I don’t know about you, but Mistwalker’s The Last Story is one of my most anticipated games of 2012.  The recent opportunity put forth by Nintendo of Europe to vote on the alternative cover of the game only reminded me of this fact.  There’s just something about the aesthetic of the art design, the plot setup, and the pedigree of the developer (SAKAGUCHI!  MISTWALKER!) that draws me so enticingly to this title.

According to the sparse official English site for the game, The Last Story takes place in a location referred to as Lazulis Island, a fortified area in the heart of a vast empire in some yet-to-be-named fantasy world.  Evidently, you go through the story as the character of Zael, a mysterious and skilled magical warrior who holds aspirations to one day become a knight.  Accompanying Zael on this journey is a rugged band of mercenaries who, from all appearances thus far, seem to be quite varied and fun in terms of their personalities.  It sounds like somewhat well-trodden JRPG fare, but the fact that it is directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi (the guy who CREATED the Final Fantasy series) gives me hope that it can be delivered in a way that is both fresh and true to its Japanese roots.

The Last Storyalso appears to incorporate all sorts of un-JRPG-like systems into its gameplay like real-time combat, the ability to look around in first person, some sort of “gathering” ability, and a host of other tricks.  Some sound more interesting to me than others, but I’ve read (from the Japanese reviews of this game) that many of these incorporations really strive to “push the JRPG genre into the modern age.”  I never fault developers for trying new things (in moderation). 

Rumors are currently flying around that The Last Story is getting renamed to The Lost World for its English debut.  I don’t really care either way.  Both titles evoke the same sort of mystery and wonder for me, so I’ll be happy no matter what the outcome. 

It’s too bad that most American Wii owners won’t be able to experience this epic fantasy adventure.  Lucky for me, I already imported a PAL region Wii for Xenoblade Chronicles back in August.  Sakaguchi is hands-down my favorite Japanese developer, so I can’t wait to dive into his latest (and supposedly greatest) fantasy themed RPG.  2012 just can’t come soon enough.      

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