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If you're a fan of NIS games then you already know what you'll be getting from this game: convoluted battle and growth systems, average (to put it nicely) graphics but unique artistic style and a narrative that only anime fans will get any enjoyment out of. The game stars two characters: Nine, a sword wielding knight who focuses on physical damage and Aisha, a mage who, predictably, specializes in spells. To be sure there are some positives that make this a worthwhile game. The battle system, while somewhat complicated at first, is rewarding once the right combos for an enemy are discovered and saved. Essentially each enemy body part is listed as a potenital target and it's up to the player to hit them in the right order to trigger "bingos" and combos. Hitting the right body parts will "tatoo" that monster and make it ripe to be hit for extra spell damage. Thankfully the game allows you to save discovered combos as templates for later use, negating the need to memorize combos for a given enemy. It's worth mentioning that the game has a fun strategic wrinkle to it in the form of switching between Nine and Aisha mid-battle. Deciding who to attack with first in order to finish the battle as quick as possible is definitely a strength of the combat system as it leads you to try out different tactics even during routine level grinding battles (you'll be doing plenty of that). As far as I'm concerned any game that can make grind battles even remotely interesting isn't all that bad. If you can make it past the cliche ridden narrative (something about two warring gods and Nine wanting revenge for his murdered father), PS2-era graphics, and the truly laughable voice acting then Last Rebellion can be an enjoyable game.
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Run. Run far away.To be blunt, Last Rebellion is the most unmemorable, tedious, frustrating, empty, shallow, and downright painful RPG I've played in quite a few years. Even for major fans of the genre or imported titles from NIS, I couldn't possibly recommend this. One bit of (somewhat) good news is that the pain will end in about 15 hours of total play, and I was done with all content and had a Platinum trophy in less than 20. The target audience for this game is typically accustomed to needing ten times that commitment (or more) to "100%" an RPG; Disgaea or GUST titles being good examples. Most of my 20 hours felt like a forced march-the plot resolution is practically handed to you only a few hours in and lacks any true surprises or twists. Battles are little more than time-consuming walls working against trying to complete the game as quickly as possible.
There are a few more positive things that show that game had some kind of potential that simply went lazily untapped. Its core story concept provides a rather clever solution and answers the proverbial gaming dilemma of "what if your main character dies in the opening scene?". The runaround is the basis for the battle system, which, as being played out on a 3D-view field (more seen in ATB battle games), is a refreshing change in a more tactical or turn-based JRPG. Graphics are finally fully rendered and no longer the well-worn (but loved) dot matrix character models. World movement is also in the style of an adventure game as is typical in most RPGs, but is again something new for the type. Personally, I found battle incredibly tedious and repetitive fairly quickly, but I can see how it could allow some creativity. I really wish I could add more into the list of "good things", I truly am sorry.
Characters are unremarkable, shallow, and number about 5 in total. The fairly attractive attempt at the 3D world is harshly contrasted by truly appalling 2D character pop-ups in dialogue scenes. Even the dialogue interface is frustrating... menus and pop-up windows are slow to load and scroll, and text seems to draw itself at snail's pace. Great patience is required, despite this sounding like a total contradiction to a 15-20hr max playtime. Sorry, but there's no specific player I could suggest play this game. Even as an avid player of NIS titles and all sorts of RPGs, I'd have preferred dental work. As I said above, at least it's an easy 100% trophy set...Brief Summary : Last Rebellion is a good example of a game that had a good idea, but failed in the execution. I can think of no better description than that cliche. I only recently started playing the game and am in the 2nd half after only a few hours (less than 10), but I wanted to write a review while my opinions are fresh in mind.
Good
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+ The illustrations / art is nice. Still, hand-drawn images are shown when characters talk (like most NIS games), and I find the style and quality to be good.
+ It's a short game. I haven't finished, but I know where I am in the overall story. This is only a good point because the game overall is not so good.
Bad
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+ Voices-particularly the main male protagonist (Nine) and his brother, and a few other minor characters. A bit too effeminate and the fact he whines a lot compounds the issue. Aisha's (the woman on the cover) voice is fine.
