Support NeoGAF

[BobM]

I don't think they should be considered as clones, but they are definitely aimed at the same markets as their would be "originals".
Sakaguchi himself said that Lost Odyssey would have been what FFXI (or XII, whatever) would have been had he still worked on the series, that as much a confirmation as we'll ever get. LO is really a lot like FFX in many senses.
Besides Toriyama's (obviously) art and lighthearted universe, I wouldn't say that BD and DQ are that close (didn't play much DQs though, only a few hours of DQ8) though.

yeah, that makes sense. maybe thats why this game really clicks wiht me. my first exposure to jrpgs was FFX (hey i'm only 24 and was poor as a kid) ans i immedietely fell in love. LO feel like a natural evolution for the genre in that as i have grown up, i feel the genre (in LO anyways) grew up with me. AND no wierd laughing scenes!


I played thorugh about 3/4 of DQ (then i got a 360 and got distracted...i am ashamed...) I really loved the game, but the only thing that i think was remotely similar was the art style ( as you mentioned)

The Battle system was very different, and the story was different as well.

My main problem with game right now is save system. To much in-between save points. Add in the effect of of my 360 having disc read errors/me working, it's hard to get stuff done.

as much as I love LO, i have to agree. i work FT and sometimes only have an hour or 2 two play video games before i start to get tired. I HATE spending 30 min/hour whatever in a dungeon only to die in some battle and lose the entire hour. it really sucks.

 

[John Harker]

I'm confused about the timeline here. I only just completed the Mansion, so don't ruin anything for me, but

Spoiler

I'm not sure I'm placing events correctly. Several times in the game, particularly in the Dreams sequences, they always allude to things happening like centuries ago, but I can't see how that fits. They are only 1000 years old. Sarah's description says after several centuries of solitude, she meets Kaim. They couldn't have been separated more than 25 years or so. That's as old as Lirum could have been, guessing she was maybe 5-7 when she fell off the cliff. But then again, the Innkeeper of that village I just came from was 7 when they last lived there, and now he's in his 60s. So how do those three things match up? That's like a 40 year discrepancy. Also, Seth's only flashback so far said she was a pirate for hundreds of years before being captured. But she travelled with Aneria for 900 years? That's out of sync too. Why did Seth say she only met the Queen 200 years ago, but they were suppose to have met again on their 1000th year there which I presume was right around Lirum dying, ~25 years ago? Plus I thought they 'came her together 1000 years ago. I don't know, I know I'm missing pieces, but it doesnt add up continuity-wise

 

[darkjacob]

Actually the battle mechanics themselves are good enough. It's just the presentation of the battles that is god awful, mainly because of the super sluggish speed. Was Higuchi responsible for coding the battles or did he just design the system? I thought feelplus may have been to blame at first.

It's just a shame because the rest of the game is executed so nicely.

Argeed completely, the battle speed is awful. Right now it's not irking me as much as it did when i started, but it's still annoyingly slow.

It's almost as bad as skies of arcadia, but at least this dosen't have the constant random encounters every 3 seconds, like that game does.

 

[Skilletor]

I don't know, the psx ffs may have been this slow(though I doubt it was quite as slow), but at least with the ATB system they allowed the player's strategic input every few seconds. I think a system like Lost Odyssey's where all commands are input at the beginning of the turn demands a much faster battle engine than this.

The thing I hate about the input everything all at once thing is that you can't target dead characters with healilng items. This means that I can't have Seth use an Angel Plume and revive a character and then have another character use a healing item on them in the same turn. It was really annoying in the battle in Crimson Forest where the boss kept targeting my back row.

But then, I guess that's not really anything to do with how you input commands...lol. Still, it's annoying.

 

[IJoel]

The

Spoiler

Temple of Enlightenment

(sidequest location) is truly an evil evil design. I got lost so many times...

I started with my immortals at around level 50, and they are now level 81. At least I managed to complete it.

 

[Phthisis]

Disc 4 spoilers:

Spoiler

Jansen: Don't mind him, I don't think he was breast-fed :lol

I also liked defending Numara from the Arthrosaurus attack.

