Got the game today and should be starting it soon. Any tips going in?

@nate38
I don't really have any tips, I'm just stoked people are playing this again and I want to let the world know! I really need to fix my Wii so I can play this through again; It's so good!

@nate38

Um, remember that you can shake the nunchuck (or is it the wii remote?) to swing the enemy at the end of your chain. I kinda went through the game forgetting that was a move.

Got started, it's good! Kind of a small thing, but I really like how the immediate backstory is quickly given during the opening credits CG, gets you into the action very quickly. Notably brief for a Japanese fantasy game. I do wish the game was in HD, the environments look nice and it's a shame they're seen through muddy visuals.

I got the first piece of Master Meat. Are there many sidequests or backtracking in this game? Mavda mentioned something about the first tower growing a unique flower in the morning hours. Didn't really expect there to be any incentive to return, although I do remember one door being locked...

The locked doors you can only open in New Game+ after getting a key, I believe? It's been too long, and I didn't do NG+.

You might want to backtrack in order to farm certain items needed for upgrades. I can't remember if it's required for story reasons, I just remember doing it for fun.

@Guillaume Gotcha. So there's not like a hard, universal time limit to keep Elena from turning gross again, is there? Someone mentioned I just have to keep some monster treats handy before the little gauge turns all black, and everything will be fine?

@nate38

Ideally (and annoyingly), you want to feed her meat way before the gauge get there, otherwise she'll start turning and possibly break the gifts you give her, making her sad, and getting in the way of you getting the best ending.

It's worse at the beginning and gets progressively better, though: you'll be able to stay away for longer as your relationship strengthens.


Argh, you're making me want to play the game again.

@Guillaume Yeah I noticed the right part of the gauge looks all grey, then it turns purple and stuff as it runs down to the left side. I was wondering if the transformation might gradually start once it ran down to the colored part.

Yep, it's gradual. Let her go too far in her transformation and the relationship will suffer.

Good to know. Can't let that happen then, I want to see how those bedsheets she's making for me turn out!

I'm going to get started on this today as well, see if I can squeeze it in before the end of the month. It's been in my backlog for a while now...

Finished the first five towers, and five more opened up! Wasn't expecting that.

A couple of the Master fights took me much longer than expected, so I kept Elena waiting longer than I'd hoped and she Hulk'd out a couple times. Still, I think we're getting along okay overall. Most of my money goes to gifts. I did purchase the "Tactical Manual" but reloaded a save to recoup that money when I found out it just gives you some experience points...

But yeah, still quite liking the game. The main weapons are pretty unremarkable, but the real star of the game is the chain. So many functions in combat, puzzles, and platforming. Makes me wish Nintendo (and third parties) would remember the IR pointer still works just fine on Wii U...

This game kinda rocks, doesn't it? I'm through three towers, and I'm really liking the game a lot so far. It's like if you took Ico and SotC, Dark Souls and Zelda and rolled it all into one. Plus with that special brand of weird that you always only seem to find in Japanese games. It's appealing to a lot of my sensibilities on so many levels.

@nate38

Absolutely, the chain is the show-stealer. It's crazy that this came out towards the end of the Wii's life, as well as the last Wii game that I'd yet to play, and it's among the best uses of the Wii-mote in a game. The whole game is built around it, and it works! And there are so many uses for it. I love stealing an enemy's sword, and then throwing it back in their face.

Like, this game would still be really cool without any IR controls, but the fact that they are there and it feels great puts the game on a whole other level.

I also agree on the look of the game...I really wish it was HD. It really screams "Playstation 2", right?

@Guillaume

Alright, that makes sense. I was wondering where all of the keys were, haha.

@nate38
@Guillaume

It seems like around 3/4 expired is when she starts to show the transformation. I'm curious...if you just get back to her with meat before she starts morphing, does that keep everything copacetic? I've been trying to get back to the Observatory around the 50-60% empty mark. It seems like going too much beyond that would be a bit excessive.

Also, good to know about the Tactical Manual. I think I will pass on that then; keep buying those gifts, and keep getting those homemade cakes!

@TheBigG753

I wouldn't be too concerned with her turning unless you're aiming for the best ending. I think you're right that she starts turning with the gauge at 25% left. So if you bring her flesh before that you should be good. Also buy her gifts and talk to her as much as possible.

I got the second best ending and she started transforming several times. Once or twice I think I got to her at about the last possible time to avoid a game over.

nate38 said:

Finished the first five towers, and five more opened up! Wasn't expecting that.

This is where I'm at right now.

For those who've played this already, any recommendations on how to tackle them? (In order? Random? Doesn't matter?)

@TheBigG753 Doesn't seem to matter. I've been doing them in order. Kinda spent a good chunk of today doing so...

So...anybody got a surefire way to avoid the glitch? Just unlocked the next two towers. Tried them both, and got frozen.

@nate38 I haven't seen any 100% guaranteed methods, but here's a GameFAQs topic that was brought up earlier in the thread, so you could look over that and try one of those suggestions. There are a few more topics on GameFAQs that you could browse through as well.

@nate38

The tips I saw didn't work, for me. Only at some point I was able to progress and finish the game.

You're playing the eShop version?

@Mop it up Hmm, I tried the first one a few times and it didn't work. The second one didn't work the first time I tried it, but it worked after that.

@Guillaume Nope, disc version.


And I'm finished! 22 hours, 78% complete, best ending.

As much as I like the core of the game and the overall pacing, it does feel stretched a while too long. The towers could definitely stand to differentiate a little more: I guess it makes sense that they're not radically unique from one another, but they still sorta blend together in their overall looks and layouts. Not to mention the second five are all variants on the first five, with few or no new gimmicks. And while new enemies are introduced throughout the game, all I did was throw charge attacks at 90% of them. In the last two or three towers, I usually just ran away from fights unless I needed some meat. Probably wouldn't have mattered as much if I hadn't marathoned through the game, but oh well. For $20 and about 20 hours it was good fun.

And now I've completed the Operation Rainfall hat trick! Xenoblade ended up being the clear winner of the three, even though it was probably the one I anticipated least. I guess that's to be expected when it surely got the biggest budget and is a good bit longer than the other two games combined. Tough call between the other two, especially since it's been a few years since I played The Last Story...