Lost Odyssey (Xbox360)
- Publisher:
- Microsoft Games
- Developer:
- Mistwalker
- Release Date:
- 29.02.2008
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Action Adventure
- Reality Factor:
- Fantasy
- Extra:
- Other World
2 movies
We play Lost Odyssey...
First things first; if random battles aren't your thing, I'll save you ten minutes of your life and tell you that Lost Odyssey isn't for you. Pretend it got a 3/10 and save yourself the bother! Hello…good, I think they’ve gone. It’s just us sensible people now that won’t be put off a game purely because it contains random battles.
Coming from Hironobu Sakaguchi, he of such fame as Final Fantasy and, more recently, Blue Dragon, much was expected of Lost Odyssey. What perhaps wasn’t expected was a ‘next-gen’ game that played like a bit of an antique. Fret not, after all a lot of antiques are as nice if not better than a modern piece, but you do have to be prepared to put up with aging game mechanics if you’re going to be able to enjoy Lost Odyssey to the full.
Weighing in at four discs and a relatively hefty 40-50 hours, Lost Odyssey is for the pure Japanese RPG fan. If you’ve never got on with the turn-based approach of Final Fantasy (pre FFXII) or other games of that ilk, Lost Odyssey will do absolutely nothing for you. In fact the rather lethargic start to the game will probably ensure only true JRPG fans don’t head straight for their nearest game store to trade it in. The first few hours pass with very little storyline progression and the often overly sparse save-game locations (is it really fair in this day and age to expect everyone to have 30-40 minutes spare to play a game, without interruption?) ensure that only the most committed will persevere, but then JRPG fans are used to this. They won’t even blink an eye. By now only the strongest of you should have survived and still be reading. Give yourself a +10 in Stamina, a +14 in Strength and a hefty +22 pat on the back.
For those of you that may have sampled Mistwalker’s previous XBOX 360 outing, Blue Dragon, imagine that with a more adult theme and less pesky kids and you’ve got Lost Odyssey. Well that’s maybe a little unfair, Lost Odyssey is indeed more than that, but it gives you an idea of what to expect. As Kaim, an amnesiac suffering immortal, who has lived for more than 1000 years (no wonder he’s suffering with amnesia, my Dad’s only 65 and he has trouble remembering what day it is!), you go on a journey with three other characters to discover your past and your destiny. The main story is very JRPG and, dare I say it, a little bit twee. But the individual character’s stories are a different story (ahem) altogether and intertwine well with the main plot. It is a bit inconsistent, being superb and dramatic one minute and ultimately clichéd and almost cringe-worthy the next, but overall the story does enough to keep the gamers interest there. The cut-scenes are also well produced, feature decent voice-over work (especially for the genre) and deliver the story well.
Graphically Lost Odyssey is a mixed bag, with stunning CG sequences one minute and a dodgy frame-rate the next. The good generally outweighs the bad though and the stunning musical score and otherwise polished presentation are more than enough to make you overlook these other technical shortcomings.
As highlighted earlier, there are random battles, lots of random battles, but it isn’t as tedious here as it has been before. This is thanks, in part, to the excellent progression system, where your characters seem to level-up or gain a new ability with almost every other battle. Also due to the sheer amount of skills on offer, and being limited to the amount that you can have equipped at any one time, the combat in Lost Odyssey is much more diverse and a lot deeper than many of its predecessors and rivals. You’ll actually soon be glad of having so many random battles, as it gives you plenty of chance to try out different abilities and to level up quickly. Battles are also fairly challenging for a change, and really provide the player with a sense of achievement.
Another part of the combat system worth highlighting is the rings that you can equip to your party. Yes I know that this in itself isn’t all that ground-breaking, but the control system that goes with it is. In order to get the benefit that the ring promises to bestow, you have to time your attack by holding the trigger down until the outer ring shrinks to the same size of the inner ring. Time it right and you get fairly big bonus damage, get it wrong and you might miss altogether. It adds an interactive element to the combat and surprisingly works very well indeed. For those of you that enjoy micro-management of skills and items, you’re also well served in that area. However for those of you that don’t have the time or desire to spend hours on this aspect of the game (I include myself in this category), Lost Odyssey doesn’t punish you either and you can progress just as well.
So far so good then, but despite being such a traditional JRPG in so many ways, Mistwalker seemingly didn’t think that was good enough and decided to add some additional gameplay elements that, arguably, ruin the flow of the game and won’t do much for the target audience. From out of place stealth missions, to painful ‘Adventure game’ elements where you have to navigate narrow paths with controls that seem to be doing their best to ensure that you don’t, all feel bolted on and very unnecessary. While there is nothing wrong with innovation, and I applaud those developers that try and succeed in pushing a genre beyond its boundaries, these ‘mini-games’ just don’t work and feel very out of place. They don’t ruin the game, they don’t happen often enough to do that, but they do leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
As emphasised earlier, Lost Odyssey certainly isn’t for everyone. You have to really enjoy the JRPG genre and be prepared to put in the hours to get the most out of the game. And if you preferred the faster-paced Final Fantasy XII over the more traditional turn-based gameplay, Lost Odyssey will feel like a giant step back in time. However for those of you that do put in the hours, do enjoy the more strategic turn-based encounters and are prepared to put up with a few odd gameplay elements, Lost Odyssey will not disappoint. The story is delivered superbly and has more than enough high moments and emotion to keep you engaged, and the almost perfect combat system will reward those that put in the effort. It’s not without its faults and it does very little new, but it is a rewarding experience and a worthy addition to any JRPG fans catalogue.
