Lost Odyssey
Encyclopedia
is a console role-playing game developed by Mistwalker
and feelplus and published by Microsoft Game Studios
for the Xbox 360
. The player takes control of Kaim, a man who has lived for a thousand years and who has no memory of his past. The game is set in a world nearing a "magical industrial revolution
." Kaim struggles with the return of his memories and the pain they bring.
Lost Odyssey was produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi
, the creator of the famed Final Fantasy
series. This is his third project outside of Square Enix
, following ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat
and Blue Dragon.
iterations. A world map
allows the player to move the party between adjacent towns or fields on the map, while later in the game the player is given more freedom to explore the world through the use of ocean-going ships. Towns and cities provide inns for the player to recover the party's health
, stores for buying and selling of equipment, and save points
for the game. While exploring certain areas, the player will randomly encounter
monsters to fight.
The combat system incorporates aspects of battle initiative and length of actions to determine how events resolve each turn. Item usage is instantaneous, regular melee attacks are executed on the same turn, while casting spells or using special abilities may delay the player's action for one or more turns, depending on their speed. Actions can be delayed if the user is hit by an attack. The player has the option to cancel an action on a subsequent turn if necessary.
Melee attacks include an "Aim Ring System" using equippable rings
with added effects. As the character launches the attack, two concentric targeting rings appear on screen. The player must time their button release in order to make the rings intersect. An accuracy rank ("Perfect", "Good" or "Bad") indicates the potency of the effect. These include additional damage specific to certain types of monsters or their magic element, hit point or mana
absorption, status ailments, or being able to steal items. Even if awarded a "Perfect", a character can still miss the attack altogether. These rings are created by synthesizing "components", and can be upgraded into more accurate, or more potent versions; advanced rings can be made by combining two or more rings at a special vendor.
In combat, both the player's party and enemies are arranged in two lines, front or back. Up to five party members can participate in battle at once. At the start of battle, the back line is protected by a special defensive "wall" which is based on the combined hit points
of the front line
. This wall reduces damage that the characters in the back experience. However, as the front line takes damage, the wall weakens, and can only be recovered through the use of certain spells or skills. When the wall is completely gone, the back row will have no damage reduction. This mechanic also applies to enemy groups.
There are two types of characters that the player controls. "Mortals" gain skills by leveling up, but can benefit from additional skills by equipping accessories. "Immortals" do not know any skills initially, but instead gain skills by "linking" with a mortal character that is currently part of the battle formation, earning skill points in battle towards complete learning of the skill. Immortals can also learn skills from accessories by equipping them in the same manner, much like the ability point system of Final Fantasy IX
. Once a skill is learned, the player can then assign these skills to a limited number of skill slots, initially starting at three but able to be expanded via "Slot Seed" items or certain skills. Immortals also have the ability to automatically revive in battle should they lose all their hit points; however, if the entire party is downed, including the immortals, the game will be over.
The game's magic system is based on four classes of magic: Black, consisting primarily of elemental attacks and negative status effects; White, mainly for healing and protection; Spirit, for stat
changes, status ailments and non-elemental magic; and Composite, which can combine two spells, once learned, into multi-target or multi-function spells. To cast spells, the player must first find spells to fill the spell book, and then must have characters that have learned the appropriate magic skill of the right level to cast that spell.
The game can be played in either Japanese, English, Chinese, German, French, or Italian. Each respective language is used for voice-acting only on the North American edition of the game. Subtitles always appear in English and occasionally do not match up with the spoken words in the other available spoken languages.
" is taking place. While magic energy existed in all living creatures beforehand, it suddenly became far more powerful thirty years before the beginning of the game. Because of this, it has affected society greatly, with devices called "Magic Engines" harnessing this power for lighting
, automobile
s, communication
, and robots, among other uses. While previously only a select few could wield magic, many magicians
gained the ability. However, such progress has also caused two nations to develop new and more powerful weapons of mass destruction: the kingdom of Gohtza and the Republic
of Uhra (which recently converted from a monarchy
).. Uhra is building Grand Staff, a gigantic magic engine, while the heavily industrialized Gohtza actively pursues magic research of their own. A third nation, the Free Ocean State of Numara, remains isolated and neutral, though it is falling into disarray due to a general attempting to stage a coup d'etat
. Uhra, at war with Khent, a nation of beastmen
, sends its forces to the Highlands of Wohl for a decisive battle at the start of the game.
wipes out the majority of forces from the nations of Uhra and Khent, Kaim joins Seth and Jansen to investigate the Grand Staff at the behest of the council of Uhra. At the Staff, the three are captured by hostile scouts who take them to Numara, where they meet with Queen Ming, another immortal
who has lost her memory
. The queen allows the group to go free in Numara, where Kaim meets Cooke and Mack, his grandchildren, who join the group after the death of their mother.