 

[Blimblim]

Am I the only one here unimpressed with the graphics?

Sure, the game looks nice, but in comparison to Blue Dragon, the game is a visual failure. Yes, I actually said that. Unreal Engine 3 is to blame.

I just got to Numara and even Numara looks bland and dead. The only place that I remember admiring the visuals at all was when I made it to the Ipsilon Mountains. The game looked nice up there, but outside of that, Blue Dragon takes Lost Odyssey, beats it down, and kicks sand in its face in terms of technology.

I agree more or less. Blue Dragon was way more consistent in terms of graphics throughout the game, but it suffered a lot much in terms of framerate.
Like I said before, when they seemingly weren't fighting UE3 to get it to display stuff it's not been designed to do (mostly very bright high contrast places) LO looked very very good. Some of the later dungeons are quite stunning.

 

[MCD]

quick question:

i am on the 2nd disc now and i wanna know if it is possible to return to Numara and the crimson forest any time at this disc? i missed something there (fragment crystals) and i want to make sure i can get back to it.

anyone?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I got my 500 perfect achievement!!

*moonwalks*

And, er, is there something I should be doing at Numara Attoll aside from getting into pointless skirmishes with Silver fucking Keleons?

 

[probune]

Am I the only one here unimpressed with the graphics?

Sure, the game looks nice, but in comparison to Blue Dragon, the game is a visual failure. Yes, I actually said that. Unreal Engine 3 is to blame.

I just got to Numara and even Numara looks bland and dead. The only place that I remember admiring the visuals at all was when I made it to the Ipsilon Mountains. The game looked nice up there, but outside of that, Blue Dragon takes Lost Odyssey, beats it down, and kicks sand in its face in terms of technology.

Blue Dragon looks roughly the same as Dragon Quest 8, imo, besides the overdone depth of field effects. It's still awesome because of the Toriyama art, though.

That's not to say that Lost Odyssey looks particularly good. It's technically pretty nice but design wise most characters are pretty hideous especially Ming's ridiculous outfit and Cooke's prostitute clothes.

 

[Nemesis_]

So where do I go to advance the story after I start Disc 4? I wanna do that first and then I'll move on to the sidequests before confronting the final boss.

And quickly, do I get a warning before I confront the OMFG FINAL BOSS MEGATONNERRR or something? =)

 

[MCD]

Blue Dragon looks roughly the same as Dragon Quest 8, imo, besides the overdone depth of field effects. It's still awesome because of the Toriyama art, though.

That's not to say that Lost Odyssey looks particularly good. It's technically pretty nice but design wise most characters are pretty hideous especially Ming's ridiculous outfit and Cooke's prostitute clothes.

cooke is but a child...sigh.

and no, they are not hideous, the children have like, the cutest face in any UE3 game to date lol.

 

[Phthisis]

So where do I go to advance the story after I start Disc 4? I wanna do that first and then I'll move on to the sidequests before confronting the final boss.

And quickly, do I get a warning before I confront the OMFG FINAL BOSS MEGATONNERRR or something? =)

There's an underwater cave on the right side of the map that takes you to some Eastern Tribe ruins. Go there.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

There's an underwater cave on the right side of the map that takes you to some Eastern Tribe ruins. Go there.

Now, I've done that. What do I do now...?

 

[Phthisis]

Now, I've done that. What do I do now...?

I'm sure you

Spoiler

go to Grand Staff with the Nautilus

, but I headed to

Spoiler

Numara and got a pretty cool minigame/sidequest.

Just make sure you're leveled enough (mid 40s should be okay) if you decide to do that.

EDIT- By the way, anyone think the ship is called the Nautilus in honor of most of the game designers' former studio, Nautilus Software?

 

[BlackTyrano]

I just fired the game up again and the space between animations isn't really as bad as I was thinking, it's just that monsters sometimes have overly long walk animations along with all the pre-casting and pre-attacking animation that slows it down. Cut down on those more and lower load times quite a bit and it would've been pretty fast paced. The pre-battle load and win animation+post-battle load are just way too long though.

