was expecting 8.8.But this is okay.On the fence,but will probably get it.

The loading times kill it for me. Hate waiting for anything.

Nice find. I'd give a higher score to presentation and a lower one to gameplay but score will be pretty much the same.

One of the main reasons I was anticipating this game so much was the blood and gore in first X06 trailer and promise of an M rated J-RPG other than SMT series but sadly, they toned down the game to T so I'm more than disappointed...
As for the game itself, it still looks pretty good.

The story is so-so, the menus look ancient and the loading screens never seem to stop.

Why do I want an RPG with a so-so story? Because of the great gameplay?

i was hoping for better scores. but ill still give it a shot. ive been wanting a good rpg game

played it last week for about 4-5 hours, the loading times are horribly long, like about 20 seconds each time you enter a new area or even if a cutscene is played in the same area it just had to load again... on the gameplay side it is really just another mediocre JRPG, but i liked the thing, that in every hideout like trashcans etc. is a item and not like in other jrpg games, where in 1 of 5 objects is a item hidden.

The story is actually OK. Starts off slow, but becomes more intiguing as it unfolds. Pretty sad for the most part with lots of emotional pieces designed to be tear jerkers - its not a 'happy happy' game at all! I should add I'm only a little way through disc2 , but so far it's the linearity thats a bit of an issue for me, with few opportunities to explore anything and little varience in the patch you follow. Thgerer are often times when you play for long time with lots of story and no battles at all. The battle system is what you expect, the graphics are pretty good for the most part, there are frame rate issues, but it doesn't matter for a game of this type.

Its certainly not mind blowing, and some of the gameplay bits (pushing round boxes to open paths etc do feel a bit old), but if you liked PS3 style RPG's and are desperate for something on the 360, this fits the bill. Its not a must have system seller by any stretch of the imagination though, so one for us old mean RPG lovers only really - its not goignt o convert any youngsters to the cause.

when developers can make a game with Stable framerates..

some devs can make it possible even with huge environments but many of them cant..
and about Lost odyssey
its a realy good game for 360 owners (JRPG fans) , and for sure its better than blue dragon..

they must work on the animations and framerates. this game Sux in these sections.

multi disk is so last gen, i mean dat's back in ps1 days....

Never been interested in this game.

If I want an RPG then its Fable 2.

The only JRPG series I liked was Final Fantasy. But it will never be on 360 so then its Fable 2 at the top of the RPG list for me.

Just to let people know. Story is just as important as gameplay in a pure RPG game. Role Playing games are about taking the role of a character and actually playing him by making decisions that would affect the overall story. This applies a lot in Turn-based RPGs and Time-based RPGs. Action-RPGs and Shooter-RPGs are less on story progression/customization but considerably more than normal action or shooter games.

only 8.2
that means it's probably also the "Last Odyssey" hehe lol

The so called final fantasy killer...

Seems like a good game if i ever buy a 360 ill add it next to mass effect(unless it comes to pc) as games id like to try out. I hope this gives mystwalker and sakaguchi the experience they needed on next gen platforms and hit us with something epic next time around. guess ill still have to wait for FF13 (any) or white knight story for a full next gen Jrpg experience since neither this or folklore seem to have gotten it right.

8.2 is good but not good enough for the so called "Final Fantasy XIII killer".

Not a bad review but too bad according the review that the story isn't all that great. I could play a rpg with only a decent battle system if it had a story that I couldn't get enough off.

For their next rpg they should get rid of random encounters, those are a thing of past now.

this game still appeals to me and i really want to try that ring feature.. 4 discs means nothing to me but the constant loading times probably would. i've been spoiled by Uncharted where the graphics, levels and sound hardly ever give you loading times... other devs need to learn from Naughty Dog when loading times is concerned because Uncharted has one short initial load time and the rest of the game hardly ever loads and if it does then it's only for 1 second.

complaining of 4 discs? Too lazy to get off your arse after ten hours to change it? I like it seems like you're gettin more content for your cash.
By the way the loading times are so not an issue. In fact I thought the areas loaded quickly, far better than what you would find in other rpg's like oblivion or mass effect. I'm no expert on japanese rpgs but the combat seemed fine and enjoyable. The effort and artistry that has gone into this game should be acknowledged. It's as good in it's field as bioshock was. FF12 was supposed to be innovative and new but it bored the pants off me with its tedious battles, story and characters. This may employ traditional mechanics but it is done with energy, style and enthusiasm. In fact I see no need to defend it. Any fool should be able to see that by playing it. If this game gets trashed while the likes of halo (good but not great) are given tens then it proves you cannot give a particle of credence to the opinions of these professional reviewers.

