Lost Odyssey impressions .

Got LO yesterday , played for about 2 hours and so far its good . The graphics are good , nice lighting and environments . Loading times are sort of frequent (unreal engine problem ? ) . The combat is standard jprg stuff but the ring system does add a little and its fun . The skill link and the ring enhancement systems are also well done . The story does seem to be well written . The whole technology-magic setting and the political setting is cool . The dream sequences are also well-written . Music is top-notch .

So far i am enjoying it , will add after playing a little more ..

Wait, it' s not supposed to come out for over like another 9 days. How do you have it?

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

It was released in india a couple of days back .. We generally get MS games early . We got crackdown 2 days before the US release

Bad ass man! Enjoy it!

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

Is the pirating scene pretty heavy over there, does MS actually release games early, or are dealers & vendors just lax on the " do not open" requests?

Unfortunately the pirating scene is pretty heavy and because of that some of the publishers do not release their games here (especially ubisoft ) . The MS games are " officially" available early .

Sakaguchi said himself that he would be intrested to see how indians reacts to his games.

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

Sakaguchi said himself that he would be intrested to see how indians reacts to his games.

They' ll like it, it was free. lol

Free ? I paid 48$ for it , 12$ less than what u guys will have to pay but not free .

Sakaguchi must be a fan of Indian culture . The text in the environments (i mean the billboards in the cities and stuff ) are in Hindi ..

Anyways , i would like to add that the bosses are very tough in the game . Lots of grinding required but its fun ..

It was a joke, because you said there' s a lot of pirating in India...

ORIGINAL: 2pac

Anyways , i would like to add that the bosses are very tough in the game . Lots of grinding required but its fun ..

After playing through the brutality of FF3 on DS, I' m up for any challenge now. God that game was merciless at times.

Well, I purchased Losy Odyssey yesterday and so far it exceeds my expectations of it. I' ll just to a brief outline so as not to spoil anything.

The dubbing is incredibly good. Lip synch is spot on, and voices are appropriate for their characters. Jansen has got to be one of my favorite characters so far.

Graphically it' s fantastic. Once you get to Numara you' ll understand why. It also suffers from none of the trademark slowdowns and " texture popping" that is prelavent in most UE3 games. From what I can see, this is because of two things:

1. Lost Odyssey doesn' t use extensive normal mapping. In UE3, high levels of detail are achieved by normal maps that are placed on the lower poly objects during realtime rendering. Due to data transfer limitations of optical media on consoles, these take a while to load and results in what looks to be " texture popping" . Lost Odyssey is still a beautiful game despite using less normal maps.

2. When loading a large scene, they extend the loading screen by a couple of seconds by showing us a piece of generic information about a specific character. This simple trick gives time for the normal maps to load properly and stops any further " texture pop" . Load times are still good and on par with other UE3 games.

The overall framerate is is much improved because of these things.

Gameplay is your standard JRPG affair. And being a fan of JRPG' s, that' s fine by me. Random encounters are just right. Not too frequent to be annoying, but not infrequent either. The difficulty is moderate-hard but once you get a feel for how combat works, it gets easier.

Character development and story so far is very impressive. The use of dreams are a really good way to get that extra character depth, and also provide that occasional change of pace. Some people may not like them because they require a fair amount of reading to understand them, but they' re presented beautifully, and the philosophical writing is really used well. Anyone who likes reading will find their use in the game refreshing.

From the few hours I' ve played so far, I' m enjoying it 10x more than Blue Dragon. As much as I tried, I just couldn' t get much past the first disc in that game. But Lost Odyssey is an excellent gaming experience, certainly worthy of the Sakaguchi namesake.

Sweet! Thanks for the impressions man. I' m really looking forward to picking this game up. I' m trying to push through Blue Dragon right now. I' m on the second disc and from what I' ve heard the third disc is really short so I' m hoping if I really push I can knock the game out just before buying Lost Odyssey.

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

So fucking typical that I got RROD...

Bah.

But hey,its in weiterstadt atm the place it were supposed to be repaired at.

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

Hey unlucky , how did you beat the worm bosses ? Those mutha**** keeps beating me ...

I didn' t realise this was on 4 DVD' s. It makes sense, but that is a bit of a pain in the ass. I thought we got to leave those days behind with the ps1.

I don' t care what your thoughts are on the Hi-Def format of choice is, you have to admit that 1 disc would be much more preferable than 4.

edit - That said, I eagerly await this game as I have been wanting a nice long RPG for quite a while, and the previous offerings of Blue Dragon and FF12 couldn' t pull me in.

ORIGINAL: Dagashi

I didn' t realise this was on 4 DVD' s. It makes sense, but that is a bit of a pain in the ass. I thought we got to leave those days behind with the ps1.

I don' t care what your thoughts are on the Hi-Def format of choice is, you have to admit that 1 disc would be much more preferable than 4.

edit - That said, I eagerly await this game as I have been wanting a nice long RPG for quite a while, and the previous offerings of Blue Dragon and FF12 couldn' t pull me in.

