Today is finally the day that RPG fans can rejoice. After a surprisingly successful launch of Xenoblade Chronicles in North America, (especially considering that the game is a GameStop exclusive,) The Last Story is looking to follow suit. What’s the significance of this release you might ask? Simply put, from the minds at Mistwalker Studios, led by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, (who was involved with the legendary series from I-X. You know, back when it was actually good,) The Last Story promises to be a return to form for the once great JRPG genre and the swansong for the Nintendo Wii. While most gamers might have given up on Nintendo’s little white box by now, it doesn’t change the fact that not only are the two titles above catered to the supposed hardcore crowd that seemingly felt abandoned by the motion controlled giant, but the success of these titles has a strong chance of shaping the WiiU into a console that caters to all audiences.
Above all, Nintendo is a business. And if there’s one thing a business cares about, it’s making lots of cash. If Nintendo of America feels like the potential reward of releasing a particular title offsets the risk, then why would they ever want to pass it up? In reality, we weren’t ever supposed to get these titles on our side of the shore. As I’ve mentioned in passed posts, it wasn’t until a group of respectful, passionate gamers banded together and proved to Nintendo that yes, in fact there was an audience for these games that were originally only meant for Japanese and European eyes.
That hot night with a Chocobo and Lion-O has come back to haunt Ganondorf.
I’ve never shared the idea that the Wii wasn’t welcoming to the hardcore gamer. Personally, I’ve never had a hard time finding fantastic exclusive games to quench my thirst while waiting for the next Zelda or Mario. On the flip side, it was hard for me to argue when Nintendo time and time again decided not to release games like Fatal Frame 4. Or Another Code: R, (Trace Memory 2 for us Yanks.) Or Disaster: Day of Crisis. I mean why would they? As much as gamers cried out for quality hardcore games, how much did Zack and Wiki really sell? How about Madworld? Or either Conduit game? One was an incredibly vibrant title with charm to spare, one was a vulgar, violent bloodbath and the last two were solid FPS titles with fantastic online multiplayer. Of course, these aren’t the only examples, but I’m not here to list great titles that were overlooked, (I’ll save those for my Underground Games series, *shameless plug.) Most gamers didn’t even give these titles a chance, all while crying to the high heavens that there weren’t any releases catered to them. Although it may be too late for the Wii, The Last Story can help it go out with a bang straight into the WiiU’s release.
Last Story has all the tools needed to be a success. It has the all star pedigree developer wise. It promises to satisfy starving RPG fans regardless of console preference. It promises to be a memorable epic that reminds us of the feeling we got spending hours leveling up our favorite party members over a decade ago. Now whether or not that pans out remains to be seen, (look for a review in the near future, *shameless plug #2,) but according to critics so far, it seems to be a winner.
But in the end, it’ll be up to us gamers to buy it and show that we want games like these. Game publishers will have to take notice, especially when all they can see from us is dollar signs. As the WiiU approaches, we really need to prove that while party and fitness games are all well and good, we want our games with depth. Titles we can lose hours on if we choose to. Because there IS an audience out there. We just need to open our eyes as a group and recognize quality titles when they’re released. Maybe then we’ll actually get the next Disaster or Another Code for WiiU. Hell, maybe Xbox and Playstation will get more decent JRPGs if we show we want them on other platforms.
As the enemy waits, Elza bravely lets out a battle cry that sounds a lot like, “I’ll be finished in a minute!”
So there it is arriving on store shelves. Xenoblade created the momentum but Last Story continuing it will play a big part with whether or not we show we want strong titles like these rather than another half-hearted Mii game, (I still haven’t forgiven them for Wii Music.) Let’s prove that North America is about more than gore fests and that we want a variety of quality titles. And from what I’ve played so far, Last Story is one that will be well worth our time. You know, unless Wii Play 3 is on the top of your WiiU list and Carnival Games is your game of the year. I won’t judge.