Lost Odyssey

"Old school meets new age - An odyssey worth the journey"

You don't need the name "Final Fantasy" to make a phenomenal JRPG. That is what Mistwalker Studios is trying to prove with it's second Xbox360 release, titled Lost Odyssey. Headed by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Lost Odyssey ever so elegantly blends the tried and true turn based, old school formula with modern visuals and presentation. What's left is a title that, even though it does not adhere to innovation in the least, can be considered a classic in it's own right.

Story/Characterization

Lost Odyssey starts off with a bang, so to speak, on the battlefield between the Republic of Uhra and the kingdom of Gohtza. Thus enters Kaim, a mercenary for the Uhran army, as he battles wave after wave of Ghotzan's on the battlefield. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a meteor falls from the sky and decimates the entire battlefield, save for Kaim (And one other, Seth). It is here where we learn that Kaim is immortal (Along with Seth), and further more has been alive for 1000 years.

Yes, as a twist on the JRPG story, we see an immortal character, and we play as that immortal character. The catch is, Kaim cannot remember anything. Throughout the game, you will meet up and ally with 3 more immortal characters -- Ming, Seth, and Sarah -- who also do not remember anything.

But that is the beauty of it though. Because throughout this game, and throughout the plot, you will encounter various "Dream" sequences, that signal Kaim (and in some cases his immortal companions) remembering a certain moment in their life time. These dream sequences are told with words alone -- no speech/movies at all -- as well as ambient sound effects and music in the sequence. Now, it may sound off pace from the rest of the game -- but these dream sequences make you think. Not only do they tell more about the character of Kaim, as well as the other immortals, but they give you a sense of what it is like to live in the shoes of an immortal, someone who cannot die. It makes you see the finer points of life, and it makes you cherish the insignificant time you have to live comparably.

Now, the actual plot is pretty good, albeit a little cliche. It turns out these immortals had their memory wiped recently by another immortal named Gongora, and the story pretty much revolves around the immortal group finding a reason why they exist, as well as remembering their past events. Throughout the game you will meet more allies who are mortal, and in some cases turn out to be major focal points towards the end. I don't want to spoil anything - but by the end of the game, they have a pretty significant role to indeed play. There are really no plot twists to speak of, but there are quite a few heart wrenching moments, in both the actual game story as well as the dream sequences, so if you are into those types of moments in your RPG gaming, then you will enjoy this title.

Overall the story is quite enjoyable, albeit in some points a bit cliche. Some emotional moments make it worth while, and the dream sequences are excellently done, albeit some people might be turned off that they are only words and ambient music/sounds. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed them. Take it this way - if this game was called Final Fantasy, you wouldn't know the difference save for the missing FF references. It is that epic and emotional.

The characters in Lost Odyssey are excellently done. After just playing Star Ocean 4 and rather loathing some of the character design/voice work that was done in that title, Lost Odyssey is a VERY welcome relief. First and foremost, I have to mention Jansen. Jansen is Lost Odyssey's comic relief -- and let me just say, if more JRPG's followed this type of comic relief, then the genre would be MUCH better. Now, Jansen might be oddly dressed, and at first thought you might think that this character just got out of the closet with his lace scarf and such, but play the game a little more and you will think much differently. Jansen is a womanizer, openly will say whatever is on his mind, will make the most outlandish comments at the most serious moments, and genuinely will make the biggest turnaround in character throughout the game. This is great characterization at it's best. Furthermore, the voice work for Jansen is probably the best I have ever heard, he reminded me of a younger Billy Crystal. I would recommend this game for Jansen alone.

Now you have your other characters. Kaim, he is more of a quiet type, in all honesty. He isn't depressed or anything, he is a little more on the reserved side, and you can see that in quite a few of the dream sequences. Since the dream sequences are based more around Kaim, you get quite a feel for what type of character he is throughout. Voice work is very well done as well, the only thing that bothers me though is that he walks kinda funny in the CG sequences, but that is it.

Next, Seth. Seth is a pirate, and she is also immortal. She has a few dream sequences of her own as well, and they tell a really good side story of her. She is visually pretty well done, and her voice work, again, is phenomenally done. Along with Jansen, she was one of my favorite characters in this game. Witty at some points, showing genuine emotions at others.

And the rest, Cooke, Mack, Sarah, Sed, Ming, and Tolten - I don't want to spoil the story a bit, but these characters are all pretty well done. They each have a bit of a side story, and have certain aspects of their lives they need to conquer in the end. Cooke and Mack are your typical child party members, but they are the exception to the rule -- they are actually very well done in my opinion, voice work and stories are both really well done. I'm not to fond of children party members in JRPG's, but this is one of the few games that actually gets it right, IMO.

