Pros: Ring system in combat, interesting story and use of dream system, decent graphics, responsive controls
Cons: Fixed camera, lackluster sound and music, same old JRPG gameplay mechanics, no world map
The Bottom Line: Lost Odyssey serves up a story about an immortal who has lived 1000 years across 4 DVDs. The gameplay mechanic is classic JRPG, though music and voice are forgettable.
Let's be honest. The XBox360 has been a little shorthanded when it comes to the RPG genre. Sure, there are noteworthy entries such as Mass Effect and Blue Dragon, but there aren't that many beyond that. With the recent announcement of Final Fantasy XIII coming to the 360, the efforts that Mistwalker Studios has put into increasing the number of JRPG titles is duly noted. How does the latest entry from Nubuo Sakaguchi stack up against the rest of the offerings that the 360 has?
Sadly enough, it is but an average attempt. The story begins by showing events that led to war between three rival nations: the Republic of Uhra, the Monarchy of Numara, and the Kingdom of Gohtza. One such player in the whole scheme of things is Lt. Kaim Argonar, member of the Uhra army. What sets him apart from those of his compatriots and comrades at arms is that he is an immortal, having lived for a millennium. However, he has no recollection of most of his life; with many of his memories being locked away for unknown reasons (which will be quickly discovered early on). As he is traveling the globe, usually from combat to combat, certain events trigger what is known as "A Thousand Year of Dreams." While an excellent story hook initially, the execution of how the dreams are told is a bit archaic given the medium in use. You will be reading (you read that correctly, no pun intended) all the dreams that are discovered, rather than living a majority (if not all) of his dreams through Kaim's mind eye. It is a shame, this would have worked out for the better if cutscenes were used.
The larger picture, though, also revolves around the magical energy that quite suddenly became pervasive in society. Uhra Councilman Gongora is in charge of "The Grand Staff" project. The purpose behind the project is that it focuses immense energy, and has been alluded to cause a meteor to fall into the battle field of a major conflict between Uhran and Kent forces. When the rest of the Council believes that the project could have been the cause, Gongora is placed under house arrest and removed as head of the project. What happens afterwards, I leave ot you to discover.
The graphics of the game are an impressive visual treat with unfortunate limitations. While MANY games currently allow you to use freeroaming cameras to look at your surroundings, this game looks multiple cameras in place (with the slight ability to turn from side to side) and switches views as you travel about. This choice really prevents one from enjoying the graphical efforts that Mistwalker placed into the game and is a departure from the method that they employed in Blue Dragon. Also, if one observes during the story or text aspects, some of background details don't look as impressive. The textures look a bit rough and the movement of characters onscreen at times seem clunky. This is a step backward from the Blue Dragon, and definitely not up to par with Mass Effect. Both games demonstrated well the ability to smoothly move around and see the graphical prowess that the 360 possesses.
The music, which often is one of the reasons why JRPG's are so well remembered (Sephiroth anyone?), is hardly a demonstration of Nobuo Uematsu's best. The mood, at times, is set quite well through the use of orchestral music. The dream scenes could have used a bit more variety and the battle theme will get old and grating after a while. At times, when tension should be demonstrated; the music tends not to follow. Even worst, there are areas where no music is presented during an obviously straining event. This is a far cry from Uematsu's work in Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross and even Blue Dragon.
The voicework in this game is also a bit monotonic or nonexistent. The main character, Kaim, is not known for conversation; and when he does talk it is often with a low voice and emotionless tone. This is despite periods of time where you'd think that the main character would want to convey a sense of emotion. Some of the other main characters, or side characters, also do not have that sense where the voice matches the characters. It would have been nice to see a bit more emotional range with the voice work and certainly hear the music emphasize the events as well.
If there is anything that annoys me more in any video game, it is fixing the camera and making it a chore to move around on screen. Lost Odyssey has, unfortunately, got this down in spades. If I have a character looking in spots, why the heck does the camera have to be at a viewpoint where I cannot see what I am looking at?! This technique is old-school JRPG, primarily of that found on the PS1 rather than say the PS3 or the XBox360. You will be frustrated with how the view will change at odd times, meaning that you could run a character into a wall without meaning to. Thankfully, the combat controls are responsive with the "Ring System" (hold down RT, and release when both rings overlap) and the combat is not as stressing.
If there is anything about the gameplay this game shows, it is that you are playing the tried and true JRPG ways. You run across a (fixed) screen, getting into and out of random encounters (no opponents on screen), where battle is turn based and dependent upon the statistics for your character. What you will notice is that there is nothing innovative about it, and even the most recent innovations of say Blue Dragon or even Mass Effect are not taken into account. In fact, I would argue that there is a step back in the absence of a world map. Sure, you travel from town to dungeon and vice versa by way of picking and having to go through the intermediate areas. However, this is hardly something on the caliber of Final Fantasy XII; where the travel between towns actually felt like a journey or a reasonable substitute for an overworld map. For some, the aspect that this is but a typical JRPG minus the world map could be a significant turn off and boring in many ways. For others, this game will surely give you that been there, done that feeling that (if you still enjoy it) may be worth the 60-80 hours worth of gameplay.
Let me get this out of the way, the story is told across 4 DVDs. If this sounds familiar, this was tried with Final Fantasy VII, VII and even IX on the PS1. So if you did not like changing CD's back then (lazy bastard), then you will not like doing it now. The game is about average length, despite those 4 DVD's, clocking in at about 40-60 hours. If you are really ambitious about checking everything, because believe me the Blue Dragon OCD of checking everything in sight is here, then this could swell to about 80-90 hours. Personally, most of what you will find whilst checking every little crack and piece of paper or trashcan is easily forgettable and bypassable. After all, what you miss will show up in an auction house in the game later. Forgive me if this spoils anything for you (it really is not much of a spoiler, the game tells you up front) but at least you do not have to spend time looking in obscure places. Yes, the game will do that a lot due to the freaking camera.
This game is your average JRPG that really does not try to improve anything, and sometimes takes a step back. It has a compelling story, but it is not one that will keep you coming back to find out what happens next. This is likely due to the game mechanics employed or the fact that the music and voice is not the greatest thing. If you did not like the JRPG genre before, this game is not going to do anything to convince you otherwise.
Lost Odyssey is the story of Kaim, an immortal character who has lived more than 1,000 years. He doesn t remember his past, and he doesn t know where ...More at Buy.com
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