Lost Odyssey

"This is an odyssey in which you could certainly get lost in."

Hironobu Sakaguchi's (Famed creator of the Final Fantasy series) second attempt at trying to rejuvenate the role-playing genre with the Xbox 360. The studio [Mistwalker] that brought you Blue Dragon didn't receive a warm welcome from Xbox 360 owners, but Sakaguchi and his Mistwalker development team are attempting to sway the masses with Lost Odyssey -- A tried-and-true role-playing game that sticks to the root similar to that of Dragon Quest and earlier Final Fantasy titles. This has been done many times before, but can Sakaguchi recapture our imaginations with the same formula once more?

Lost Odyssey features Kaim -- A man who has lived for a thousand years; a man without memories; a man without escape. You follow Kaim, an immortal, on a path to uncover his past and why he is cursed with immortality. You will quickly find out, though, that you are not the only immortal. Your journey will not be a lonesome one, as you will be accompanied with immortal as well as mortal allies.

As you journey throughout the world of Lost Odyssey, you will be in for a treat with astounding visuals. Sweeping vistas, lush environments, and amazing light fixtures is what makes Lost Odyssey an enjoyable sight to view. At times, you can literally just leave the screen for minutes on a certain view just to admire the things that are going on within the scenic view. Atop a mountain, or surrounded by beautifully detailed trees truly enhances the experience when not in battle.

Character art design is amazingly done to intertwine with the setting and theme of Lost Odyssey. Kaim isn't your average guy with a big huge sword and spiky hair; rather, his character design portrays a sense of sorrow and despair. Coupled with great character design is the great voice-acting and detailed expressions during cut-scenes.

Much like the outstanding visuals, the musical score in Lost Odyssey is where it could grasp your imagination, build up excitement, or drown in sorrow. The legendary music composer for the Final Fantasy series -- Nobuo Uematsu -- is the composer for Lost Odyssey's wonderful music. The musical score is truly prevalent in every aspect; as expected from the composer who brought you music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII, IX and many more.

The meat of the game is, of course, the game play. Lost Odyssey features a standard turn-based battle system, but with a few contributing factors to it. The Aim Ring System is featured in the battle system, in which one of your characters attacks an enemy and a targeting ring appears around the enemy. This Aim Ring system is somewhat similar to Legend of Dragoon or Shadow Hearts "timed" button press. It's fairly simple -- Once you have selected the commands for every one of your characters, the Aim Ring system will initiate for a character who was issued the "Attack" command. First and foremost, to make the Aim Ring work, the attacking character must be equipped with an enhancement ring -- Enhancement rings can add effects to your attacks, such as "fire", "wind" and other elements; as well as damage bonuses to certain types of enemies. Once you have the enhancement ring equipped, you can then initiate the Aim Ring system. Once you see the ring around the enemy, hold the RT button to cause the outer ring to shrink around the enemy. Release RT when the outer ring overlaps the inner ring. There are three ratings once you land an attack with the Aim Ring system: Bad, Good, and Perfect. Go for the perfect.

If you think that this is a turn-based role-playing game in which you could just grind until you reach high levels -- and think you'd be "uber" powerful against anything -- be warned, as the bosses in Lost Odyssey are no pushovers. You will need to strategically set skills for your immortal characters, and plan out every turn carefully. The boss designs are amazing, and they truly portray a sense of fear and wonder. If you die in a boss battle, don't worry, as you'll start back at a previous checkpoint; usually there's one before a boss battle. Even if the battle system in Lost Odyssey is an all too familiar formula, it still manages to give you enough to stick with it. The good thing is, random battles aren't abundant as many other role-playing games out there.

With the formal exploit of Lost Odyssey, the question still stands: Does Sakaguchi rejuvenate the role-playing genre with Lost Odyssey? Simply put, yes. It isn't perfect, but with today's standards and turn-based games, Lost Odyssey gives enough to encapsulate our once throbbing hearts for turn-based games. Those who are lost in translation with turn-based games, fret not -- As Lost Odyssey will not disappoint, and it's certainly worth giving it a shot. If you do, then just know that this is an odyssey in which you could certainly get lost.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/08

Game Release: Lost Odyssey (US, 02/12/08)