And at the 35 hour mark, the three-phase final boss of The Last Story (Wii) goes down! However, the game wasn't finished yet as the epilogue contains multiple chapters that had me waiting until the 38 hour mark to see the credits. Adding to these time shenanigans, checking in with the Nintendo channel reveals a count of 41 hours. I did not know I spent so much time idling on the title screen, reloading saves, or getting past a point where I got a game over.

The game was good, but it could have been much more.

The combat showed some challenge late in the game but not much. The majority of the battles don't have much depth beyond using Gathering to draw enemy aggression, taking out healers and ranged enemies first, and then mopping up the rest. While the tactical options offered by Gale and diffusing magic circles are quite useful, all too often it is easy enough to whack away at an enemy even if it has a guard up. Boss encounters can be on the other end of the difficulty spectrum where their large health bars and supremely damaging attacks are overcome by the one trick the game wants you to do again and again at that phase of the boss. Finally, even with the Command mode, there aren't enough combat options to consider in a typical battle.

While the battle system has its shortcomings, it is still a great moment to diffuse a fire magic circle to break the guard of the enemy then dispose of them. Mistwalker has the beginning of a great combat system. It just needs to pace the fights to be less hectic, provide more skills and commands, and balance the difficulty better.

The story plays out in the save-the-world manner typical of the genre; there's nothing surprising or offensive. The characters are a fun lot and it's a shame that the game doesn't develop them a bit more than it already does. Because of the lack of development, several character moments in the climax of the game fall flat in varying degrees. The lengthy epilogue helps in providing closure which is very welcome given how the previous chapter twists and turns. Lastly, the narrator is a great example of telling rather than showing.

The sound and music have appropriate slashes and beats. It is a shame that the game couldn't afford to have more orchestration. The visuals and graphics are surprisingly detailed and suffer from frequent slow down (especially in the late game where you can have several characters and effects on the field).

The Last Story is a game I like that I wanted to love. Despite my disappointments with the game, I really enjoy the adventure it offers. Now, onward to upgrading the last of my armor sets and taking a peek at what New Game + offers.