The Last Remnant

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The Last Remnant
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Hiroshi Takai (director)
Engine	Unreal Engine 3 Foliage - SpeedTree
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date	JP TBA NA TBA EU TBA
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Rating Pending (RP)
Media	Blu-ray Disc, DVD-DL

The Last Remnant (ラスト レムナント, Rasuto Remunanto^?) is an upcoming console role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360. The game is being directed by Hiroshi Takai and will be the first Unreal Engine 3 game scheduled to be released by Square Enix.^[1] The game is directed at both Japanese and North American audiences and will have a simultaneous release (another first for Square Enix) in both regions, followed by a release in Europe.^[2] It is intended by Square Enix president Yōichi Wada to "become a cornerstone for [their] worldwide strategy".^[3] Art direction is being overseen by chief artist Kimihiko Miyamae and art producer Yusuke Naora. The game's soundtrack will be composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito.^[4]

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 3 Development 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The Last Remnant will feature a brand new battle system labelled by Hiroshi Takai (director) as a "Turn-burst, command-based system using symbol encounters." There will be no random encounters.^[1] It will also contain quick time events, sequences where the player must press a combination of buttons with a correct timing to defeat enemies. This system has appeared in other video games before The Last Remnant, for instance in Shenmue, Dark Cloud, Kingdom Hearts II and God of War.

In addition to the main character, the player's team (called a "Union") is composed of a number of soldiers whose skills vary according to different parameters. One parameter is the "morale" bar, which is affected by the events in battle and affects the way characters perform in battle. Battles can involve up to 70 enemies at once and will be at the core of the gameplay. Nobuyuki Ueda has commented on the battle system, claiming that it is "much deeper than the few seconds it received in the movie".^[1] Additionally, a high number of quests are expected.^[5]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

The Last Remnant is set in a fictional world featuring a number of distinct humanoid races; the Mitras, most human in appearance, the Yamas, strong fish-like people, the Qsitis, small reptilians, and the Sovannis, feline people with four arms.^[6]. The story of the game revolves around "remnants", mysterious and coveted artifacts of varying shapes and sizes which possess magic powers and which have been the cause of several wars throughout the game's history.^[7][5]

[edit] Characters

The main protagonist is an 18 year old swordsman named Rush Sykes,^[1] who is designed primarily for fans of traditional Japanese role-playing games.^[7] He is trying to rescue his sister, Irina who is kidnapped by a mysterious man. The siblings hail from the peaceful Eulam Village, but soon Rush finds himself involved in a global conflict centering around the Remnants. Both characters were designed to appear as part of a "normal" family that is sucked accidentally into an adventure that is far from normal.

Accompanying Rush is 19 year old David Nassau, the young, authoritative Marquis of Athlum. He aims to gain independence from a nation called Celapaleis. Despite being of royalty, he joins the battlefield alongside Gae Bolg, a devastating cannon-shaped Remnant. He is described as calm and collected and is known to have a deep relationship with a female character with silver hair. ^[8] He has a similar appearance to Bart from Xenogears.

Another character is an older man with long silver hair and crimson clothes, known simply as The Conqueror, and is designed to appeal to Western gamers. Many screen shots of him show him with blood splattered all over him which is thought, allegedly, to be the "blood of his victims". The Conqueror is a collector of remnants ; he is also linked to Rush, although the nature of this link is unknown.

Yusuke Naora has stated that many main characters have yet to be revealed, some of whom will be playable. Naora did already reveal that the character shown in the new trailer, a battle scarred woman with silver hair and blue schemed clothes named Emma, has a deep relationship with David.^[9]

An English actor who appeared in James Cameron film Titanic, Emmett James, voices the character Wilfred Hermeien, a politician and chairman of the congress.^[7][5]

[edit] Development

The Last Remnant was announced at a press conference at Shinjuku, Tokyo on May 10, 2007.^[10] The game's director is Hiroshi Takai, executive producer is Akitoshi Kawazu, producer is Nobuyuki Ueda. The artwork is led by Kimihiko Miyamae and produced by Yusuke Naora, and its music is composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito. The Last Remnant is their first game to use the Unreal Engine 3, and the first time Square Enix has had to adapt to new technologies and ways of development.^[1] Because of the use of the new engine, the production time to seeing graphical resources onscreen was cut significantly, allowing the team to begin illustrating and experimenting at an early stage.^[7] The development team plans to distinguish The Last Remnant from the Final Fantasy series and other command battle games. Because of the way battles are handled, the team has not been concerned with making the game for all ages.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website (North America)
• Official Website (Japan)