Mistwalker x Nintendo = The Last Story

[dandancc]

Yay! Finally confirmation, out of nowhere!

Official Website (awesome music):
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/slsj/index.html

Discuss!

[joeshabadoo]

not much to discuss yet, lol, but I like the music and I hope it's better than the Blue Dragon games. On the Mistwalker topic, I still really hope I somehow get to play ASH at some point

[NeroSuferoth]

Yeah, there's not much you can do on the site yet... but cool music indeed.

[Gulshog]

It looks like my whining for RPG's was heard.

This and Xenoblade (formerly Monado), look to be just what I've been looking for on the little white console. I cannot wait...but it may be a long wait for the translation.

[thresholdXCI]

Very exciting, I can't wait to find out more.

[NeroSuferoth]

Someone made this observation on the main page and I felt like sharing it here..

If you look just under the S of "Story" there seems to be a boney hand holding something... What do you make of it?

[CHAOSDRAGON88]

I visited the site and it was as if it sold itself to me. I plan on getting this. Is there any footage of the game so far?

[Klonoa]

I'm interested in this. Everything about it says that this is Sakaguchi's 'new' Final Fantasy. That could be a good thing, because I haven't liked the direction that Final Fantasy has gone in lately.

[Gulshog]

I've been reading through the GAF thread on this game, and the EU trademark says, "The Last Story and Hadware". They seem to suggest that this game will use the Vitality Sensor, and that is how the game will read your emotions. Sakaguchi has blogged about emotion, and how this game will explore it...and if it really does come with a Vitality Sensor, it may be a way to draw casual players looking for a new experience.

This game gets more intriguing every day...just hope the info isn't a slow drip (which I know it will be).

[Styster]

I don't think this kind of game would draw in "casual" gamers, really..

Though I'm definitely digging the music, and I think I'd give it a try even if it came with the vitality sensor as a main component of the game. That'd actually be an intriguing use for it, I think...

[Gulshog]

I don't think this kind of game would draw in "casual" gamers, really..

It would all be in the marketing. If you look at what Nintendo has been doing since E3 2009, it is clear that Nintendo of Japan is trying to reclaim traditional gamers. There is no other obvious answer than announcing the launch of the Japanese websites for Metroid, Xenoblade, and The Last Story, in one day. Iwata has already stated that they dropped the ball in 2009, and did not have enough heavy hitters ready to release. I think that years 3-5 of the Wii console will see Nintendo trying to transform the casual gamers they have amassed into traditional gamers.

The Last Story could be one such project. Again, it is all in the marketing. I really hope they do try, as I am not of the opinion that trying to get casuals into traditional games is a bad idea. Nor do I believe that a game has to be simplified to do this.

[thresholdXCI]

I don't think this kind of game would draw in "casual" gamers, really..

It would all be in the marketing.

Yeah, I mean if Square convinced MY DAD to buy FF7 back in the day (as well as, looking at sales, a whole lot of other 'casual' players) then I think there's always that slight mainstream potential for games like this - given a big budget and a well thought out strategy for marketing. Not that I think this will have either... unfortunately.

Ha, poor Dad never got off disc 1. XD

[mariomaniac45213]

Not much to discuss but that is what I said in the comments on here that it was going to use vitality sensor. It all makes sense the hand on the logo and Universal emotions thing. I bet Nintendo will release this to coincide with the rumored "Wii Relax." So that way they satisfy to the expanded audience/casual while also giving the core a game so they don't feel left out.

[thresholdXCI]

Not much to discuss but that is what I said in the comments on here that it was going to use vitality sensor. It all makes sense the hand on the logo and Universal emotions thing. I bet Nintendo will release this to coincide with the rumored "Wii Relax." So that way they satisfy to the expanded audience/casual while also giving the core a game so they don't feel left out.

You reckon? A possibility I guess, but I very much doubt it. Although I suppose when you read that Nintendo wanted 'a new form of RPG' it's never wise to write anything off.

I'd be very sceptical of such a move it it is the case. A large part of me hopes they just mean they're going to experiment with the narrative and the gameplay all remains fairly traditional.

[Gulshog]

I was thinking about this game the other day, and wondering just who the main developer is...as I have learned that Mistwalker is more of a company that oversees and guides another developer towards whatever Sakaguchi wishes to create, and thus employs very few people.

As I was reading the NeoGAF thread, someone mentioned Level 5...one of my favorite developers. Now, when I read it...I laughed. There is no way that Nintendo would not develop the game themselves. But, later, I have thought it might not be so far fetched.