News eventually arrives in Numara that Gongora has encouraged Tolten to reestablish the monarchy
in Uhra and prepare for war. Kakanas uses the opportunity to usurp control of the country from Ming, forcing her to flee with Kaim and others as enemies of the state. The group travels towards the nation of Gohtza, hoping to seek help from its King. On the way, Sarah Sisulart, Kaim's wife, joins the party after she is recovered from the Old Sorceress Mansion.
Arriving in Gohtza, Kaim and Sarah arrange for a peace negotiation between the Gohtzan King, Queen Ming, and Tolten to take place on a train. However, Kaim and Sarah are forced to go after Cooke and Mack, who steal a train to again try to find the spirit of their departed mother, leaving Jansen and Seth to participate in the negotiation alone. During the meeting, Gongora activates Grand Staff and flash freezes the entire country. Kaim and Sarah locate Cooke and Mack but are forced to separate due to a vicious magic attack by Gongora. Kaim and Sarah's train crashes, while Cooke and Mack are stranded on the train tracks in the freezing cold. The children are later saved by Ming and Jansen. The four unite and rescue Kaim and Sarah. In Uhra, Tolten learns that Gongora has announced Tolten's death and has usurped the throne, thus he joins with Seth to help free her son Sed, who joins the party, and his pirate hydrofoil
submarine
, the Nautilus. The entire party reconvenes in Gohtza.
The immortals talk and begin to recover their memories, realizing that they are actually observers from a parallel universe
. In Gongora's diary
, he explains the difference in space-time, where 1000 years is equivalent to 1 year in the parallel universe. The diary also explains that the immortals' world has been affected by the emotions of people in the mortal realm.
After regaining their memories, the party heads for Grand Staff. They recognize that Gongora is attempting to use the Grand Staff to destroy the portal between the two worlds, killing the other immortals and making himself effectively invincible. The group confronts Gongora in the Hall of Mirrors, the only place where they are vulnerable to death. The mortals help to block the mirror's power while the immortals fight Gongora, but their powers are equally matched. When the mortals become trapped in their own barrier after absorbing too much power, Seth drags Gongora through the mirror, allowing Kaim to break it and prevent him from ever returning.
In the epilogue, the nations led by Ming and Tolten come together to rebuild society, and the monarchy is restored in Uhra. Ming and Jansen get married
, while Kaim and Sarah settle down to help raise Cooke and Mack, all aware that Seth is able to observe their happy endings.
, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, who worked directly with the game's producer Hironobu Sakaguchi
on Kaim's backstory, while Sakaguchi alone wrote the game's main story. The memory sequences were translated into English by Jay Rubin
, a respected Harvard professor who also translated the works of novelist Haruki Murakami
. While Rubin originally objected to what he perceived as "adding to the world's supply of senseless violence," he relented after viewing the material and being "shocked" at its pacifist
message and "vivid imagery".
Japanese manga artist
Takehiko Inoue
headed the game's artistic team, while famed game composer Nobuo Uematsu
was recruited to create a more contemporary soundtrack. Mistwalker developed the title with cooperation with Feelplus, a subsidiary of Microsoft created specifically to aid Mistwalker. Feelplus is made up of around 40 former Nautilus/Sacnoth
developers, most famous for the cult favorite Shadow Hearts
RPG series. (Sacnoth was officially announced as being dissolved in 2007.) Former Square
employees at Microsoft
are also involved.
The president of Feelplus, Ray Nakazato, commended Shigematsu for "really good" storytelling, and the character and creature production staff for creating high-quality content without any delays. Game design
progressed smoothly due to the team's experience with the genre. However, he also felt that there were several things that could have been done better during development. Starting development with a large staff caused aspects to be changed upon release of the Xbox 360. The three separate teams that created battle, adventure, and cut scene components ran into "various issues" while combining their work, causing him to consider "seamless" development for any later projects. Little-used parts of the environment were given an extensive level of detail, resulting in a waste of money and time, and concept art
was given the same extensive level of attention. Off-the-shelf motion capture
was used in some cutscenes, while choreographed motion capture was used in others, resulting in "inconsistent" quality.
