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Rating: 
-
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)
Rating: -
The ratings game reviewers gave Lost Odyssey does no justice(ie. Gamespot-7.5, IGN-8.2) This game should at least be rated a 9.0, because of the great story it tells, and the traditional and fun battle system. While I do not mind the new RPG systems that are out such as Final Fantasy XII, I always preferred the traditional systems. Emotional, anticipating, and thrilling is what describes Lost Odyssey.
Many reviewers complaints about the game is that it doesn't do anything "new", framerate problems, and long loading time. The fact that it doesn't do anything "new" hardly bothers me. The framerate problem is something that is hardly even noticeable. And the loading time are nowhere longer than 4 seconds...sometimes even quicker.
One of the best RPG I have played since Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Cross, and I don't understand why reviewers gave it such a feeble score. I consider myself a very hard-to-please game crtic myself, and I loved this game. It makes me wonder why I even read reviews from game reviewers. All in all it's a great game, and I highly recommend it.
Happy gaming!
Justin
Rating: -
All they had to do was call this game 'Final Fantasy something or other' and the reviews would have been amazing. Remove the 'Final Fantasy' name and the media calls this game 'outdated' and or 'too old school'. The creator of Final Fantasy left to start the company Mistwalker, so in other words Mistwalker is the new Squaresoft(enix). I couldnt stand FF12 but I thought this game was amazing. The only flaws with game are the frame rate (slows down at times) and the fact it comes on 4 discs (I thought we were beyond this). Other wise fantastic game, characters, music and story.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this game an 8.5 (B+)
Rating: 
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Like Final Fantasy 7, this game brings back memories of Turn based Rpg. Best graphical designs since Call of Duty 4. Breathtaking visuals, and tight ingame battle mechanics. Although there are very few annoyances that are to be expected such as the long scenery battle load times, overall this game is excellent and also the first 360 game to have 4 discs.
Rating: -
Lost Odyssey is the best Japanese RPG to come out in the past few years. This shouldn't come as a big surprise, considering the man behind the project was also the mastermind responsible for the best Final Fantasy games.
This game has an amazing storyline, and intriguing characters. The dream sequences of the main character are often lengthy and some may be tempted to skip them, because they are entirely text-based. Don't do it. These dreams are some of the most touching moments of the game and give you great insight into the past of the main character, Kaim.
Don't worry, the story isn't entirely conveyed via text. The game has many beautiful cut scenes and all of the important dialog is voiced. Speaking of which, Lost Odyssey has surprisingly good English voice acting. This is a real rarity among Jrpgs. The Japanese audio is offered in the options but I didn't even try it because the English was so good.
Naturally, I cannot talk about the aural aspects of an RPG without mentioning the music. Lost Odyssey has a wonderful score, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. If you recognize the name, it's probably because he is the same guy responsible for the music in many Final Fantasy games. I've always felt that his best work was with Final Fantasy VI and he comes close to rivaling it with Lost Odyssey.
Graphically, Lost Odyssey is a mixed bag. The good thing is that the characters all look amazing and are highly detailed. The environments also look great for the most part but the slightly zoomed out view doesn't do them justice. Also, the anti-aliasing could be better, as there are a few jaggies that pop up. Another slight issue is the frame rate, which isn't always silky smooth but at least never drops below playable.
Of course, this is still a game, and none of the aforementioned bells and whistles account for much if the gameplay isn't there. Luckily, the gameplay is excellent, although it is mostly standard JRPG fare. The non-combat portions of the game involve running around exploring and talking to NPCs (non-player characters). The combat adheres to old school JRPG conventions. Yes, enemies are invisible until a random battle is triggered, and the battle screen loads. Combat is strictly turn based but there is a reflex-based component that involves pushing the right trigger at a certain time to increase damage. Some will criticize the game's turn-based combat but that isn't really fair. Turned-based role-playing games are a genre of their own, entirely separate from real-time RPGs. Therefore, it isn't valid to compare the combat of Lost Odyssey to that of a real-time RPG such as Oblivion or Mass Effect. Also, some people say that turn-based combat isn't realistic because the combatants stand across from each other and take turns attacking. This shows both a lack of imagination and a lack of understanding. In real life a fight between two skilled adversaries is a strategic affair, with each combatant reacting to the other's moves. Turned-based combat just slows it down and let's you take your time while choosing tactics. The characters are not really supposed to be standing there and smacking each other in turn.
Ultimately, those who like RPGs, or at least JRPGs, will love Lost Odyssey. Those who don't like the genre will not be converted by this game. It is as simple as that. I will say that the game has not been given a fair shake by most of the mainstream gaming press. Many of the reviews state that the gameplay is antiquated but the reasons for labeling it thus ultimately come down to an indictment of the JRPG genre as a whole. Thus, the resulting reviews are more a critique of the genre than the game itself.
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