Lost Odyssey doesn’t push any role-playing game boundaries, though that won’t come as a shock to anyone familiar with Mistwalker’s previous game, Blue Dragon. However, in the case of the developer’s newest effort, that isn’t always a bad thing. Yes, there are times when it feels like more of a relic than it does a true next-generation game, particularly in light of the tweaks made by other modern Japanese RPGs such as Persona 3 and Eternal Sonata. Yet while it may borrow liberally from the genre’s older gems, Lost Odyssey is a game worth playing, most notably for its fascinating story and its brooding protagonist, Kaim.
Kaim, along with several other characters in Lost Odyssey, is immortal, though the origin of his immortality is left purposefully unclear at the outset of the game. It’s hard to get a handle on Kaim at first; he’s the strong, silent type, the prototypical moping hero with a soulful scowl and a deep well of unfathomable secrets. The game takes its time with his character development, but as information slowly unfolds, it’s hard not to empathize with his internal struggles. But he doesn’t struggle alone, and Lost Odyssey doesn’t neglect the rest of its fascinating cast. Lady pirate Seth, kind queen Ming, the noble Tolten, and several others provide ample companionship, and their lives intersect in some surprising--and not so surprising--ways. It’s a serious tale, but comic relief is plentiful, and most of it comes from inadvertent spy Jansen, a flamboyant ladies’ man who manages to be both annoying and irresistibly charming.
Lost Odyssey is about its characters, not about its plot. In fact, the main story follows a more or less predictable path, pitting you against a villain you spend half the game knowing very little about. No, it’s about self-discovery and the timelessness of the relationships we develop. Kaim and his immortal companions unlock memories during the course of the game, and they are presented in simple but effective sequences in which the memory is recounted via stylized text, accompanied by pretty static images and subtle music cues. It makes for a good amount of reading, but if you skip past these memories, you will miss the game’s most touching and heartfelt moments. The main story doesn’t often reach those same heights, and a good number of the game’s countless cutscenes ramble aimlessly and end up feeling like filler. Yet Lost Odyssey’s concluding hours, as predictable as they are, make you feel, and that alone makes this a saga worth experiencing.
This yarn takes place in a fully realized fantasy world in the midst of revolution both political and magical. On your journey you’ll certainly see your share of clichéd caves and forests, but there are plenty of beautiful vistas to behold: rocky seaside cliffs, looming castles swarming with mysterious spirits, and portside towns with colorful cobbled streets. Lost Odyssey’s art design clicks, from Kaim’s lazy strand of hair to detailed enemy-character models. The depth-of-field blurring that stuck out in Blue Dragon is used more subtly and to greater effect here, particularly during the game’s most dramatic scenes. However, on the technical side of the coin, Lost Odyssey is a near disaster. Nothing here should be taxing the Unreal 3 Engine, yet the game suffers from a grossly erratic frame rate. In a turn-based RPG, that’s not a game killer, but it’s so prevalent that it often charges through the fourth wall to remove you from the fantasy and remind you that you’re playing a game. Insanely long loading times follow suit, to the point where you will wait close to a minute after a cutscene, only to discover that another scene follows. Make no mistake, Lost Odyssey is an artistic beauty, but in light of other games that use the same engine--and other RPGs on the platform--it doesn’t look so incredibly good that it should perform so poorly.
Thankfully, the game is an aural delight, and it owes a lot to its pretty soundtrack. Some of the soundtrack is predictable, like the Final Fantasy-tinged battle music, although that’s not too surprising when you consider that the score was created by longtime FF composer Nobuo Uematsu. Still, many of the tracks are standouts. In particular, the atmospheric strains played during unlocked memories are wonderfully moody and match the text perfectly. The English voice acting isn’t bad, and Jansen, Ming, and Kaim are particularly well voiced. On the other hand, Mack and Cooke are acted with the usual hyperactive hamming that child characters so often fall victim to. Regardless, there are other language options, so if you’d rather listen to the original Japanese voice cast, you have the alternative.
Gameplay
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