Back in 2008, there were a ton of JRPGs releasing but one of which was infamous back in the day. Titled as The Last Remnant, this Square Enix creation was a solid JRPG with an interesting turn-based mechanic but was known for having supreme amounts of lag. Now in 2018, The Last Remnant returns as The Last Remnant Remastered and aims to fix a lot of the issues with the original all while adding some much-needed TLC. Those who loved the original—or hated it—might wish to scroll on down. We go into detail with how The Last Remnant Remastered handles now in our in depth review done by us here at Honey’s Anime.

The Last Remnant Remastered is an improved version of the original which released back in 2008. The brunt of The Last Remnant Remastered has players entering tactical turn-based combat where every decision can lead to a quick victory or brutal defeat. A lot of fixes have gone into The Last Remnant Remastered with overhauls to the visuals and system mechanics to provide a stronger experience while playing. Those who enjoy JRPGs that take a bit of tactical thought will relish in the RPG mechanics to be found in The Last Remnant Remastered. Though most fans of this hidden gem of 2008—or infamous one if you played it and endured the system issues—will just be happy that a lot of problems were fixed to create a truly polished game.

Rush Sykes and his sister Irina have lived a majority of their life on an island dealing with little worries outside their parents working non-stop on research projects. Their lives change quickly however when a mysterious enemy appears and kidnaps Irina before Rush’s eyes. With no other options, Rush chases the threat and ends up on a battlefield where he meets David a lord who protects the kingdom of Athlum. Due to Rush’s involvement in helping one of his generals—Emma—David decides to help Rush get Irina back. Their mission will lead them across the world and in turn show that a dastardly plot is brewing.

We can say it till we’re blue in the face here at Honey’s Anime, but wow, there are a ton of remasters coming out lately. While we love seeing older titles from the last generation of consoles return with shiny new coats of paint, we also sigh as a lot of them just release for cash grab purposes. Don’t just take our words for this one folks, a lot of reviewers and industry heads agree that remasters can be churned out a bit too much and it makes every title with the end word “remastered” feel a bit worrisome. The Last Remnant—a game that released ten years ago—is the newest title to get a remaster. Now dubbed The Last Remnant Remastered, we were given a review copy to see if this new title plays better than the original or is just another quick re-release. Let us dive into our judgment with our review of The Last Remnant Remastered for the PS4!

Assuming only a handful of JRPG fans have played The Last Remnant in the past, we’re going to explain what to expect with The Last Remnant Remastered. Players take control of Rush Sykes who is on a mission to find his kidnapped sister Irina. Along the way, they discover a valiant lord named David alongside his generals who finds the news of a Sykes going missing worrisome. From here, players are thrust into a quest that will test their skills at every turn. We aren’t joking, folks; The Last Remnant Remastered is hard and it doesn’t hold back.

At its core, The Last Remnant Remastered hasn’t changed totally from its original conception. The battle system is easily the biggest improvement with fixes that change not only the core gameplay elements but make it run smoother and free of the infamous lag that made each battle feel like a still frame session of images. Battles are turn based like traditional JRPGs but the concept of how these play out is where The Last Remnant Remastered shines. Battles feel epic and immersive because of how they need to be played.

In battle, players must unleash attacks, mystic arts and combat arts to defeat the enemy units. Unlike traditional turn-based games, no fighter is left alone in a fight. Each unit is comprised of several characters who share a pool of HP and share attack turns. When you order a unit to attack, they will go together unleashing their skills and equally will perish together if they’re met with overwhelming attacks. The challenge here is a mixture of luck and skill as each turn must be played out with some semblance of thought. If you decide to unleash combat arts your attacks might do some heavy damage but also might leave you open for counters/dodges. Equally, not being smart with healing will lead your units to get terminated—the word used to describe a fallen unit in The Last Remnant Remastered—quicker than you can slap your forehead for not thinking a step ahead. With concepts like interceptions, deadlocks and flank attacks, The Last Remnant Remastered is a tough JRPG that really makes you feel like you’re playing an RTS at times.

We also mentioned luck plays a crucial role in combat and we stand firm to that statement. There is no level up system in The Last Remnant Remastered and fighting battles will often reward you with stat boosts and or new abilities to be unlocked. This means you’re up to the game’s thought of RNG in hopes that your tenth battle will net you a new move or skill that will save your behind in the next battle. Aside from that, even the best tacticians will find The Last Remnant Remastered sometimes is all about luck. We had plenty of deaths even when staying defensive just because the enemy unit got a critical on us or somehow flanked us without our realizing it. Save a lot in The Last Remnant Remastered as death awaits in almost every battle…even the simple ones.

Aside from combat the brunt of The Last Remnant Remastered’s gameplay comes from the usual themes found in JRPGs. Players will explore various locations looking for items and equipping new gear and weapons to your units. Quests can also be found randomly sometimes with NPCs offering them as you progress through the main story. The Last Remnant Remastered doesn’t do much differently here which is a weakness in some ways, but we forgive a lot of these elements because this is again a ten-year-old JRPG. The concept of running around doing quests, buying items and exploring still exists nowadays, but it certainly was a main theme in most JRPGs back in the last decade. We did like that most side quests explore a bit more about the world of The Last Remnant Remastered which makes them feel a bit more important than the usual fetch quests.

The last big improvement for The Last Remnant Remastered comes in the form of graphics. While the environments and some enemy models look still dated The Last Remnant Remastered looks quite sharp with its main character models and overall settings. The battles running smoother is easily the best change to The Last Remnant Remastered but seeing the world get a bit of a face lift was also a nice element. We do wish the story and voice acting could have been updated—some of the voice acting is really mediocre—but we do realize that would have taken a lot of time and money for a game that wasn’t widely popular when it first launched in 2008.

At the end of the day, The Last Remnant Remastered is a quality remaster that does what we always hope remasters do. Fix the problems with the past game to make a repurchase worthwhile. The Last Remnant Remastered does this thanks to the supremely overhauled battle engine and adds a nice polish to the graphics. The music is still also quite solid and while the voice acting can be a bit weak here and there, it’s still a decent element overall. The Last Remnant Remastered is a remaster we fully recommend downloading for those who hated the original’s low frame rates and clunky battles. Equally, if you want a reasonably priced JRPG— The Last Remnant Remastered is only $19.99—then you won’t go wrong here, folks.

The Last Remnant Remastered is one of the few remasters that truly does the fans and gamers right. We loved how the battle engine—which again was horrendous—has been updated to provide a smoother experience free of the game breaking issues the original had ten years ago. While The Last Remnant Remastered won’t go down in history as the best JRPG ever, we think its an amazing experience overall that many shouldn’t miss out on. Are you thinking of picking up The Last Remnant Remastered? Let us know in the comments below as we love hearing from you beautiful souls out there. As always, keep stuck to our hive for more game and anime reviews done by us here at Honey’s Anime.