Lost Odyssey Preview January 29,2008 - Very soon, the Xbox 360’s growing RPG library will receive another boost in the form of Lost Odyssey, the latest brainchild of Hinorobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy). This epic tale follows the story of the immortal Kaim Argonar, who is caught in the midst of political turmoil beginning to stir as his world becomes more advanced in technology and magic. With over a thousand years of existence under his belt, he’s well-suited to join the epic fights that ensue, and is eventually recruited to do exactly that.

In one of Lost Odyssey’s gameplay movies, we see an epic medieval-style battle raging between two unnamed armies. The video makes it clear right away that Sakaguchi-san and company aren’t pulling any punches with the violence: swords run through torsos like needles through pincushions, and cleave through skulls like hot knives through butter… and the camera stays close enough to let you take in every gory detail. Very quickly, one army gains the upper hand, at which point the losing army summons huge war machines that roll in and resurrect the fallen soldiers. Enter Kaim, who dashes into the action and unleashes hell on the newly resurrected soldiers, ripping them into nasty chunks with his oversized sword and narrowly escaping enemy blades, Matrix-style. The action is so intense that you could confuse this for a trailer for an action game. It’s a turn-based RPG, though, but fortunately, it retains its very impressive look when it switches into in-game battle sequences.

The battle system looks to be a fairly nuanced one. One perk is that the game will reportedly allow for extensive character customization, so every character can be assigned individual specialties (presumably ranged combat, melee, magic, and healing, plus other mixes and variations thereof) according to the player’s preferences. It will also place emphasis on the positioning of characters in relation to one another in battle; specifically, the front line and the back line. The idea is that more resilient characters can stand in front of weaker ones, creating a damage buffer. The higher the total hit points of the front line characters, the stronger the overall “shield” they produce. It’s hard to say how well the intertwining of character jobs and classes with strategic positional considerations will mesh in the final product, but it’s safe to assume it’ll send the minds of strategy junkies reeling.

Lost Odyssey is also introducing something new in the form of the “ring” combat system, which allows Kaim and his party to be equipped with an assortment of rings you collect throughout the game that alter attack and defense attributes. In combat, these rings manifest as circles around the feet of an opponent being attacked. While your character performs his attack, a second ring forms around the first, steadily caving in on it. Your goal here is to release the right trigger (held down during your character’s attack) when the second ring gets to the sweet spot near the first ring. Time it right, and you do more damage.

Slated for release in the middle of February, Lost Odyssey is going to pack a ton of content – so much that it’s being spread across four game discs. This doesn’t automatically mean that Lost Odyssey is going to feature an exorbitantly long main storyline, but it’s enough to assume it’ll be a hearty one, and that the rest of the game is going to have plenty to see and do on the side. Considering the minds behind this game, and judging by the phenomenal graphics we’ve seen so far, Lost Odyssey appears to be shaping up very nicely, so gamers just might have another outstanding epic RPG to sink their teeth into upon release. Look for our full review for the final word after the game hits store shelves.

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