Led Slingers

I have to admit my skepticism when I first heard about Lost Odyssey as a friend compared it favorably with Final Fantasy VII.  I’m one of those FFVII die-hards who insists that Final Fantasy VII is a landmark game that is pretty much the best JRPG of all time.  I didn’t believe that some game I’d barely heard of for Xbox 360 could compare.  That is, until I saw the game for myself

Ten years ago, when I beat Final Fantasy VII for the third time in a week, I began to dream of what the future Final Fantasy games might hold.  FFVII was so badass – it was really a groundbreaking game for me as the first JRPG that I had played so thoroughly.  When I imagined what a Final Fantasy VII style game would be like three generations of gaming later, I was imagining a game that Lost Odyssey comes extraordinarily close to matching.

THE STORY

A key element in any game is the storyline, but especially so in RPGs.  With the length of Lost Odyssey, the game would be a complete failure without a solid story.  Along with an entertaining cast of voice actors, Mistwalker Studios delivers a solid plot that is consistently entertaining.  There is humor, romance, and tension.  The graphics give the character models a lifelike appeal during cut scenes. 

Over the course of four discs, Lost Odyssey’s storyline twists and turns through the exploits of Kaim, an immortal in a magical land.  After a devastating battle in the opening cut scene, Kaim has lost his memories.  The story is unraveled from Kaim’s disoriented point of view – he has lost all memories from his thousand years of living.  Throughout the game, the player collects Kaim’s lost memories through flashbacks, as well as through the collection of written chapters which amount to a biographical novella of Kaim’s life.  As Kaim gains allies and power, he unlocks his own secrets and uncovers a plot that has thrown the land into darkness.  He must become strong enough to defeat his immortal enemy with the help of a diverse group of allies.

The character cast is filled out nicely, and includes powerful warriors and soft magic users all wearing exotic fantasy gear and bearing menacing weapons.  There are four immortals who gain entry into the party at various points, all of whom have had their memories and powers sealed.  You fight to unlock their secrets as well as Kaim’s during the course of the game.  There are mortal characters as well, and they play an integral part in the skill system of the immortals.  We’ll get to that later.  The voice acting and appearance of the characters are well done, and the player has ample time to learn about their past as their future unfolds through the game’s plot.  There are children in the cast of characters, and there is also romance to be found between certain characters.

Aside from the main story, there is a long list of available side quests for the player to complete.  Some are triggered from talking to NPCs at various locations at different times, others are unlocked as the plot progresses.  Some are related to the pasts of the various immortal characters.  There are many optional bosses and collector’s side quests.  There is a side quest for a battle arena with worthwhile rewards, and countless others.

THE GAMEPLAY

Mistwalker Studios is run by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy franchise.  As one might imagine, much of Lost Odyssey is based on what was learned in the effort of making past RPG games.  The player views the beautiful fantasy world of Lost Odyssey through a fixed camera angle, and controls Kaim’s movements with the use of a single analog.  There is a simple control for interacting with characters and objects, but there is little else to do in this portion except exploring and being ensnared by the occasional gang of bad guys.  The dungeons and outdoor environments are gorgeous and provide an easy sense of immersion into the game world.  Exploring them is rewarding, and the sheer amount of locations in the game allows for many hours of game play.

The player will frequently be faced with randomly timed battles during exploration and plot progression.  The battles are somewhat diverse, ranged between boss fights and skirmishes with army battalions.  The combat system remains the same throughout, however.  It’s a diverse system, which allows you to equip certain items on the fly, use skills, cast multiple forms of magic on some or all characters or enemies, use items, defend, or attack.  The system is turn-based, which means that you will quickly learn to navigate the menus to run through your five-character party.  The enemy groups are typically equal in size your own party, although sometimes larger.  The effects for skills and magic are stunning, but small in scale until one learns the higher level spells.

One of the greatest aspects of the battle system is found in the normal attack.  Characters may be equipped with one of many rings, which offer varied effects to normal melee attacks.  When equipped, your normal attacks will have an addition to the battle mode HUD, a series of large white rings around the target of the attack.  When the melee attack sequence begins, the character will charge the enemy, and a timer will begin at the top of the screen.  During that time, the player must hold the right trigger until the outer ring is within the colored space defined by the innermost rings.  Then the right trigger is released, and the game will immediately inform you of the success or failure of your timing.  You will be shown BAD, GOOD, or PERFECT.  The level of the effect of the ring is determined by the timing.  A PERFECT will give maximum effect or chance of success.  This addition to the system keeps the gamer from feeling bored from the waiting between turns.  All magic casting is similarly brief to limit the time spent waiting for the next turn in battle mode.

If you expect a world map flush with side quests and optional bosses, you won’t be disappointed in Lost Odyssey.  You gain the use of many exotic vehicles, including one that can launch itself into the sky and glide around the world map.  A huge battle cruiser is also acquired.  You may roam freely about the world map, and there are vehicle-specific obstacles that can only be accessed after unlocking certain vehicles or vehicle abilities.  One of the vehicles is submersible, which provides means for further exploration and treasure hunting.

Leveling your character is easy and natural.  Each area has a level cap for how many levels may be gained by each character.  A new area will immediately level most of your party, and their gains will gradually decrease the longer you train in an area.  There are some special areas which always offer experience and skill points, but not many.  The player forms a five character party, and must eventually choose who to use from the list of nine available characters.  Once you beat the game, you can even be reborn again without losing your character’s level - although all skills and equipment are lost.

