Lost Odyssey

[Saz]

Anybody got any opinions on this game?

I'm intrigued. From the little I've seen it looks like it could be a decent rpg. But the last rpg I bought without looking into much was Blue Dragon, and I barely cared enough to finish that game. The main thing that's sparked my interest is the fact that it's from the makers of Final Fantasy, or maker. Anyway it comes out on Feb 29th here, but I reckon it's probable already out in the US, so maybe one of you already has it. If so, what's it like so far?

[Kaden]

Its actually the director of the Final Fantasy games: Hironobu Sakaguchi. Should be said, though, he was also the director of Blue Dragon. He founded Mistwalker, the studio who made both RPGs.

I actually own the game, but haven't had a chance to get past the first hour or so (because of time constraints, not because I haven't wanted to).

Anyway, most of the reviews about this are incredibly consistent. Lost Odyssey is a wildly mediocre RPG. If you've played any FF game, then you've played Lost Odyssey. Its a pretty significant return to classic "JRPGs." Turn based combat, random encounters, heavily archetypal characters, and all of the usual plot "twists." One review actually talked about how they turned playing Lost Odyssey into a game of "which FF did that come from?"

Though that doesn't sound very good, it makes it very obvious what you're getting yourself into if you buy it: a very solid, though somewhat mundane RPG. If you've been looking for something similar to the gameplay of FF I~IX, then you'll get it from LO.

A couple of very positive things about the game include the ring system; this is a real-time mechanic where the player times a button press with a ring on the screen (think Legend of the Dragoon or Super Mario RPG) that can result in bonus damage or status effects. Rings can be changed on-the-fly (so you could have one ring of each element or status effect) and, supposedly, they can be fused to make more potent rings (I haven't gotten that far yet). The main character is an Immortal (not really a spoiler, its on the box) and you acquire several other immortals and several good ol' fashioned, killable humans. Humans acquire skills by equipping items and gaining enough skill points to "learn" the skill of the item. Nothing new here. Immortals, however, "link" to humans and learn skills from them. So on their own, Immortals don't learn skill (that was my understanding, at least). There are a couple other minor mechanics that help make combat more interesting as well.

Across the board, the best part of Lost Odyssey are the "A Thousand Years of Dreams." This is a collection of short stories, or novella, about the main character. They detail some of the things he's been through over the past thousand years and are, to my understanding, incredibly well-written and really help get you to care about the characters. And they're nothing more than text on the screen. I was surprised to see how unanimous everyone was in their praise for this part of it.

Unlike Blue Dragon (and your concerns were well founded), Lost Odyssey actually gets you to care about the characters. You don't trudge through 20 hours of gameplay, watch Kluke get kidnapped, and go "what that fuck... I don't even care."

Almost all of that, however, is based on reviews I've read. I'll be more than willing to share my personal opinion once I've gotten into the game, but for now there's a summary of what people are saying.

[Jack]

Any game with White Rabbit in the commercial automatically gets my respect.

[Saz]

Well reading that definately gives me a better idea of the game. It does sound like the kind of game I would enjoy. I'm a bit wearing of the plot still. From the things I've read it seems quite complitcated, if so I might find it differcult to immerse myself in the story. I think I'll go and look for some video clips of the gameplay, so I can see the game mechanics for myself.

[Kaden]

The graphics and the animations are awesome, btw. I kinda forgot about that. Just hitting "attack" and watching Kaim run forward and slash some bitches is pretty great.

Apparently the graphics get kind of spotting later in the game (still going off the guides). The game uses the Unreal 3 engine (which is awesome, btw), but it sounds like they didn't really know how to use the engine when they made the game.

[Szar]

I'm on the end of the Second Disc, and I'm growing bored of it. The majority of your damage is done through spells, and it makes people like Kaim and Seth no more than meat-shields for your mages. The story is lackluster, the ring system is more annoying than it is useful, and the dream sequences have no real relevance to the story; they're just there (Save a couple, which are story-related.)

The only saving grace for me is Jansen. The comedic relief of the game. Mario, you know the scene where you meet Seth and Jansen outside of Urah to go to Grand Staff? Jansen's entrance is win.

It's good if you're a diehard JRPG fan, but if not, then just steer clear.

