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Diehard fans of Japanese role-playing games, especially early Final Fantasy games, will be overjoyed by Microsoft’s stateside release of Lost Odyssey. With SquareSoft developers in its pedigree, this four-disc epic could easily have been called Final Fantasy: Lost Odyssey. If you’re into that sort of thing, the game will provide hours of melodrama studded with random battles. Break out your Chocobo slippers and put on a pot of coffee, this is one epic journey that will surely feel like a thousand have passed you by.

Asian Odyssey

The saga of an immortal mercenary named Kaim, Lost Odyssey is everything you’d expect from an Asian RPG… and not much more. The game follows virtually every cliché, format, and design that SquareSoft (and most other JRPG developers) have used since Final Fantasy VII. In the mid-90’s, this game would have been revolutionary, with gorgeous visuals and sweeping cinematic sequences.

But today, role-playing has evolved well beyond the designs that most Japanese game developers insist on. Despite the use of new technology, Lost Odyssey feels decidedly retro, underwhelming, and often annoyingly frustrating. This doesn’t mean the game is bad, but merely that you need to have limited expectations. If you’re a fan of the genre, this game is an excellent example of turn-based battle. Given the dearth of RPGs on the Xbox 360, it’s also a needed title for the system’s library.

It’s just a shame that the developer, Mistwalker, couldn’t get beyond their own limitations. Much like SquareSoft before them, it’s clear that they’d rather be making a movie. At heart, Lost Odyssey and the most recent Final Fantasy are interactive movies with character stat-building. Many things in the game are done purely for visual style and to passively push the plot. They quickly become annoying, thanks to frequent and long load times.

Linear Battling

For the sake of storytelling, the actual gameplay is mostly linear, but the frequency of random battles will make even diehard fans frustrated. Worse are the time-wasting forced cinematic views of the combat arena and character stances before every single battle. It’s equally as disappointing that the combat visuals aren’t nearly as impressive as similar RPGs. Spells look good, but few effects in the game are gorgeous or awe-inspiring.

Fortunately, the combat itself is a solid example of turn-based fantasy battle. The game uses a ring system, and timing is key for melee characters. Plus, there are four magic styles to help mix things up. The elemental nature of your opponents is essential—you’ll have to prepare properly to fight specific monsters. One good part of combat is the reliance on a well-balanced party. You’ll need combat mages, healers, and straight-up warriors to take on your endless parade of foes.

Another cool aspect of Lost Odyssey is the immortal character skill system. Immortals can only learn new skills from mortals, but can select any type of skill. This quirk enables you to make sure almost everyone in the group can at least be a competent magic user or healer, and lets you customize your party to suit specific needs.

Retro Clichés

Gameplay really just boils down to treasure, key hunts, and battles. The actual playtime tends to be filler between the cinematic scenes, and some of the action feels like it’s there just to extend game time. Pointless object hunts and non-interactive sequences can slow the pacing too much. Most of the time, though, looking for hidden chests and items is a relatively involving affair, and there are many locations to explore.

This RPG from the rising sun uses the Unreal engine, although it’s hard to tell. Esthetically, Lost Odyssey looks exactly like every other PS2 Final Fantasy game. Even the menu screens look copied, and character details seem downgraded, when compared to the use of the Unreal engine in other recent games. The audio, on the other hand, is exceptionally well done. The soundtrack is good. The voice acting and the ambient surround sound really bring a fine nuance to the game.

The plot has the usual Japanese RPG clichés. Kaim is an annoyingly moody, nearly effeminate protagonist. The others in your party are the usual stereotypes. You’ll even get two kids in your party. One of the kids can’t be more than seven, which seems inappropriate when battle, but at least he’s useful. The storyline is replete with blunt force melodrama shoving “emotional resonance” down your throat, yet it’s hard to get involved with or care about a character like Kaim. He constantly looks completely miserable, even during flashbacks of his better life.

Literate Storytelling

One interesting element is how the game fills in the back-story of the immortals with unlocked text sequences. Written by a popular Japanese novelist, these segments might have lost something in the translation, and they tend to be even more brooding and dark than the main storyline. Still, it’s an interesting attempt to move the narrative forward and fill in some of the back story.

Lost Odyssey has one substantial element in its favor—you get a lot of gameplay for your money. Although the game feels behind the times, it’s involving and polished enough keep you playing. The main storyline will take around 30-40 hours if you just plow straight through, and much longer if you like to explore the entire world. Given that most new games are now under ten hours, that’s an impressive feat.

Mostly Worth Finding

If you enjoy Final Fantasy and its ilk, Lost Odyssey will appeal. It’s not innovative and doesn’t take any chances, but there’s a lot of classic turn-based adventure just waiting for you in four long disks. The genre is showing its age, but if you can get over the negatives, Lost Odyssey provides hours of traditional Japanese RPG action, one turn at a time.

Review by: Jason D'Aprile