The 4 discs dont matter . Its not as if u have to change the disc every hour or so . You play through the disc and once u finish it u can load saves by putting in the other discs ..

Man , i am still stuck at the beginning of the first disc . The videos have got me super excited . The game looks like it truly is epic .. If only i didnt totally suck at jrpgs ..

ORIGINAL: 2pac

Hey unlucky , how did you beat the worm bosses ? Those mutha**** keeps beating me ...

I just kept a lid on the amount of minions he had, because he can' t charge up as quickly without them. I don' t think there was any real trick to it. Prism helped a bit but after a while I just switched to single round spells. Just make sure you keep healed and take opportunities to go all out on him when they come.

I just got to the second disc now and am about 12 hours in. I can now clearly say that this is one of the most dramatic gaming experiences ever. It' s like a fantastic novel, you really get attached to the characters and their relationships with each other. Mark my words. This game will draw you in and not let go. I don' t think I' ve felt attached to characters this much since FF7. It' s a game that' s not afraid to pull on the old heart strings.

I' d like to correct what I said earlier. The underlying combat and skills/spells system is quite complex once you get further in, and ends up being far from generic.

I have not read any reviews on the internet, nor do I wish to know about the cynical and jaded opinions of a bunch of ingrates. I' d definitely give this one a minimum of 9/10.

Thanx unlucky ..

Game trailers review is up . They gave it a 8.8 which i feel is about right ..

GameTrailers

quickly without them. I don' t think there was any real trick to it. Prism helped a bit

Metacritic rating is now at 72. Which to me seems a bit low, though I have yet to play it.

What gets me is that many of the quotes mention Mass Effect as some sort of recent RPG that all others should be measured against. I loved the game, but it was definitely flawed, and certainly was less RPG and more action than previous Bioware offerings. To compare a more old school style JRPG to a new school action shooter RPG is a bit misguided IMO, but hey, so are the majority of gaming journalists.

I' m still gonna go pick this up tommorow regardless. I hope I can really get into this game, I' m definitely gonna try.


edit -

What I want to know is how Gamepro can go from saying this about Blue Dragon and giving it a 95

Blue Dragon might not be sheer perfection, but it still delivers a truly exemplary console RPG experience by thoughtfully executing and expanding on longtime genre traditions.

to giving Lost Odyssey a 65 and saying this -

Ultimately, whether or not Lost Odyssey is worth your time and money comes down to how absorbed in the broad strokes of this world you' ll let your own imagination become, and whether you' re willing to make the emotional investment asked of you. Ordinary suspension of disbelief simply won' t cut it in the face of such overt melodrama and strained gameplay.

Well I' ve put a few hours into the game now. I' ve just made my way into that first forest so other than the opening of the game I haven' t really gotten to test out the battle system yet. I' ve mainly just bee exposed to a bunch of story elements and characters. I' m very pleased with everything so far and can tell I' m going to really enjoy this game.

I find it funny that after just finishing Blue Dragon I still have that mindset of having to tap the A button repeatedly while walking my objects to examine them for items. The lack of that in LO almost makes the game feel emptier. Then again it' ll save a lot of time in the long run.

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

I picked this up last week and so far I am really enjoying the experience. Obviously there is not much to say about the combat as it is very much just your traditional JRPG turn based system, so I will skip to what I like so far.

Biggest part to this game that I am enjoying believe it or not, are the dream sequences. The stories are written very well, and some of them have even left me feeling for Kaim and what he has gone through in his immortal life. I know that some people might complain because of the reading aspect, but I am telling you that it is worth the time to read these dream stories.

Graphically it is hit and miss in the areas I have been to so far. I just finished Grand Staff, and I am at the Namura capital right now. Anyway, the 2 areas that have impressed me so far were the quick little battle you have at the beginning of the game on the Wohl Highlands (I am not talking about the CG, but rather the parts where you control Kaim). Everything on screen was clean, crisp, and nicely detailed. The second area would have to be your little trek through the mountains. Panning side to side and looking out at the vast draw distance at times was breathtaking IMHO. On a side note, it might be nothing, but the fact that Kaim slows down and holds his arm up to his face in the wind and rain was a nice touch. Now the miss is the fact that not all characters and environments are as detailed as one another. The best example I can give is the Queen of Namura. She just looks so plain, with little to no detail about her at all, almost plastic looking. It may just be me, but it did bother me a little.

As for the characters, I will have to say that so far I really don' t like how Emo Kaim is. I just can' t stand listening to him piss and moan all of the time. Now I understand this is because of what he has gone through in his 1000 years, but come on. I would have much preferred to have a mix of the sadness in him along with embedded anger that comes out once in a while. Maybe I' ll see that later on the game, but for now it is quite annoying. Surprisingly enough I am finding myself liking Jansen, and I have to admit that I have had a few chuckles at some of his jokes. Seth is hot so it' s all good there!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously though, I like the fact that as another immortal her attitude seems to be ying to Kaim' s yang which is nice. She seems to be more upbeat, and happier with her 1000 year life so far. Now what I am impressed with most with the characters so far are the voice overs. Lip sync seems to be spot on, and you really feel the emotion in each character during the cut scenes(which are plentiful). They have chosen the voice overs for each character very well, as they suit Kaim, Seth, and Jansen perfectly.

