120°

Lost Odyssey Retrospective: Rediscovering The Xbox 360's Greatest JRPG

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell: ''Half of Lost Odyssey is spent poking static backdrops for treasures, the other half participating in highly choreographed, randomly generated battles - and if you think all that sounds desperately, painfully over-familiar, walk a few miles in the shoes of Kaim Argonar, immortal man. The game's ageless, little-spoken hero makes a fitting emblem for a genre in decline, gazing upon humanity with an apathy born of centuries of fruitless wandering.''

dirigiblebill4086d ago

Would kill for a sequel. Wonder how many bluray discs it would fill... ;)

Roccetarius4086d ago

Sadly, the chance of this being possible, is very low. Not enough people supported the game over the years.

BanBrother4086d ago (Edited 4086d ago )

Lost odyssey was about 4-5 gb on all four discs. I'm glad, as it allowed for more cut-scenes and content. Compared to Enchanted Arms 1 disc for instance.

I'd love it if it went multi-plat, and a new Lost Odyssey was announced (not necessarily a sequel). Definitely one of the better JRPG's this gen. Absolutely loved it. Had so many heart crushing moments. Quite emotional, and the characters were so awesome, which is hard for JRPG's to pull off.

joab7774086d ago

Its what FF shoulda been. They have to make a sequel. They just have to. Maybe Ni No Kunis success on ps3 will change their mind. Ni No Kuni is awesome!!!

IAMERROR4086d ago

MS is going to need some game to try to move the Next Xbox, that is unless they completely give up on Japan.

3-4-54086d ago

The thing that didn't appeal to me were the Battles.

Every video i watched, it was basically the same thing over and over. Guy runs from 30 feet away for no reason to land a 20% attack. retreats back 30 feet. Next person does same.

They waste so much time showing the person run up to whoever they are going to hit. That would get old in about 5 minutes.

The environments looks beautiful and I'm sure the game is fun, I just couldn't bring myself to play it after watching about 4-5 game play videos.

3-4-54085d ago

What is with all the disagrees? Am I completely misunderstanding this game and it's battle system ?

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fermcr4086d ago

Too bad Microsoft gave up on producing JRPG's. Lost Odyssey is one of the best JRPG's this generation.

BanBrother4086d ago

Sadly, the abandonment of Lost Odyssey is one more reason I will not get a 720. LOVED the game. So disappointed they have not continued it. If any other Lost Odyssey game was announced, I'd literally pinch myself. I won't get my hopes up for a future release, but damn if it were announced, I'd have the biggest smile on my face.

FantasyStar4086d ago

What's to continue? You played the game. What's left to do? Best to let LO stay immortalized in the past.

Go play The Last Story. It's pretty good as well.

DEATHxTHExKIDx4086d ago

MS probably could have produced more JRPGs if the Japanese had taken to them. sadly It didnt work out. Which sucks cause I really liked Lost odessy it had good story, combat,decent side quests, optional bosses.

Godmars2904086d ago

They didn't, Hironobu Sakaguchi did. At least putting them on the Xbox because it was too expensive after two poorly selling attempts. Likewise other JRPGs, Last Remnant, Eternal Sonata and that WWII title with werewolves and vampires, just didn't do well. Then Tales of Vesperia went to the PS3, sold over twice as well in Japan, and Sakaguchi was pretty much screwed in the HD market because of bad blood with Sony.

With the Xbox's decline in Japan few could afford to take the risk no matter how much money Ms threw at them.

aquamala4086d ago

one of the few JRPGs that have mature characters that don't talk like 10 year olds .

Dark114086d ago (Edited 4086d ago )

This.

i don't know why , there is a few JRPG's with a mature and a serious characters.

Shinro4086d ago

Because most JRPGs are targeted towards a younger audience.

It's such a simple reason really.