I wish some reviewers would be this fair on reviewing the early ps3 games that had tears or long load times. lol.

I still can't believe this game comes in 4 disks. It should have gotten a score of 4.0 for presentation.

turn based games are so last gen

but can anyone comment if the battles take entirely way too long? From what I saw, they move SO SLOW. Rest of the game looks solid at least though.

If this is 4 disc long, I wonder how many discs they would have had to put metal gear 4 on IF it came to the 360.

4 FREAKIN DISCS!!!!! LOL

Could of been a great Playstation 1 title.

If you have played the game you'll see that most of the time loading times are acceptable. Quicker as i remember than ff12 for instance or oblivion for that matter. I havent got to the part with the ship yet. Maybe that is a long load time. I don't know I've seen a lot worse Halo 3 for christs sake is 3 minutes to start.

I'll stick to western RPGs. They are MUCH better.

That brings back my Playstation 1 memories ..Fear Effect,Final Fantasy etc..the good old days

It's very similar to the old final fantasy games. As ever it comes down to your personal views. Speaking as someone who usually has very little patience for these kind of games I think the battle loading is not long but just right.

it's like blue dragon or something, not really leap a from other rpgs. It's has 4 discs and about 50 hours of gameplay, and the lasting appeal is only 8.0. wtf. the presentation is 6.5, and the story sucks like FXII. It's no final fantasy because gameplay wise, FF12 shatters every other rpg. Plus it has long loading times, and framerate has some problems. He said that the game is story driven game, but the story is not so great, so i don't get why xbox owners would buy this game. It's also due to fact that most xbox onwers either like fps, or action and already have mass effect.

"mediocre voice acting"

Fake. The voice acting is good.

"The four discs will last you anywhere from 35-50 hours, depending on your thoroughness."

LOOOOL. Ign don't finish the game 100%.
You need 80-90 hours to finish the main quest + side quests.

" It may not be in the same class as Mass Effect, but for a system in desperate need for more quality RPGs, Lost Odyssey fits nicely into the 360 library"

I dont understand this idea. If the Xbox 360 is lacking in RPGs, what about the Wii and PS3?

That is simply silly. Eternal Sonata (7.9/10 metacritic score), Oblivion (9.4/10(with 5 DLC packs)), Blue Dragon (7.9/10) are good to great RPGs, what alternative does one have on the other systems?

Wii? Does it have a proper RPG (paper mario? (8.5/10)? And the PS3, what is there besides Folklore (7.5/10) and Oblivion (9.3/10)?

I hope this doesnt sound too trollish or flamebait, but if he thinks the Xbox 360 "seriously lacks" RPG, is it worth saying considering it appears that the alternatives are worse.

He doesnt make sense.

I can understand that, but you know how Sony is. They're slow, but in the end somehow they always come out with the lead.

Have you seen the foklore Ign Review? It got a 9. That's better than 2 out of 3 games you mentioned. Heck the ps3 lacks games on all genres.

But will that be the case in 2008? I know it sounds really annoying to say"wait till next year" but truly in the end Sony domiantes in rpgs and having "variety" in their games.

Foklore got a 9 and lair got lower than a 7 I believe, Sony hyped up the wrong game. :(

Hey no matter what.. im happy that microsoft got themself a descent RPG.. If my xbox was not broken i would buy this game ASAP.. This looks to be the best JRPG out right now.. even if it is as buggy as Mass Effect, they still have a descent game to play.. im tired of most "next gen" HD games averaging 8 hrs of gameplay.. it is PATHETIC.. an 8 is a passible grade.. 4 discs and frame rate problems or not.. Just play it, have a good time, and set it aside.. This game will likely be 4gotton in about a month anyway.. By summer time people wont even remember it even came out..

The good thing about it tho is that for people tired of playing the Ps3 / 360 waiting game.. "Just wait till so an so comes out".. "once _____ comes out 08 is ours".. you can skip the talk and play it now..

