Wii owners have been starved of decent content recently, so the arrival of such a fine and absorbing RPG as The Last Story is to be heartily welcomed.

Taking place on the quasi-European island Lazuli, the game follows young mercenary Zael through a fairly typical anime-inspired adventure. No real points for originality, but the game shines none the less. Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, it has the air of a creator freed to experiment in ways he wasn't able to in his Final Fantasy days. Zael and his allies engage in real-time battles, guarding and parrying enemy attacks in a rejection of the expected structure of Japanese role-players. It's actually rather simplistic yet surprisingly engaging, with strategy elements adding depth to the action.

The Last Story looks and sounds a treat, too, and in offering a lengthy and engrossing quest, this is likely to be one of the last great Wii games.