Lost Odyssey (XBOX 360) Review - Video Games Reloaded

N-Galaxy

Rated O

Lost Odyssey (XBOX 360) By: Adam Waddilove

Can Sakaguchi’s second Xbox 360 RPG be as successful as Final Fantasy, or will it fall short of expectations?

Lost Odyssey is the story of Kaim, an immortal character who has lived more than 1,000 years. Lost Odyssey's Kaim doesn’t remember his past and doesn’t know where his future lies. Throughout Kaim’s journey in Lost Odyssey, a handful of characters will join him on an odyssey to discover their intricate past and destiny, leading players through a dramatic story of massive scale. Lost Odyssey will feature breathtaking visuals and an epic adventure made possible only by the power of Xbox 360.

Lost Odyssey Features:

Innovative RPG gameplay features: Lost Odyssey blends massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) elements into the game’s traditional RPG system, enabling players to make strategic decisions for a more immersive and deep gameplay experience.

Engaging and unparalleled emotional story: With story sequences penned by award-winning Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu in cooperation with producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, Lost Odyssey sets a new benchmark for the RPG genre with a combination of true-to-life cinematics and the story of an immortal man who has been suffering in many ways for 1,000 years. Lost Odyssey players will witness Kaim’s life as he lives through many generations, becomes part of numerous families, falls in and out of love, and confronts all of the conflicts that arise. Kaim’s struggles in Lost Odyssey are set in a world that is on the verge of a “mystical industrial revolution,” where mankind has attained dark powers.

Massive scope and engrossing environments: The massively scoped worlds, memorable characters and epic story line of Lost Odyssey play out like an intense and unsettling blockbuster action film. Heading up the artistic demands of the title is famed Japanese comic artist Takehiko Inoue; renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu has been recruited to create a contemporary soundtrack.

Realistic graphics in next-generation gaming: Powered by Unreal Engine 3 technology, Lost Odyssey boasts stunning visual fidelity and rendering quality. The Unreal Engine 3 technology pushes high-definition visual designs to a higher level and brings out the smallest details in the largest battles. Gamers will experience a rich dynamic world with an unprecedented level of detail. Users can experience the true-to-life gameplay and facial expressions of emotionally distressed characters in the world of Lost Odyssey.

Despite its somewhat lukewarm reception, I was quite the fan of Blue Dragon. Sure, it wasn’t anywhere near close to a Final Fantasy RPG but it was still a good game, although I cursed them for making me level each of my characters to Level 99 for achievements, that took me a small eternity. I vowed that if Lost Odyssey were to have something similar, that I would chop my hand off and make myself jobless. A frightening thought, as I have become somewhat attached to my fingers. Luckily thats not the case with the game and it actually has quite do-able, fair achievements. Even if they are incredibly time-consuming, as most RPG’s are.

Lost Odyssey is something of a long game, being on four discs. Yes, you heard me right. FOUR DISCS. The fourth couldn’t fit in the 3-disk box and is instead in a paper envelope next to the instruction manual. It seems a little sloppy in the way it was packaged, maybe having a way to contain more than 3 discs. Like the way a bonus feature DVD is combined into the box. Maybe this is a telltale sign that DVD’s are running out of storage and that Microsoft needs to upgrade to either Blu-Ray or a totally new disc format. But enough about that, back to the game itself.

I won’t go into detail regarding the story of Lost Odyssey for several reasons. The first being that you really should see it for yourself. The second being that it’s incredibly epic and emotional, so much so that I cannot put it into words in a way that would do it justice. You’ll learn it through cutscenes, but the more emotional stories are actually told through text-filled pages of “dreams” that Kaim has, he will remember something and then the sequence will begin. It’s incredibly powerful stuff, with dramatic music and very well written passages, you’d have to be made of stone not to be moved by them. Some might consider it lazy that they went for a text-based back-story that you can skip through, but I found it so immersive, that I couldn’t wait to read the next part.

The game is perhaps quite a tough RPG to get to grips with. Its first major boss can seriously cause you problems if not prepared. I had to retry it several times before finding out that I was doing the fight completely wrong. Combat is turn-based like in Blue Dragon, but it also has a little mini-game which is similar to the reloading technique in Gears of War. Essentially when it’s your turn for an attack, two rings will appear on screen; one on the enemy and one moving towards it, you hold down the right trigger and release it when they overlap. If you time it right, you’ll either get a “good” or “perfect” message and that can cause extra damage. It’s a simple addition, but one that keeps things fresh.

As with Blue Dragon, you will search high and low for hidden objects in Lost Odyssey and believe me, there’s a considerable amount of searching to be done. But the real interesting thing is the way you learn abilities for immortals like Kaim or Seth (what kind of female name is Seth, anyway?) What you do is you link abilities from a mortal to the immortal and over time through battles, the immortal will learn it. The same applies to accessories, wear them for so long and you’ll learn them. But you can have so many tied to each player, but you can find more slots for these skills with skill slots that you can find all over the place.

My one gripe is that the game has a ton of invisible walls; it has a fixed view also. Graphically, the game looks fantastic. Everything from the character models to the surroundings; they look great and really push the 360 to its limits. That’s probably why they went overboard with 4 discs since they couldn’t fit all that beauty on one DVD. Equally as epic is the game’s soundtrack, Uematsu has outdone himself once again with music that fits the atmosphere and makes your spine tingle. The man is a genius, no question about it.

The Verdict

Lost Odyssey has a lot to live upto. It was one of the first confirmed Japanese RPG’s for the system when it was first unveiled alongside Oblivion all those years ago. Has it done enough? In my eyes it’s done more than enough, it’s outdone itself. It may not exactly give Final Fantasy a run for its money, but its epic and emotional story, its gameplay, its outstanding score adds to the best RPG on the system alongside Oblivion and Mass Effect. Stop wasting time and buy this now, but prepare to lose days if not weeks playing it.