Now away with you xbox fans.. i should hear no more complaints from you as ur on your way 2 get this game...

The Great 1 has spoken

good god look at the sony trolls. 4 discs over a 50 hr time frame isnt bad, its not a great or even a good thing but to make a huge deal out of it is rediculous.

on 360 again this would be the game. I think it'll help 360 sales is japan but.

Sheesh why did this guy make mystwalker entertainment? I'm hoping he ports this to the PS3. It doesn't look like it needs the full power of the PS3 and could probably be just as fun if it was ported to PS2. The graphics and sound seem more movie like. Nothing over the top that even a poor port would hurt, unless it was unplayable.

I think people fail to realise that this type of gameplay doesn't require the same power as something like an FPS or Action game. Most of the qualities of a good RPG are the story and gameplay. Graphics and music are bonuses but limiting disk storage can also hurt gameplay.

As for this game I think it looks awesome, but I regret that it's exclusive to 360.

Sorry i'm not buying this game I don't think buying a new 360 is woth this game.

FFXII gamerankings:9.1 IGN:9.5
FFX gamerankings:9.14 IGN:9.5
FFIX gamerankings:9.3 IGN:9.2
FFVIII gamerankings:9.0 IGN 9.0
FFVII gamerankings:9.2 IGN:9.5

Blue Dragon gamerankings:7.7 IGN:7.9
Lost Odyssey gamerankings: IGN:8.2

this was meant to be an amazing game and the start of xbox 360's 'stellar' 2008 line-up.Pwwwaaaaahhhahahahahah ahahhhhaaaaaaaaa

I find it funny that after FFXII came out all of a sudden "ZOMGS turn based is bad, even though FFXII was an abomination, but since square enix changed from now on any game that is turned based is bad".

**Square announces FFX is turn based**
IGN: Good, we like turn based

**Square announces FFXII is real time**
IGN: Turn based combat needed to go, real time is better

**Rumor: Square announces FFXIII versus is turn based**
IGN: Yeah it's good they brought back turn based.

**Rumor is debunked by Square**
IGN: We're happy they're not using turn based again

Gee wiz, god forbid some of us actually like turn based. Oh my bad, Square decides what we all like.

"Lost Odyssey reminded me that there's nothing wrong with traditional JRPGs."

"The first disc of Lost Odyssey doesn't launch it into the upper-echelon of classics such as FFVI, FFX or Chrono Trigger. But with so few RPGs available on 360, even "good" can prove satisfying."

With that,I find it funny "Square" dictates what RPG fans likes or dislikes. As an Jrpg gamer, 4-Disc doesn't mean much, it's an RPG dammit. It's a slow-paced game that develops over time. Like they say, "Story" and "Gameplay" are the most important elements to me, in an RPG game. "Breathtaking CGI Cutscenes, "Music Score" are just bonuses. Changing a Disc every 10-12 hrs does not take away anything from the game itself. Just "30 Secs" of ones life.

No need for "Superiority Blu-Ray Complexes".

Of course, with the limited time I have, I'll probably end up changing disc every 2-3 weeks. I'm at the end of "Eternal Sonata" and getting this soon........

Only 6.5 for the story?? Story is the most important aspect in a jrpg, everybody knows that...

It scored higher than I thought it would. I didn't have high hopes for this game despite the hype. Still not gonna buy it though. I'm sick and tired of japanese developers not pushing things forward. TRY THINKING OF SOMETHING NEW!

There are a few exceptions, like Capcom, whom I respect a lot.

whats up with that. I thought the 360 was 'easy' to dev to plus this is in year 2+. thank god some people are born with virtue of patience

Reading the review it's sooooooo obvious that had this been a PS3 exclusive it would have been slammed with a 6.5

Editorial reivews have become meaningless dribble to the gaming community only motivated by incentives and laced in politics.

i read the review...framerate issues...screen tearing...so so story...mediocre voice acting..where does the 8.2 come in ...a good score...is it because its ok for 50 hours games now score 8.2? havent played the game, im just wondering about text versus actual scores nowadays

every FF game was turned based till FFXII and FFXIII and versus, which made a new kind of rpg compared to their old games.

