Review: Lost Odyssey [360] By Griffin Queen on May 19th, 2008
Lost Odyssey, the second game developed for the Xbox 360 by Mistwalker Corporation, is an RPG in the same vein as Final Fantasy. This isn't surprising, as Mistwalker's founder, Hironobu Sakaguchi, is the father of the famed series. Blue Dragon, the first game developed by Mistwalker, received mixed reactions due to the childish nature of its story, the simple turn-based combat, and odd animation choices. Following its disappointing release, many eager RPG fans hoped Mistwalker could buckle down and redeem itself with the release of Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. Fortunately, Sakaguchi seems to have stepped up in nearly all regards. Lost Odyssey is a polished, impressive video game containing a deep story, notable graphics (LO is the first RPG to use the Unreal Engine 3.0), an enjoyable combat system and a compelling cast of characters.
Lost Odyssey begins with the main protagonist, Kaim, an Immortal warrior with amnesia, in the middle of a battleground being besieged by enemies from all side. In the course of about 10 minutes, you'll learn the basics of combat as well as see Kaim in his full glory during cutscenes. After completing this quasi-tutorial, you'll leave the battlefield as one of few survivors, and thus Lost Odyssey truly begins. The game centers around Kaim, the Immortals, and their companions as they quest throughout their world to discover the secret to their lost memories. Their goal is to eventually meet the story’s antagonist, another Immortal named Gongora, who holds the secrets Kaim and his companions desire to know. While the story gets off to a slow start, it doesn't take too long to pick up its pace. A major reveal by the end of the first disc will assure that most players will continue to the other three discs to complete the tale.
Anyone who’s ever played Final Fantasy X on the Playstation 2 will feel right at home with Lost Odyssey's combat, even though there are a few new additions. One of these additions is the Ring System. Throughout the course of the player's travels, he/she will find various materials that can be combined to create rings they can equip their characters with for bonuses and stat increases in battle that are earned through a timing system. The Ring System adds more depth to the combat, as you can switch rings mid-battle to deal with different threats (i.e. equipping an anti-machinery ring when dealing with robotic enemies, an anti-beast ring when fighting wolves, etc). Another excellent addition to Lost Oddyssey’s combat system is Skill Linking. Due to the Immortals being unable to learn abilities on their own, they must link to a mortal character's abilities so as they gain experience, they gain the same abilities as their mortal companions. This allows you to customize the type of play style you want for each character. These additions add to the depth of the character customization, and while they don't make it incredibly deep or complicated, they’re easy enough to use for those who are new to turn-based combat. My only few criticisms are the random battles and the inability to see your enemies on the map, as you could in Blue Dragon.
The characters in Lost Odyssey are some of my favorite in a game in recent years. While they do have some of the traits seen in stereotypical RPG characters, such as Kaim's role as the quiet, despair ridden protagonist, there are also some real gems in the cast. Jansen, one of your mortal companions, is sarcastic, self-centered, fear-ridden womanizer. Quite a bit of the game's humor centers around Jansen as he wants no part in Kaim's quest and would rather be relaxing back home, a point he makes many times throughout the story. Another interesting pair of characters is brother and sister Mack and Cooke, who bring childish enthusiasm and immaturity to the plot. They prevent Lost Oddyssey from ever becoming too serious and allow a nice distraction from Kaim's despair concerning his lost memories and inability to die.
Despite all of Lost Oddyssey’s successes there are a few disappointments, although most are very minor. There are the occasional framerate drops and stuttering character models, and while the cutscenes are impressive, they’re not quite up to par with those seen in most Square-Enix titles. Also, Lost Odyssey is a very long game. While many players will be happy to hear there are four discs of content allowing them to truly immerse themselves in its world, the casual player may be put off by the length.
At the end of the day, Lost Odyssey is a great addition not only to the Xbox 360 but to the RPG genre in general. While it's by no means the best RPG of the past decade, it is quite impressive in terms of story, gameplay, graphics, and voice acting. Lost Oddyssey will undoubtedly leave most RPG players satisfied. If you enjoy RPG's and own an Xbox 360, this is a must buy.
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