THE GOOD: -Many unique and In-Depth characters -Good Battle System -Easy Controls -Friendly User Interface -Characters and environment are both very realistic -Epic Tale of the 1000 Years of Dreams -Fusion Ring system -Good Storyline
THE BAD: -The Camera is absolutely horrible -Occasional Graphic hiccups that leave you annoyed -Long Load times -No Button Prompts
SUMMARY: Lost Odyssey is a story about an Immortal Man named Kaim Argonar who has lived for 1,000 Years. He has seen many Wars, disasters, and disturbances. But he has also loved, and to see your loved ones die while you continue to live is one of the hardest things to do. Not only that, but Kaim has lost his memories, and you'll obtain them piece by small piece in the 1,000 Years of Dreams.
Graphics 10/10
Epic Graphics, Hands down. When you watch the first cut scene, you'll likely be near speechless. It's just amazing, and so are the rest of the cinematics, as well as the actual battles and normal gameplay. Hence the reason for an entire 4 Discs. Yeah, the graphics are that good. I haven't even seen it in HD, so I'm scared to think what that would be like. Lost Odyssey will keep you on your toes from this perspective of it's qualities.
Music 10/10
The game's got good music too. You'll enjoy the music no matter what, whether it is in the cities, on the field, or during battle. There are several soundtracks and the music works well with the game. It really compliments the game. Here are some videos of some of the music you will be hearing on your travels.
Gameplay 9/10
Ok. Gameplay loses a bit of points for the Camera. So that's where that came from before you start asking. The actual battle system is great, though. You and 3 other people, be it some of the immortals or humans you've come across along the way, fight against random encounter monster battles. You are Kaim Argonar in a world nearing a Magical Industrial Revolution. Kaim seems to want to forget his past, and struggles with the pain his old memories cause him. Memories can be triggered in even the slightest way. You never know what random person might trigger a memory from Kaim's past life, so talk to everyone. It's your job to complete the 1000 Years of Dreams. The 2 things that really grind my gears about this game, and totally threw me off from playing it all the way through were the Camera and the fact that there are no Button Prompts. These things also work together to become an even bigger nuisance. For one, there are millions of items to search, having items, gold, etc inside. But there are no onscreen prompts to tell you that you can search an item, or talk to a particular person for that matter. Then you have the Camera. The Camera will stick on Kaim when he's close to you, but when you go way off into the background, the camera just stays put. It doesn't even center on you then, and you're just a small person way back in the back of the screen trying to figure out if that's a person or a treasure chest, because everything is so far away and vague. And thanks to no prompts, you can't tell if you're missing anything. If there's one reason to NOT buy this game, here it is right here, tenfold.
Watch this to see the Camera (Along with some other stuff, be patient)
Boss Battle
Story 10/10
Well I kind of basically told you the story at the beginning, but Lost Odyssey is about an Immortal Man named Kaim Argonan who has lived for 1,000 years and has seen countless terrors in the world. Wars, Disasters, Destruction. This world he is living in is nearing a Magical Industrial Revolution and Kaim is fighting in another War in the beginning. He seems to want to forget the memories he has of his past and now has no memories of his past life. The story of Lost Odyssey will have you on a Journey as Kaim who meets several other immortals and humans, and his struggle with the memories of his past life.
Overall 39/40
Ok this game isn't really missing anything. I don't give away 39 of 40 easily. The only reason it lost a point is because of it's horrible camera. It might not be that bad to some, but to me it was enough to defer me from finishing it. However, it is a great game. It has many cool features, and excellent Graphics. The stunning cinematics are awe-inspiring, and you'll love every second of them. I'm not telling you to not get this game because of the Camera, but I am warning you that you might want to give it a rent first just to see if you're going to be able to handle the camera. It's no fun to play through a 40+ Hour game if you can't stand something like that. Otherwise, though, this game gets a good thumbs up. I'd be giving it a 5/5 stars if only the camera was fixed properly, and there were some simple onscreen prompts. That's all I'm asking. Anyways, you'll most likely want to grab a copy of this game, and if you're an RPG fan and can set aside a few minor details, I guarantee hours upon hours of fun.
