[Munkey Boy]

So, Lost Odyssey's been out for a bit now. If you would like to share your opinion on this game, and what you liked/disliked about it, please vote in the poll and comment below after you've had enough of a play to judge it.

A 10 should only be given for a landmark game that sets new rules, a 9 for a truly excellent game without a fundamental flaw, and an average game that does things right but nothing special should get a 5 (not a 7 like some reviews would have you believe).

[Gandalf-LoJ]

I went for outstanding as, being an old school player I find the turn based combat really good and executed very well.

The story is one of the best I've seen for a long time and the cut scenes really draw you into each character so you actually start to feel for them.

The dream sequences a probably the best part, and they have been executed so well that each one is truly a moving experience as you delve into the history of the characters.

The levelling cap is something that has been talked about but I've not really found it to be a problem, if anything its a benefit as is the random combat encounters as they are no where near as frequent as other games. I play these games primarily for the story and this games story flows a lot nicer than others.

I've not finished the game yet, but am on disc three and every one has been a real joy to play.

The only negative thing I have to say is about the save points. Some parts of the game it's fine, they are spaced logically and you can save fairly regularly, but there are times when they are spaced apart a bit too far and you have to either backtrack to the last point along with the hassle of the random encounters (and this is only a hassle if you need to save and quit!) or push on and hope the next save point is in the next zone!

By far, the best RPG for the 360 to date. Here's hoping for a sequel

[drskhaled]

Solid 8/10 for me. Best JRPG on 360.
very interesting story and mostly a good cast. Jansen looks out of place and Gongorrah looks frankle ridiculous. Its as though they had 3 sets of artists, those that did the excellent sed and seth, those that did the (typically JRPG) overendowed sarah and ming, and the completely out of place bad guy and wet blanket thats supposed to be a stud Jansen. Right to the end the character models felt incoherent. I'm getting bored of the unreal engine TBH. some developers have excelled with it (gears of war) but there's just a handfull too many graphical blemishes and slowdown, the 360 can do much better graphically.

Wahts good is the combat, classic turnbased rpg lots of weapons and items to collect. Pretty satisfying progression. Level capping was an ok idea as grinding makes the game too easy, but it sucks when even in relativley hard areas you only get 1exp per fight. I was hoping to see some summons in the game as the magics became a bit samey.

What was excellent was the story and background to the characters. The short stories were all a pleasure to read and really made it interesting. not enough stories around the other immortals tho. Overall i played approx 70hrs right to the end with almost all the side quests done, all the optional bosses (with the exception of the immortal) and most of the skills maxxed. Yup this game rekindled the trainspotter in me. Yeah i'll never play it again tho.

[ashwin89]

I went for a "Good" 7/10. The things stopping it from being outstanding are:

~ Last gen graphics - it doesn't detract from the experience, but it definately doesn't enhance it
~ Load screens - granted they're not long, but they are frequent
~ Giant gaps between save points - a real annoyance (sometimes an hour+ before a save)
~ Lack of innovation - to be honest this is the first JRPG i've played since FFVII, and with the exception of the ring system it hasn't really evolved at all
~ Lack of roleplaying - a bit more choice and freedom in decisions would be nice (but I guess then it wouldn't be a JRPG )

But none of these are really fatal flaws in the game, just things to work on for future releases. Definately an enjoyable game though and probably the best RPG on the system after Mass Effect.

[zinger5]

Despite it not exactly breaking the mould for JRPGs and me not really thinking the story was fantastic, i still enjoyed Lost Odyssey.

I'm disappointed to hear that Mistwalker's next project has been canned - hopefully Sakaguchi will be back with another epic soon.

7/10

[bruffterman]

It's my favourite game, ever. I'm a die-hard Final Fantasy fan - or I was, until the people responsible for its prior genius left and Square Soft became Square Enix. As I understand it, this is created by those people, and it's the game I was hoping and waiting for after I finished FFIX.

I'm right at the end, but still haven't completed it, because I don't want it to end. Four discs isn't enough!