+ Combat. First, I will say I am fine with turn based fighting. In fact, I prefer it over action. When reading about the system, I initially thought something like Legend of Legaia, but that isn't the case. In Last Rebellion, each monster has up to about 10 target points that you select to strike. The only EFFICIENT way to kill them is to find the correct order for hitting all these points. If I remember my math correctly, we're talking 10! (factorial) combinations (10x9x8x7...) for a 10 location monster (3.6 million combinations). Of course you're likely to figure it out in much less attempts, but it's a slog that just isn't very fun. As I mentioned in the title, I had Gamefaqs handy, and use that as my guide for getting through combat quickly, but some encounters randomize the values so you have to figure it out on your own.
In most cases for me, combat has not taken too long, thankfully. And although it's certainly DIFFERENT than most RPGs, I don't think it ADDS quality or FUN. It's also a chore that you have to "seal" every monster you take down, so they don't rise again fully healed and stronger.
Finally, your actions are limited by CP. A sort of action point system that is used up by the number of locations you strike and spells you cast, items used, etc. It's less troublesome once you've leveled a bit, but I'm still having to Heal my CP regularly to enable myself to fully act.
+ Monsters Respawn Too Fast. Doesn't take long for a monster to respawn. You can see them on the map when you move around and I've killed one, only to have it spawn behind me again and chase me down within barely a few seconds.
+ 0 XP for low monster kills. Once you're a few levels above a monster, you don't get XP for killing them. But they still attack you and make you go through the combat ritual. I leveled quickly and have not had to grind at all. In every zone, I'll end up eventually getting 0 XP for combat before I've finished with that area. Not ALL encounters, but some. Just feels like a waste of time.
+ No point allocations or skill selections. Perhaps I am old school, but I like to allocate a point or choose a new skill, or in some way effect the growth of my character. Although you level up in this game, you can't do any of that. Your HP goes up, your CP goes up, and your MP too. But that's about it. Negative point for me, but maybe not for others.
Other
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There are other aspects of the game that I think people will have issue with that don't bother me as much. Many comment on the graphics of the game, but I don't have a problem with that at all. To me, gameplay is the most important-if the game is fun, I can forgive just about anything else. A good story can help too, but unfortunately the story here is fairly bland and uninspiring. Nine's remarks come off as whining and annoying. He's not a likable guy. Perhaps with a better voice the sarcasm could have been portrayed better.
I'm really not sure what the point is of having so many degrees of the same spell in the same area. You can literally upgrade your magic 2-3 times in the same area (you find your spells in chests) and then apply "paper" to those spells up to max 5 to determine what MAX level you want that spell at for any point in time. You can reassign the paper as needed so if you know there is a monster weak to Axes, like the Trolls, you can raise that spell to 5 in order to cast the strongest level of that spell in combat.
Overall
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Everyone has different tastes. Maybe there are some gamers out there who will enjoy the game, but I think the majority will not. Or not REALLY enjoy it anyway. If you really want to try it, go for a rental or perhaps a $5 price point.
Read Best Reviews of Last Rebellion Here
This is a game that could have been a great game, but unfortunately it has some gaping flaws that keep it down.The good things: A unique combat system that is extremely fun most of the time. A decent storyline (that you can skip through if you don't want to watch it). Nice art and production values.
The bad things: Maybe 20 hours of game time, and that's with a fair amount of level grinding (which is necessary). Absolutely zero replay value beyond that 20 hours, no post play, no reason to go through it again. And "paralysis" type status effects that effectively shut you down in combat with no possible way to recover there's a cure paralysis spell, but no way to cast it!
If you like turn based battle and JRPG storylines, definitely pick this up if its at a bargain price, or better yet rent it.A lot of people don't give this game a chance. Most give up when they turn on the game because they don't like the battle system, or they hate watching the cut scenes..but if you give it a chance you'll find that it's the easiest, fastest, and overall a fun game.
(Also it short, so keep that mind. With that being said, it's super easy to get the platinum trophy.. You could even get it in a day.)
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