The Last Story- First Impressions

With Xenoblade still fresh in my memory, I've moved on to the unofficial 'second' member of the Operation Rainfall trifecta- Mistwalker's The Last Story. This is easily the game I was most looking forward to out of the set, as I am a huge Final Fantasy fan and was eager to try the latest game by the series' creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi. 

I've only played for a couple of hours, but so far I'm really enjoying the game. The characters are likable so far, and have a good rapport, and while the main narrative hasn't really kicked into gear yet, I'm getting the feeling that The Last Story is going to be more character-centric in it's storytelling, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the combat system, which is real-time with an emphasis on cover and positioning. Technically, the game is pushing the Wii hardware, and there is some slowdown and other small graphical hitches. However, the sheer attention to detail (particularly in the central city hub) and artistic direction makes up for this.