Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man who defined Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) as we know them today through his immensely successful Final Fantasy series, has now come with the latest release – Lost Odyssey – has finally delivered the true Japanese RPG experience to the 'American' console. Though his previous effort – Blue Dragon – didn't do too much for the genre, probably because of its younger appeal and weaker storyline, it's this weak Japanese connection that Microsoft has had over the years that gave the PlayStation its edge. Lost Odyssey is a truly next-generation RPG created by acclaimed artists Takehiko Inoue (Japanese manga creator, made famous by Slam Dunk), Kiyoshi Shigematsu (a famous Japanese novelist) and Nobuo Uematsu (Japanese music composer, known for creating the music for the FINAL FANTASY series of games).
Lets start now with the review of what the Xbox 360 boasts to be the best new generation Japanese RPG released till date. Lost Odyssey's storyline takes the player through Kaim's life, a man who has been sentenced to live for 1,000 years. He lives through multiple generations, becomes a part of many families, falls in and out of love and gets into conflicts. All this is set in a world that is on the verge of a mystical industrial revolution, where mankind has attained dark powers.
Being true to the JRPG tradition, the gameplay is very linear with the only control in your hands being in the way you upgrade your character with add-ons and the party you select for specific missions. Think of it more as a glorified adventure game than an RPG in its true sense of the word.With that out of the way, the gameplay will make traditional Final Fantasy players feel right at home. The battles are the same turn-based fare but this time there are rings that you can use to spice up your attacks with some elemental damage or just plain brute force.
A JRPG using the Unreal III engine seems like an unlikely combination, but it works perfectly for Lost Odyssey. Everything from character designs to world models to elemental effects look absolutely brilliant. But this brilliance comes at a cost. To start with, the frame rate is not always stellar. Another 'cost' is the loading time when entering one area from another. Though these aren’t even close to being unbearable, their frequency is high enough to divert you attention when you’re intensely in the middle of a quest.The voice acting in Lost Odyssey was as good as it gets in a JRPG. You have the option to select Japanese, Korean or English as the spoken language, so if you’re anally purist, you could select the Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles. The background score goes perfectly with the game. Though there isn’t a track that sticks with you after play, or is immediately recognizable, it does its job of suiting the mood of the in-game situation.
In the end, this game may fall short of being recognized in the JRPG hall of fame, which is a shame considering it is the best effort in the current generation of consoles till date. Though it has the right story and the right gameplay, it doesn’t have that one distinguishable feature that sets a mark in the genre.
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