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| Released: 2008. Developer: Mistwalker. |
Final Fantasy is a gaming series that, before 2010, looked set to pass Microsoft and its gaming divisions by. The original Xbox never received an official Final Fantasy release while the Xbox 360, too, seemed destined to remain a stranger to Square Enix’s mammoth franchise. This all changed, of course, with the multi-platform release of Final Fantasy XIII in 2010. Regardless, in 2008 Microsoft were intent on having their own contender take on the might of Sony’s (former) JRPG ally in the form of Lost Odyssey. Better yet, to ensure their champion had a fighting chance, Microsoft hired the original creator of Final Fantasy itself, Hironobu Sakaguchi. With this in mind it may come as no surprise to state that Lost Odyssey is, for all intents and purposes, a Final Fantasy game in all but name.
Lost
Odyssey does not pretend to be anything other than what most
JPRG veterans have come to expect from the genre. The main protagonist, Kaim,
has amnesia and must navigate his way through a world which combines fantasy
magic and 19th century industrial advancements. The major
characteristic of Kaim – and a few other playable characters – is that he is
immortal and cannot ‘die’ during combat. It is, undoubtedly, rather cool to see
Kaim get back up after a few turns during combat, shrugging off the damage, and
quipping along the lines of ‘sorry about that.’ Of course, if all party members (five maximum) are
knocked unconscious during combat then it is still game over, regardless of whether
Kaim is on the field of battle or not. The turn-based combat is very reminiscent
of previous Final Fantasy titles.
Physical and magical abilities are selected from menus, while items and
consumables are also usable during battle. The animations and artistic style to
some of the moves is impressive, as are the designs and variations in the
monsters you will encounter. Summed up best, Lost Odyssey’s combat is functional. Physical attacks give the
player a chance to line-up circle prompts on the screen for more effective
damage, but it is hardly enough to keep combat truly engaging. As with many
JRPGs, grinding the same enemies for experience (XP) or loot dilutes the
enjoyment to be had with an otherwise traditional take on JRPG combat. Boss
encounters can keep things tactical and refreshing, while the wall/defence
positioning of characters adds a small layer of depth. In all, there is
probably enough here to keep most JRPG fans fairly happy for the game’s 60+
hour playtime, but those who have grown tired of JRPG traits will find little
to adore here.
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| Kaim, the cliched generic JRPG amnesiac protagonist. |
Kaim’s travels allow him to
encounter and recruit a decent array of followers to prevent the journey
becoming too much of a chore. That said, Lost
Odyssey does not delve too far into narrative complexity or character
development; what you see is what you get. The antagonist is a typical evil genius
able to manipulate those in power to meet his own ends, all the while emoting dastardly
laughs without a hint of irony. Kaim himself is a drab figure. Intended as the
silent brooding type, he says little and conveys not an awful lot beyond anger
or frustration. Some of the other characters do add some colour to the journey
though, particularly Kaim’s grandchildren, Cooke and Mack, who clearly defy the
age restrictions attached to fighting 20-foot monsters. Again, this is all
functional JRPG stuff, but Lost Odyssey
ultimately ends up shooting itself in the foot. During a mid-game cut scene the
game tries far too hard to convey despair, expecting the player to share in the
on-screen tragedy with floods of tears. Unfortunately, the game falls way short
of this expectation particularly when paired with Kaim’s complete inability to
look anything other than constipated. Meanwhile, the game also allows the
player to locate and read excerpts from Kaim’s memories which are scattered
throughout the game world. These short-stories are written by someone external
to the development team and are of a much different tone and vision to the game’s
own story. Where Lost Odyssey never
really attempts – or completely fails – to convey depth or proper emotion, the
short-stories based on Kaim’s memories are beautifully written and are
accompanied by tracks from Nobuo Uematsu’s (another Final Fantasy veteran) superb soundtrack. These heartfelt and emotional
written stories are a complete contrast with the generic narrative of the core
game and illustrate how things could have been so much better. As it is, Lost Odyssey achieves very little when compared
to some of the more memorable JRPG narratives out there.
Lost
Odyssey is a by-the-numbers JRPG and there is no getting away
from that. What made it stand-out in 2008, however, was its technical and
visual fidelity. This was the first real JRPG using the Unreal Engine and
Microsoft clearly wanted players to identify the game based on its horsepower.
In other words, Lost Odyssey was one
of the first major Xbox 360 RPGs to showcase the console’s capabilities. In
screenshots the game looks fantastic but in practice Lost Odyssey does not achieve the technical feats many had hoped
for. It is clear that the developers, Mistwalker, struggled to mould the graphics
engine to their liking. Textures sometimes display incorrectly while the
framerate struggles to remain consistent at times. The lack of v-sync is also a
shame and sullies the excellent artistic flair on display through frequent
screen-tearing. On the other hand, the level of graphical detail on characters,
monsters, and the environment is impressive – it is when the game is in motion
that things can go awry.
Players explore the varied environments
in Lost Odyssey as they would in
other JRPGs: talking to static NPCs; searching for lootable cupboards in town houses;
climbing the occasional ladder; buying and selling to vendors; running from
point A to point B; locating save-points, and so on. Battles will occur randomly
as Kaim explores the world. Monsters are rarely visible on the environment
itself and so battles appear out of nowhere. Exploration can be interesting in
patches but most of the environments are rigidly linear with the occasional
minor puzzle to solve (like pushing a mine-cart, for example). The game manages
to offer compelling and enjoyable landscapes, such as the lush and beautiful
Ipsilon Mountains, to the mundane, repetitive and utterly boring, such as the Great
Ancient Ruins with its obtuse and frustrating levitating elevator system. Most
locations are well-designed but some are clearly intended as padding content. Uematsu’s
soundtrack, however, truly elevates the ambience and enjoyment of exploration
and proves to be one of Lost Odyssey’s
finest assets.
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| The world of Lost Odyssey can be beautiful at times. |
The word ‘functional’
frequently occurs when considering Lost
Odyssey. It does absolutely nothing to further JRPGs as a genre and is
often found drenched in the same annoying tendencies associated with similar
games. There is grinding, invisible enemy ‘random encounters’, an amnesiac lead
character, and a generic narrative. Technical issues are also apparent which
damage the otherwise superb art design. On the other hand, the game has plenty
of content to discover (including secrets and side-quests), a superb
soundtrack, decent combat, exploration, and offers enough going for it to
entice fans of the genre. Most of all, though, Lost Odyssey has clearly been designed with plenty of passion and
care. The game treads too far on the traditional path at times but its core
quality is rarely in doubt. The main criticism that can be aimed at Lost Odyssey, then, is its lack of
innovation. The game relies too heavily on the outdated concepts of past Final Fantasy titles which other JRPGs,
such as Persona 3, Persona 4 and Square Enix’s own Bravely Default, have largely evolved
beyond. Having to find save-points, or grind for XP, or navigate mundane environments
was already dated by 2008, so playing Lost
Odyssey today highlights Mistwalker’s naivety. (At least Mistwalker can
take solace in the fact that Final
Fantasy XIII is also justifiably accused of not evolving.) In all, Lost Odyssey did a fairly decent job to
fight Microsoft’s JRPG corner, but it is only hardcore traditionalists that can
ignore the game’s reluctance to adapt. Ultimately, then, a functional and
fundamentally good JRPG, but one that
is firmly rooted in the past and affixed to design flaws that should no longer
exist, even in 2008.
6/10
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