The Last Story is Coming to America!

Late last week, Nintendo held their Direct Video conference and dropped a bomb on North American RPG fans. The Last Story, a Wii exclusive RPG that was never supposed to see the light of day in the west, is being brought over thanks to a publishing deal with Xseed games. And yet, it’s ironic that a big reason why this game is seeing the light of day here is because of a little bit of rainfall.

If you’re wondering why this is such a big deal, there are a few reasons. First, this is the next major RPG developed by the folks at Mistwalker Studios, headed by the father of the Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, (Last Story, Final Fantasy… Get it!?) Impressions coming in from Japan and Europe are incredibly positive, showing that Sakaguchi has not lost a step when it comes to creating these epics. After all, the last good single player Final Fantasy to me was the X series, (yes, including X-2.) And what a coincidence, these were the last ones he worked on. This game is the real next step in the series in my imaginary world where FFXII and XIII don’t exist.

To think we almost weren’t going to get this.

Second, it’s one of two high quality JRPG’s coming to a system that’s not only starving for RPG’s, but games period at this point. With Nintendo focusing on the Wii U, Wii owners haven’t had much to do in the way of new games for awhile now. Maybe the promise of a mini JRPG revival in a generation that’s been lacking all around in the genre will send the Wii out on an incredibly high note.

And lastly, it proves that a group of passionate fans can make a difference when they’re persistent, respectful and enthusiastic. Since the creation of Operation Rainfall, the Facebook group dedicated to bringing three Wii exclusives to the west after Nintendo of America had shown no interest in shipping them over, they’ve built awareness and a following that couldn’t be ignored. The first game of their campaign, Xenoblade Chronicles, was announced for an April release a few months back, and now with The Last Story on its way, even if they were to stop at this point, it’s impossible to argue that this wasn’t a huge victory. Plus, it proves the naysayers, pessimists and douche bags who berate groups like these by saying they’re “whining” because they won’t accept the unfair decisions that are force fed to them wrong. Capcom fans can learn a thing or two from this.

The Last Story is scheduled to be released this Summer, with Xenoblade coming out April 6th. The third game, Pandora’s Tower, has yet to be announced, but with the momentum this movement has built, don’t be surprised to hear about it soon. Until then, check out the new Last Story trailer that hit the webz after the announcement and prepare to get hyped!