A solid Japanese RPG, but nothing revolutionary.
Lost Odyssey is the story of Kaim, an immortal man who has lived 1000 years. He lost his memories and has no intentions of getting them back. In fact, he hates the past, yet as the story unfolds he is reminded of his past through visual/auditory cues. These are told through text, and there are many to be found. Most people would find them repetitious and boring, but I liked them and I felt they added a lot to Kaim's character. Unfortunately, these sequences would have been much better appreciated in full motion capture. Living so long, and unable to die, he makes the perfect candidate for a mercenary, so as the game opens up we meet our protagonist in the middle of a war. From there, he reports back to his commander as one of the few survivors and the story continues from there.
As one progresses, the player learns of other immortals. They all have some contact to Kaim, and the plot unfolds. There are no major twists in this game, but the plot is solid and the voice acting is well done and enjoyable to listen to. The facial expressions are done quite well, but the lip sync is not 1st rate.
GAMEPLAY
There is a ring making system which makes this game unique compared to some others, but it's nothing spectacular. During combat, you have to stay awake because there is a ring sequence that forces you to time your attacks with the right trigger to exert maximum power (a "Perfect").
Also, your immortals learn abilities from your mortals, and you can pick and choose who excels in attacks, magic, etc…
Other than that, this is your typical turn based RPG.
VISUALS
This game looks fantastic. The characters are well done. When you wear trinkets and wear new armor and weapons, they show. Each scene is gorgeous as you walk through each area. CG animations are beautiful.
MUSIC/Audio
Some of the music is very pretty, but for the maker of Final Fantasy (Nobuo Uematsu), it doesn't compare to some of the masterpieces he has created in the past. It doesn't make it bad, just not the best I've heard.
SUMMARY
A solid RPG that you should experience if you enjoy a good story driven game. However, there are no revolutionary plot twists or genre defying moments, which is a let down.
The extras are limited to a Backyard area where you can battle enemies with special abilities, but most end up too easy.