Our Lost Odyssey Impressions

[yahoosoda]

We bought the Asian version of Lost Odyssey (It has english text, voice and menus) and wrote up some impressions on our blog. If you're interested to hear about what the game is like from a gamer's perspective (the type of gamer who enjoys JRPGs) these impressions are well worth a read:

Now Playing: Lost Odyssey
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...t-odyssey.html

Lost Odyssey Soundtrack: Nobuo Uematsu's Greatest Work Yet
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...-is-nobuo.html

Lost Odyssey US TV Ad Commentary
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...sey-us-tv.html

Lost Odyssey TV Ad Remixed with Nobuo Uematsu's Work
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...d-remixed.html

Lost Odyssey Soundtrack: Live Performance
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...ssey-main.html

1UP Interviews Hironobu Sakaguchi
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...sakaguchi.html

Lost Odyssey vs. Final Fantasy
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...yssey-and.html

More Lost Odyssey Impressions
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...ours-into.html

The Mark of a Great RPG
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...great-rpg.html

Even hard-to-please NEOGAF players like this game
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...eogaffers.html

Lost Odyssey PAL box art
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...l-box-art.html

More impressions @ 36 hours in
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...in-disc-4.html

IGN AU couldn't beat Bogimoray in Lost Odyssey
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...y-in-lost.html

First Major Boss of Disc 4
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...of-disc-4.html

What the---that thing is HUGE!
http://thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com/...oh-my-god.html

I'm still continuing to play the game and my husband is starting out on the first disc. That said, this game is the best JRPG ever made for the Xbox 360 thus far, it is very polished and in terms of story and character development it really delivers. I can imagine that this will be a major franchise for Microsoft in the future considering the amount of work that went into it.

Right now I'm on the 4th disc, at around 41 hours of play.

[Lebron]

The game is indeed the truth. No doubts there. I'm currently on Disc 3 myself, and loving everything so far. Nice impressions


Jansen needs his own game btw.

[Shiori-chan]

it's not out in europe yet, getting it on friday, can't hardly wait ^^
turn based + nobuo uematsu = epic

[V-Slasher]

I am on disc 4. so far is the best rpg I've played in years. far better than anything I played on ps2 (and I played like 12 rpgs on ps2).

[Shiori-chan]

better then dragon quest or kingdom hearts or final fantasy 10 ? (to call the majorknown names)

[Chiron_Basileus]

In all fairness nearly anything is better than FFX. I just discovered this game and I'm almost tempted to get an 360 based on this game alone.

[Shiori-chan]

Originally Posted by Chiron_Basileus

In all fairness nearly anything is better than FFX. I just discovered this game and I'm almost tempted to get an 360 based on this game alone.

go play FF12 >_> now that game was a letdown
atleast FFX still used the tb-system...
well cant wait for friday, listening to the trailer already gives me the vibes again that I didnt fell for a long time (FF9 ^^)

[Chiron_Basileus]

12 is boring, I'll give you that. Though I'm not sure if its on the level with 10.

[V-Slasher]

Originally Posted by Shiori-chan

better then dragon quest or kingdom hearts or final fantasy 10 ? (to call the majorknown names)

didn't play dragon quest, but without a doubt better than kingdom hearts and ff X.

well that's my opinion of course

but what I like more about jrpgs is the story and LO is easily superior to any square enix game I played so far in this point.

If you liked the style of psx1 rpgs like ff7, ff9, suikoden, this is really a game you shouldn't miss.

[Shiori-chan]

well FF9 is my fav game of all time, so really gonna get it ^^

[V-Slasher]

well it's pretty much the same learning system for the immortals. learning skills from equipped items. also enemies are divided in classess like beast, hardened, ecc.. and you can inflict more damage with the right equipment.

actually the only thing I miss in this game are summons and specific moves for your characters (like ff7 limit breaks).

[V-Slasher]

finished T_T

I want more game like this

[Varion]

Originally Posted by V-Slasher

If you liked the style of psx1 rpgs like ff7, ff9, suikoden, this is really a game you shouldn't miss.

