Lost Odyssey's review, and the people who now have second thoughts about it.

Listen, people. I want to make one quick fact: Gamespot's reviewers...most, if not all of them, are not very good at video games. Hence, the reason why in games such as Final Fantasy XII, Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey, they will spam the word, "FRUSTRATING" when writing a review. They have not been forgiving, nor liking, at all, of the RPG genre (western RPG or Japanese RPG).

With that out of the way...

If you know anything about the Final Fantasy series, know that Nobuo Uematsu did the music for the entire thing (with some assistance here and there). He has given that extra shine to Final Fantasy (and Chrono Trigger) that wouldn't be there otherwise. Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

The point I'm trying to make is, Nobuo Uematsu is doing the music for Lost Odyssey (he also did some of the score for Chrono Trigger). If he has anything to do with the game, it will be kick ass. He is a brilliant mastermind of a composer who has created the theme songs for our favorite characters and battles which will seemingly be unforgettable throughout history. Who could forget the fast paced, Final Fantasy 3's boss theme (yes, Final Fantasy 3, not 6. Final Fantasy 3 was on the SNES before it was remade for the GBA)? I can almost garantee it wouldn't have been as great without Nobuo. His style is simply the best video game music has to offer.

I'll list another fact: It's a Japanese RPG. That should be a strong, auto-interest to a lot of you since we don't get very many ported over to the US anymore.

Lost Odyssey's story was penned by the revered, award-winning Japanese novelist, Kiyoshi Shigematsu. That should say something by itself. On top of that, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the world famous creator of the Final Fantasy series (with immense in-depth character development), a man who's gaming career has lasted an extremely long time, has managed to sell 80 million units of video games worldwide. He worked directly on the storyline with Mr. Shigematsu. Heading up the artistic demands of the title is famed Japanese comic artist, Takehiko Inoue.

The game ships on four dual layer DVDs, more than any Xbox 360 game to date and is strictly a must-buy for anyone who can appreciate a great story. Do not be swayed by the ignorance of Gamespot and IGN's review (IGN did mention somewhere that the soundtrack was forgettable). Gamespot was accurate when it came to frame rate and loading issues. I have one thing to say to this: The game shouldn't be punished because the Xbox 360 can't handle it.

So go, people. Go and buy the game whenever it arrives in your area. Buy with confidence instead of doubt and disbelief. : )

edit: I forgot to mention that Lost Odyssey's review was written by the same person who was so utterly frustrated when playing Mass Effect.

Listen, people. I want to make one quick fact: Gamespot's reviewers...most, if not all of them, are not very good at video games. Hence, the reason why in games such as Final Fantasy XII, Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey, they will spam the word, "FRUSTRATING" when writing a review. They have not been forgiving, nor liking, at all, of the RPG genre (western RPG or Japanese RPG).

With that out of the way...

If you know anything about the Final Fantasy series, know that Nobuo Uematsu did the music for the entire thing (with some assistance here and there). He has given that extra shine to Final Fantasy (and Chrono Trigger) that wouldn't be there otherwise. Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

The point I'm trying to make is, Nobuo Uematsu is doing the music for Lost Odyssey (he also did some of the score for Chrono Trigger). If he has anything to do with the game, it will be kick ass. He is a brilliant mastermind of a composer who has created the theme songs for our favorite characters and battles which will seemingly be unforgettable throughout history. Who could forget the fast paced, Final Fantasy 3's boss theme (yes, Final Fantasy 3, not 6. Final Fantasy 3 was on the SNES before it was remade for the GBA)? I can almost garantee it wouldn't have been as great without Nobuo. His style is simply the best video game music has to offer.

I'll list another fact: It's a Japanese RPG. That should be a strong, auto-interest to a lot of you since we don't get very many ported over to the US anymore.