Troll Zone ->

<- Sony Spin Zone

wow 4 discs, geez, good thing sony put in blu-ray, cause in a year or two i think they will need it, since we dont want to be seeing 6 or 7 game disc games.

the "so-so story" comment has me concerned.

i mean, it's an *RPG. rpgs *ARE THE STORY. if the story falls apart, or isn't compelling, then there's NO REASON to play the RPG, no matter how competent the other areas of the story are.

for example, i worked at Square-Enix a few years back, localization testing Grandia 3 for the PS2. Grandia 3 has a *GREAT battle system, and getting into combat was more enjoyable than irritating, because it was *FUN. on the flip side, the *STORY for Grandia 3 is one of the most trite, cliched, and hackneyed "anime" stories out there. i mean, how many times must we go through the tale of an idealistic young man who dreams of something more, only to embark on a world-saving quest after meeting a mysterious (and mystical!) girl? *ENOUGH ALREADY!

anyway, the multi-disc issue just isn't important enough of a talking point anymore, because the 360 is what it is, and we will have to deal with it. the traditional battle system doesn't bother me, because i've been playing RPGs for a long time, and i'm used to it.

but i'm passing up on this game because of the lack of an interesting story.

i'd choose Eternal Sonata, or even Blue Dragon over Lost Odyssey anyway.

oh well, i guess there's always Infinite Undiscovery, and i'll probably pick up Last Remnant on my PS3.

it's not the end of the world, guys. why does this thread have so many comments, primarily trolling?

20-30 second load times for random encounters? 2 min load time for entering a new area? Did i hear this guy correct? If so that SUCKS!!!

35-50 hours of gameplay??? Hell, I got that much from ONE DVD9 with Bioshock and Mass Effect. With Oblivion...only 7.9 Gigs on a DVD9...I logged well over 200 hours.

This is precisely why MS will be fine with DVD9 for the next 3-5 years. The only devs that truly REQUIRE more space, are the wannabe film directors/game devs from Japan, like Squenix, Konami, and now Mist Walker. MGS4, just like the last 3 games, will be 80% cutscenes, and 20% last-gen gameplay with better graphics.

Ahahahahahah Xbots completly overhyped this crap game, with the hope of a killer of FFXIII....what a pathetic situation!!!!!the game sucks big time your baboons!!!! FFXIII RULES!!!!!

and the majority of other reviewers either hate JRPGs or turn-based combat. Just listening to his words describing this game made me feel like he was trying to downplay it.

If I had a 360 this would be a musthave for me. I never like ARPGs and found them to be mind-numbingly dumb. (except ME)

JRPGs rule and im glad that it came out on 360, but its not gonna sale.
And it flopped in Japan already ftl.

but don't you guys think that games like GTA or any FPS/Fighter/Racer (you know games that really cannot be split into pieces without damaging the enjoyment) will start to suffer from the limitations of DVD somewhere down the line? I mean this generation just started right?

I don't understand why people are so Blu-Ray-arsed they can't exept anything multidisc. Sure 4DVDs makes me chuckle but it seems that people really don't concentrate on the real problem that DVD poses to these nextgen-HD-games. They aren't RPGs that DVD limits first...

I enjoy my BD-films and games and I suppose you could call me a ps3 fanboy. I still don't like to see people make so much noise over nothing.

The reason I don't like DVD in games nowdays (in the HD era) is that due to X360s big install base the multiplat-games are going to be watered down to fit on a single DVD for quite a while. Think about GTA4 for example. How much do you think there is room to expand for GTA5? None perhaps? I don't think a game like GTA can be split into pieces and according to the developers they already had problems with GTA San Andreas to fit on a DVD.

To some extent DVD means little to no progress in tecnical level of some games (graphics,physics,etc) for as long as the x360 exists if games are made multiplat. This is a picture I don't like.

I havent read most of the comments, just the ones at the top but from what i can see...Sony fanboys are idiots...why does it matter if there are 4 discs? one dude put it nicely saying you dont have to change untill like 10 hours of gameplay lol..
blu gay discs have got to your head...go play a good exclusive..oh wait..sorry, i forgot :(

With All their money, resources and most importantly studios. Hell they even have Xbox publishing to have another studio to do it. Sometimes these things are hard for MS so they need to start with remasters first.

