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Rating: 
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This will be short. I'm on disc 4 and this game is incredible by today's standards. Not since the glory years of PS1 RPG's have we been given such an emotionally deep experience. I'm 24, and like other reviewers here, I've really missed good turn-based combat and here it is in glorious form. The visuals aren't the absolute best, but who plays an RPG for it's visual mastery? They do the title justice. Music is whats to be expected from Nobuo- endearing and well composed.
Forget the disappointing reviews from the "professionals", they are generally just upset that the play mechanics are so similar to those glory year RPGs. Why this is bad?- I don't know. If they affect Mistwalker's future, than this is a sad day for all of us.
Lost Odyssey gets 4 out of 5 stars because 5 is reserved for a few of the PS1's greatest.
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after years of trying to find an RPG that I like i have finally found one!!!
Lost Odyssey is the best RPG i have played since FF9. It has the attack mode and item view just like FF. This is a must buy. the only problem with this is the 4th disc, it's in some cheap paper case with the booklet? i dont know why they couldnt just put all four of them to the left? but great game!! and i really dont care to much for rpgs'
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I guess I'm one of the few who love turn-based RPGs, and it's quite obvious that they are becoming a rarity. FFX on PS2 was the last one I've really enjoyed (at least the last big title most people would know about), then they started going for active battle. And of course we have our mega-hit western RPG of Mass Effect, which was a great game. But where's the love for turn-based? Are people forgetting their RPG roots? Did you not love Chrono-Trigger, any of the earlier FFs, or any other(s) that you may have grown up with? After FFX I've been itching for a good turn-based with a good battle mechanic and story. Lost Odyssey delivers. Thank "God," turn-based is not dead.
I'm only on the second disc (some people have to go to work, you know) so people may say my opinion of this being a five-star game is premature. However, I've played enough so far to know that this is a great game. When I first popped in the disc and watched that awesome, amazing cinematic at the beginning I knew I was in for something great. Speaking of that cinematic, I couldn't wait to get to a save-point so I could watch it again. Then I watched it again so I could show another person just how incredible this game is. Awesome, awesome stuff.
The battle system is great. The use of rings keeps it so that you're not just pressing "attack," "attack," "attack..." What I really love is the difficulty and I guess you could say the AI. Every battle is an effort, you can't just use a caster or your top tank and knock out enemies in one blow, you actually have to use healing spells and items during normal, random battles-- every character gets into every fight. This is definitely a welcome change. In previous games that I've played you almost always had 99 healing herbs, they were rarely used. Your top two characters could finish off a fight in a matter of seconds and battles almost became annoying. When you visited stores you generally ignored the item store and went straight to armor and weapons. In LO I've found myself out of healing herbs and resurrection items from normal, random battles and you constantly have to restock. One thing, though, is I wish there was armor. You only equip weapons (which you can actually see during battles, you don't have the same sword appearance throughout the game, which is good), rings, and "charms." Hopefully in the next episode of LO (from what I understand this is an ongoing saga that will span a few more games) armor will be equip-able and hopefully it will show up during battles. I'm going to use FFX again as an example, but when you equipped a player with a different shield or bracelet, it showed up in battles. The designs of such items is always cool.
My main gripe with the battle system is you have to set-up each characters moves to be carried out together all at once. The reason I don't like this set-up is if you knock out one enemy the next character in line that you've set up commands for will just attack the next enemy. Example, one of your tanks knocks out a fire elemental but you already set up a caster to cast water on it. Because it's been knocked out the caster casts water on the next enemy, maybe a water elemental, screwing things up. If you have individual attacks you can knock it out with the tank, then properly cast earth on the water elemental for your next turn instead of your move being pre-set. I prefer having characters attack one at a time, that way I can change up which enemy I'm attacking next, which spell, etc...
The story so far is amazing. The dreams are great stories, really well written stuff that should probably be published as a compilation of short stories, they work well enough alone that they don't even necessarily have to be linked to the game. They're "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kind of stuff. My one complaint with the dreams is sometimes I'm pressed for time and can't sit and read a story for 5+ minutes, I need to get to the next save point. Sometimes I just feel like whooping some monster butt and don't want to sit and read. Thankfully you can skip them if you want and come back later to read them. The one thing though, is having them as readable stories was a good choice. A cinematic for each would have been cool, but the manner in which the author describes feelings, smells, colors, etc... is far more involving. You will definitely have some emotions stirred up by some of them, without a doubt.
