It doesn't matter how insurmountable the odds are, Microsoft is going to keep trying its darnedest to establish a foothold for Xbox 360 in Japan. Much of their effort involves giving legendary design Hironobu Sakaguchi loads of money to craft original games for the console of which Lost Odyssey is his second. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Sakaguchi's newest title appears to be another potential masterwork that blends storytelling and cutting edge technology into an inventive role-playing experience.

Departing from the whimsy of Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey puts you in the role of Kaim, an immortal (cursed to live for 1,000 years) whose memories have been lost. Without a sense of himself and his purpose in life, Kaim has withered emotionally, existing as a shell of his former human self. By setting forth to eradicate an evil plaguing the world, Kaim hopes to discover his memories and a sense of himself. Lost Odyssey is a decidedly mature role-playing game, not because of violence or excessive sexual content; rather, complex themes permeate its gameplay and promise to set it aside from others in the genre.

What we saw in our short demonstration led by Executive Producer Hironobu Sakaguchi revolved around the game's battle system. Lost Odyssey employs a turn-based fighting mechanic; a move Mr. Sakaguchi insists was the best fit for the contemplative tone of the game. A turn order gauge sits on the bottom left of the screen, informing you of whose turn it is. Special actions, spells, and items can affect the turn order just like in other turn-based games.

Lost Odyssey innovates upon traditional turn-based combat by throwing in real-time mechanics. When attacking an enemy, targeting requires hitting the X button for optimal power. While you don't have to jam on the X button, doing so increases the potential damage and hit rate. Japanese-developed role-playing games tend to skimp on interactivity during battle, so it's nice to see some movement into boosting the amount of player activity in Lost Odyssey.

Showcasing the battle system were a series of confrontations between Kaim and a number of mechanical enemies. Kaim was accompanied by two additional party members, Sarah and Seth, who joined the protagonist in fighting against the mechanized creatures while aboard a fast-moving locomotive. The initial battle saw Kaim land several basic attacks, while his companions readied magic spells. Four types of magic will be available in the game: white, black, spirit, and composite. White magics deal with healing and status changes, black concerns offensive spells, and composite includes spells you've created by combining two different magic types. When asked about spirit magic, Mr. Sakaguchi declined comment.

The second wave of enemies rode in on a parallel set of train tracks, forcing Kaim and party to utilize ranged attacks. A few hits from a projectile weapon and some effective black magic and the foes went down easily. With all of the minions down for the count, the final stage of battle saw a massive armored train speed up from behind Kaim's locomotive. Before we were able to see the end of the fight, Mr. Sakaguchi ushered the demonstration to a different scenario also involving a boss battle.

Seth returned in the second area shown, which appeared to be the inside of an aircraft hangar, and was joined by two previously unannounced characters, Totten and Sed. A rather timid young man, Totten was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a monstrous magic beast; on the contrary, Sed, whose many years seem to have tempered his disposition, was cool and collected when faced with the prospect of fighting the huge creature. In total, Lost Odyssey will feature nine playable characters, five of which we saw in our demonstration (Kaim, Seth, Sarah, Totten, and Sed).

For role-playing games, the battle system is a key element and from our demonstration of Lost Odyssey it appears rock-solid. We're not entirely clear on what the story is behind Kaim and his party-goers, but Mr. Sakaguchi's track record in weaving brilliant narratives gives us some comfort. Ambitiously, Microsoft is aiming for a worldwide release for Lost Odyssey before the end of the year, but don’t be surprised if it slips into 2008.