The role-playing genre, at least on the consoles, is a little…lost. While it enjoyed a heyday the previous generation on PlayStation 2 with numerous notable releases, it's been tough-going in this current cycle. Xbox 360 has played home to a number of hyped role-playing games, yet few have reached critical mass outside of Mass Effect. Lost Odyssey, the second of a pair of exclusive games crafted by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, promised to solidify Xbox 360 as the definitive role-playing machine. Unfortunately, its amazing powerful story gets lost amid deplorable technical flaws and formulaic gameplay. There are genuinely enjoyable parts to Lost Odyssey, but getting to them requires patience and the will to put up with severe shortcomings.
The game chronicles the life of Kaim Argonar, an immortal whose memories have vanished. Having lived for a thousand years, Kaim has hardened himself against the world as a reaction to an unremembered pain. Distancing himself from emotion and steering away from personal relationships has made him the ideal soldier, which has led him to rapidly rise amid the ranks of the Uhran army. Under command by the Council of Uhra, Kaim embarks on an investigation into a massive magical relay known as Grand Staff. Dangerous magic has been leaking from its core and Kaim's resistance to death as an immortal makes him the only person capable of investigating the problem. Accompanied by two others employed by the Council, Kaim uncovers more sinister machinations than those at Grand Staff.
The journey you take with Kaim and the host of characters that join him is nothing short of captivating. A strong plot coupled with complex characters makes Lost Odyssey a compelling piece of interactive fiction. Unquestionably, it's among the most emotional role-playing games the genre has ever seen. While the main plot explores the themes of industrial progress, environmental degradation, and political corruption, the game deals with intangible issues beneath its surface. Friendship, love, aging, the meaning of mortality--these complicated themes are handled with such sophistication that their impact is acutely felt. You can't help but look forward to the cutscenes, not because of their visual beauty but rather due to their powerful emotional pull. There are moments that will move you in ways that few games have ever been able to.
That said, Lost Odyssey suffers from a number of crippling flaws, most of which are technical. Foremost is the game's general instability. Several times during play, the game caused the console to lock up. Frozen loading screens frequently required forcible restarts of the Xbox 360. One particularly atrocious failing occurred in the middle of an emotional cutscene, which not only forced unnecessary replay through the section but destroyed the impact of the scene. This sort of instability is absolutely unacceptable for any game, particularly when it adversely affects narrative flow.
Less serious but equally annoying are the frequent and lengthy loading times. The game's random turn-based battles, for instance, start with extended introductory sequences intended to mask loading. This adds a few seconds to each battle, which does nothing to make you look forward to combat. Cutscenes are frequently broken apart due to loading and the wait between levels can be quite long. Traveling from one location to another from the world map, for example, demands a good chunk of loading. Some may not find all the loading much of a concern, yet it's surprising and annoying nonetheless.
Moving beyond technicalities, Lost Odyssey has difficulty distinguishing itself in terms of gameplay. The emotional impact of its story drives the experience more than anything, leaving its traditionally-styled gameplay a second regard. This isn't to claim that it's bad, just markedly outdated. The turn-based battle mechanics borrow heavily from older role-playing games, abilities are learned via a system nearly identical to one of Hironobu Sakaguchi's earlier works, Final Fantasy IX, and interactions with non-player characters occur through static text dialogue. All of this gives the game a decidedly old-school feel. Long time followers of the genre will find this appeal, but that doesn't forgive the game for doing little to move the genre forward.
The only innovation comes from the game's ring system. Equipping characters with special rings enables you to execute bonuses during battle. When you selected a basic attack during battle, two rings appear around the enemy: one is your target and the other represents your bonus. Holding the right trigger moves the bonus ring. The goal is to line up the bonus ring with the target in order to actualize the bonus. It's a clever mechanic that brings a real-time element to an otherwise slow turn-based battle system. Even more, a ring assembly feature allows you to craft a wide range of rings that carry different elemental alignments, attribute enhancements, and more.