In 2009, Level 5 started a motion capture studio, and expressed interest in growing their overall business. They saw the studio as a way to market it to other game developers, as well as use it for their own games. They utilized this studio (the largest in Western Japan, from what I've read) in the recent PS3 game, White Knight Chronicles.

Level 5 has shown that they can create some amazing games, even for consoles...which some smaller developers can never seem to do. Rogue Galaxy, and Dragon Quest VIII are amazing console games. And, they also created my all time favorite PSP game, Jeanne D'Arc. They are very capable developers, and could easily craft an amazing RPG for the Wii.

They also have a close relationship with Nintendo, as they have supported the Nintendo DS with games like Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, and Dragon Quest IX. All three of those titles have sold into the million mark and beyond. Nintendo of Japan has a very close relationship with the company, and it would not surprise me at all if this would turn out to be another project like Metroid: Other M, using an non-first party developer.

CEO Akihiro Hino had this to say:

We’re currently producing titles for PS3, Wii and so forth; I believe we’ll soon be able to announce a new console title,

Could the Wii game be The Last Story...or is it Dragon Quest X? Maybe another totally unrelated game? Could it be that it will be revealed soon, at the Feb. 24th conference, and they can then talk about the game?

This is all speculation on my part, but I would love for it to be true.

[FotS]

I'm definitely anticipating Xenoblade more, but The Last Story is exciting too. I just hope Nintendo's comments about it being a new type of RPG ring true as thus far, Mistwalker really only been catering the most to the traditionalist fanboys.

[Gulshog]

I'm definitely anticipating Xenoblade more, but The Last Story is exciting too. I just hope Nintendo's comments about it being a new type of RPG ring true as thus far, Mistwalker really only been catering the most to the traditionalist fanboys.

We really know next to nothing about it, so everyone is interested right now. I don't really care if it sticks to the tried and true JRPG formula. I want it to be different in lots of ways, as I think that JRPG's have lots of room to grow.

However, I think you are right...I think it really will be a different type of game than we have seen in the past from Sakaguchi. It will probably be 2-3 more months before we get any solid information about the project, though. Xenoblade is going to get the spotlight for now, but I'm sure The Last Story will have tons of news later on this year.

[ZSaberLink]

We'll see how this game turns out, but I'm interested. It seems to me that Final Fantasy hasn't been quite the same without Sakaguchi at the helm from what I hear. I haven't played many of the games in the series (playing through FF4 DS, beat 6, played about 10 hours of 7), but I wonder how it'll be. Lost Odyssey sold terribly, so I'm sure Sakaguchi is going to be trying something different. Hope this turns out good and I'm excited for any more news.

[FotS]

New art, setting details and music today on the official site. The art is great, visually the setting is well designed and the music was nice. On the informational side of the setting, it sounds solid, though a little generic; no skies, space, oceans or... gods, but just a military island off the coast of a continental empire, not some generic land-locked kingdom luckily though.

[ZSaberLink]

Maybe something more traditional will work better without some really off-the-wall kind of pull to the game. I'm liking the art as well, and the fact he's trying to stay away from sci-fi might be good. I liked the fantasy realm that more like the past rather than the future.

[tendoboy1984]

What I don't understand is how Mistwalker is able to develop games outside of the Xbox 360. Weren't they funded by Microsoft as an Xbox-exclusive developer?

[FotS]

What I don't understand is how Mistwalker is able to develop games outside of the Xbox 360. Weren't they funded by Microsoft as an Xbox-exclusive developer?

They may have had some funding and partial ownership from Microsoft, but no, they're not second party under them. This is their third collaboration with Nintendo and fourth game on their platforms.

[Gulshog]

What I don't understand is how Mistwalker is able to develop games outside of the Xbox 360. Weren't they funded by Microsoft as an Xbox-exclusive developer?

Mistwalker isn't even a developer themselves. They guide the process, and always team with another developer to do the grunt work. They do all of the conceptualization, and then build the basic structure of what type of game they wish to create. Even now, no one really knows just what team at Nintendo is working with them on The Last Story. At least, I haven't heard, yet.

[ZSaberLink]

Anyways, did anyone notice the new music on the site? So like the title page still has that 30 second loop, but like the 5th blog post (the one with the night pic) has that song completed... weird.

[cheeseyrox2]

I'm very interested in The Last Story and everything we've heard so far is good.

The music is amazing and I need to find the composer. If it happens to be Uematsu (in some miracle) then no matter what I'm getting this game.