The game ships on four dual layer DVDs, more than any Xbox 360 game to date. It was the first RPG developed using the Unreal Engine
3.0, a decision that allowed development before the 360 was even released, but the Japanese development team had trouble keeping up with the engine's regular updates and had trouble reading the requisite manuals
. This caused technical setbacks such as long loading times
.
A playable demo of the game was shown at the Tokyo Game Show
2006, and was made available with the November issue of Famitsu
.
On July 11, 2007, an English trailer of Lost Odyssey was shown at E3 2007.
According to Peter Moore
and Microsoft's E3 press event Lost Odyssey was to be in stores worldwide for the 2007 holiday season, although it was actually released in February 2008 in both the US and Europe.
On November 19, 2007, at a special Blue Dragon/Lost Odyssey concert held in Shibuya, Tokyo, it was announced that the game had gone gold and was ready for its Japanese release date of December 6, 2007. According to a special bloggers event at which selected people were invited to play demos of the game from the very beginning, it was confirmed that English/Japanese voices were selectable in the Japanese version.
An issue regarding the packaging has led to several complaints from consumers. Since the game could not fit onto a standard DVD, it requires four discs. In Japan and Australia, the solution was to use an oversized case with two disc trays to store the discs. In the United States and PAL territories, however, the first three discs were held on a single 3-disc spindle inside the main game case. The fourth disc came packaged in a paper sleeve. The concern is that the method used for the American and European versions could result in scratched discs.
Another fault of the packaging resulted during shipping, in which reactions between the underside of the disc and the paper sleeve caused the fourth disc to be unplayable, due to the build-up of a filament on the disc. Various methods exist online to remove this filament.
In the newly released content pack, the "Triple Bonus Pack", another dream, titled "An Old Soldier's legacy", was included, as well as the "Killer Machine" ring. Another feature, the memory lamp, which enables the viewing of all previously seen cinematic cutscenes throughout the entire game, is located in the Nautilus and is only accessible in Disc 4.
On May 25, 2008 another content pack, called "Dungeon Pack: Seeker of the Deep!" was made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 Microsoft points. It included a new dungeon, "Experimental Staff Remains", which is only reachable using the Nautilus in Disc 4. It contains unique items and monsters that can only be found in this new dungeon. It also adds another six Achievements with a total of 100 Gamer Points.
. The vocal track "Kaette Kuru, Kitto..." is sung by the Japanese Pop band FLIP FLAP, and both "What You Are" and "Eclipse of Time" vocal tracks are sung by Sheena Easton
. The harp version of "Eclipse of Time" is arranged by Hiroyuki Nakayama while the piano version of "Kaette Kuru, Kitto..." is arranged by Satoshi Henmi. Both Hiroyuki Nakayama and Satoshi Henmi arranged the guitar version of "What You Are". The soundtrack was released on January 23, 2008 by the Japanese label Aniplex
.
.
numbers. The game has done much better in the West; according to NPD numbers Lost Odyssey debuted at #7, selling 203,000 in its debut month of February in North America. As of January 2009 the game has sold about 348,000 copies in the United States according to the NPD Group.
The issue many took with Lost Odyssey was its deliberately old-school gameplay mechanics, particularly the traditional combat system, which several critics found to be dull and dated, as well as the game's use of random battles, which were further deemed an issue by their purportedly lengthy load times. Xbox Focus gave the game a 4/5 rating, declaring its story as profound, but taking an issue with the camera control and the odd character design. Unlike other critics, however, Xbox Focus's Alex Yusupov deemed the combat and random battles as exhilarating, and that "it's better to take a tried and true technique and make it better than introduce a completely new idea that could possibly screw up an entire game." RPGFan stated that the story and gameplay were both "overused, uninspired, and stilted", but that the memory sequences, penned by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, were "some of the richest, most emotionally charged storytelling seen in any RPG to date".
Critics were divided on the story, with some, like GameSpy
, calling the plot and characters, "shamelessly derivative." GamePro
magazine agreed, declaring that the main story was not particularly compelling, although it noted that many subplots carried plenty of emotional weight. On the other hand, Game Informer
magazine deemed the story line as being "one of the most compelling tales ever told on the Xbox 360," and praised the "cool combat system." GameSpot
praised Lost Odysseys "fascinating cast," and character development, and also called the combat system "solid." GameTrailers
said, "what sets Lost Odyssey apart is a deeply moving story that places an emotional focal point on its characters." IGN
found that the ring-building system, immortals, and skill system added a fresh feel to the game's otherwise traditional combat, and 1UP.com
praised the "timed button press" aspect of the battles, saying it makes them "more engaging than you'd think."
