Lost Odyssey Review

Posted May 23, 2008 by (98)

Lost Odyssey is a role-playing game with high production values and some interesting ideas. Yet despite its beautiful visuals and epic scope, it fails to stand out amongst its competition, thanks to aged concepts that mar the experience.
Help! We’re trapped in a stereotypical Japanese RPG!

Story-wise, the game follows the misadventures of Kaim, an invincible warrior that suffers from a severe case of amnesia that’s taken away a thousand years of memories. He vows to recover them, especially since they’ll help him take on a mysterious foe that returned from his past. It sounds like an intriguing start to a promising storyline, but the problem is that it never takes off. Too often, it borrows from other, better narratives in previous games and movies. With that said, you’ll easily spot shades of Final Fantasy and The Lord of the Rings.

In addition, Lost Odyssey suffers from awkward pacing. The game takes an enormous amount of time to get started, as you’ll spend a lot of time forming a battle party and then getting to work. From there, you’ll move onto the second disc, into the thick of combat scenarios against elaborate enemies. However, this portion of the game stretches out beyond its means. You’ll spend more time than necessary running up to an enemy to strike them. The effect is stirring at first, but it’s not long before it grates on your nerves. You may even scream, "Just hit him already" at several points throughout the game.

This is a nagging issue, especially considering that the rest of the gameplay almost balances out. You have several attack and magic attributes between various members of your party. The magician system is neat, as you choose from four different types that have various effects on foes. However, the point system in comparison is pretty simple, mildly throwing off this balance. You can be the most powerful mage on the planet, but you’ll lose a fight rather quickly if you don’t have the right points in the right spots. When your party breaks apart, it gets even worse. You take more damage than expected — and lose almost every time as a result. The defensive wall techniques are good, but it can’t stop these flaws from seeping in.