Being the second offering from Mistwalker, the development house founded by
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Lost Odyssey has a lot riding on it.
The first title from the developer, Blue Dragon, offered some pretty high-caliber production values, including art design by Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama and a score by Nobuo Uematsu (who also worked previously on Final
Fantasy titles), but failed to be a huge hit with many North American critics
who felt that its traditional gameplay didn’t stand up against more modern RPG
fare. For the most part Lost Odyssey is just as traditional as Blue Dragon, and
feels quite old-school against other Xbox 360 RPGs like Eternal Sonata.
However, while the gameplay is decidedly old school, the production values are
where Lost Odyssey really shines. The art direction and story elements are
fantastic, showcasing a tremendous amount of polish. Lost Odyssey is a great-looking game that can be quite fun, save for a few glaring flaws.
Lost Odyssey focuses on Kaim, an immortal mercenary who has seen basically every
facet of human emotion over the thousand years that he has been alive. However,
his immortality comes with a price, namely amnesia. As Kaim progresses
throughout the game, he’ll meet other people, both mortals and other immortals,
and slowly regain pieces of his memory. You can regain bits and pieces of your
life through dreams, which are written anecdotes, set to music. While some of
these are hit and miss, they are well written for the most part and are pretty
interesting reads.
From the get-go, Lost Odyssey wears its traditional trappings on its sleeve. The
combat system uses a simple turn-based model that won’t feel unfamiliar to RPG
gamers. Once you start to get into the game, you’ll discover that the game has
an very old-school approach to progression, meaning that level grinding and
accessory mastering are key to surviving the game’s larger boss battles.
Additionally, the game is pretty tough compared to most recently released RPG
games, so be prepared to get spanked often.
One of the things that Lost Odyssey does differently from most RPGs out there is
the ring system. The ring system allows you to add a special bonus to your
attacks, be it an elemental boost or an attack boost in certain kinds of
enemies. In order to get the added effect, you have to hold down the right
trigger and line two rings at the right moment, which can be tough to do at
first. This is a great new element that can really help turn the course of a
battle.
Another element that the game does is it allows you to “learn” abilities from
other party members. Your immortal characters can skill link with the mortals in
your group and by gain the use of their abilities one at a time. Also, your
immortals have the ability to learn skills from accessories, which is a nice
addition.
On the downside, the biggest problem that Lost Odyssey has is slow pacing. The
game has some pretty lengthy loading times, and they happen quite frequently.
Also, the lead up to fights seems to linger on a bit too long, breaking up the
action and making the game feel somewhat sluggish.
Graphically, Lost Odyssey looks great, thanks to great character models and
fantastic art direction. The game utilizes Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, allowing for
a tremendous amount of detail and great lighting effects. The one downside with
the graphics is the spotty framerate, which hiccups quite often and can bog
down.
The music is great, courtesy of frequent Sakaguchi collaborator Nobuo Uematsu.
The score is fantastic, and accentuates the mood nicely. The voice acting is
well done for the most part, and aside from a few over-the-top performances, is
pretty impressive for a Japanese RPG.
Lost Odyssey has some pacing issues, and some of the more traditional elements
like grinding and a tough difficulty level might turn off more modern RPG
gamers. However, the story is great and the art direction is excellent, making
it well worth a look.
|
|
Gameplay: 8.0
The game is extremely old-school, from the challenge level to the combat system,
meaning that it’s not for everyone. Also, the game has some pacing issues, with
substantial load times breaking up the game. However, the ring system is well
done, and the story elements will keep your interest.
Graphics: 8.5
The Unreal Engine 3 is used quite nicely here, letting the world be fully
realized in tremendous detail. The only downfall is the spotty framerate.
Sound: 9.0
Although there are a couple hammy voice actors in the bunch, most of them sound
great and the score is excellent.
Difficulty: Hard
Concept: 8.5
While the gameplay is perhaps a little too traditional and old-school for most
mainstream gamers, the story and art design are tops.
Overall: 8.5
Lost Odyssey is as old-school as Mistwalker’s previous Xbox 360 effort, albeit a
lot more difficult and requires a lot more level grinding. Plus, the pacing
issues will undoubtedly frustrate gamers wanting to keep the game moving. Still,
there is a lot to love in Lost Odyssey, thanks to the top-rate production values
and story.