Despite critics' differing opinions in other areas, the game's graphics and high production values have received universal acclaim, although load times and framerate issues were also universally pointed out. However, it transpired that the copy that some reviewers received apparently had longer loading times than those of the retail version. GameSpot amended their review on February 19, 2008 to reflect this, but did not change their original score.
Mistwalker
is a Japanese video game development studio founded by Hironobu Sakaguchi in 2004, with the financial backing of Microsoft. The logo and name were trademarked in 2001...
and feelplus and published by Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The player takes control of Kaim, a man who has lived for a thousand years and who has no memory of his past. The game is set in a world nearing a "magical industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
." Kaim struggles with the return of his memories and the pain they bring.
Lost Odyssey was produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi
Hironobu Sakaguchi
is a Japanese game designer, game director and game producer. He is world famous as the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and has had a long career in gaming with over 100 million units of video games sold worldwide...
, the creator of the famed Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series. This is his third project outside of Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
, following ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat is a tactical role-playing game developed by Mistwalker and Racjin and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released on October 4, 2007 in Japan...
and Blue Dragon.
Gameplay
Lost Odyssey uses a traditional turn-based battle system seen in most Japanese role-playing games, similar to early Final FantasyFinal Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
iterations. A world map
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
allows the player to move the party between adjacent towns or fields on the map, while later in the game the player is given more freedom to explore the world through the use of ocean-going ships. Towns and cities provide inns for the player to recover the party's health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
, stores for buying and selling of equipment, and save points
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
for the game. While exploring certain areas, the player will randomly encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
monsters to fight.
The combat system incorporates aspects of battle initiative and length of actions to determine how events resolve each turn. Item usage is instantaneous, regular melee attacks are executed on the same turn, while casting spells or using special abilities may delay the player's action for one or more turns, depending on their speed. Actions can be delayed if the user is hit by an attack. The player has the option to cancel an action on a subsequent turn if necessary.
Melee attacks include an "Aim Ring System" using equippable rings
Ring (jewellery)
A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings....
with added effects. As the character launches the attack, two concentric targeting rings appear on screen. The player must time their button release in order to make the rings intersect. An accuracy rank ("Perfect", "Good" or "Bad") indicates the potency of the effect. These include additional damage specific to certain types of monsters or their magic element, hit point or mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
absorption, status ailments, or being able to steal items. Even if awarded a "Perfect", a character can still miss the attack altogether. These rings are created by synthesizing "components", and can be upgraded into more accurate, or more potent versions; advanced rings can be made by combining two or more rings at a special vendor.
In combat, both the player's party and enemies are arranged in two lines, front or back. Up to five party members can participate in battle at once. At the start of battle, the back line is protected by a special defensive "wall" which is based on the combined hit points
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
of the front line
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
. This wall reduces damage that the characters in the back experience. However, as the front line takes damage, the wall weakens, and can only be recovered through the use of certain spells or skills. When the wall is completely gone, the back row will have no damage reduction. This mechanic also applies to enemy groups.
There are two types of characters that the player controls. "Mortals" gain skills by leveling up, but can benefit from additional skills by equipping accessories. "Immortals" do not know any skills initially, but instead gain skills by "linking" with a mortal character that is currently part of the battle formation, earning skill points in battle towards complete learning of the skill. Immortals can also learn skills from accessories by equipping them in the same manner, much like the ability point system of Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the ninth title in the Final Fantasy series. The game introduced new features to the series like the 'Active Time Event', 'Mognet' and a unique equipment and skill system.Final Fantasy IXs...
. Once a skill is learned, the player can then assign these skills to a limited number of skill slots, initially starting at three but able to be expanded via "Slot Seed" items or certain skills. Immortals also have the ability to automatically revive in battle should they lose all their hit points; however, if the entire party is downed, including the immortals, the game will be over.
The game's magic system is based on four classes of magic: Black, consisting primarily of elemental attacks and negative status effects; White, mainly for healing and protection; Spirit, for stat
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
changes, status ailments and non-elemental magic; and Composite, which can combine two spells, once learned, into multi-target or multi-function spells. To cast spells, the player must first find spells to fill the spell book, and then must have characters that have learned the appropriate magic skill of the right level to cast that spell.
