1up's Review of Lost Odyssey sheds some hope to the game...a good RPG...

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3166138

Here are some important notes from the review:

• A mature, adult-oriented story and characters.
• Much better story and more depth than Blue Dragon. Story gives meaningful connections to the characters and gives reasons to care about them, unlike Blue Dragon.
• Kaim's dreams are meaningful and compelling. Stories revolve around such diverse topics as unjust imprisonment, racism, and suicide.
• Although battles are conventional and loading times tedious, the battles are engaging. It's not button-smashing but timed sequences.
• Customizing characters is based off of each other. Every character must be played (even the annoying ones) to upgrade the characters.
• NO GRINDING NECCESSARY! Experience is given upon completion of a dungeoun, chapter, etc., like the Chrono series.
• Uematsu's score is amazing and nostalgic. There isn't a single theme that stands out, but the overall piece is moving.
• Although story is generic that moves you from point A to point B, the game's strength is the compelling characters and their interactions with each other.
• And lastly, Lost Odyssey feels like it's made for those who grew up on the earlier Final Fantasies, with a mature cast and adult-oriented themes. Since past Final Fantasy players are older now, the themes in Lost Odyssey allows us to appreciate its more mature take because of the life experiences to understand them.

Score: 8/10

Not bad. No grinding required! That's the best news so far.

Cool. I may check it out when I catch up on all games I've been meaning to beat.

I saw the load times for battle on gamevideos.com, and it didn't seem too bad to me.

• NO GRINDING NECCESSARY! Experience is given upon completion of a dungeoun, chapter, etc., like the Chrono series.

...

Not bad. No grinding required! That's the best news so far.

ASK_Story

Then what the hell are all the random encounters for?!

Glad to hear it has a decent story though.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

• NO GRINDING NECCESSARY! Experience is given upon completion of a dungeoun, chapter, etc., like the Chrono series.

...

Not bad. No grinding required! That's the best news so far.

LordAndrew

Then what the hell are all the random encounters for?!

Glad to hear it has a decent story though.

If it's done like it was in Chrono Cross, characters who engage in the random battles will receive bigger payouts when it comes time to level up instead of just getting the minimum bonus that everyone does. So maybe the more random battles you fight, the higher your stats get during level up time?

If it's done like it was in Chrono Cross, characters who engage in the random battles will receive bigger payouts when it comes time to level up instead of just getting the minimum bonus that everyone does. So maybe the more random battles you fight, the higher your stats get during level up time?

Robio_basic

Wow, what an unprofessional review. Thanks for showing us that 1up are poor reviewers when compare to gamespot and ign.Anti-Gamer

Because Gamespot with its revolving door of editors and IGN are just the beacons of professionalism and integrity. Its not 2001 anymore.

At this point, I wouldn't trust a GameSpot review. I haven't for years, anyway, but now I really won't even read them.

Anyway, I'm very excited for Lost Odyssey. It seems like eons since I've played a traditional JRPG; even the FF series can no longer be considered "traditional" after FFXII (which I loved). I guess the last two I played were probably DQVIII and Suikoden V, so I've been looking for a new RPG that's "old-fashioned" for quite a while. I tried desperately to get into Mass Effect, but it just bored me to tears. I know, I'm weird.

But after reading up on the Lost Odyssey reviews, I'm positive I want it. I'm a little disappointed about the apparent level cap - I LIKE to grind, sometimes, especially if the combat system is fun as hell - but I'll get over it.

No grinding makes me a very happy man.

It does make for a conflict in the reviews, though. Most reviews (including the 1UP review) mention how closely it resembles Final Fantasies of yore, which is a complete contradiction when you take into account how grind-intensive old(er) Final Fantasies are.

And as for 1Up mentioning tedious load times, I'd rather have it done that way than the way they were handled in Mass Effect: Load half the level, and finish loading it after play resumes.Shame-usBlackley

I can't tell you how many times, in the hours I put into Mass Effect, I went "man, those rocks look kinda plain... oh."

As for Lost Odyssey, sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind a fairly polished throwback to older Final Fantasy games, though I have a few RPGs of my own I'd rather finish first.