“Lost Odyssey” proves to be a “thousand years” of solid gameplay

“Lost Odyssey” is a traditional Japanese single-player role-playing game. The game is very traditional in the sense that it includes a turn-based combat system, a long melodramatic storyline and crazy outfits. Lost Odyssey is styled as Japanese in the fact that it is created by Hironobu Sakaguchi who is famous for the Final Fantasy series of role-playing games that have spanned over the years since the first Nintendo Entertainment System.For those of you unfamiliar with role-playing games, they are the genre of videogame or board game that involves the player in a storyline that develops the character and the plot as you progress. Traditionally, there is some form of “leveling up” or gaining experience as it were that makes your character stronger and improves his/her/it’s abilities. “Lost Odyssey” takes this genre and brings it to the Xbox 360, a platform that has been notably sparse when it comes to role-playing games since the platform was released. Kaim, the main character of the story is an immortal warrior cursed with wandering the world forever searching for his lost memories. Kaim uncovers a plot by a power hungry sorcerer to take the world over by force and over the course of four disks and around a hundred hours of game-play; you traverse the wide world in search of a way of stopping the hostile take-over. “Lost Odyssey” includes almost nothing that has not already been done in this genre and all it seems to be is an attempt to bring a graphically powered Final Fantasy style game to the Xbox. The story is long and full of dramatic cinema. At some points during the game you feel as if the game play is just a break in between the long story scenes. All of it is rather interesting, but you will probably be wondering when you can get some play time in. Included with in the main storyline are “Dreams” that are unlocked by finding certain areas in the game. These “Dreams” are stories about the immortals past memories. They are very, very well written adventures that you have to read. I found these to be more interesting than the main storyline itself and the dreams provide a larger scope on the individual characters past. A fair warning though: they are very long and you will be sitting and reading for a long while. Of course you don’t have to read them when you unlock them. You can just go back at any time and read any that you have unlocked in the games “a thousand years of Dreams” menu.As mentioned before combat is turn-based which allows each individual character or enemy to move with a turn. This system allows a player to gauge how they will attack like in a game of chess. Turn-base is nothing new to the genre, but attacking is a little bit more interactive with a system “Lost Odyssey” calls the “Aim Ring.” This attack system is close to the system on “Legend of Dragoon” (original Play station). When you begin your attack, several rings will appear. You hold down the trigger button until the outer ring meets the inner ring. If done perfectly you will do more damage to the enemy. There is also the “Wall” system, or the defensive portion of the combat. In your party’s formation, the more health your characters have in the front, the less damage the characters in the back will take.”Lost Odyssey” is more unique with the Immortals and the Skill Link system. You have four playable “immortal” characters. Each of these characters, should they lose health in a battle, will automatically revive after a few turns. Each “immortal” makes use of the “Skill Link” System, a system that allows the immortal to learn skills off of any “mortal” you have in your party. There are five playable “mortal” characters with their own unique skills. Immortals cannot learn their own unique skills so through the skill link system they can learn any skill the mortals have. Mortals cannot learn from the immortals but they gain their own skills over time. This all includes magic spells, physical attacks, and defensive moves.”Lost Odyssey” really is an Odyssey of the longest sort with hours of game-play and storyline packed into four disks. I strongly suggest that unless you are a true turn-based role-playing fan you rent this game, check it out, and if the storyline involves you then buy it. If you do not like long, drawn out stories and slow-paced action that takes tactical thought, buying this game will bore you. The game has depth and a classic feel that harkens back to the old days of role-playing games. I believe that “Lost Odyssey” brings a much needed change of pace to the overly first-person shooter saturated Xbox 360.