Hands on with Lost Odyssey
Most people, if offered their choice of any three wishes, would spend at least one on buying immortality. Humanity's desire to live forever is a powerful and universal one and yet, as Lost Odyssey's lead character Kaim demonstrates, this blessing is often naught but a curse. Having lived for a thousand years, married countless women, sired numberless children and, as a result, had his heart broken by endless deaths and goodbyes, Kaim's only desire is for his life to wind up. To add to his misery Kaim's an amnesiac, with sorrowful memories bursting into his mind unannounced, triggered by people, places and objects stumbled across on his meandering adventure. It’s a troubled existence but it’s one that you’re going to have to take on if you want to see what this epic game has to offer.
Lost Odyssey is the latest RPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi, the mind behind the popular Final Fantasy series. Built with the Unreal engine, expansive environments beautifully lit and ripe with history play backdrop to the game’s rich story. As the player it's your job to collect treasure, battle monsters and explore every nook and cranny of the world as you seek to unravel the mystery of Kaim's background. Of course, driving this journey of self-discovery forward is the wider sprawling and intricate story that touches every strata of this world’s society right up to the recently dethroned monarchy. The game boasts a huge cast of characters and the story is told via beautifully composed cut-scenes, lines read out by top-notch voice actors to great dramatic effect. But don’t worry: it’s not all about sitting back and watching movies. You take control of Kaim, leading him and his increasingly large band of teammates through the game’s four discs. Gameplay follows the set RPG pattern: explore environments, battle monsters in random battles, earn experience, money and items before arriving at your next destination and hearing the next development in the story. The traditional turn-based battle system has been complimented with some intriguing additions: immortal characters such as Kaim can learn new abilities from non-immortal teammates by forging skill-links. A ring system requires you to time a button press at just the right moment in order to increase the amount of damage you deal and, as you can arrange your team’s formation, putting stronger characters at the front to protect your weaker magic users at the rear is of paramount importance. Interspersed through the game are 31 short stories, memories from Kaim’s past, written by renowned Japanese author Kiyoshi Shigematsu. These glimpses of Kaim’s previous existence add considerable depth and colour to the character and, as they’re tenderly written, add a great deal to the story. From Lost Odyssey’s startling introduction, which sees you thrown into the midst of a dark and heaving battlefield, through to its distant and glorious conclusion, this game promises to deliver an eternally memorable adventure. |