Anyway, I'm at disc 4 now trying to find all the new locations on the world map

Spoiler

after getting the white boa

, seems like a lot of stuff opens up here.

 

[probune]

I'm sure you

Spoiler

go to Grand Staff with the Nautilus

, but I headed to

Spoiler

Numara and got a pretty cool minigame/sidequest.

Just make sure you're leveled enough (mid 40s should be okay) if you decide to do that.

Going to

Spoiler

Numara

is not a sidequest. You need to do it

Spoiler

to get the White Boa because there's ice around Crater Island.

 

[Phthisis]

Going to

Spoiler

Numara

is not a sidequest. You need to do it

Spoiler

to get the White Boa because there's ice around Crater Island.

Shows what I know.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Almost done with Disc 3. When do i reach the part with the optional bosses that unlock achievemnts. Hope i didnt miss anything big...

Which reminds me, i missed like 6 early dreams. I wish i noticed sooner. Are there any dreams i simply cant go back and unlock?

 

[neonvision]

Anyone find it interesting how the battles load starting at disc 3? Looks like they got rid of the environment panning before the first character loads and spews their one-liner. Now it just seems like a longer inital sequence that goes right to the character.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Anyone find it interesting how the battles load starting at disc 3? Looks like they got rid of the environment panning before the first character loads and spews their one-liner. Now it just seems like a longer inital sequence that goes right to the character.

I noticed that too.

Does it go back to normal in Disc 4?

 

[MCD]

a jump button? in a ship? :lol

 

[Blimblim]

Almost done with Disc 3. When do i reach the part with the optional bosses that unlock achievemnts. Hope i didnt miss anything big...

Which reminds me, i missed like 6 early dreams. I wish i noticed sooner. Are there any dreams i simply cant go back and unlock?

You can't miss a dream.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

You can't miss a dream.

So they are always available to get later?

Thank God. I was suprised at how good they are.

 

[Orodreth]

I'm confused about the timeline here. I only just completed the Mansion, so don't ruin anything for me, but

Spoiler

I'm not sure I'm placing events correctly. Several times in the game, particularly in the Dreams sequences, they always allude to things happening like centuries ago, but I can't see how that fits. They are only 1000 years old. Sarah's description says after several centuries of solitude, she meets Kaim. They couldn't have been separated more than 25 years or so. That's as old as Lirum could have been, guessing she was maybe 5-7 when she fell off the cliff. But then again, the Innkeeper of that village I just came from was 7 when they last lived there, and now he's in his 60s. So how do those three things match up? That's like a 40 year discrepancy. Also, Seth's only flashback so far said she was a pirate for hundreds of years before being captured. But she travelled with Aneria for 900 years? That's out of sync too. Why did Seth say she only met the Queen 200 years ago, but they were suppose to have met again on their 1000th year there which I presume was right around Lirum dying, ~25 years ago? Plus I thought they 'came her together 1000 years ago. I don't know, I know I'm missing pieces, but it doesnt add up continuity-wise

Spoiler

Seth met Ming by coincidence. They didnt remember each other.

Kaim saved the Tosca town from an invasion (i think thats related to grandma Coto Bread dream) and thats when the innkeeper was 7 (whic could be 50 years ago). I suppose Sarah and Kaim met then or maybe previously and went on to live in the mansion and after some years the gave birth Lirum, who could have lived for around 30 years.

There´s another part to Seth ´s dreams that explains some things and at the end of disc 2 you´ll know some more

Blue Dragon looks roughly the same as Dragon Quest 8, imo, besides the overdone depth of field effects. It's still awesome because of the Toriyama art, though.

That's not to say that Lost Odyssey looks particularly good. It's technically pretty nice but design wise most characters are pretty hideous especially Ming's ridiculous outfit and Cooke's prostitute clothes.

I agree regarding Ming design being strange to say the least but the rest are very nice. And Cooke and Mack are just children in traditional festival kind of costumes. I dont think they are bad even if pompous.