Tr10wn4086d ago

that's what i loved about lost odyssey the game was aimed toward a mature audience and it feel very well done because of that.

joab7774086d ago

I agree and i loved the past life stories. please make a new one.

Studio-YaMi4086d ago

Shadow Hearts was another awesome JRPG with a mature protagonist ... at least 1&2 did ! I SOOOOOO wish for a Shadow Hearts 4 on the PS4 ! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE x( !

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4086d ago
MasterCornholio4086d ago

I still have very fond memories of when the casualbox360 was called the corebox360.

Those days were amazing with incredible titles like BioShock, Blue Dragon, Condemned etc were exclusive titles for the 360.

What great days indeed but its a shame that Microsoft went crazy with Kinect.

I'll never forget that horrible E3 where they unveiled the Kinect.

Motorola RAZR i

Shinro4086d ago

Only reason I got an XBOX360 was because it had a lot of JRPGs at first.

Lost Odyssey
Infinite Undiscovery
Tales of Vesperia
Magna Carta 2
Last Remnant
Star Ocean 4
Etc.

...and then the support for it seem to have faded. Sigh.

zerocrossing4086d ago

Same here... 2 other awesome JRPGS that made it the 360 were Eternal Sonata and Enchanted arms although I don't believe either of them were particularly well received, JRPGS on the 360 just seemed to die :/

kevnb4086d ago (Edited 4086d ago )

eternal sonata got good reviews, but the game was not that great and people didnt buy it. Ni No Kuni, xenoblade chronicles, and the last story are the best in the genre to make it over to the west this gen.

Seraphim4086d ago

Eternal Sonata was brilliant! Lost Odyssey was as well. LO is easily one of my all time faves.

Makes me wonder. What ever happened to Mist Walker? After Blue Dragon, LO and a DS [?] game they seem to have faded. Not that it would happen because Sakaguchi hates PS but I'd love to see them do a game similar to LO or even a new LO. Kind of makes me want to go out and buy a 360 again just so I Can go back and play it again....

kevnb4086d ago (Edited 4086d ago )

they made the last story and some ios games, I dont think you will see them make an xbox exclusive anytime soon again. On topic for this game, anyone tried installing it to hard drive? I played it back when it came out but the long load times drove me insane, I never finished either thanks to my xbox dying and taking my save with it.

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210°

Lost Odyssey Is Still One Of The Best Xbox RPGs Ever

17 years later, it still stands out.

Read Full Story >>
dualshockers.com
shinoff218363d ago

I liked blue dragon more. Lost odyssey is the shit though.

jznrpg63d ago

Two of the few games I still own for Xbox360 . I have Magna Carta 2 , Last Remnant but also have the PS4 version so I may have got rid of it and I have the DS version of Blue Dragon. I think and a few others but I forget what they are since I don’t dust them off. that’s about it.

shinoff218363d ago (Edited 63d ago )

Another one I still havent got to try is infinite undiscovery. I read it was pretty linear but I usually fk with tri ace(star oceans are great).

Really my only issue with lost odyssey was the level cap they hit you with throughout the game. I enjoy just relaxing and doing some grinding every once in awhile. Could've atleast given the option. Other then that. Excellent game.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The 360 imo had atleast half or more that Gen of being the better jrpg system. I bought one earlier then I normally would have for some, and Alan wake. Japanese devs really got in their feelings that Gen and dropped the ball(thanks Phil phish, cocky ass ign, etc)

darthv7262d ago

You'd be better off playing Lost Odyssey on an XBO or Series X as no disc swapping and it looks and plays much better. Same with Blue Dragon. I still keep my 360 hooked up for games not on the bc list. for everything else, I use the series x now. Just last night I installed arkham origins as there is no 8th gen version like asylum/city.

I love having bc on xbox one/series hardware.

shinoff218362d ago

Darth

When I bought the the Xbox one off a couple worker. That was the first thing indid. Bought blue dragon and lost odyssey. Been waiting to catch infinite undiscovery on sale but I forget to check.