I don't even know if they're capable of doing that considering he's been talking about these franchises for 10 yrs now.

Regardless we all know it won't happen.

I remember when these games came out. Great games but unfortunately that’s what happened having Microsoft as a publisher. They didn’t meet the sales expectations and Hironobu Sakaguchi said he wasn’t interested in a sequel. That was around 18 years ago. Can’t believe it’s been that long already.

Xbox always been a hard sale in the east. Xbox broke 2.35 million sales in Japan in 20 years by 2022. With over half that being the 360 (1.6+ million).

That being said, “IF” Microsoft did get it to happen, they would benefit greatly if it was launched same day for PS5/PS6 and Nintendo Switch 2.

And I'm the King of England...

Nobody asked him about the layoffs?

Lost Odyssey for sure deserves the remastered treatment. Out of everything that has seen a remastered re-release, it's criminal this hasn't been one of them.

Honestly I’m tired of hearing about Phil. Isn’t It Sarah Bond that’s directly running Xbox? The guy needs to step aside and let her take center stage. It’s nice wishful thinking on his part.

I dont believe him

Add Perfect Dark, Fable, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata, Conker, Jet Set Radio, and MechWarrior as well.

I've already assumed I'll never see these games ever again as bad as Phil manages anything.

ok?

thats not up to him tho.

whoever has ownership over toriyamas designs, is very picky about lending their style to others. so not up to spencer.

Switch 2 edition please!

We just want to see Phil Spencer gone rather than his silly comments.

After layoff he wants more

would love lost Odyssey!!!

So much BS comes out of Phil Spencer. All he ever does is look at past XBox games and make wild promises about them being the future. Phantom Dust, Perfect Dark, Crackdown - how did all those revivals go? Not that he is any better with new games he promotes such as Fable Legends, Scalebound, and Everwild.

He wants to see them revived only to have them canceled during mid-development (i.e. Phantom Dust, Perfect Dark, etc.)

Xbox fans want to see the revival of Xbox.

Slow down big guy……you couldn’t even revive Perfect Dark without killing it. Keep on throwing them bread crumbs out.

this guys just says what he wants at this point

Get these games remastered and bring them to PS5. That's a platform that actually cares about Japanese games.

Indeed. He would love start funding them, release a hype trailer, then cancel the games, and promising that these games being canceled is good for the Xbox ecosystem. 😂

We've seen how Phil Spencer operates. He's done nothing but fail since 2014, I have no faith in anything he says.

I never got to see Lost Odyssey, and I heard it was a fantastic game. As a lover of that genre, I hope I get to see it released on modern consoles at a fair price, I would definitely give it a shot.

Lost Odssey was a fantastic game, still one my favourite JRPGs outside Final Fantsy

Sony really should have got these guys once Ken Kutaragi left the company

They had beef with him and honestly I think if they came to Sony afterwards they’d have found a huge success on the PS4 and then PS5 rather than doing mobile shit

Amen! Much better than FF13.

There was a time that xbox actually published numerous exclusive games....it's been two generations since that time unfortunately...

During Xbox days, I almost "jump in" for this game! I hope they remake this and release it on other platforms as well.

Needs a remaster

I just started lost odyssey and loving the deep story and flashbacks.

It baffles me that this hasn't been made available on Steam.

If any game deserves a re-release with a glow up it's this one.

This, and Chrono Trigger 2DHD.

It's also one of the only

Loved this. I searched for sequel info for ages

Why Microsoft didnt make this a long running series is beyond me, great game for sure.

They sleep on it

It got to grindy towards the end IMO, I remember having to grind extensively to keep my guys high enough level for some of the later fights. But everything else about this game was awesome.

I wish Microsoft invested more in Mystwalker (?) and integrated them into their first party roster. These guys really made great games and gave the Xbox a JRPG studio with mad potential.

I know the game is great but it doesn't stand out. Nobody except journos bring it up.

It could do with a remaster or remake.

That would bring it back to the forefront. MS could make it happen if they cared.

Cant wait to play it on ps5 asap

The golden era of Xbox. The absolute best when the likes of this, Gears was a new IP, viva pinita, Forza, Project Gotham, Kameo, PDZ, Crackdown.