SKILLS, MAGIC, AND EQUIPMENT

The skill system of Lost Odyssey is complex, but easy to learn during normal game play.  You are not thrust into a completely unfamiliar skill system immediately, but rather the player gradually learns the battle usage of skills as well as how they are learned.  In Lost Odyssey, mortal characters learn their skills and spells naturally as they level.  The player has no choice in what the mortals learn.  Once you reach a certain level, between 49 and 53 depending on the mortal in question, the character has learned all the skills he or she may learn.  His or her skills are unique, and they only learn spells from their particular aspect of magic.  There four types of magic: White, Black, Spirit, and Composite Magic.  Each mortal spell caster specializes in only one of these.  Only immortals can learn Composite magic, but mortals can use it by equipping the appropriate accessory.

Immortals are greatly superior to mortals in terms of the skill system.  They can learn skills, through Skill Link and by equipping accessories with the effect of granting a skill.  Skill Link is a system by which an immortal character Links with one of the skills of that a mortal has learned.  By gaining Skill Points in battles, the immortal gradually learns the Linked skill.  Any immortal can learn any mortal’s skills, but only if they are in the party together in battle mode.  Immortals also learn skills from Accessories through the gaining of SP.

The different types of magic accomplish different things in battle.  White is for healing, protection, and buffing your party.  Black is for attack and for negative status effects.  Spirit is diverse in its uses, as it can attack, effect status change, protect, buff, and heal.  But the most diverse of all is Composite magic.  This type of magic combines the other types in various ways.  For example, it will allow the player to cast Black magic that hits all enemies instead of just one.  It works similarly for all other classes of magic spells.  However, not all spells from the game are used to create Composite magic.  There is some Composite magic that is unique and not a combination at all.

There are essentially three things you can equip in Lost Odyssey – Rings, Accessories, and Weapons.  Rings add an effect to your normal attack, Accessories provide an effect or skill to the wearer which may be learned by immortals, and Weapons are obviously that with which the party member will attack.  Some examples of what Rings can allow are a chance to affect the victim with a status ailment, leech HP and MP, increase damage, or imbue an element into the attack.  Accessories can grant the use of a skill or spell, add a buff or protection, or accomplish other tasks, such as enemy analysis or increased skill slots.  The number of Accessories available varies by character, and immortals may learn to wear multiple Accessories.  You will recover and buy new Weapons for the party members throughout the game.  Each character has a different weapon class available, with some sharing certain classes.  Some powerful weapons have their own effects.  Each character has an ultimate weapon they can find late in the game, but not every single one is attainable in one play-through (you only receive one of the item that is required for two of your characters’ final weapons).

Finding the most potent combination of Weapon, Ring, and Accessories will be a focus point for the player when facing difficult enemies and boss fights.  Learning elemental weaknesses and strengths as well as combat skills will be a rewarding experience for any JRPG fan.  There is an expansion pack currently available in Japan which will soon be available in the US, which I look forward to playing with my characters at their most powerful.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievements in Lost Odyssey are not for the weak willed.  While there are a few quickies near the beginning of the game, the majority of the achievements are for the fanatical completionist.  A player can spend 80 hours in the game without completing every achievement, although that’s not necessarily required.  There are achievements for completing each disc, which is reasonable enough.  There is a fun achievement for reaching a high number of PERFECTS with your normal attack in battle mode.  There are achievements for the battle arena side quests and for the optional bosses.  There are also some moderately difficult achievements for simply learning each mortal character’s skills.

The interesting part is where the immortal characters’ achievements come in.  Just like for the mortal party members, each immortal has his or her own achievement for learning every available skill.  The trick is that there are significantly more skills available to the immortal characters.  Through Skill Link and the use of Accessories, immortals Learn skills throughout the game.  In order to complete each immortal’s achievement, they each must learn every single skill in the game.  The skills and spells are numerous between the five mortal character’s long lists of abilities and the huge number of Accessories.  Furthermore, you must assure that you actually obtain every Accessory and mortal skill before you can even begin to consider completing the immortal challenges.  There is also the mother of Lost Odyssey achievements, the Treasure Trove achievement.  This one is awarded for collecting every single collectible item in Lost Odyssey’s extensive four disc play time.  There is an Auction House in one city which will allow you to buy any items you’ve missed.

Overall the achievements add a challenging appeal to the game which hardcore JRPG fans appreciate considerably.  While it is possible to beat the game in 30-40 hours at a casual pace, the player misses out on much of the more hardcore aspects of the genre – the extensive side quests, optional bosses, and in this case, achievement completion.

THE PROS

o       Well-written and lengthy story played out with entertaining voice acting. There is much humor to be found in the script and there is a novella of Kaim’s history that is a good read for fantasy fans.

o       Accommodates gamers new to the genre while keeping hardcore JRPG fans satisfied.

o       Spiritual successor to Final Fantasy VII, in my opinion.

o       Beautiful character models and setting combine with pleasant visuals and effects.

o       Combines many positive features from past RPGs.

o       Intuitive menus and game systems – battle, inventory, equipment, spells, skills, etc.

o       Overall a very fun and addicting JRPG which challenges and entertains.

THE CONS

o       Achievements will be too difficult for the casual RPG fan or gamers new to the genre.

o       Optional bosses are somewhat mediocre and lackluster.

o       There should be more end-game content via on Marketplace.

o       Many side quests are nearly impossible to begin or complete without the use of a guide.

o       Four discs.

o       Item collection can be slightly buggy and sometimes tedious.

o       Overall, I can’t complain about Lost Odyssey.

VERDICT - 4.7 / 5.0

A+      Story

A        Gameplay

A-       Graphics

B+      Achievements

B+      Voice and sound effects

Draven SG – Chris H.   

Lost Odyssey DLC: The Seeker of the Deep dungeon is available from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for 400 MS points.