The Story Begins...

Welcome to The Last Remnant, a quintessential JRPG experience! Before you begin, there is a montage video played at the main menu:

Introducing The Last Remnant

Once you start a new game, an introductory cutscene plays.

Spoiler warning: Cutscene details.

A teenager named Rush Sykes, not quite a boy anymore but not yet a man, wanders through dense woods aimlessly searching and calling out the name Irina. He emerges into a quiet, flowered meadow. As petals blow in the breeze, he hears a rumbling in the near distance. Overcome by an odd sense of urgency, Rush stumbles to a hilltop overlooking Yamarn Plain. Below, two great armies plod relentlessly toward each other. Their march is grim and brutal and full of bloody intent. As he scans the hordes, Rush spots an armor-clad female who, at a distance, looks like Irina. Without regard for his own safety, Rush leaps down the embankment and sprints directly into the martial ranks. Meanwhile, a great cannon-like weapon is deployed. Soldiers refer to it as the "Gae Bolg" as their young leader David Nassau, the Marquis of Athlum, dons a sighting scope and prepares to fire.

Lord David striking the Gae Bolg.

A "Battle Controls" tutorial is triggered that gives you a small taste of The Last Remnant's combat system. You set targets and battle commands for five squads called "unions."

Each Union is commanded by a primary character in the game — David and his four generals: Torgal, Blocter, Emma, and Pagus. Don't spend a lot of time analysing the Union match-ups, however. Your targeting and command selections don't matter much because this fight won't go past the second turn.

When Turn 2 begins, the only battle command available is "Gae Bolg: Fire!". Select it to begin a cutscene shortly thereafter.

Spoiler warning: Cutscene details.

After the shot obliterates an entire battlefield sector, Rush revives, surrounded by a protective field that appears to be linked to the talisman pendant he wears around his neck. Nearby, the woman Rush mistook for Irina earlier, one of Athlum's generals named Emma Honeywell, struggles to her feet. But as she approaches Rush, the ground gives way beneath them and they drop into an underground cave. There, Emma accuses Rush of being a spy, but when he explains that he was just looking for his sister Irina Sykes, Emma's manner suddenly changes. She knows his parents... Rush tells Emma of living with his sister on idyllic Eulam Island. In a flashback scene, the siblings receive a "Visistone" message from their parents, a famous research team working at the Academy. Immediately afterwards, brutal intruders drop from the sky and kidnap Irina. Rush manages to snag the talisman his sister drops as she's hauled off—the very talisman he wears on his neck now: his mysterious protector.

When the flashback ends, Emma expresses scepticism at Rush's tale and turns her attention to escaping the cave. And thus begins your first story segment.

Escape the Underground Cavern

This first segment provides instructions on some of the basics of the combat system. Your objective is to fight your way out of the cave, including a confrontation with a boss beast. The fighting is quite easy, since this is a tutorial-style mission.

Open the Treasure Chest

As you appear in the cave, you get an on-screen message that Emma has joined your party. Approach Emma, who stands near a glowing, ornate-looking object, and talk to her. She tells you the object is a treasure chest, a type of Remnant. Then she explains how to "bind" a Remnant to use it.

As you click through the dialogue, Rush automatically binds the Remnant and receives a Broadsword, a dual-edged mid-size blade that inflicts Slash damage. Equip the Broadsword. The Party menu is now available, which also allows saving your game.

Defeat the Jhana Unions

Proceed down the tunnel to Emma and talk to her again. She explains how to initiate battle with the monster up ahead. Carefully approach the Jhana until the ellipses icon over its head is red. The moment you see the red outline, initiate combat.

After a quick battle tutorial, you find yourself facing two enemy unions. One is a pair of Jhana Fighters, and the other is a lone Jhana Archfighter. Your Union, called "Rush's Troop," is comprised of Rush and Emma. Although you appear to be outnumbered, you're in good shape with Emma on your team. Attack the Jhana Fighters with combat arts; Emma's Knee Splitter should terminate the enemy union with a single blow.

When the Archfighter makes a run at your flank, Rush's Troop turns to engage him in Deadlock since you've already eliminated the first enemy union. A Jhana Archfighter hits hard, so your union suffers some damage in the monster's initial attack.

If this fight were destined to be a multi-turn affair, you might want to select "Keep your HP up!" as you battle command, which combines a basic attack by Rush with a Restore Remedy by Emma. However, Emma's Devil's Due strike is fierce enough that if you select the combat arts option, she'll terminate the Arch fighter in a single turn. Since all of your party members always recover full HP after each battle, you don't need to spend a turn on healing.

A Beast Attacks

After your first victory, continue down the tunnel until it opens into a wide cavern. Head toward the exit passage until you trigger a cutscene.

Spoiler warning: Cutscene details.
Emma says, "Something's wrong," and then a massive Raptor drops from the ceiling. [See the next cutscene details for a video of this event.]

After a quick tutorial on "Morale," it's time to tangle with the great horned monster.

This first boss fight is merely an exercise to introduce the power of Rush's talisman. (Neither union will take damage except when Rush uses Omnistrike on the Raptor; this will not happen for all bosses.) When fighting a boss, the "Charge" battle command is the basic attack.

Go ahead and pick any of the three choices in your first turn; it doesn't matter which one. In turn 3, your only command choice is "What...what is this power?" Select it to unleash a mighty attack called Omnistrike from Rush's talisman. This destroys the Raptor in one blast.

Spoiler warning: Cutscene details.
After the Raptor disintegrates Emma comments that the talisman is "more than a fashion accessory after all. Then Rush meets the Marquis of Athlum and his other three generals. David offers Rush aid in the search for Irina, and invites him back to Athlum.

When the cutscene ends, you automatically go to the World Map. Navigate the golden cursor north-west from Yamarn Plain to the city of Athlum and travel there.

Next: Interlude: Athlum