Just out of interest, why did you choose those? Because those are all games I liked. I'm still very much on the fence about whether or not, assuming I had a 360 (the more games I want that are coming out for it the more likely I am to get one, basically - well, maybe) I'd like Lost Odyssey. The learning system does seem a bit strange (seems kind of like Disgaea's pupil system in a way, except as the sole provider of abilities rather than just giving extra ones) but possibly something I could get used to, and the battle system seems kind of typical (I have to say I'm a little tired of typical turn based systems, but I can still deal with them) though with a few extra touches. The story though does interest me, probably the most, mostly because it seems very unusual and original (though whether it stays that way... who knows).

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Im only about 1/3'd the way through the first disc, and I just love it. Jansen is hilarious.

[Lebron]

Originally Posted by V-Slasher

well it's pretty much the same learning system for the immortals. learning skills from equipped items. also enemies are divided in classess like beast, hardened, ecc.. and you can inflict more damage with the right equipment.

actually the only thing I miss in this game are summons and specific moves for your characters (like ff7 limit breaks).

Yeah, regarding the ring target system, those "Perfects" really become a must as you get further a long in the game. I can get them most of them time now, and yeah, I too wish the game had summons though.


Also, the thing that really sets LO apart to me is the 31(or 32) 1000 Year of Dreams short stories that you unlock throughout the game. They're really well though out and written, and the different ways each one is presented to you is a nice touch as well. I'm not that big of a reader, well free-time, but I find myself going back and rereading many of the stories I've currently unlocked. They're that good.



And don't let me even get started on Nobuo Uematsu..

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

Jansen is hilarious.

Yeah, he really is. He reminds me a lot of Hades from Disney's Hercules, played by James Woods.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Shiori-chan

go play FF12 >_> now that game was a letdown
atleast FFX still used the tb-system...
well cant wait for friday, listening to the trailer already gives me the vibes again that I didnt fell for a long time (FF9 ^^)

So your saying FF12 is bad because it finally brought a new combat system to an increasingly stale and aging engine. I'll insist again that the game was a breath of fresh air after FFX-2. Not to mention I enjoyed the politicking of the Arcadia Empire and the optimism in face of tragedy that the characters have in lieu of the the types of storylines Compilation of FF7 has been producing. For all of Van's naivete at least he has some personality and tries to do something about Dalmasca's situation rather than just sitting around brooding about it for 40+ minutes and then awkardly ending up doing something about it despite an early reservation. The game get's you into the thick rather quickly, which I liked as well.

Anyway, Lost Odyssey looks somewhat derivative both in terms of how it's storyline is described on the back of the box and in terms of combat (which I've heard is basically just Dragon Quest with a little bit of interactivity in some of the special movies. Not my idea of what I'd like to be doing in an RPG). Then again games that initially appear to have an unspired storyline often have a way of working out into something much more interesting than early signs would have you believe. Though that's just the storyline. Not owning an XBOX 360 though I'm not really in a position to pick it up to see, nor do I really lament this situation considering what I've heard about it's gameplay.

I also don't even think I want to ask why the game is four Dual-Layer DVD's long, but I have a feeling it's not because of the games length in gameplay. I hope for the people who do play this games sake that they have save points in between cutscenes like Xenosaga.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

I also don't even think I want to ask why the game is four Dual-Layer DVD's long, but I have a feeling it's not because of the games length in gameplay. I hope for the people who do play this games sake that they have save points in between cutscenes like Xenosaga.

I'm pretty sure it's because they've got 4 different languages of voice recordings. And of course CG movies and whatnot.

Anyway, here's my review: this game is actually surprisingly short on plot. You spend quite a large amount of time making your way towards goals without advancing the plot (for example traveling through mountains and caves on the way to somewhere else). In the end, surprisingly little actually happens, despite the game's length. Well, that's how I felt.

Character development is rather weak within the main story. The only interesting character is Jansen, who somehow manages to not annoy the hell out of me, which surprised me greatly, considering his character. The other characters are mostly varying degrees of blandness. The exception here is the 1000 Years of Dreams that are unlockable throughout the game.

These are a set of well written (and well translated!) short stories about Kaim's past, which completely changes your perspective of him and actually make him a very interesting character. Unfortunately, this interestingness doesn't carry over well into the main story. Apparently these were written by an actual Japanese author who they hired, and not the person who did the rest of the game's script.