Overall, kudos to Mistwalker for getting the characters just right. If you jump into this game hoping for a great story with great characters, you will be easily pleased. As I said before, rename this game Final Fantasy, and you wouldn't know the difference, save for the missing FF references.

Story/Characterization Rating: 10/10

Graphics

Lost Odyssey is based on the Unreal 3 engine. Now you might think that is pretty odd at first, but the outcome is pretty well done, save for a few glaring problems. The game uses a strange Point of view blurring effect that, depending where the focus is, some models will start to blur, either in foreground or the back ground. Now the issue with this is that it only seems like the textures blur, which makes it look quite odd against scenery. For example, if you play a game like Star Ocean 4, you will notice that the blurring effect not only goes on with the textures on models, but the silhouette of the model also blends in with the background scenery. In Lost Odyssey, this is not the case, and it really shows in alot of the game as well, it just does not look good at all. Without the silhouettes of these models blurring as well, it just looks plain weird.

Also the game has a few framerate issues in some areas. Not too glaring, but apparent, nevertheless.

Otherwise besides these bad points, the game is graphically very well done. There are some very good effects and environments throughout the game, whether trudging through wind and rain on top of a mountaintop, taking in the sights of a vast underground cavern, or even running through the futuristic capitol of Ghotza, this is a very visual appealing title.

The battles are very well done as well, showing nice character/monster models, and camera angles that put some of the boss battles on an epic scale.

I want to add something though - There is CG in this game, and for the most part it is ok, but it doesn't really match the quality of something like Final Fantasy. Also, do not be fooled by the opening sequence, where the developers seamlessly went from CG to realtime sequences, as these in actuality are few and far between later on.

Overall, a decent game, visually. Albeit, Lost Odyssey does struggle in some areas, but overall there are quite a few noteworthy visuals that make you forget about the lackluster areas.

Graphics rating: 8/10

Sound

If you played Final Fantasy before, then you will instantly get a feel for what type of music you are going to be hearing in Lost Odyssey. Scored by Nobuo Uematsu, there are plenty of epic and emotionally charged pieces in this title, from the vibrant title theme (with an exceptional MIDI 16-bit mix thrown in for a profound effect), to some of the emotional pieces in the dream sequences, to the wonderfully orchestrated pieces towards the end, and the strange but catchy final battle music - Lost Odyssey oozes of quality in the music department. There are a couple lackluster pieces thrown in, but overall there really is nothing to complain about on the whole.

As I stated in characterization, there really is nothing to complain about in the voice work as well. All the voice work was very well done, and for a first, I really was not annoyed at all by any of them. I would say some of the characters you meet outside of your party could be better, but at least you don't have to listen to them all the time.

And lastly, the sound effects are pretty well done, they give a sense of ambiance, and do their job just fine.

Overall, all these combine to form a very audibly appealing experience. There is a bit of lackluster moments in some aspects, but the good far outweighs the bad.

Sound Rating 9/10

Gameplay

Lost Odyssey is old school. In fact, so old school, it's why most reviewers rated it an average of 80%. While it oozes of production value, the gameplay is very reminiscent of old school Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. Battles are random encounters, and all turn based. No active time battles. You choose your entire parties actions, then the turn plays out. Rinse and repeat.

Now some people screaming for innovation might frown at such prospects, but I welcome it wholeheartedly. Time and time again we see numerous "innovations" completely fail and not deliver, but Lost Odyssey for me sticks to a tried and true formula, and it works. Now there are some things that can be better in my opinion, but honestly the combat is downright enjoyable and offers quite a bit of strategy as well.

First off, if you have ever played Final Fantasy X, then you should pretty much get the idea of Lost Odyssey. You run around environments with a fixed camera, and the world map consists of just a map with a list of places to instantly travel to, that you previously visited. It's an ok system, but let's be honest here: Remember the Final Fantasy's before X, where the world map was actually something you walked around on, to go to the next city/dungeon? Now picture this: Lost Odyssey actually has this implemented, but for some reason Mistwalker decided to only allow sea/air vehicles to traverse this fully rendered world, which to me is just a shame. I personally would have found it far better if they allowed running around on this world instead of insta-travel via menu system. It's just not my cup of tea, especially when it's 95% already implemented. And speaking of sea/air vehicles, riding around in these is very enjoyable, and as a throwback to FFVII, there is even underwater exploration as well.

Now combat. The battle party itself consists of 5 characters. Now to me this is a bit much personally, and overall it made the game a little bit on the easy side. Combat is turn based, and you input all of the parties actions before the start of the turn. The battle party formation is split between the front and back row, with the back row taking the least amount of damage. But there is a catch - there is a meter in the upper right hand corner of the screen, which signifies the defense of the front row. It is calculated purely by the HP pool of all the front row party members. Over time as they take damage, the meter goes down, and the further it goes, the more damage the back row will receive. Healing the front row won't increase the meter, though...only certain skills will recover it. This adds a bit of strategy to the mix, overall.

