- Worth playing for the Thousand Years of Dreams segments.Japanese RPGs are a rare sight on Microsoft's console, due largely to the fact that 360 doesn't exactly sell like hot-cakes in the land of the rising sun. Mistwalker, a studio founded by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, released two games to remedy the 360's RPG deficiencies: Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. Lost Odyssey will seem familiar to fans of the Final Fantasy games, from the battle system to the plot twists. What stops the game from being completely derivative are the fantastic Thousand Years of Dreams segments, written by a famed Japanese novelist. With these unique antidotes littered about the game world to find, Lost Odyssey is propelled from being a merely average JRPG to a genuinely good game.
Graphically, Lost Odyssey is not that spectacular. It runs on the Unreal Engine 3, the same framework powering the Gears of Wars series, but LO isn't even in the same league graphically. The FMVs don't even look as good as those featured in FFXII (a PS2 title!). The character's facial expressions often look awkward during in-engine cutscenes, and overall, the graphics are good, but not spectacular. World locales are typical RPG fare: a sprawling city overlooked by a monstrous castle, a trek through the mountains and numerous sojourns through caves will have you thinking Final Fantasy on many occasions.I liked the character design, especially Kaim, and the character models all look pretty good (creepy eye/lip motions not withstanding). The game world feels pretty small because there aren't as many sidequests to do as in a Final Fantasy title. The voice acting is fairly good across the board, although not all the dialogue is voiced, and the two young kids get very irritating as the game progresses. Jansen, however, is both hilariously written and fantastically acted, so I'm willing to forgive some of the other shortcomings. Musically, the game is competent, although no themes from the game stick out in my head. That about sums up the technical aspects: competent, but Microsoft's machine is capable of a lot more.
The story is a mix of clichés and innovative ideas, which makes it a bit of a mixed bag. There are plenty of overly melodramatic moments, but there are equally as many plot points that are thoughtful and original. The immortal aspect of the game (Kaim, the main character, cannot die) is one of its most interesting, and lends itself to the thirty short stories that make up segments called the Thousand Years of Dreams. As you travel about the world, certain events and scenes will provoke Kaim's memory (which has been lost) and the game will cut to one of said stories. These are all text, and take about 15 minutes to read apiece, but they're well worth it - the writing is wonderful, the sound effects that accompany them are fantastic, and each tale is compelling and [most] are touching. None come off as contrived or corny, which is incredible, given the breadth of topics they cover - from defending a forest of cicadas to spending time locked away in a pitch black cell. Kaim's history is a rich one, and it is well told through the Thousand Years of Dreams segments. They're good enough that you will want to keep going through the game to see them. If you don't believe me, look some of them up on YouTube.
The battle system is a fairly basic affair; you can have up to five party members, each of which has skills they are inherently good at (Kaim is your bruiser but is weak on the magic front). You will be randomly accosted by enemies as you travel around the world, something some folks loathe. The game tries to separate itself from the pack in a few ways, none of which really work. Immortals get revived after two turns if their HP drops to 0 and immortals can also learn any ability in the game by equipping the corresponding item and earning enough AP (similar to FFIX). You can also equip your characters with rings, which adds a timing element to your physical attacks - time it right to get a bonus (not unlike what you could do in FFVIII...hmmm, see any themes). Overall, it's pretty standard RPG stuff and straightforward after you make it past the hellishly difficult first disc. It is fun to try to beef your immortals up with tons of abilities, but the main quest offers such little challenge that it isn't really worth it. And there is only one area in the game with high level enemies (although you can download another ridiculously difficult dungeon/boss off of Xbox Live for $5). The enemies look pretty much ripped out of Final Fantasy, and most of them will be familiar to anyone who has played that series (Elementals, Behemoths etc. may be renamed here, but you can't fool us, Mistwalker).
Overall, I'd heartily recommend Lost Odyssey to any fan of RPGs. If you're a fan of Final Fantasy, you will almost certainly enjoy this next-gen entry into the role-playing arena. Decent graphics and sound combine with a compelling (albeit corny) story to make a game that's worth investing a lot of time into (and it is lengthy - my game save stood at 65 hours when all was said and done). The characters are likable (for the most part), although they do play off stereotypes a bit too much. The Thousand Years of Dreams segments are what makes this game a hidden gem, and what makes it worthy of a playthrough. The battle system is basic, but it's still fun, and has enough depth to make the battles interesting. The trite finale and the terrible villain soured the experience a bit for me, but if you're willing to overlook some shortcomings, you'll find an RPG just a cut below the Final Fantasy titles. And hey, the price is pretty good now, too!
7.5/10
[Additional notes: You can download an extra dungeon on Xbox Live for $5, along with some random items/an extra Thousand Years of Dreams segment for a couple more bucks.]
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