Lost Odyssey is a solid addition to the Xbox 360's scarce RPG supply.
Lost Odyssey tells a story about a man named Kaim (K-eye-m), an immortal for 1000 years. Although the thought of being immortal may appear as a gift, for Kaim, it is far from it. Being immortal means that Kaim must live through a series of deaths with people that he is attached to. Throughout the game you uncover his "dreams" which help him reveal the story of his past.
Kaim is not alone, however, as you meet many companions that fight will fight alongside of him. The first allies you meet are Seth and Jansen. Seth the first feminine character that you meet in the game. She is also an immortal, who has trouble remembering her past similarly to Kaim. She is particularly skilled in physical combat. Jansen's character is played as a sarcastic, dumbfounded idiot. He is only mortal, but he has advanced magic capabilities. Overall, the characters at first sight are very compelling and provide some humorous conversations, especially with Jansen and his idiotic ways.
Graphics:
A key component to look at during this review is the graphics, and to keep it short, they are simply beautiful. The visuals truly illustrate the Xbox 360's power with beautifully detailed environments, characters, and cities. Lightning and shading are also taken into effect throughout the cities, which look fantastic as well. The reflections from the sun onto the realistic water as you are sailing on your boat (available in disc 2) are also very visually compelling. Overall, you truly get the sense that this RPG is "next-gen" in terms of graphics.
Sound:
Another vital component to look at in in this review is the sound. A famous composer by the name of Nobuo Uematsu (who also worked on various Final Fantasy's in the past) worked on the audio for this game, and for the most part it was a job well done. The audio throughout the games towns and battles are relatively well done. The boss battle music is also very engaging. The battle music does get a bit repetitive however, as there is only one generic tune for every random battle. Overall, the games audio was relatively well done however it is not mind blowing nor is it a masterpiece.
Gameplay:
Moving on, one of the most important aspects of a game is gameplay. For the most part, Lost Odyssey's gameplay is truly engaging. However, with that being said, it is not revolutionary by any means. The game uses traditional turn-based battle sequences throughout the entire game, which many JRPG fans will be used to. There is nothing wrong with this type of battle system, as many people enjoy it and have been using this for years. However, some gamers may feel that it is too tedious and may get bored rather quickly. I believe it is really up to the gamer in terms of the battling in the game. If you are not able to stand turn-based battles, then the game may not be for you. However, for gamers who do enjoy this type of combat, the game provides an innovative twist during its battles.
An "Aim Ring" system has been implemented into every battle. When you attack with either Kaim or Seth, a ring appears on the screen. A second ring quickly appears after, where you must hold the right trigger and release the trigger once the 2nd ring overlaps the first. You can attain three outcomes from the ring system. Perfect, Good, and Bad. Gaining a "Perfect" will sometimes give your character bonus damage. Although this is a minor tweak in the battle, it spices the gameplay up just enough for a player to want to get "Perfect" as the damage dealt will be higher.
Another aspect of the gameplay is the skill system. Immortals (referring to Kaim and Seth) are able to use "Skill Link" to gain attributes from those who are mortal. For example, Kaim and Seth are unable to learn black magic themselves, however, Jansen is a black magic specialist, and can link his black magic to the other characters. As you battle, you will earn points where your immortals can master other mortals skills. When enough points are compiled, Kaim and Seth will always be able to use black magic.
With the battling system out of the way, this gives me an opportunity with talk about the gameplay resides outside of combat. The game provides various mini games and side quests throughout the game. One, for example, is marking various stones throughout a village with a 5 minute time limit. Although the game attempts to offer meaningful side quests and mini games, they evidently fall flat. Most are fairly boring and do hold the interest of the player very much. Some are quite interesting, however in the end it feels like you are doing a chore than playing a mini game.
The final gameplay element that I would like to talk about is Kaim's memories. As you uncover memories, you are are subjected to read a passage in which tells the story of the memory unlocked. This includes incredibly well written and scripted writing. However, what makes this probably the worst element of the game in my opinion is that it is all just text. You can only read what the memory is. It would have been nice to make the memory's interactable, where the player actually plays through the memory rather than just reading it. It would have made the whole memory idea much more enjoyable.
With all of these elements taken into account, it is evident that Lost Odyssey stands out in many different ways. The beautiful graphics, the great audio, and the engaging story all in one package make Lost Odyssey a worthy purchase. However, this does not go to say that the game does not suffer any flaws. The games turn-based battle system may not appeal to all gamers, the "dreams" are non-interactable which may bore some gamers, and the loading times (usually about 9 seconds to begin a battle) may turn off some gamers.
I believe that Lost Odyssey's too many positives that outweigh the negatives, which is my main reason to say that it is a worthy purchase. With the game being 4 discs long, it will hold the interest to RPG fanatics for roughly 50-60 hours. I feel this game is not getting enough love from the critiques simply because of its turn-based battle system. If you are a fan or able to withstand the turn-based fighting, Lost Odyssey will definitely provide you with a great looking, and well told role playing game.