Lost Odyssey takes place in another world that is undergoing a "Magical-Industiral Revolution". Humans in the world have learned to harness the innate magical energy in their world to power everyday items like automobiles and lights, as well as great machinations with the sole purpose of going to war. Some countries in the world are better prepared for magical research, and as such are poised to use this magic as a weapon to take over the lesser-prepared countries. This political tension plays a large part in Lost Odyssey's plot.
Lost Odyssey's story revolves around Kaim, an immortal man caught up in a mortal world's conflicts. With no memory of the past thousand years of his life, Kaim serves as a mercenary to earn money and travel. In the most recent years, Kaim has been serving the country of Uhra under the council that rules it. Kaim directly serves under Gongora, a member of this council in charge of the majority of Uhra's magic research. After Kaim is the sole survivor of a battle gone terribly wrong, he is sent to discuss what happened with the council. On the way to the council's chambers, Kaim briefly meets Seth, another immortal, before heading in to talk to the council.
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| Isn't it kind of unfair to be immortal, AND a mercenary? |
After Kaim's explanation of what happened at the battlefield, the council decides to halt magic research for the time being. This decision enrages Gongora, and slowly makes it clear that he has his own agenda.
As you play the game, Kaim will encounter situations which bring back a single memory from his past. These memories play out as separate mini-stories of occurrences which made an impact on him. These stories are very well written and do a great job of bringing the player into their emotional situations. In many cases, these stories will make an impact on the player, just as they did on Kaim.
As Kaim slowly regains his memories and travels the world under Gongora, he meets several other characters which all seem to have a connection to him. Kaim eventually forms his own little quest to find his also-immortal wife. As Kaim and his new friends pursue this goal, the cogs of Gongora's political plans begin to turn. Gongora's plot and Kaim's involvement will pull Kaim and his friends into a massive adventure which will bring the very survival of the world into question.
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| "I wish we had a few more friends right now!" |
Lost Odyssey plays out as a traditional turn-based JRPG. Characters can equip new weapons to increase their attack, accessories to raise their defenses to things such as status ailments, and weapon rings. These weapon rings add additional effects to each characters' attack, such as extra damage to certain types of creatures, or elemental damage. In order to add these effects, players must successfully time the overlap of two rings, a sort of mini-game that plays out when a character attacks. Depending on the accuracy of the overlap, a different severity of the weapon ring's effect is imparted on the enemy.
In a bit of a twist on the RPG genre, characters learning skills plays out a bit differently than one might think. Throughout the game players will recruit both mortal and immortals to their party. Mortals in the party learn new skills as they level up. Immortals can only learn new skills by linking with a mortal and learning the skill from them. Certain accessories also provide skills that immortals can learn. Because of this system, the immortals in the party can learn any skills in the game.
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| Circle circle, dot dot, now I've got my...er...extra poison damage shot? |
I know that it sounds like a game with multiple immortal party members would be extremely easy. I mean, how do you lose when your characters can't die? Lost Odyssey uses the normal JRPG system in which a character has an amount of Health Points, and when that pool of HP is depleted, that character dies. When an immortal character's HP hits zero, however, he or she is knocked out for a round or two until the character automatically recovers a part of their HP and rejoins the fight. If all other characters are dead or knocked out at the same time, the player is defeated. I just assume that the baddies drag your unconscious immortal members off into the woods or something...
Lost Odyssey explores immortality in interesting ways. While most of us might see immortality as a blessing, it becomes clear in the game that it can also be a curse. Kaim's lost memories make clear that the man has suffered a lot of pain in his thousand years of life. At some points, it seems as though Kaim is extremely tired of living, and wishes for an end to his travels. Living forever makes Kaim lose interest in many of the things in life that mortals hold dear. After watching multiple loves grow old and die, children grow up and die, and close friends wither with time, Kaim has slowly moved away from pursuing these joys, as they only bring him more pain. This philosophical exploration done by the game only adds to the already great story, and makes Lost Odyssey quite unforgettable.
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| As strange as it looks, that well could be his great-great-great-great granddaughter. |
Another part of the game that I really enjoyed was the different characters. Normally in JRPGs there are maybe two or three interesting characters, and all of the others are either forgettable or extremely annoying to the point of wishing that you could forget about them. I found myself really liking every character in the game. There were a few that I did not like at first, but they eventually grew on me. Lost Odyssey does a great job of showing each character's growth throughout their journey. Characters visibly mature and find new strength as they face challenge after challenge. What may start out as a spoiled, weakling, grows into a respectable adult.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lost Odyssey, there was literally only one point in the game where I felt like what I was doing was put into the game as a time-filler. Everything else was an interesting part of the great story. The game could likely be beaten in around 35 hours if you pushed right through, ignoring side quests. To complete everything in the game, however, expect Lost Odyssey to last you around 60 hours. Side quests include new dungeons to explore and new, powerful bosses to battle. These quests also feature bits of story that further develop characters in your party.
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| This better be worth it... |
Lost Odyssey completely cured my itch for a great JRPG. I would look forward to coming home from work and playing it all evening every day. Unlike some games, I could play Lost Odyssey for long periods of time without becoming bored. I'd recommend anyone who was disappointed with the Final Fantasy releases on Xbox 360 give Lost Odyssey a shot. I'd easily say that it is the best JRPG I have experienced on the system.
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