Last Scenario

4 Okay-ish but generic
Let’s get this straight – it’s a pretty good and polished game. The story is generic but not bad, so is the combat system and general progression is enjoyable. I was able to play this for a longer period of time than other RPG Maker games. It’s a bit better than Aveyond and it’s free – hence the 4 stars rating.

It has the same problem as most indie jRPGs I played though. While commercial jRPGs might use several cliches over and over again, they usually do try to bring some twists or innovative systems with them.

Indie jRPGs however, seem to all stay at the level of the first Final Fantasy. And c’mon – that design is 22 years old now.

Some interesting and engaging story could make the game appealing regardless of the dated form, but unfortunately it’s very cliched as well. It’s an okay game by itself, but I still don’t know why would I want to pick it over any of the old 2d Final Fantasies. They were the same, only better and with more modern [sic] design.

5 A masterpiece that doesn't look like one
At first, the game appears terrible. The story starts out extremely cliched, the gameplay is not especially interesting and the main protagonist is too foolish and characterless to identify with.

But whoever calls this game cliched has most likely not progressed too far in it. The beginning is set up as stereotypical and predictable on purpose, and as the storyline progresses, it continuously improves. It begins lame, becomes okay with the imperial civil war, and reaches a really impressive quality afterwards.

There’s a slight lack of interaction between characters, but nevertheless, the storyline is extremely well-polished and enjoyable. The usual jRPG cliches that the whole plot initially consisted of disappear one at a time, and the actual storyline is amazing. The game becomes very philosophical and deep, and the plot is full of surprising twists. It deals with heroism and questions common ideas of what being a hero actually means.

Unlike many other jRPGs, Last Scenario actually is challenging. It begins quite simple and repetitive, but just like the rest of the game, the battle system gains a lot of complexity over time, mainly because of equippable abilities (reminescent of Final Fantasy VII’s Materia system), known as spellcards.

The game contains several optional dungeons containing valuable items and optional bosses, some of which are extremely hard and give away additional bits of backstory.

The tiles and music are standard old-fashioned RPG Maker content, but fitting. The art is simple but still well-done, although some portraits look a bit awkward. There also is a strategy card mini-game called Hex, whose tiles (cards) can be traded for equipment or other goodies.

I fully recommend this game. It brings you dozens of hours of fun, is food for thought and an interesting take on RPG conventions.