Top game moment: Some of the cut-scenes are superb and really pull on the emotional strings.
Coming from Hironobu Sakaguchi, he of such fame as Final Fantasy and, more recently, Blue Dragon, much was expected of Lost Odyssey. What perhaps wasn’t expected was a ‘next-gen’ game that played like a bit of an antique. Fret not, after all a lot of antiques are as nice if not better than a modern piece, but you do have to be prepared to put up with aging game mechanics if you’re going to be able to enjoy Lost Odyssey to the full.
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| Oh don’t be such a drama queen |
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Weighing in at four discs and a relatively hefty 40-50 hours, Lost Odyssey is for the pure Japanese RPG fan. If you’ve never got on with the turn-based approach of Final Fantasy (pre FFXII) or other games of that ilk, Lost Odyssey will do absolutely nothing for you. In fact the rather lethargic start to the game will probably ensure only true JRPG fans don’t head straight for their nearest game store to trade it in. The first few hours pass with very little storyline progression and the often overly sparse save-game locations (is it really fair in this day and age to expect everyone to have 30-40 minutes spare to play a game, without interruption?) ensure that only the most committed will persevere, but then JRPG fans are used to this. They won’t even blink an eye. By now only the strongest of you should have survived and still be reading. Give yourself a +10 in Stamina, a +14 in Strength and a hefty +22 pat on the back.
For those of you that may have sampled Mistwalker’s previous XBOX 360 outing, Blue Dragon, imagine that with a more adult theme and less pesky kids and you’ve got Lost Odyssey. Well that’s maybe a little unfair, Lost Odyssey is indeed more than that, but it gives you an idea of what to expect. As Kaim, an amnesiac suffering immortal, who has lived for more than 1000 years (no wonder he’s suffering with amnesia, my Dad’s only 65 and he has trouble remembering what day it is!), you go on a journey with three other characters to discover your past and your destiny. The main story is very JRPG and, dare I say it, a little bit twee. But the individual character’s stories are a different story (ahem) altogether and intertwine well with the main plot. It is a bit inconsistent, being superb and dramatic one minute and ultimately clichéd and almost cringe-worthy the next, but overall the story does enough to keep the gamers interest there. The cut-scenes are also well produced, feature decent voice-over work (especially for the genre) and deliver the story well.
Graphically Lost Odyssey is a mixed bag, with stunning CG sequences one minute and a dodgy frame-rate the next. The good generally outweighs the bad though and the stunning musical score and otherwise polished presentation are more than enough to make you overlook these other technical shortcomings.
 |
 |
|
| Can’t we just talk about it? |
24…JRPG style. |
As highlighted earlier, there are random battles, lots of random battles, but it isn’t as tedious here as it has been before. This is thanks, in part, to the excellent progression system, where your characters seem to level-up or gain a new ability with almost every other battle. Also due to the sheer amount of skills on offer, and being limited to the amount that you can have equipped at any one time, the combat in Lost Odyssey is much more diverse and a lot deeper than many of its predecessors and rivals. You’ll actually soon be glad of having so many random battles, as it gives you plenty of chance to try out different abilities and to level up quickly. Battles are also fairly challenging for a change, and really provide the player with a sense of achievement.
Another part of the combat system worth highlighting is the rings that you can equip to your party. Yes I know that this in itself isn’t all that ground-breaking, but the control system that goes with it is. In order to get the benefit that the ring promises to bestow, you have to time your attack by holding the trigger down until the outer ring shrinks to the same size of the inner ring. Time it right and you get fairly big bonus damage, get it wrong and you might miss altogether. It adds an interactive element to the combat and surprisingly works very well indeed. For those of you that enjoy micro-management of skills and items, you’re also well served in that area. However for those of you that don’t have the time or desire to spend hours on this aspect of the game (I include myself in this category), Lost Odyssey doesn’t punish you either and you can progress just as well.
So far so good then, but despite being such a traditional JRPG in so many ways, Mistwalker seemingly didn’t think that was good enough and decided to add some additional gameplay elements that, arguably, ruin the flow of the game and won’t do much for the target audience. From out of place stealth missions, to painful ‘Adventure game’ elements where you have to navigate narrow paths with controls that seem to be doing their best to ensure that you don’t, all feel bolted on and very unnecessary. While there is nothing wrong with innovation, and I applaud those developers that try and succeed in pushing a genre beyond its boundaries, these ‘mini-games’ just don’t work and feel very out of place. They don’t ruin the game, they don’t happen often enough to do that, but they do leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
 |
 |
|
| Apocalyptic but gorgeous |
No that’s not the Predator. Yes he is mean! |
As emphasised earlier, Lost Odyssey certainly isn’t for everyone. You have to really enjoy the JRPG genre and be prepared to put in the hours to get the most out of the game. And if you preferred the faster-paced Final Fantasy XII over the more traditional turn-based gameplay, Lost Odyssey will feel like a giant step back in time. However for those of you that do put in the hours, do enjoy the more strategic turn-based encounters and are prepared to put up with a few odd gameplay elements, Lost Odyssey will not disappoint. The story is delivered superbly and has more than enough high moments and emotion to keep you engaged, and the almost perfect combat system will reward those that put in the effort. It’s not without its faults and it does very little new, but it is a rewarding experience and a worthy addition to any JRPG fans catalogue.
Top game moment: Some of the cut-scenes are superb and really pull on the emotional strings.
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