Lost Odyssey's story was penned by the revered, award-winning Japanese novelist, Kiyoshi Shigematsu. That should say something by itself. On top of that, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the world famous creator of the Final Fantasy series (with immense in-depth character development), a man who's gaming career has lasted an extremely long time, has managed to sell 80 million units of video games worldwide. He worked directly on the storyline with Mr. Shigematsu. Heading up the artistic demands of the title is famed Japanese comic artist, Takehiko Inoue.

The game ships on four dual layer DVDs, more than any Xbox 360 game to date and is strictly a must-buy for anyone who can appreciate a great story. Do not be swayed by the ignorance of Gamespot and IGN's review (IGN did mention somewhere that the soundtrack was forgettable). Gamespot was accurate when it came to frame rate and loading issues. I have one thing to say to this: The game shouldn't be punished because the Xbox 360 can't handle it.

So go, people. Go and buy the game whenever it arrives in your area. Buy with confidence instead of doubt and disbelief. : )

edit: I forgot to mention that Lost Odyssey's review was written by the same person who was so utterly frustrated when playing Mass Effect.

Ironfungus

At one point, I was so hyped up about this game. And it was a must-buy for me. After all these crazy and outlandish reviews. I'm swayed. I dont want to be swayed, but I am. There has only been TWO great reviews. Gametrailers 8.8 and some other website 9.2. Which are good signs but are they enough to the unrelenting mob of unprofessional reviewers? They base their score on so many excuses but we all know the main reason why they complain about the game so much. It's because it's a turn-based JRPG. They consider it outdated and bland. Reason why most JRPGs arent getting the reviews they deserve. I also heard that the loading and choppy frame rate at certain points in the game werent that bad, and easily overlooked. Some reviewers said it was no big deal, hardly affected their gameplay experience while some other reviewers scream in agony and frustration of long load times. These reviews are inconsistent, while one site may give it an 8.0, the other will give it a 6.0. Scores went as low as 5.0. Of all my years of gaming, I've never seen a video game been reviewed so badly in terms of consistency. And for a game that looks this great, it's hard to believe of such mediocre scores. I find it really hard to believe. I'm getting LO tomorrow, and I hope I wont be disappointed.

Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

Ironfungus

Thats rubbish!! The game still has to be good! if he had written the score for open season it still wouldnt have been any better!

I still have my doubts about the game despite who made the music...

I dont have any problems with the loading times or frame rate issues at all...If the game is good enough any glitches, framerate issues or loading times dont bother me at all..eg. Mass Effect.. It has some, yet one of my fav games ever. And neither of these problems hamoer my exp. playing it.

My doubts with this game are simply if its going to be good enough for me to want to invest my money into it...

What do we care about music?

I want to PLAY a game.....if I wanted to listen to good music....obviously I'd put in a cd.

music in a game is pretty much useless, d**bas*

I would never let a Keith VanO keep me from getting a game. Especially and RPG. The man scored Assassins Creed higher than Mass Effect. I mean Assassins Creed was a great game and all but after about an hour youve experienced everything to be had and it just gets repetaive. On the other hand you have Mass Effect which IMHO is one of the best games i have ever played. I have never been pulled into a story line so completely before, and the gameplay was suprisingly smooth and satisfying.

VanO is clearly your typical Shoot em up/Slash em up gamer who cant appreciate or just isn't a fan of rpgs. I mean im not even an rpg fan but i still thought Mass Effect was amazing.

Why listen to someones review of an rpg who isn't even a fan of rpgs. Better question for Gamespot. WHY NOT LET SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY LIKES RPGS REVIEW THEM FROM NOW ON??????? SOUND GOOD???? OK THANX!!!!!!

[QUOTE="Ironfungus"]

Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

Strap_happy

Thats rubbish!! The game still has to be good! if he had written the score for open season it still wouldnt have been any better!

It will be good, but it won't be great until you have a good soundtrack to go along with it.

What do we care about music?