I used to own the 360 versions but I bought these digital. I'd like to track down the 360 ones again but no huge deal. I was actually playing through lost odyssey waiting for starfield to drop.

RaidenBlack62d ago

Is Lost Odyssey coming to PS, too?

cthulhucultist63d ago

The game was indeed amazing. Great characters, gameplay and story!

But the dream sequences penned by Shigematsu were sublime.

I still remember many of these stories and I have integrated in the past in my D&D campaign many years ago.

RpgSama63d ago

I'm not going to lie, I cried on more than on a couple of them

Dabigsiebowski63d ago

Microsoft should have just kept pumping money into these guys. Same with a lot of the other studios... the blundered hard.

Lost Odysee deserved a franchise even though development wasn't smooth

Michiel198963d ago

Am I the only one who doesn't wanna see every good game get sequel after sequel? It was a great game, but sometimes it's better to just make a one off and then create a new universe. Sadly that costs a lot more money and publishers don't wanna risk it, but I would definitely prefer it

shinoff218363d ago

I'm fine with sequels in jrpgs, even in the vain of ff sequels, all new stories and characters. It does get old in other genres though sometimes. For the most part I just game by game basis it all.

FinalFantasyFanatic63d ago

They could have done it like Final Fantasy, kept the title name and just start with a new world/characters, it's not like the creator isn't familar with that.

Concertoine63d ago

Idk, Japan never bit for Xbox despite their best efforts around this era. Mistwalker never exploded either, despite future partnerships with Nintendo whichhad a much better chance at success

BrainSyphoned63d ago

It's not like it has had any competition since 2007. Would really like to own the short stories from it in book form.

PapaBop62d ago

360 had some amazing JRPGs in it's early days, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia off the top of my head were all amazing games.

jznrpg63d ago (Edited 63d ago )

The problem with most MS games on 360 was they didn’t make the games they paid for them and that makes you less money in the long run and isn’t something you can continue to do especially with declining sales of consoles. MS should have been starting and growing studios from the beginning but they went for paid games and it leaves them without the knowledge and culture of making games.

shinoff218363d ago

Good points. Never thought of that like that back then.

Sgt_Slaughter62d ago

Not to mention killing the Japanese market that had all sorts of crazy and fun releases up until 2009-2010. They could have gained momentum on Nintendo and kept that going into the Xbox One era, but decided to "unify" efforts and that all but ended their presents in the country. Now, PS4's outsell the Xbox Series S three years into the new system's life cycle, and the 2/3DS at one point was doing the same.

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70°

Fifteen years on, Lost Odyssey is a perfect swansong for the formula Hironobu Sakaguchi perfected

It’s quite hard to believe, but Lost Odyssey turns fifteen years old today. A curious product of the time, it has arguably only got better with age - and not just because of what it is, but also what it represents.

andy85498d ago

Jeez doesn't seem 15 years. Very fond memories of this

FortWaba498d ago

The short stories that Kaim collects/remembers are truly emotional. I remember one in particular made my eyes water.

If you've never played this, try to hunt down an original copy, or emulate it. This game was a gem.

GoodGuy09497d ago

I wish there was a remaster. This and Last Story. Sad these games were released on the...wrong platforms...

kingnick497d ago

Considering all the early tech issues Unreal Engine 3 had combined with Japanese developers working with a foreign language engine Lost Odyssey on the PS3 would have been a tech disaster if it had used UE3.

Lost Odyssey's long load times and framerate drops are evidence of just how hard it was working with early builds of UE3, it's a miracle Lost Odyssey turned out as well as it did.

In a perfect world Lost Odyssey would have launched on the PS3 but I doubt Sony or anyone else would have funded the project if Microsoft didn't.

shinoff2183496d ago

It wouldve sold better thats for sure and maybe dude wouldnt be doing mobile games now

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812d ago
Jiub812d ago

Legend of Dragoon was amazing