The Last Remnant, the latest new IP developed by Square Enix, attempts to up the ante of previous Square turn-based titles by cranking up the scale of the combat which, in turn, leads to one pretty epic story. Not that other Square titles don’t already have epic stories, the Final Fantasy series have some of my all time favorites, but The last Remnant’s combat just seems to be contagious with everything else in the title: graphically, sound design and the game’s epic story. So now, with one of the game being such a large input into its other parts, the last remaining question is how good is the gameplay?

For better or for worse, Square has up scaled the combat to where you manage entire battlefields through turn-based sequences, and, which the tweak to the formula is appreciated, it does run the risk of alienating a lot of more traditional turn-based enthusiasts. Luckily, The Last Remnant’s epic story is accompanied by some incredibly detailed environments and one of the best orchestral scores I’ve ever heard in a game. The game is a bit difficult to run, but if you can run it well the $39.99 is a great price tag to invest a lot of your free time.

Having to meet a bar largely set by itself, Square has done a great job of having The Last Remnant, not only reach the graphical bar it has set for itself, but even extend it a little further. Character models, in their own way, look incredibly realistic and feature some amazing facial animations. It may not be as detailed as Mass Effect’s, but there is no denying that a lot of the resources of the title were put toward animations. Also, depending on your gaming rig, the game can handle quite a bit of things going on onscreen at once, but the strongest strength of The Last Remnant, at least in a graphical sense, is the game’s keen attention to detail of the environment. Areas from cityscapes to rural battlegrounds are all populated with the perfect environment to really help create a very realistic setting in an unrealistic world. This does mean, however, that to truly enjoy the game you’re going to have to have a pretty impressive machine to run the beast without any framerate issues.

Featuring an overwhelmingly powerful soundtrack, The Last Remnant stellar sound design quickly becomes a vehicle that carries the title all the way through opening scene to the credits. The orchestral symphony for the game is conducted to perfection, and it always seems to be used at the most opportune moment. Complimenting the game’s brilliant score, Square has hired another talented batch of voice actors to help move the story forward. Their intense dialogue and impeccable use of pitch really do breathe life into the characters you’ll be playing as throughout your grand adventure. On a side note, I’m still not a fan of the cheesy guitar riffs that have become a staple in all of Square’s combat sequences for the past decade. Sometimes you just have to mix it up some!