The game can be played in either Japanese, English, Chinese, German, French, or Italian. Each respective language is used for voice-acting only on the North American edition of the game. Subtitles always appear in English and occasionally do not match up with the spoken words in the other available spoken languages.
Setting
Lost Odyssey is set in a world in which a "Magic-Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
" is taking place. While magic energy existed in all living creatures beforehand, it suddenly became far more powerful thirty years before the beginning of the game. Because of this, it has affected society greatly, with devices called "Magic Engines" harnessing this power for lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
, automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, and robots, among other uses. While previously only a select few could wield magic, many magicians
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
gained the ability. However, such progress has also caused two nations to develop new and more powerful weapons of mass destruction: the kingdom of Gohtza and the Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
of Uhra (which recently converted from a monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
).. Uhra is building Grand Staff, a gigantic magic engine, while the heavily industrialized Gohtza actively pursues magic research of their own. A third nation, the Free Ocean State of Numara, remains isolated and neutral, though it is falling into disarray due to a general attempting to stage a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Uhra, at war with Khent, a nation of beastmen
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
, sends its forces to the Highlands of Wohl for a decisive battle at the start of the game.
Story
After a meteorMETEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
wipes out the majority of forces from the nations of Uhra and Khent, Kaim joins Seth and Jansen to investigate the Grand Staff at the behest of the council of Uhra. At the Staff, the three are captured by hostile scouts who take them to Numara, where they meet with Queen Ming, another immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
who has lost her memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
. The queen allows the group to go free in Numara, where Kaim meets Cooke and Mack, his grandchildren, who join the group after the death of their mother.
News eventually arrives in Numara that Gongora has encouraged Tolten to reestablish the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
in Uhra and prepare for war. Kakanas uses the opportunity to usurp control of the country from Ming, forcing her to flee with Kaim and others as enemies of the state. The group travels towards the nation of Gohtza, hoping to seek help from its King. On the way, Sarah Sisulart, Kaim's wife, joins the party after she is recovered from the Old Sorceress Mansion.
Arriving in Gohtza, Kaim and Sarah arrange for a peace negotiation between the Gohtzan King, Queen Ming, and Tolten to take place on a train. However, Kaim and Sarah are forced to go after Cooke and Mack, who steal a train to again try to find the spirit of their departed mother, leaving Jansen and Seth to participate in the negotiation alone. During the meeting, Gongora activates Grand Staff and flash freezes the entire country. Kaim and Sarah locate Cooke and Mack but are forced to separate due to a vicious magic attack by Gongora. Kaim and Sarah's train crashes, while Cooke and Mack are stranded on the train tracks in the freezing cold. The children are later saved by Ming and Jansen. The four unite and rescue Kaim and Sarah. In Uhra, Tolten learns that Gongora has announced Tolten's death and has usurped the throne, thus he joins with Seth to help free her son Sed, who joins the party, and his pirate hydrofoil
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, the Nautilus. The entire party reconvenes in Gohtza.
The immortals talk and begin to recover their memories, realizing that they are actually observers from a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. In Gongora's diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
, he explains the difference in space-time, where 1000 years is equivalent to 1 year in the parallel universe. The diary also explains that the immortals' world has been affected by the emotions of people in the mortal realm.
After regaining their memories, the party heads for Grand Staff. They recognize that Gongora is attempting to use the Grand Staff to destroy the portal between the two worlds, killing the other immortals and making himself effectively invincible. The group confronts Gongora in the Hall of Mirrors, the only place where they are vulnerable to death. The mortals help to block the mirror's power while the immortals fight Gongora, but their powers are equally matched. When the mortals become trapped in their own barrier after absorbing too much power, Seth drags Gongora through the mirror, allowing Kaim to break it and prevent him from ever returning.
In the epilogue, the nations led by Ming and Tolten come together to rebuild society, and the monarchy is restored in Uhra. Ming and Jansen get married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, while Kaim and Sarah settle down to help raise Cooke and Mack, all aware that Seth is able to observe their happy endings.
Development
Lost Odysseys "Thousand Years of Dreams" were penned by an award-winning Japanese short story writerJapanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, who worked directly with the game's producer Hironobu Sakaguchi
Hironobu Sakaguchi
is a Japanese game designer, game director and game producer. He is world famous as the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and has had a long career in gaming with over 100 million units of video games sold worldwide...
on Kaim's backstory, while Sakaguchi alone wrote the game's main story. The memory sequences were translated into English by Jay Rubin
Jay Rubin
Jay Rubin is an American academic and translator. He is most notable for being one of the main translators into English of the works of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. He has also written a guide to Japanese, Making Sense of Japanese , and a biographical literary analysis of Murakami.He has...
