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Rating: 
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After seeing Gamespot's score on this game and because I have grown out of the turn-based rpg combat and am a fan of real-time action rpgs, I only expected this to be a mediocre filler game until better games come out. Boy was I wrong.
This was the first rpg I've played in nearly ten years that allowed me to experience the same immersive and engrossing feel I had when I played FF7 and FF8. Actually this game reminds me of FF7 and FF8 in everyway, except with significant enhancements. Well this isn't surprising since it is made from the Final Fantasy team.
Therefore the best way to describe this game is: Imagine Final Fantasy 7 or 8 with much improved graphics, much more interactive environments that feels alive, a very deep story on par or superior to FF7, and music that beats all Final Fantasy games to date.
Gamespot said this game is old fashioned, with little innovation. But this really shouldn't be a negative thing if it is good ol fashioned like FF7 and FF8.
Although I don't like turn-based battles, I actually found the battle system in this game enjoyable.
The music in this title is probably Nobuo Uematsu's (Final Fantasy series composer) best work so far. It is absolutely beautiful and fits in perfectly with the specific settings.
The English voice acting is actually good in this game. It's much better than the annoying voice acting in FF 10, which I always wished could be disabled.
The load times in some areas can be somewhat long, which is what most reviews bash on. However, with the Fall 08 Xbox 360 update, you can install the game on the harddrive and all load time issues will be gone.
If you are sick of the kiddy type JRPGs of late (Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, etc.) and want to play a JRPG with a great story, this is a great game to pick up. I am surprised to find that this game, an Xbox 360 game, replaced FF7 and Chrono Trigger as my all time favorite RPG.
Rating: 
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This game starts out cool enough, but after a few hours of play the game seemed overhyped since it came from a guru of rpg gaming. All in all it's a very decent game, but the combat system is lack luster. The story also drags along to a point it comes to a stand still.
Rating: -
I had high expectations for this game, because it was developed by the same guys who did FFX. Lost Odyssey definitely met my expectations. It's really awesome how the story unfolds, and most of the characters are extremely well done. The dream sequences are impeccable. Overall, this game offered me and my roommate a fantastic 90+ hours of gameplay each. I would definitely recommend it to others.
Rating: 
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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.
Rating: 
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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.
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