Game Overview

Gameplay

The Last Story starts with the satisfying idea that you are not merely carving through enemies; you are deciding who gets to breathe. Zael’s attacks can pull an enemy’s attention away from a threatened ally, so even a basic decision—who do I hit next?—has immediate consequences for the whole group. It is a small shift from the usual action RPG rhythm, but it gives fights a distinctive, reactive tension.

Once that enemy-focus system clicks, you begin to read combat as a series of emergencies. An opponent leaning on one party member is an invitation to intervene, while foes already fixed on Zael can leave room for the rest of the group to work. You also issue commands to your companions, making the party feel more involved than a set of background helpers. The game asks you to keep track of the wider battle rather than tunnel-visioning on your own swings.

That can also be where frustration sets in. Combat depends on noticing which enemies are targeting whom and responding before a teammate gets overwhelmed, so it asks more awareness than a simple button-mashing action game. If you enjoy taking responsibility for a party without giving up direct control of a lead character, though, this is exactly where The Last Story separates itself.

The multiplayer modes are a worthwhile extra rather than a replacement for the main adventure. Co-op supports up to six people on missions, while competitive play turns the focus toward surviving everyone else. They fit the game’s combat-first strengths nicely: bring friends to co-op if you want more chances to coordinate under pressure, or try the competitive mode when you want a cleaner test of staying alive.

Graphics

The Last Story uses a third-person view, keeping Zael and the mercenary party close to the action as battles spill across Lazulis Island and its surrounding journey. Its fantasy setting is framed around locations including the harbour town of Lazulis City, with an anime-influenced role-playing-game look.

Story

You begin as a mercenary looking for work, which gives the opening a grounded, practical energy. Zael arrives on Lazulis Island with his surrogate brother Dagran and their band, not as a predestined saviour but as someone chasing the next job. That setup makes the group’s early position easy to understand: they need opportunity, and Count Arganan has one.

The assignment from Arganan carries the party across Lazulis Island and eventually over the ocean, giving the story a clear sense of expanding travel. The journey has room to grow beyond the harbour town where it begins, and the mercenary framing keeps the party at the center of it.

The strongest narrative hook is the relationship at the party’s core. Zael and Dagran arrive with a history as surrogate brothers, while the wider mercenary band turns the adventure into a group undertaking rather than a lone hero’s march. If you like fantasy stories that begin with working people thrown into bigger events, The Last Story has an inviting foundation.

Overall Experience

The Last Story is worth your time if you want an action RPG where helping the party is built directly into the combat instead of treated as an afterthought. Its enemy-attention system gives individual encounters a tactical spark, and commanding allies lets you feel like the center of a functioning group without stepping away from direct action.

It is less likely to win over anyone who wants a completely carefree hack-and-slash. You need to watch the flow of a fight, spot enemies pressuring allies, and make deliberate interventions. For many RPG fans, that responsibility is the point: when you pull danger off a teammate at the right moment, the combat delivers a tangible little rush.

The campaign’s mercenary setup, the journey out from Lazulis City, and the extra co-op and competitive modes make for a rounded Wii-era fantasy RPG with a particular combat idea at its heart. The official The Last Story page is a useful stop for more on the game. This is not a genre reinvention, but its party-minded action earns its reputation as a memorable detour for Wii RPG fans.

Retro Replay Score

7.9/10