, a respected Harvard professor who also translated the works of novelist Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
. While Rubin originally objected to what he perceived as "adding to the world's supply of senseless violence," he relented after viewing the material and being "shocked" at its pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
message and "vivid imagery".
Japanese manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Takehiko Inoue
Takehiko Inoue
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for the basketball manga Slam Dunk, which has become a success both in Japan and overseas. Many of his works are about basketball, Inoue himself being a huge fan of the sport, and many Japanese children started to play basketball because they read the manga...
headed the game's artistic team, while famed game composer Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
was recruited to create a more contemporary soundtrack. Mistwalker developed the title with cooperation with Feelplus, a subsidiary of Microsoft created specifically to aid Mistwalker. Feelplus is made up of around 40 former Nautilus/Sacnoth
Sacnoth
Sacnoth was a small Japanese based video games developer.Sacnoth’s high profile games include Koudelka for the PlayStation, the three Shadow Hearts games for the PlayStation 2, and Faselei! for the Neo Geo Pocket Color...
developers, most famous for the cult favorite Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts
is a series of role playing games for the PlayStation 2. The original Shadow Hearts was developed by Sacnoth and released by Midway in the United States on December 11, 2001. The sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant , was also made by the same group, although Sacnoth reformed itself into a company...
RPG series. (Sacnoth was officially announced as being dissolved in 2007.) Former Square
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
employees at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
are also involved.
The president of Feelplus, Ray Nakazato, commended Shigematsu for "really good" storytelling, and the character and creature production staff for creating high-quality content without any delays. Game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
progressed smoothly due to the team's experience with the genre. However, he also felt that there were several things that could have been done better during development. Starting development with a large staff caused aspects to be changed upon release of the Xbox 360. The three separate teams that created battle, adventure, and cut scene components ran into "various issues" while combining their work, causing him to consider "seamless" development for any later projects. Little-used parts of the environment were given an extensive level of detail, resulting in a waste of money and time, and concept art
Concept art
Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design...
was given the same extensive level of attention. Off-the-shelf motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
was used in some cutscenes, while choreographed motion capture was used in others, resulting in "inconsistent" quality.
The game ships on four dual layer DVDs, more than any Xbox 360 game to date. It was the first RPG developed using the Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and RPGs...
3.0, a decision that allowed development before the 360 was even released, but the Japanese development team had trouble keeping up with the engine's regular updates and had trouble reading the requisite manuals
User guide
A user guide or user's guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication document intended to give assistance to people using a particular system...
. This caused technical setbacks such as long loading times
Loading screen
A loading screen is a picture shown by a computer program, often a video game, while the program is loading or initializing.-Loading times:Loading screens that disguise the length of time that a program takes to load were common when computer games were loaded from cassette tape, a process which...
.
A playable demo of the game was shown at the Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
2006, and was made available with the November issue of Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
.
On July 11, 2007, an English trailer of Lost Odyssey was shown at E3 2007.
According to Peter Moore
Peter Moore
Peter Moore may refer to:*Peter Moore , professor at Yale University*Peter Moore , former SOA President, former Microsoft executive, head of EA Sports*Peter Moore , British serial killer...
and Microsoft's E3 press event Lost Odyssey was to be in stores worldwide for the 2007 holiday season, although it was actually released in February 2008 in both the US and Europe.
On November 19, 2007, at a special Blue Dragon/Lost Odyssey concert held in Shibuya, Tokyo, it was announced that the game had gone gold and was ready for its Japanese release date of December 6, 2007. According to a special bloggers event at which selected people were invited to play demos of the game from the very beginning, it was confirmed that English/Japanese voices were selectable in the Japanese version.
An issue regarding the packaging has led to several complaints from consumers. Since the game could not fit onto a standard DVD, it requires four discs. In Japan and Australia, the solution was to use an oversized case with two disc trays to store the discs. In the United States and PAL territories, however, the first three discs were held on a single 3-disc spindle inside the main game case. The fourth disc came packaged in a paper sleeve. The concern is that the method used for the American and European versions could result in scratched discs.
Another fault of the packaging resulted during shipping, in which reactions between the underside of the disc and the paper sleeve caused the fourth disc to be unplayable, due to the build-up of a filament on the disc. Various methods exist online to remove this filament.