The battle system is a well made turn based system. It's solid and does its job well. However, if you're bored of this kind of system in the first place it's not going to change your mind. Battle animations are sometimes annoyingly long, especially considering how many enemies are sometimes present. In particular, there are times where you fight groups of 5 or so enemies that will individually counterattack an all-targeting attack, in addition to their own attacks. This is the point where you get up and make a sandwich. I'm very glad there are no summons.

In summary, it's a decent RPG that won't change your life, and somewhat forgetable overall, with the exception of the dreams. I wouldn't buy an Xbox for it, but if you already have one and like RPGs it's not horrible.

[DragoonKain3]

Another FF12 fan here. Any RPG that can give me a gameover gets a plus in my book, as I'm really impressed how one well placed gambit makes an otherwise impossible battle relatively easy. And besides, I love playing with Ashe as it's fun for me 'role-playing' her as a warrior princess with 2h-swords/katana. Now if she can only wear black, wield a chakram as a range weapon, and goes off in a battle cry every time she charges in battle lol. If there's one beef I had with ff12, it was the lack of specialization bonuses, as everyone in the end is pretty much the same because of the license system with the only difference being +/-3% effectiveness depending on base stats.

And thanks Bahamut for your review. It sounds like another decent RPG, but then again I've got like a dozen decent RPGs that I have yet to open, and many more I've yet to play more than 5 hours. And with April season looking to be hot on releases, I think what I have right now is plenty to keep me occupied till then. So I think I'l go with my original plan; I'll hold off buying an xbox 360 until an Atlus game comes around for the system, and collect then the RPGs I missed. Shouldn't be too hard snagging a copy of this game or Blue Dragon for collection sake, and at a fraction of the price for both system and games to boot.

[Shiori-chan]

k I just bought this game and I am about 3 hours into the game (needed to practice a dance irl for a school event and that took around 3hours ^_^)
anyway, I really like the game already, gives me a nice FF feeling (before 12 fucked the series up) and the japanese voices are great
only one downside already is that the subtitles sometimes dont match with the japanese voices but most of the time they are in time so fair enough ^^

[james0246]

Spoiler for Original Post:

Originally Posted by Bahamut89

I'm pretty sure it's because they've got 4 different languages of voice recordings. And of course CG movies and whatnot.

Anyway, here's my review: this game is actually surprisingly short on plot. You spend quite a large amount of time making your way towards goals without advancing the plot (for example traveling through mountains and caves on the way to somewhere else). In the end, surprisingly little actually happens, despite the game's length. Well, that's how I felt.

Character development is rather weak within the main story. The only interesting character is Jansen, who somehow manages to not annoy the hell out of me, which surprised me greatly, considering his character. The other characters are mostly varying degrees of blandness. The exception here is the 1000 Years of Dreams that are unlockable throughout the game.

These are a set of well written (and well translated!) short stories about Kaim's past, which completely changes your perspective of him and actually make him a very interesting character. Unfortunately, this interestingness doesn't carry over well into the main story. Apparently these were written by an actual Japanese author who they hired, and not the person who did the rest of the game's script.

The battle system is a well made turn based system. It's solid and does its job well. However, if you're bored of this kind of system in the first place it's not going to change your mind. Battle animations are sometimes annoyingly long, especially considering how many enemies are sometimes present. In particular, there are times where you fight groups of 5 or so enemies that will individually counterattack an all-targeting attack, in addition to their own attacks. This is the point where you get up and make a sandwich. I'm very glad there are no summons.

In summary, it's a decent RPG that won't change your life, and somewhat forgetable overall, with the exception of the dreams. I wouldn't buy an Xbox for it, but if you already have one and like RPGs it's not horrible.

Couldn't have said it better myself. This was a decent RPG, but in the end, nothing to write home about (then again writing on a forum is something else entirely). The gameplay was neutral at best, I never had any real problems, but there was nothing too exciting either. Story was okay, some minor plot holes or at least a couple 'okay, whatever' moments. Designs were very good and animations (both movie and in-game) were beautiful. Charaters were a bit...meh (I routinely forgot secondary character names during conversations). Kaim's side quests were more intereting than most of the main story, which was lackluster.

This is a solid RPG, though. And if you have never played a clasic style RPG, especially if you haven't because you are turned off by the graphics of older games, this is a must rent or own for the 360. But, if you have played FFVI and the like, only rent this game for the graphics and the possibility of a better sequel.