And as far as the plot being complex, from what I've seen it's not.

[Saz]

Well I just got the game today. I'm gonna play it later to see what it's like for myself.

[Kaden]

Hahahaha... its amazing how awesome Jansen is. Not even kidding about that. Is his dialoge is hilarious, and his voice acting is absolutely perfect.

I actually like the Ring system. It adds enough to combat to make it interesting (for me, anyway) without being so complicated that actually attacking is a chore. I like being able to freely switch them during combat and I always like getting new components. Its kinda like crafting in an MMO. But easier. And generally more worthwhile.

I like the story so far, too, but I'm only about 12 hours into the game. Its nothing particularly original, but I find it interesting nonetheless.

The real point, as has already been stated several times, is that its a classic example of a JRPG. You should know exactly what you're buying.

[Szar]

The Thousand Years of Dreams are extremely sad, by the way. Like, every single one. It's amazing how well written they are. If I wasn't an emotionless prick I'd cry after reading, like, all of them.

[Kaden]

I think I've unlocked five or six of them so far and, yeah, they're not very happy. My favorite so far is "The Upstreamers." But they're all pretty amazing. A titled "A Thousand Years of Dreams" is actually being printed that is the same shorts from the game. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about that, but after having read a few I might pick it up if I ever get the chance. (if I find the source that said that, I'll post it. I forget where I heard it atm)

As a kind of off-topic comment, its really unfortunate how limited the selection of RPGs is. Not just on the 360, but across all consoles. We've had Enchanted Arms (extremely on-par), Blue Dragon (one of the only games I've flat out put down and stopped playing), Eternal Sonata (heard good things, but haven't played it) and Lost Odyssey (perfectly fine game, but nothing really amazing). I guess Mass Effect and Oblivion are RPGs, but they don't really feel like RPGs to me.

I dunno, I'm just kind of rambling.

[Rem-13]

You know, lately I haven't played a single classic RPG that caught me in the way FF used to, or the way most of Blizzards does. I don't know if its because my tastes have changed over the more "western" style or what. If I had a 360 I might try this, a dude I know said he really enjoyed it.

[Saz]

Yeah. I haven't played this type of game for ages. I've only played about an hour and a half through the game, but it looks like it's gonna be something I'd enjoy. Something about it really reminds me of Final Fantasy X, I can't put my finger on what though.

[Saz]

Love. This. Game.

I'm glad. The last few games I've got excited about have failed to live up to expectations. It's funny, I only heard about this game like a couple of days before it was released.

[Szar]

Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it. What part are you at?

[Saz]

Just been freed by Queen Ming, currently exploring Numara. I'm probable going to take quite a long time to complete it, cause I'm checking every nook and cranny to get all the seeds, treasure, ect:

[Kaden]

I see what you were saying about combat being all about magic, Nappa. Its kind of unfortunate, but whatev.

[Saz]

Daaaaaamn. Mid-way through disc 3, the story just got a quick jolt. Good timing too, my interest was starting to wain. I really like how they've split the party into smaller groups, each going on their own little path. You don't see that much, in most RPG's you recruit characters into your party, and then they stay there in one large group til the end.

The random battles were starting to irritate me, which is strange, I usually don't mind random battles, never used too. I think it's because I'm spending more time than I normally would in the dungeons, or whatever you call the areas where you encounter enemies, making sure not to miss out on anything.

Also, whoever was incharge of character design on this game needs to be shot for making the main villain look, well, the way he looks. I mean Gongora has to be the gayest video game villian ever, appearance wise atleast.

[Saz]

Has anyone finished this game yet? I got to disc 4 acouple of weeks ago but since getting GTA4 I really can't find much time to carry on with it. I've got to try and force myself to carry on with the story. It would be stupid for me to have played 40+ hours and then just stop so close to the end.

[Kaden]

It's not stupid if you enjoyed those 40 hours. (wait, what? gaming for fun?!?!)

I've been trying to get back into it, but Persona 3 FES and GTA4 and AD and (soon) AoC will prove different obstacles to overcome.

[Saz]

Well it would. Even if there weren't achievements involved, once you've played 4/5's of the game, you might as well finish it.