I want to PLAY a game.....if I wanted to listen to good music....obviously I'd put in a cd.

music in a game is pretty much useless, d**bas*

canadiancheeba

Music is just as important in a movie as it is in a video game. So you'd basically be saying "Who wants to listen to music while we watch movies? I want to WATCH a movie in silence...".

It's just that little spark that completes the movie. Nobody else could have done the music so brilliantly for Star Wars than John Williams, and without him the movie wouldn't have been as...epic?

I would never let a Keith VanO keep me from getting a game. Especially and RPG. The man scored Assassins Creed higher than Mass Effect. I mean Assassins Creed was a great game and all but after about an hour youve experienced everything to be had and it just gets repetaive. On the other hand you have Mass Effect which IMHO is one of the best games i have ever played. I have never been pulled into a story line so completely before, and the gameplay was suprisingly smooth and satisfying.

VanO is clearly your typical Shoot em up/Slash em up gamer who cant appreciate or just isn't a fan of rpgs. I mean im not even an rpg fan but i still thought Mass Effect was amazing.

Why listen to someones review of an rpg who isn't even a fan of rpgs. Better question for Gamespot. WHY NOT LET SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY LIKES RPGS REVIEW THEM FROM NOW ON??????? SOUND GOOD???? OK THANX!!!!!!

InDefiance0

Yeah...sounds good to me.

Well if I may offer a counterpoint, a review (much like your post) is just one persons opinion. You may or may not agree with it and thats ok. Not everyone likes JRPGs. We all have different tastes.

Secondly, they weren't bashing the story or music. Their main complaints were the technical issues, while fixable are still worth noting, and the game mechanics. And you should never buy something just because someone famous worked on it.

Also just wanted to point out that Blue Dragon was also on four disks too.

Anyway I can appreciate a good story but (personally) I'm more interested in gameplay. Don't get me wrong story is important too, I just rather not spend hours slogging through countless turn based battles to hear it.

And in case anyone thinks I'm flaming/hating/whatever, this is just my personal opinion. I'm still going to rent it even though I'm not a big fan of JRPGs. Some people will love it, some people will hate it, and most people should try before they buy.

Its still a must buy for me, going to grab a copy 2day :)kozzy1234

Just picked up my copy.

I hope I get 1 that doesn't have any performance/loading issues :)

Totally with you man on Gamespot's poor review. It seems to me that they get the wrong peple to review games. I mean come on, you give a game like Lost O. a 7.5 because of LONG LOAD TIMES? Dude, seriously. If you're that impatient, you probably throw things at your T.V. when your little dude dies in COD4.

I agree as well on Mass Effect. What ever happened to reviewing games based on the gameplay, and not whether or not you had to spend an extra 5 seconds watching a static load screen? Sure it's slighly annoying, but if that means it makes the awesome CGI sequences to convey an excellent story, (and by all accounts L.O. has an excellent story), then so WHAT?

I'm amazed at the constant stream of bad reveiws on this site towards games that are otherwise more than ok, but get knocked down to the 7.0 category because they simply take longer? I seem to remember Xenosaga got better reviews than this, and it has like 45 minute long CGI movies? Anyone? Anyone?

It's also telling, to me, that a game like Halo 3 or COD4 ALWAYS gets in the 9.0 category. Sure, the games are nice, but they are almost automatic in the good score. I liked COD4 , although it was way too short, and Halo 3 was definitely good, but dude, 40 hours of awesome story, penned by award winners, with an awesome musical score, and what looks like a fighting system, that at worst, is based off ideas that have been around a while?

Why does a game get rated so badly just because it hasn't moved forward into the TOTAL REAL TIME ERA??? I happen to like this system. Sure, it's not God of War, but geez, it's not that kind of game! Why does this reviewer demote the game because it has lengthy cgi sequences? IT'S AN RPG DUDE! That's what it's for; it's not action-oriented. If it was, it would be an ACTION GAME.

Heh. Sorry if I got a little Lewis Black, but that's ridiculous.

