Last Rebellion

Last Rebellion is a game developed by Hit Maker and published by Nippon Ichi for the PlayStation 3, and follows the story of Nine and Aisha, two people who share a soul as they travel to seek revenge and redemption, respectively, in a world left in chaos by disharmony between the gods.

Characters and Setting

Last Rebellion's world is in disharmony. The God of Life, Formival, has taken overzealously to his job, and is bringing life to things that should be dead. These newly-formed undead demons are called Belzeds, and cannot be killed, only reviving with more power than ever. In desperation, humans pray to Meiktilia, the Goddess of Death, for salvation. Meiktilia empowers two groups of people, Blades and Sealers, with the ability to destroy Belzeds completely by working in concert.

Blades wield two swords to kill Belzeds' bodies, while Sealers use magic to lock away Belzeds' souls, preventing them from rising again. It was too late, though, to completely save humans from themselves. Some nations such as Lorvin, began manufacturing Belzeds as weapons of war, other nations collapsed into civil war between Blades and Sealers.

Nine Asfel

Nine is one of the world's most talented Blades, and adopted son of Lorvin's King Arzelide. Nine also possesses the unusual ability to use magic, a capacity usually reserved for Sealers, though he is still unable to actually seal Belzed souls. Sarcastic and carefree, he cares little for his duty as a Blade and even less for his position as heir-apparent to the Lorvin throne.

Aisha Romandine

Aisha hails from the Sealer-ruled nation of Esther, and is a Sealer with unrivaled potential. She possesses so much power that it can be difficult to control, and at one point her loss of control harmed innocent people. Summoned to Lorvin by King Arzelide to seal a certain demon, in the wake of the game's beginning she is unsure exactly who and where the demon she is supposed to seal is located. She uses a forbidden ritual to bind her soul to Nine's.

Systems

Aisha and Nine share a soul, and cannot exist in the same place at the same time, and are forced to "switch places" in order to act, in a fashion similar to Trine (except with two people). This also occurs outside of combat, during overworld exploration, where swapping characters can affect health or mana regeneration. When Nine is on the field, mana regenerates, and when Aisha is on the field, health regenerates. Nine and Aisha can only exist in the same place in a special area known as the Vamino Room, an extra-dimensional area not unlike the Velvet Room, except with a fast travel system instead of Igor.

Game combat is turn-based, and concentrated on attacking enemy body parts in sequence, then using magic to deal more damage. Players can select which character (Nine or Aisha) acts first during a given turn. Enemies present between six and ten body parts, and attacking them with physical attacks (preferably using Nine) attaches "Stamps," which serve as targeting markers for "Stamp Magic," magic spells that, when cast, strike every stamped body part to inflict damage or status effects. Stamps wear off over time (or can be dispelled by the enemies), and must be reestablished with more physical strikes.

Stamp duration and Stamp Magic damage can be multiplied by attacking body parts in the correct sequence (head first, tail second, arm third, etc.), as well as adding bonus experience points and rewards from the battle. Attacking body parts in the wrong sequence risks placing an enemy in berserk status enraging an enemy, which can dramatically increase its speed and damage output.

Physical strikes cost "command points," which can only be replenished through the use of items or special spells, making conservation an important tactic during drawn-out battles.

Reception

Last Rebellion launched in Japan in late January 2010 to poor reviews and fan reception, reportedly selling less than 5000 copies in the initial weeks. Gamers on Japanese message board 2ch nominated the title as "Worst Game of 2010".

The game's North American launch on February 23rd fared little better, meeting lukewarm reviews and similar sales numbers according to VG Chartz. Its Metacritic score as of March 2010 lists at 46.

Upon seeing the quality level of the game NISA president Haru Akenaga told the company's community rep not to push the title. In an interview with Siliconera he said his company would never publish another Hit Maker game or another game of that quality level.