Downloadable content
On April 25, 2008, the first American content pack for Lost Odyssey was released for those who pre-ordered the game in America, though it is available for free download in Japan. The content allowed the player to learn the "Weapon Guard 2" skill, and contained a new dream titled "Samii the Storyteller".In the newly released content pack, the "Triple Bonus Pack", another dream, titled "An Old Soldier's legacy", was included, as well as the "Killer Machine" ring. Another feature, the memory lamp, which enables the viewing of all previously seen cinematic cutscenes throughout the entire game, is located in the Nautilus and is only accessible in Disc 4.
On May 25, 2008 another content pack, called "Dungeon Pack: Seeker of the Deep!" was made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 Microsoft points. It included a new dungeon, "Experimental Staff Remains", which is only reachable using the Nautilus in Disc 4. It contains unique items and monsters that can only be found in this new dungeon. It also adds another six Achievements with a total of 100 Gamer Points.
Audio
The soundtrack was scored by Nobuo UematsuNobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
. The vocal track "Kaette Kuru, Kitto..." is sung by the Japanese Pop band FLIP FLAP, and both "What You Are" and "Eclipse of Time" vocal tracks are sung by Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...
. The harp version of "Eclipse of Time" is arranged by Hiroyuki Nakayama while the piano version of "Kaette Kuru, Kitto..." is arranged by Satoshi Henmi. Both Hiroyuki Nakayama and Satoshi Henmi arranged the guitar version of "What You Are". The soundtrack was released on January 23, 2008 by the Japanese label Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
.
Voice cast
It is uncertain which version should be considered the original. The game was developed in Japan, the story and dialogues were originally written in Japanese and, additionally, it was released in Japan first, yet all the lip-sync was done using the English version as reference. Nevertheless, the Japanese cast is the first to appear during the closing creditsClosing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
.
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Kaim Argonar | Etsushi Toyokawa Etsushi Toyokawa to pursue a career in acting. He began by joining the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe "Under Thirty," which was known for the membership of another famous actor, Watanabe Eriko, at the time... |
Keith Ferguson Keith Ferguson Keith James Ferguson is an American voice actor, well known as the voice of Blooregard Q. Kazoo on the Cartoon Network animated series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends... |
| Seth Balmore | Seika Kuze | Tara Strong Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:... |
| Sarah Sisulart | Takako Uehara Takako Uehara is a Jpop singer, actress, and former radio host. She is a member of the group Speed. Uehara was born in Okinawa, Japan.Her highly anticipated first solo single 'My First Love' was released in January 1999, and was produced by legendary pop/rock superstar Ryuichi Kawamura ."My First Love" was the... |
Kim Mai Guest Kim Mai Guest Kim Mai Angela Guest is a voice actress of European and Vietnamese descent. She is known to speak fluent French and Italian.- Anime/Animation roles :* .hack//Liminality - Narumi* .hack//SIGN - Subaru... |
| Ming Numara | Kaoru Okunuki | Salli Saffioti Salli Saffioti Salli Saffioti is a professional actress, known for playing roles in video games including Ingrid Hunnigan in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Degeneration, Ming in Lost Odyssey, the Sea Captain's daughter in Tales of the Black Freighter, Razia in The Prince of Persia and the Black Widow in... |
| Jansen Friedh | Kosuke Toyohara | Michael McGaharn Michael McGaharn Michael McGaharn is an American voice actor and comedian. He has done much voice work in video games, such as being the voice of Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic Adventure, and prior to that, Lead Phoenix in Burning Rangers. After Sonic Adventure, he was no longer able to continue voicing Knuckles... |
| Cooke | YUKO (FLIP-FLAP) | Kath Soucie Kath Soucie Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E... |
| Mack | AIKO (FLIP-FLAP) | Nika Futterman Nika Futterman Nika Futterman is an American actress, singer, voice artist, and comedienne.She did the vocals "Give it to me, baby" in The Offspring hit single "Pretty Fly ."-Animated Series:... |
| Tolten | Ryō Horikawa Ryo Horikawa is a Japanese voice actor. He is married to fellow Japanese voice actress Hitomi Oikawa, whose birth name is also . His former stage name is also Ryo Horikawa, which has his given name, Makoto, pronounced as Ryo.-Career:... |
Chad Brannon Chad Brannon Chad Brannon is an American actor. Brannon is known for his role as Zander Smith on General Hospital.-Early life:Chad grew up going to Tomball High School... |
| Sed | Yōsuke Akimoto Yosuke Akimoto is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo. He is currently attached to Mausu Promotion. He is a graduate of the Hosei University business school.-Television animation:*Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple *Angel Heart... |
Michael Bell |
| Gongora | Haruhiko Jō Haruhiko Jo is a Japanese actor, theatre director and voice actor currently affiliated with Engekikurabu Za.-Animation:*Crest of the Stars *Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century *Sol Bianca: The Legacy... |