[QUOTE="Ironfungus"]

Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

Strap_happy

Thats rubbish!! The game still has to be good! if he had written the score for open season it still wouldnt have been any better!

who cares about another JRPG, there are enough of these crap games out there already. just another boring turn based rpg for me. if you want quality RPGs play Mass Effect or Oblivion and please stop whining about reviews just because your game didnt get what you wanted it too.Altair1337

I will whine all I want thank you. :) If you don't like to read whining, don't read posts that complain about reviews.

I for one don't even own this game; I just think it's unfair to berate a game because of non-gameplay factors. If it's too buggy to play, fine. But a bad review turns a lot of people off to the game; and I think it's a shame that you can put so much work into something and have it bomb because someone doesn't think they should have to wait 5 extra seconds for a cut-scene.

:)

[QUOTE="Altair1337"]who cares about another JRPG, there are enough of these crap games out there already. just another boring turn based rpg for me. if you want quality RPGs play Mass Effect or Oblivion and please stop whining about reviews just because your game didnt get what you wanted it too.Lach0121

how am I whining about a turn based RPG? I was stating my opinion about the subject that I dont think turn based RPGs are fun, big deal. Theres no reason to reply to my message and talk crap to me sir.

[QUOTE="Lach0121"][QUOTE="Altair1337"]who cares about another JRPG, there are enough of these crap games out there already. just another boring turn based rpg for me. if you want quality RPGs play Mass Effect or Oblivion and please stop whining about reviews just because your game didnt get what you wanted it too.Altair1337

how am I whining about a turn based RPG? I was stating my opinion about the subject that I dont think turn based RPGs are fun, big deal. Theres no reason to reply to my message and talk crap to me sir.

eh i dont really want to argue on some stupid forum

just forget about it.

eh i dont really want to argue on some stupid forum

just forget about it.

Altair1337

[QUOTE="Altair1337"]

eh i dont really want to argue on some stupid forum

just forget about it.

Lach0121

haha yeah, whenever I tend to get into an arguement I end up getting in trouble on these forums from saying crap to someone >

[QUOTE="Lach0121"][QUOTE="Altair1337"]

eh i dont really want to argue on some stupid forum

just forget about it.

Altair1337

haha yeah, whenever I tend to get into an arguement I end up getting in trouble on these forums from saying crap to someone >

Thanks for the info. I was undecided on whether or not to buy this one. As far as load times, whatever. Gives me time to have a sip of which ever tasty alchoholic beverage i happen to be drinking. (games are better half-snapped) Ha. smokeyf

Hahahahahahaha. I agree.

Just remember that game reviewers are often under a severe time constraint when it comes to completely playing through a game. This can cause that frustration and cause the scores to be lower. Any score of 7 or above on Gamespot constitutes a good game and is worth buying and playing. People need to stop being so sensitive about internet game reviews. If you think the game deserves a better score, good for you, I hope you enjoy the game.dxy592

That's a great point. I've been looking forward to this game but I have as long as I want to play it. A reviewer doesn't and that slighlt longer load time can seem alot longer if they are running out of time to finish the game where as to me I hardly notice it and if I do just switch to TV until it loads with no problems.

I remember when the loading times for a game called "The Witcher" on PC was really slow, then they put out a patch and the load times were much better.

Now I have seen some games on 360 when you first run the game it says there is an update, then the 360 restarts and then you can play the game.

I wonder if a patch can be released soon to correct such little annoyances. BTW I bought the game but wont be able to play until later so I'm not sure how big an annoyance (if at all) it will be.

Good post, TC. And I particulary agree with this portion of the various points that you made:

"and is strictly a must-buy for anyone who can appreciate a great story."

I also picked up my copy today and plan to pop it in tonight. I am looking forward to actually enjoying a strategic, epic, emotional roller-coster story for a change. As we all need a break from headshots and grenades every now and then, lol.

What do we care about music?