For physical combatants, there is also a ring system added to the mix. Throughout the game you will receive various components that allow you to craft certain rings (which can also be looted as well), that add certain effects to your attacks. The catch though is that you have to do a little timing action while attacking, which involves the right trigger. If you ever played...Legend of the Dragoon, then you should get the idea, albeit this game only revolves around the timing of one button. It adds a little refreshment to the mix of turn based gaming, which is good in my book.

And what's an JRPG without skills? Skills are learned differently based on whether it's an immortal or an immortal. Mortals have set skills that they get just by leveling up, and usually learn all of their skills around level 49-52. Save for accessories that they can equip, these are the only skills they will ever be able to use. Immortals, on the other hand, require learning skills via skill link with mortals. The catch - the mortals must be in the same battle party as the immortal. This is reminiscent of FFIX, if you have ever played it. Skills can also be learned off of accessories as well, and alot of them can ONLY be learned off of accessories, so it is important to keep on the lookout for new ones as well. If you are diligent, you can have every immortal learn every skill, but seeing as they can only equip certain weapons (swords for melee, staves for caster), Kaim and Seth really only need melee/support skills while Sarah and Ming should only really need caster/support.

While I'm on the topic of skills, skills are upgraded using SP (Skill Points) which are received after battles. Exp is also received, but Lost Odyssey has a very different leveling system that might turn off some people. Each level requires 100 xp, but if you are thinking "Hey, it sounds like FFVIII", then you might want to rethink that. The catch is that basically each area has a certain level cap. Which means you can only get so many levels in an area before you will start to only get 2-4 xp per battle, then it turns into serious grinding to get levels. But, Mistwalker didn't intend for this game to be a grind fest, as before cap you can usually do 2-3 battles and you raise in level. Furthermore, the random encounters don't happen quickly at all, I would say around 30 seconds of running around an area before an encounter occurs. Lastly regarding random encounters, some of these actually take a while to complete each, depending on enemies. One of the few JRPG's that really throws out some challenging random enemies to defeat, which because of the small XP requirement for leveling, really aren't that much of a hindrance at all.

Since there are level caps, it provides Mistwalker with alot of incentive to create compelling boss battles that require quite a bit of strategy to overcome. Now when you get to the first boss, you will probably die. To be honest, you will only have 3 characters in your party at this point, not that many skills, and not that many healing options. When I faced him, I was overjoyed...finally, a JRPG that really has a chance to kick my ass. But sadly after the second boss, it becomes standard JRPG fair after you get more characters and more skills, but there are moments where you have to think a bit about strategy. If they decide to make another Lost Odyssey, we can only hope that if they stick to the level cap scenario again, we can have more challenging boss battles.

And finally, what's a Final Fantasy game...I mean, Lost Odyssey....without mini-games/sidequests? Lost Odyssey does have a few alternate gameplay scenarios throughout that deviate from the rest of the game, including a strange music mini-game, a stealth guard-avoiding scenario, finding statues in a village, etc. I didn't mind these at all, but they did toss up a valid question though..."Why am I doing this?"

Overall, the gameplay is decently done, I am really glad at least one developer is sticking to the roots of the genre for once. There are a few questionable issues with the gameplay, but overall again, the good outweighs the bad. If you are a stickler for the old school battles without the grind, this is the game for you.

Gameplay rating 9/10

Presentation

From the sweeping audio scores to the robust visuals and the emotionally charged moments, this title oozes with presentation. There are some negatives, though. For one, the load times are pretty bad on this title, but if you install to HDD, the game runs pretty smoothly. And, as a bonus, due to using the unreal 3.0 engine, if you install, there is less texture pop-in upon loading. In fact, I only saw it once throughout the whole game.

Lost Odyssey comes on 4 discs, and due to some strange packaging, the 4th disc is put into a paper sleeve, which can lead to a larger chance of scratching it. But, good news is, you don't need to re-swap discs to visit other areas (glares at Star Ocean 4).

Overall, very reminiscent of Final Fantasy as far as presentation goes, but some design choices leave me questioning.

Presentation rating 8/10

Overall

Lost Odyssey is a stellar title if you jump in knowing what to expect. If you expect an innovative active/real time battle system, this title isn't for you. If, on the other hand, you have ever wondered what a traditional old school turn based system would feel like with modern production values, look no further and get lost in this odyssey as soon as you can. Recommended only for the serious JRPG fan at heart.

Overall 9.1 / 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/30/09

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