Product Description: Lost Odyssey is the story of Kaim, an immortal character who has lived more than 1,000 years. He doesn't remember his past, and he doesn't know where his future lies. Throughout Kaim's journey, a handful of characters will join him on an odyssey to discover their intricate past and destiny, leading players through a dramatic story of massive scale. Lost Odyssey features breathtaking visuals and an epic adventure made possible only by the power of Xbox 360.
I wouldn't buy it unless you are a very patient person... First, I'll say that I do consider myself an avid RPG gamer. Second, I want to say that I've owned this game for about five months and I haven't played it in about 4 and a half... Usually, when I get a new RPG; I look forward to getting home from work and annoying the wife until she allows me to play the game non-stop for hours! This game, unfortunately, does not have that kind of allure. The graphics are great, the battle system is spot on... The game is just really, really tedious. You get sent on a lot of weird, boring, non-pertinent side quests whether you like it or not! FFXII was cool, because you were able to choose when you wanted to waste time on useless shenanigans, in this one you don't. I would even give the story a 4 out of five stars, but it is really lacking in something. I honestly can't put my finger on it, but the game should have been a lot better. It kind of seems nostalgic in the way it's put forth, which is cool, but it's got to be more than that to make it a great game. Hell, you might like it... I don't, though.
Proof that Japanese Role Playing Games can and should be on the 360 First I will get what I do not like about the game out of the way. The downloadable content on XBox Live contains a dungeon that is simply a mess of problems. First off, you need to have a walkthrough explaining what to do before you go in. If you go in blindly you will fail. If the extremely tough enemies don't do you in, the boss will. There are no save points and leaving early means you must redo the whole thing from the start. The level design is easily some of the laziest I have ever seen, ditto with the achievements. The boss requires a very particular set of tactics that you won't just stubble into. The rare items you can receive in this dungeon are completely random drops, making it a frustrating exercise to gain them; sometimes spending hours killing the same difficult enemy for just one is necessary. Why the developer went with such a frustrating style regarding this dungeon I do not know. Also, the character development throughout the storyline could've used some work. And it would've been nice if new characters were at the same level as the characters you already have instead of being at a set level. And the "New Game Plus" feature, ie the ability to start the game over with your previous stats (thus avoiding the need to level your characters back up ALL OVER AGAIN) actually starts Kaim at level 50. Again, why the developer did this is anybody's guess. If it's not broken.... Kaim could've used a bit more dialogue too. And anyone who is sensitive to the female figure be warned: Two of the three adult women in the game show off some cleavage. Apart from that, however, their bodies are pretty well covered. Finally, there is a plot segment about halfway through that never truly gets resolved.
Having said that, the game is fantastic. The characters are interesting and at times funny. The game also has its sad moments too. There is a fairly good emotional arc and the ending wraps up *most* of the story rather well, the aforementioned dangling plot line notwithstanding. Achievement hounds will find lots to do here, as all of the achievements are tied directly into exploration, the many side quests or the main story line. Those who simply want to complete the main game will likely get through it fairly quickly, and those who want to explore more and find that newer, better item will have more than their fill of extra dungeons, quests, backtracking and new enemies to deal with. As it should be, the fiercest, most difficult enemies will never fight the player who stays true to the main story and never deviates. These foes await the explorer.
The level design, graphics and sounds are not mind blowing but not terrible either. The main cast could've used some more voice over, as there are many segments where the game resorts to text, but this is a minor issue. The controls are very intuitive and easy to pick up, so while they cannot be customized, there isn't much reason to do so. The system that is in place works just fine.
The "Dream Sequences" could've been integrated into the story a little better, instead some might say they're backstory, others would say episodes, still others may even say filler. Any way you cut it, you never get to see the lands described in these stories nor do they have an impact on the storyline itself. That is not to say that they're bad. While my other reviews show my general hatred for stories that are written in the present tense, the stories in the game are, mostly, interesting and focus on asking deeper questions and looking on life in general, so I am willing to ignore the fact that most are written in the present tense.
Once you're cleared the game there probably isn't much else to do so that lowers the replay value considerably, although there's already been one downloadable package for the game, so there could be more although there is nothing official as of the time of this writing (12:00 AM Sunday August 17, 2008)
I would highly recommend this game for both the casual and hardcore JRPG fan.
2 me the game is boring Way too many cut screens; the first two hours of the game are touture. The camera angles are horrible. You have to keep pressing the a button to get through all the blabbering just to get to the turn based fighting. bordem.
im so glad i rented from blockbuster. I wont give 1 star because that would be unfair. Its a great game if you like this style of RPG.
Great Game, For a Time Lost Odyssey is an exciting addition to any persons collection. It is, indeed, a great game. The graphics are fine. The story is intriguing and holds some depth. The gameplay itself is a welcome change to Blue Dragon, and other such similar games. But, after you hit the second disc, it starts to get too repetitive to be satisfying the whole time you play it. The story just isn't that gripping. Of course, keep in mind, that repetitiveness comes with the territory of a turn based rpg. If you really enjoy the genre, you will really enjoy the game. All in all, well worth a try, I enjoyed it very much.
Gimmicky, Cliched, and Fantastic This game has its share of cliche. The dialogue is sometimes very stiff, and your character, Kaim, is pretty disconnected during the first half of the game. The game tries to make his seem more caring...but when he opens up it seems strange and awkward. But perhaps being an immortal does that to people.
Anyways, what sets this game aside from other games, and I won't call this an RPG, since you have very little choice in anything...are the stories. The unlockable memories. They are deep and immersive, and they make you care. I won't lie, more than once they had me in tears. The man who wrote them can really paint with words. The stories are beautiful. I read someone else's review of that and scoffed. It's a video game...yeah. It is.
The story spans 4 discs, and it's long. I think I'm over 60 hours of gameplay now. It's my first time through, so it's probably not actually that long, but it had a long learning curve for me. I still haven't beat it. Some of the battles are so frustrating they make you want to pull your hair out.
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