The Last Story
Freaking FINALLY. One of the great Wii RPGs that we never thought we would see on our contintent, The Last Story finally has a US release date! If it is anything as good as Xenoblade, then we will have a winner. AND there’s a preorder bonus.

This was the tweet from publisher XSEED yesterday afternoon:

The press release looks something like this:

XSEED Games Announces The Last Story Release Date in North America and Special Pre-Order Incentive
Highly-Anticipated Action RPG Title from Famed Game Creator Hironobu Sakaguchi to Enthrall Fans on August 14; Initial Launch Copies to Include Limited Edition Art Book and Pre-orders with Select Retailers to Include Bonus Soundtrack CD

Torrance, Calif., (July 12th, 2012) – XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, is pleased to announce that the highly-anticipated RPG title for Wiiâ„¢, The Last Story, will ship to retailers throughout North America on August 14 at a suggested retail price of $49.99. All initial launch copies of The Last Story will include a bonus 44-page softcover art book, which will be packaged together with the game in a custom outer box. Additionally, fans who pre-order from select retailers including Amazon.com, EB Games Canada and GameStop will also receive a bonus soundtrack CD with seven memorable tracks from the game’s highly acclaimed soundtrack, which was crafted by famed composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Developed by legendary game creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and his studio, MISTWALKER, in conjunction with Nintendo, The Last Story centers on a band of mercenaries and follows them on their epic journey. Throughout the adventure, players will experience a highly interactive story with an emphasis on immersion and engagement. Gameplay is action-oriented, utilizing a cover system and both ranged and melee combat, but also includes strategic elements such as a battle command system which players can use to issue orders to party members on-the-fly.

The Last Story follows Zael and his band of fellow adventurers as they travel to Lazulis Island, the only region prospering as the mainland of the Empire slowly rots away, in search of work, opportunity and a better future. After securing employment with the ruler of the island, Count Arganan, Zael dreams of finally achieving a secure life as a knight and putting his unstable mercenary past behind him, but things don’t exactly go to plan when events during their first mission change his life forever…

The Last Story was developed by MISTWALKER and Nintendo, exclusively for Wii. The game will be published by XSEED Games in North America on August 14, 2012.

And here’s a trailer if you need some refresher on what the game looks like:

If you want to pre-order right now, here’s a link to Amazon’s store page. Now to count down the one month and one day until this game comes out!