What you’re about to read through isn’t a review in the conventional sense, it’s more of a guide to a game that you might have not played recently simply because it got bad reviews or it didn’t get enough publicity. These games will be our personal choices of games we believed to be either quite good contrary to the general review consensus or games that just didn’t sell very well. Our third entry in this series is the early Xbox 360 RPG, Lost Odyssey.
What is it?
Lost Odyssey is an RPG produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man responsible for the creation of the Final Fantasy series, so you can be sure it’s a long epic filled with imaginative monsters, interesting characters and impressive visuals. The game’s story primarily follows Kaim, a warrior who has lost his memory and knows nothing of his past, as he travels with companions to learn the truth behind who he really is. The story is much larger than just that though with warring nations, family reunions and more making for a very impressive narrative package. There’s one moment in which a relative of one character dies which is one of the most emotionally moving scenes I’ve ever come across in a video game, with no other game even coming close.
Why was it missed?
The Xbox 360 was for years a console not really know for its Japanese RPGs, even today there aren’t that many to pick from so when Lost Odyssey was released, it was almost unheard of. Quite why Lost Odyssey failed to grab attention being such a unique title for the new system is unknown but it should have sold and performed a lot better than it did and it’s easy to say that a lot of players missed out on a fantastic game.
Why does it deserve my attention?
Even in the 6-odd years that the 360 has been out, not many RPGs come close to being as good as Lost Odyssey. As mentioned above, the game has a clever compelling story with emotion, action, twists and more all accompanied by a gameplay system you’d expect from an RPG produced by the Final Fantasy creator. Admittedly, the way you level up your characters can get a bit frustrating as the game lowers the EXP gain per enemy as you gain ranks ultimately meaning even the enemies in the same section of the game as you become worthless after just a few level gains. It does mean you can’t simply stay in one area and “grind” until you’re ridiculously powerful but the cap does seem a bit restricting at some parts, especially during tough battles where you just know it’s impossible to get stronger. The game’s audio score is also impressive with famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu providing the music and if you know anything of Uematsu’s music, you know it’s impressive. The visuals also deserve a mention with strong character models, location models, animations and more making for a very nice looking game.
Where can you nab it for a decent price?
Play.com currently offer the best price for Lost Odyssey at just £6.50 so if you want to play a forgotten but impressive RPG, you can’t go wrong for less than £7. And remember, the game comes on four discs, so that’s not even £2 per disc!
Final Verdict
If you want an RPG with an engrossing story, great visuals and fantastic gameplay for the 360 for a very tasty price, grab Lost Odyssey when you can. It’s overlooked for all the wrong reasons and you’re only hurting yourself by not playing it.
If anyone was disappointed with FFXIII and never played LO. Buy this now. It’s the best JRPG ever made.
I agree with you! This is one of the best JRPG’s that is available on the 360. The story is awesome and emotional and the graphics are still very good for being six years old. Very good game and very good article.
I’m glad this game gets more of the attention it deserved. Not only does is it one of the most emotionally effective video games I’ve ever played, but the storytelling is top notch throughout, whether it’s in cutscenes, in the thousand years of dreams and so on.
Sure, the core gameplay is classic SNES-era Final Fantasy but that’s what also makes it great, as it’s enhanced with so many modern touches that I found helped the experience (the ability to run, checkpoints among others).
The soundtrack is also classic Uematsu – a lot of pieces were Uematsu at his best. I’ll never forget this RPG – to me it’s up there with the best the genre has to offer. You can tell a lot of love was poured into making it.