Jesse Corti Jesse Corti Jesse Corti is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Lefou in the 1991 Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast. He has appeared on several popular TV shows such as 24, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, West Wing, Judging Amy, Law & Order and many more... |
| Kakanas | Kōji Ishii Koji Ishii is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Vi-Vo.-Notable voice roles:*Chief Koutarou Taiga in The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL*Kimura-sensei in Azumanga Daioh*Jose Collins in A.D... |
David Lodge David Lodge (voice actor) David Lodge is a voice actor who is not to be confused with the British actor of the same name. He is active in the anime and video game voice acting community, but is also very well known for his voicework in the Power Rangers franchise... |
| King Gohtza | Chikao Ōtsuka | Peter Reneday |
| Lirum | Sumi Shimamoto Sumi Shimamoto , real name , is a veteran Japanese voice actress born on December 8, 1954, in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, she joined Gekidan Seinenza, a theatrical acting troupe... |
Shelly Callahan |
| Roxian | Mugihito Mugihito , better known by his stage name of is a Japanese voice and stage actor from Musashino, Tokyo. He is employed by Media Force. Mugihito was formerly credited under his birth name and also... |
Richard Green Richard Green (actor) Richard Green is an American actor/director/musician with an international career in voice over and film. He had a prominent role as the Magician, in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and produced I Don't Know Jack, about the life and mysterious death of Eraserhead star Jack Nance... |
| Maia | Natsumi Sakuma | Melodee Spevack Melodee Spevack Melodee M. Spevack is a voice actress and vice president of the Nevada-based Voxworks voice-acting corporation. She is also credited as Sonja S... |
Reception
Sales
Lost Odyssey reportedly sold 40,000 copies in Japan on its first day at retail, around 50% of the shipment. As of February 17, 2008, the game has sold 104,417 copies in Japan according to FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
numbers. The game has done much better in the West; according to NPD numbers Lost Odyssey debuted at #7, selling 203,000 in its debut month of February in North America. As of January 2009 the game has sold about 348,000 copies in the United States according to the NPD Group.
Reviews
Famitsu awarded the game a score of 36/40, with all four critics each giving the game a 9. This was one point less than the 37/40 score given to Mistwalker's debut RPG, Blue Dragon. As with Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey received somewhat mixed, although generally favorable, scores from Western critics.The issue many took with Lost Odyssey was its deliberately old-school gameplay mechanics, particularly the traditional combat system, which several critics found to be dull and dated, as well as the game's use of random battles, which were further deemed an issue by their purportedly lengthy load times. Xbox Focus gave the game a 4/5 rating, declaring its story as profound, but taking an issue with the camera control and the odd character design. Unlike other critics, however, Xbox Focus's Alex Yusupov deemed the combat and random battles as exhilarating, and that "it's better to take a tried and true technique and make it better than introduce a completely new idea that could possibly screw up an entire game." RPGFan stated that the story and gameplay were both "overused, uninspired, and stilted", but that the memory sequences, penned by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, were "some of the richest, most emotionally charged storytelling seen in any RPG to date".
Critics were divided on the story, with some, like GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
, calling the plot and characters, "shamelessly derivative." GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
magazine agreed, declaring that the main story was not particularly compelling, although it noted that many subplots carried plenty of emotional weight. On the other hand, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
magazine deemed the story line as being "one of the most compelling tales ever told on the Xbox 360," and praised the "cool combat system." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised Lost Odysseys "fascinating cast," and character development, and also called the combat system "solid." GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
said, "what sets Lost Odyssey apart is a deeply moving story that places an emotional focal point on its characters." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
found that the ring-building system, immortals, and skill system added a fresh feel to the game's otherwise traditional combat, and 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
praised the "timed button press" aspect of the battles, saying it makes them "more engaging than you'd think."
Despite critics' differing opinions in other areas, the game's graphics and high production values have received universal acclaim, although load times and framerate issues were also universally pointed out. However, it transpired that the copy that some reviewers received apparently had longer loading times than those of the retail version. GameSpot amended their review on February 19, 2008 to reflect this, but did not change their original score.