I want to PLAY a game.....if I wanted to listen to good music....obviously I'd put in a cd.

music in a game is pretty much useless, d**bas*

canadiancheeba

Maybe for you. Music to me in a game is CRITICAL to create an atmosphere. You can have the best graphics , best gameplay and best story ever, if it sounds like crap, the game is crap.

[QUOTE="canadiancheeba"]

What do we care about music?

I want to PLAY a game.....if I wanted to listen to good music....obviously I'd put in a cd.

music in a game is pretty much useless, d**bas*

TheCrazed420

Maybe for you. Music to me in a game is CRITICAL to create an atmosphere. You can have the best graphics , best gameplay and best story ever, if it sounds like crap, the game is crap.

[QUOTE="Altair1337"]who cares about another JRPG, there are enough of these crap games out there already. just another boring turn based rpg for me. if you want quality RPGs play Mass Effect or Oblivion and please stop whining about reviews just because your game didnt get what you wanted it too.Lach0121

I second Lach's opinion... I bet Altair is new to the RPG scene... Back then most RPGs are turn base.... This is for me a tribute the to the traditional RPG's added with modern twist... no need to argue though, gamesrs have different tastes.... Its jst a matter of opinion... I could say that to the reviewer of LO too....

[QUOTE="Ironfungus"]

Nobuo UematsuMAKES the game. He completes the game. For those who oppose this statement: Would Star Wars be the same without John Williams? Hell no.

Strap_happy

Thats rubbish!! The game still has to be good! if he had written the score for open season it still wouldnt have been any better!

Good post, TC. And I particulary agree with this portion of the various points that you made:

"and is strictly a must-buy for anyone who can appreciate a great story."

I also picked up my copy today and plan to pop it in tonight. I am looking forward to actually enjoying a strategic, epic, emotional roller-coster story for a change. As we all need a break from headshots and grenades every now and then, lol.

ironcreed

Exactly. Single player = storylines. Multiplayer = solid gameplay.

I didn't really catch how far I'm into Lost Odyssey...but for anyone wondering, I've been playing it all day (probably picked it up about 8 hours ago) and I can already comfirm that the characters are loveable...especially Seth :D

I've fought two boss battles and they were much much harder than I was expecting them to be. Maybe I should level up :O

So what you're saying is that the makers of this game have made really great games therefore gamespot considering this game to only be good is ignorant? Let's look at you're Star Wars comparison again. The same director/writer from the original trilogy also made Episode 1 which was perhaps the biggest letdown in movie history. Just because someone has done great work before doesn't mean everything they touch is golden. That said, the game is decent.darkmoney52

Unless you've played and finished the game then you can't really call it decent now can you?

My Star Wars example wasn't about the story. I was saying that Star Wars wouldn't have been the same without John Williams doing the music. This relates to Final Fantasy and Nobuo Uematsu.

Music is critical to me in games. I may buy the soundtrack or acquire it, as it's top notch. Nobuo Uematsu never disappoints :)Staryoshi87

And when you think about it, music is critical in just about every type of entertainment there is.

OK after playing it last night, I must say that a 7.5 is kinda harsh. I would say a 8.5 at least, although I give it a 9.0 personally.

The LOAD times are really not that bad. I would say they range between 2-4 seconds, but mostly 2 seconds.

Anyways, great game, I highly recommend it!

The game ships on four dual layer DVDs, more than any Xbox 360 game to date and is strictly a must-buy for anyone who can appreciate a great story. Do not be swayed by the ignorance of Gamespot and IGN's review (IGN did mention somewhere that the soundtrack was forgettable). Gamespot was accurate when it came to frame rate and loading issues. I have one thing to say to this: The game shouldn't be punished because the Xbox 360 can't handle it.

Ironfungus

I have t disagree with you there. This game was made and designed exclusively for the 360. The game should be held accountable if it doesn't run well on the system it's made for. They knew what the hardware capabilities were when they were in development.

In any case. I'm buying a copy this weekend.