All in all I am glad I picked Lost Odyssey. I particularly like the old style turn based systems still, and the story in Lost Odyssey so far is very good. I recommend anyone who still enjoys the old style JRPG to pick this one up, you won' t regret it.

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

To touch on the battle system a bit I do like the touch of the rings. Having the ability to boost the strength of your attack by timing the ring makes the regular combat feel a bit more hands on and lively than most turn based games I' ve played.

I' m also liking Jansen. When he came stumbling out drunk when you start your trip I got a good laugh. Kaim' s emoness hasn' t bothered me at this point. I' m approaching the Grand Staff (I' m at the save right before it) and thus far he really hasn' t said much at all. He just kind of grunts or says a word or two, I wouldn' t call it pissing and moaning... just apathy. I' m actually fine with that. I' m sure his personality will come out more later in the game. Seth seems pretty cool. I like her dynamic between the other two characters so far.

The voice acting is great. It' s some of the best I' ve heard in a jrpg. It' s really makes this game more engrossing.

The visuals are kind of hit and miss as you said. For the most part it looks really good. Every now and then though you can point out things you wish they would have put a little more effort into. The animations are one of those things I wish they would have polished. Compared to Blue Dragon the animations are a lot less fluid for the cutscenes and running animations. Still, for the most part this game has some great visuals.

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

I' m interested to see what you guys think about Cooke and Mack when you reach that point of the game which isn' t too far from where you are.

I personally couldn' t take the cheesiness. Maybe it' s just me.

Nope .. I find cooke and mack cheesy too ..

guys i need your help here , somthing i can' t figure out, it' s about those damn rings and their abilities.

when an immortal learns an ability from a ring, say immune to blind, i said when he/she learns it, why when i unequip the ring, the ability seems to disapear , this applies to all rings... if that' s true because i can' t believe the developers are that dumb, what' s the purpose of learning this ability anyway??


can somebody please answer this question, thanks.

Listen to the wise

Actually the rings are for weapon enhancements. You are thinking of the accessories. With the accessories once you learn the ability it stays with the character... you just have to equip the spell once you' ve changed accessories. In the menu go to your skills. For the immortals you have three skill slots you can equip. This is what balances the immortals out. They have strong attacks but are limited on how many skills they can use. You can learn as many skills you want with the immortals, you are just restricted to having access to only three at any given time.

Later on you' ll find an accessory that increases your skill slots by an extra three allowing you to tote six skills into battle.

I just got onto disc three and am having a blast. Cooke and Mack are little sh*ts though...

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

thanks rampage, i totaly forgot about this very important detail, it was introduced very early in the game and somehow my mind skiped it, i remember now and everything seems to make more sense. thanks again for the quick answer.

Listen to the wise

No prob.

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

Very important though, is that you have to remember that when you are training an immortal a skill you have to go into Formation and make sure that your immortal learning the skill is in the same row as the mortal you are learning it from.

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

Umm... that' s skill link. That doesn' t work the same way as learning a skill from an accessory. Pretty sure he was just inquiring about the accessory skills. I find the skill link useless for the most part.

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

Umm... that' s skill link. That doesn' t work the same way as learning a skill from an accessory. Pretty sure he was just inquiring about the accessory skills. I find the skill link useless for the most part.

My bad. I thought that he was talking about the skill link. I find the skill link very helpful. I am just starting disc 2, and I already got Seth and Kaim to learn Spirit Magic.

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

Very important though, is that you have to remember that when you are training an immortal a skill you have to go into Formation and make sure that your immortal learning the skill is in the same row as the mortal you are learning it from

WHAT ? i thought it only should be in your party not necessarly in the same row ! are u sure about that or did u just not say that correctly ? because i haven' t notcied that probably because i put the mortal target skill and the immortal in the same row by chance.. if true that is...

Listen to the wise

WHAT ? i thought it only should be in your party not necessarly in the same row ! are u sure about that or did u just not say that correctly ? because i haven' t notcied that probably because i put the mortal target skill and the immortal in the same row by chance.. if true that is...

If you are using the skill link, then yes you have to make sure that the mortal and the immortal are in the same row in order for your immortal to learn that skill.

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

ORIGINAL: canadagamer

Very important though, is that you have to remember that when you are training an immortal a skill you have to go into Formation and make sure that your immortal learning the skill is in the same row as the mortal you are learning it from.

I am pretty sure they dont have to be in the same row . Probably they will gain more SP and learn the skill faster but it isnt necessary .. I am on Disc 3 at Gohtza . This game is awesome and gald to see its selling well in the US .

Finished it last week. It' s a great JRPG experience.