether you think 40 quid is a reasonable amount to pay for one superb idea cushioned by hours of grinding mediocrity."
• IGN (53/100): "The Last Remnant is a technical mess, but it's also behind the curve in so many ways."

You've read the headline and you're probably thinking, "Oh, great. Just what we need. Another article effusing praise for Left 4 Dead. Thanks. Thank you so much." In truth, yes, we're excited that Left 4 Dead is coming out this week, but the reality of the headline is best understood by glancing at the list below. There are twelve, twelve new games being released this week. If that's not enough to metamorphose every respectable gamer into a gibbering, cash-starved zombie, we're not sure what is. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have suddenly developed an irresistible craving for braaains gaaames.

• Left 4 Dead
• The Last Remnant
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• You're in the Movies with Camera
• Tomb Raider Underworld
• NPPL Championship Paintball 2009
• LIPS
• Karaoke Revolution: American Idol 2
• Disney's Bolt
• Sonic Unleashed
• Need For Speed: Undercover

We really haven't heard anything about The Last Remnant for a while now -- the game's PS3 version still lacks a release date (the delay is attributed to the Unreal Engine while the 360 version will be out this November) and details on the game mechanics are fuzzy at best.

Luckily for fans, Siliconera has unearthed some information on the battle mechanics for the multiplatform RPG. It is being summarized as a "turn-based RPG with multiple parties" -- you control several parties of up to five characters each. Instead of issuing direct commands to the members of the party, you issue more generalized directions such as "time to get physical/mystical" (physical/magical attacks on enemies) or "attack, but stay healthy" (attack close-ranged enemies while healing) to the entire party. Finally, there's also a morale meter on the top of the battle screen: high morale means you deal more damage while damage received will be reduced and vice versa.

This whole system doesn't sound especially innovative to us. So instead of controlling 4-5 members of your party in a typical RPG, you control 4-5 parties that work in a similar fashion? We'll reserve our final judgment for the game when it comes out though, not that we know when that will happen. Check out the latest screenshots for the game -- you can find all 70 of them in the gallery below.