The right analogue stick can move the camera angle a little, and the camera is in a fixed place, rather than over the shoulder like in a game such as Kingdom Hearts?
Yeah but I prefer it being over the shoulder. When you enter large rooms and wander into the distance, you can barely tell what's going on with your character. It's easy to miss chests, conversations, items, etc. It's just hard to tell what's going on with your character when the camera is 50 feet away watching as he gets farther and farther away.
I didn't really find it to be a problem. That's the way it always has been for RPGs in the past.
Also, as for your comment about not being prompted to search - this is actually incorrect. You get prompted to press the 'A' button any time you get near an item that can be interacted with. Whether the prompt be in the form of the word 'Open', 'Examine', 'Probe' etc... you do get prompted - so you're review is deceitful in this regard.
If he didn't see a prompt then it must not be a particularly noticable prompt, which is just as much a reason to criticize it as it would be if no prompt exists at all.
Also, what RPGs always have a fixed camera? I know of RPGs that sometimes use a fixed camera in indoor locations, but these places are often quite small and impossible to move too far away from the camera. Besides, if it causes viewing problems then that's bad, regardless of whether any other games of the genre use the same approach or not.
My point is, that these two complaints have only been sighted by myself here. I don't see anyone else whining about these aleged problems.
Fixed cameras have been used in any and all 3D pre-rendered background RPGs such as Final Fantasy. Blue Dragon also used a similar camera style. Lost Odyssey is realistic in that as you move away from the camera, objects at the front of the screen will blur and objects in the background will sharpen as you get closer to them. I think this system is far superior to a normal system. As for things being obstracted by objects - I never found this either... what exactly is being ostracted from view that makes this a draw on the game?
I understand an opinion is an opinion, however the prompts not being noticable may come down to the television being used and the definition it is set at. Using a HD television, displays the prompts perfectly and you'd have to be an old person with dementia not to see them.
Well excuse me if I made 1 mistake in this entire Review. I sure as hell didnt notice any prompt so it must have been pretty subtle.
And I'm not sure where you're getting the fact that all RPG's have the camera like this. Lost Odyssey's Camera stays focused on one point when you enter large rooms, you cant adjust it or rotate it enough to see what's going on in the distance.
But uh, keep in mind this is a Review based on facts of the game and my opinion on it. If you have a different opinion about the Camera, that's yours to have. It Doesn't, however, mean you need to contradict mine.
-Thanks
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The right analogue stick can move the camera angle a little, and the camera is in a fixed place, rather than over the shoulder like in a game such as Kingdom Hearts?
Also, as for your comment about not being prompted to search - this is actually incorrect. You get prompted to press the 'A' button any time you get near an item that can be interacted with. Whether the prompt be in the form of the word 'Open', 'Examine', 'Probe' etc... you do get prompted - so you're review is deceitful in this regard.
Also, what RPGs always have a fixed camera? I know of RPGs that sometimes use a fixed camera in indoor locations, but these places are often quite small and impossible to move too far away from the camera. Besides, if it causes viewing problems then that's bad, regardless of whether any other games of the genre use the same approach or not.
Fixed cameras have been used in any and all 3D pre-rendered background RPGs such as Final Fantasy. Blue Dragon also used a similar camera style. Lost Odyssey is realistic in that as you move away from the camera, objects at the front of the screen will blur and objects in the background will sharpen as you get closer to them. I think this system is far superior to a normal system. As for things being obstracted by objects - I never found this either... what exactly is being ostracted from view that makes this a draw on the game?
I understand an opinion is an opinion, however the prompts not being noticable may come down to the television being used and the definition it is set at. Using a HD television, displays the prompts perfectly and you'd have to be an old person with dementia not to see them.
And I'm not sure where you're getting the fact that all RPG's have the camera like this. Lost Odyssey's Camera stays focused on one point when you enter large rooms, you cant adjust it or rotate it enough to see what's going on in the distance.
But uh, keep in mind this is a Review based on facts of the game and my opinion on it. If you have a different opinion about the Camera, that's yours to have. It Doesn't, however, mean you need to contradict mine.
-Thanks