I really think that Lost Odyssey should be a game of the year contender. The graphics are amazing, there aren't any frame rate issues (Mass Effect, I'm looking at you), the story is great, the game play is awesome, and the music is perfect. A lot of reviewers said load times were an issue but they're about the same as Elder Scrolls. It's just really a shame turn-based JRPGs don't get the love they deserve. LO is a great game, don't miss out on it.
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Let me start off by saying I am new to the Japanese RPG gaming, so I was very skeptical of this game, but I decided to take a gamble & give the game a shot, simply b/c of how graphically enticing it looked.
After over 100 hrs & currently on the last Disc, disc #4 (4 total discs b/c of the CG Cut scenes) I am happy to say this game is well worth a purchase.
One of the best storytellings I've come across in a game to date, graphics are top notch, characters have personalities, such as Jansen, will keep you laughing a bit @ his one liners throughout the game.
The game play is typical JRPG "Turn-Based", which means it's like a game of checkers/chess where you take a turn to make a move & counter move w/ each character, it involves a strategy & planning.
I personally enjoyed it & am almost done w/ the game. The game is @ least worth a rental if you can't justify the high cost of these Next-Gen games @ $60 a pop.
This is an XBOX 360 exclusive game, so you must own an XB360 console to play it. One of the other things I enjoy about the game is the Achievements you can unlock & earn through the XB360 & the ones for this game are decent, but not great, but this doesn't take away anything from this great game.
The one major knock I have is the long load times, but w/ the amount of CG cut scenes, I understand why.
After strong sales in Japan, which I read last week was about 100,000 copies sold to date, the developers of Lost Odyssey announced plans for a sequel. Which is great news. I am sure North American & European sales will be pretty decent as well when they are released soon.
Hope this helps in some way, enjoy Lost Odyssey.
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Ah, immortality. The fantasy and desire to live forever is as old as death itself. Books, movies, even religion have all been influenced by humanity's desire to exist beyond a normal lifespan; to see the rise and fall of nations, to witness the advancement of the human race, or simply to dance on your enemy's grave. Even Queen wrote a song about it (see the title?)
Lost Odyssey, however, takes a bit more somber approach to agelessness. Sure, you out-live your enemies, but you also outlive your friends, lovers, even your children. What is immortality then, except watching the endless procession of death with no attainable end in sight? We've all played with the idea in our heads at one point or another, but after reading some of the well written memories that the main character, Kaim, recollects, it becomes easy to see that immortality can really be a downer. Even my roommate, who is as jaded, narcissistic, and cold-hearted as they come, admits that some of the memories are real tear-jerkers. I've read some that bemoan the dramatic writing as melodramatic, and it is true that some of the memories can run a bit long, but they're written that way to invoke a clear picture of the events to the reader. But enough about the memories; while they play a significant role in the portrayal of a less than grand millennium of existence, they're not the meat and potatoes of the game itself.
When I first opened the box I was excited that it took an entire four disks to contain it. Reviewers out there say it is because the world is so big, but that's not really the case. The world itself is average size for a next-gen game, and can be contained on one disk. Really, what would be the point of making a video game world so big that you need to change disks just to traverse it? The first three disks are by-and-large filled with cinematics and cut-scenes. You really don't start exploring the entire world till you get to the fourth and final disk. Until then you're watching a 40 hour long movie with the occasional fighting mixed in to remind you that you're playing a game. While others might complain that there isn't enough fighting in the game, I was happy with it. I don't play role playing games to fight a bunch of random encounters; I play for the story. Get an action game if you want to spend the entire time button mashing.
Overall, Lost Odyssey is a superb RPG that is both nostalgic and fresh enough to keep any fan of the genre happy for weeks. Beautifully drawn characters and maps for those of us that eat up graphics, along with deep playability will keep you glued to your television for hours on end. Just remember to take a break every now-and-then to live your life; it's not like you're gonna be around forever.
Pros:
Graphics: A+
Story: A+
Controls: A+
Cons:
No journal to help you remember what you're supposed to do.
A lot, and I mean A LOT, of back-and-forth between levels. (Memorize where the Pipots are)
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