Lost Odyssey - the FF that never was

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APZonerunner

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Jul 25, 2013
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#1


So, I wanted to make a thread about this wonderful game. Created by FF creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and as I understand it pitched to Microsoft as "this is how I would've made a new Final Fantasy," Lost Odyssey is not just a beautiful game and a must-play for FF fans, but in my eyes is the finest console-based Japanese RPG of this console generation. Hands down.

I wanted to start a discussion thread for those who have played it, and explain to those who haven't why I love it so. Here's why.

Story:
It's the story of Kaim, a man who is immortal and has lived thousands of years. It's more a blessing than a curse, though - everybody he has ever loved has left him, died or both. He can't remember his past (yep, that old chestnut), and finds himself wandering the world as a warrior for hire. The world has just undergone an FF6-style 'Magic Industrial Revolution', and magic is now being used to build cities and empires but also to disastrous effect. For them, the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction are powerful spells, something we see to devastating effect in the game's opening, where two whole armies are wiped out by a summoned meteor.

Kaim ends up embroiled in a conspiracy by evil elements to incite war between various nations (not unlike Kuja in FF9) in order to cripple the world and take over. He ends up banding together with a crew of like-minded individuals, at first on a government-sanctioned mission and later in an attempt to stop evil. He meets fellow immortals, all of whom are as clueless as to their origins as he is. He meets his long-lost daughter and grandchildren (who are mortal, it should be noted), the latter a cookie-cutter kid mages tribute to FF4's Parom and Polom.

As well as battling an ongoing threat, details about the past of Kaim and the other immortals are revealed through 'A Thousand Years of Dreams', short stories that can be optionally triggered through exploration. The stories are beautifully written and presented, and enhanced by Nobuo Uematu's incredible score - some of his finest work. Kaim is an incredibly pained character after all he's suffered, but he still manages to be without being a depressing cliche. After a few hours be begins to open up and show a different side, and it's refreshing. He's a character you really do empathize with. Where did Kaim come from? Why is he immortal, when his offspring are not? The mysteries gradually unravel...

Gameplay:
Immortality plays into gameplay - FF10-like combat has things like a natural evolution of Squall's gunblade trigger mechanic, limit breaks style attacks and everything you'd expect. If killed in battle, after a few turns immortals naturally rise again, though getting everybody wiped out at once still results in a game over.

It's a twist on the styles of FFs for character progression - Immortals can do anything, FF7 or 10 style, but mortals are in set roles like FF4 and 9. Immortals learn off the mortals - if you want Kaim to learn black mage spells, you need to tell him to learn from a mortal character with those powers and have them battle along together to earn joint AP until he's proficient enough to cast it on his own. It's a clever system.

The world presentation is a twist and mixture of Sakaguchi's history, too. For the first couple of discs (yes, discs - being on 360, that's a thing. There's four of them, again evoking that PS1 FF style feel) you travel through a linear world in an FF10 style. If you want to backtrack, there's a world map with a list of locations. In the back half of the game you gain access to an airship (the captain is shamelessly called Sed!) and then you get a full classic FF style world map you can fly around, with secret locations and side quests to find. With on foot treated like 10/13 and airship treated like 7 and its kin, they avoid the 'chibi character running along world map' look while giving the player late game freedom.

===========================================================

In short, It's a wonderful game. I highly recommend it. It's a Final Fantasy in everything but name, and were it an FF in name it would be in my top five games in the series. It's that good.

Have any of you guys played it? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences - please use spoiler tags. If you haven't played it, do you want to? Is what I've written tempting?

I'll be streaming some of Lost Odyssey over the next few weeks on the RPG Site twitch channel, so if you want to see what it's like and don't have an Xbox, keep an eye on that twitch channel and the Mognet stream page.
 
Last edited:

Shin Kazama

Sphere Hunter
UFFSite Veteran
Oct 30, 2013
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#3
This is one of my most favorite RPG's from this past gen. I played it twice the year it came out and I've been playing it once again lately. I definitely agree, too, it is the Final Fantasy that never was, heh. Looking forward to the stream.
 

gaiages

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Sep 26, 2013
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#4
Lost Odyssey is a wonderful, wonderful game. I especially loved the dreams that detailed Kaim's past and his experiences... it was a deeply personal touch and gave a feel for him that we would have never seen otherwise. Some of those stories are heartwrenching, too.

I also liked how the theme of immortality played into the story and gameplay... and even that twist in the end that explained some things.

But yeah, it's a must-play. The only gripes I have about it are the Immortal Skill Master achievements (seriously, ugh) and the rather long load time from the map to a battle.
 

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
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#5
I'm wary of Lost Odyssey and Nier. Both games are regarded by many as masterpieces, yet they weren't able get scores akin to that category. Someday I'll play them though, and I'll form my own opinion.
 

7z7

Balamb Garden Freshman
Nov 17, 2013
32
3
South Africa
#7
Hi guys..Not sure if this is the correct place to post this. However I am considering getting this game.. waste of time or not?
 

APZonerunner

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#8
@7z7 There's actually a Lost Odyssey thread over in the RPG Discussion forum, which should answer your question! I'll merge the threads. :)

PS: The answer is no. Not a waste of time. Get it, play it. It's great.
 

APZonerunner

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#12
I'm wary of Lost Odyssey and Nier. Both games are regarded by many as masterpieces, yet they weren't able get scores akin to that category. Someday I'll play them though, and I'll form my own opinion.
Nier is generally speaking a flawed masterpiece, and the flaws are large enough to warrant the scores it got.

Lost Odyssey I think suffered score-wise by being a very traditional JRPG in a post-very-traditional-JRPG world, and also being a new IP. If it had actually been a Final Fantasy and was otherwise identical I bet it would've scored 9s across the board.
 

7z7

Balamb Garden Freshman
Nov 17, 2013
32
3
South Africa
#13
I cannot believe I am unable to get hold of this game. I have looked at most stores and no luck what so ever. Help! Anyone know of any trustworthy online stores to deliver games to South Africa such as the Lost Odyssey.
 

soulshumsoftly

Stiltzkin's Apprentice
Mar 21, 2014
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#14
I enjoyed Lost Odyssey, but the ending was a bit lack luster. Also thought the main "bad guy" was more than a touch too corny to take seriously. Otherwise, I did rather enjoy the series. I find that as I get older, I do get tired of the turn based fighting, too... though I had no problem with it growing up playing nintendo, ps1 rpgs and etc lol