 

[probune]

I agree regarding Ming design being strange to say the least but the rest are very nice. And Cooke and Mack are just children in traditional festival kind of costumes. I dont think they are bad even if pompous.

I don't know, the only character design I really like is Seth. Kaim's not really bad but I think he looks a bit skinny for someone who's been a mercenary fighting battles for a thousand years and the rest are either boring or just terrible.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

The only thing i really liked about any of the characters is Ming's Purple eyes. And we all know how that goes.

 

[AgentOtaku]

So I started replaying Blue Dragon again as I never finished it and my son absolutely loves watching it ....though I have to play it with english dub unfortunately :lol .....its not to bad though...no worse than your average Anime really


anyway, boy oh boy, I forgot how "fast-paced" BD is in comparision to Lost Odyssey. From battle transitions to overall loading

Unreal Engine 3 is really to blame and I still stand beside the idea that I wish they hadn't used it for lost Odyssey

I suppose they couldn't have use BD's either, maybe due to assets or something, but still.....

The overall feel of the game seems like it was alotta the time designed around (and limited by) the fact it was on UE3. From the veeery deliberate pace of the battles, to the the idea that, more than likely, the developers would rather have the extra loading, than rather the ugliness of the engine streaming in textures ala Mass Effect, Gears of War, Turok, etc...

Blue Dragon's engine (is it in-house?), despite it's chugging framerate at times, is really freaking excellent and truly does Toriyama's art justice....
It seems like a solid piece of code, that with some more polish and further engineering, could really have a place in next-gen jRPGs ....I mean, I hope at least they reuse it for Blue Dragon2

oh and I really hope people go back and replay (or get around to playing) Blue Dragon again and see just how excellent it really is

 

[Orodreth]

I don't know, the only character design I really like is Seth. Kaim's not really bad but I think he looks a bit skinny for someone who's been a mercenary fighting battles for a thousand years and the rest are either boring or just terrible.

Agree on Seth being the best above all. Its not only a pretty design but it fits a lot with her character.

I like Kaim´s too and because of being a mercenary for so long doesnt mean he has to look like a muscle mountain. And being skinny also fits his character, i think it describes him as lonely, distant, moving constantly, and more than extremely strong being skillfull and deadly. Kind of like a wanderer.

And Jansen´s, i love his costumes. I think they look a lot like traditional clothing (look at the colors, the shoes and socks) and the necklace/scarf and the colors make him look what he is, a scoundrel, a medieval Han Solo.

Sarah is a bit more generic. Tolten looks ok and from what i have seen about Sed, he looks nice except for the trousers with that fire motive which are out of place.

edit: i have to get back to Blue Dragon. I barely played because of work and my asian 360 dying.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I don't know, the only character design I really like is Seth. Kaim's not really bad but I think he looks a bit skinny for someone who's been a mercenary fighting battles for a thousand years and the rest are either boring or just terrible.

really?

shit I think the saving grace, visually for Lost Odyssey, is its outstanding art direction....Ming and Nomura aside

it certainly carries UE3's ass

 

[Aaronology]

I've steered clear of reviews for LO up until now but I just randomly stumbled upon IGN AU's writeup for the game. One statement stood out after a cursory scan of it. Patrick Kolan remarks that while the voice acting is ok, "...the score is forgettable."

As someone who's found the game's soundtrack outstanding, that made me... cry. ='[

 

[AgentOtaku]

I've steered clear of reviews for LO up until now but I just randomly stumbled upon IGN AU's writeup for the game. One statement stood out after a cursory scan of it. Patrick Kolan remarks that while the voice acting is ok, "...the score is forgettable."

As someone who's found the game's soundtrack outstanding, that made me... cry. ='[

yep...dude's a moron....even my wife loves the music and is constantly humming the battletheme :lol

 

[MCD]

I like Tolten, he looks like a prince and he have good skills, what more could i want?

also, BD might look better but it's usually with BARREN WASTELANDS and REPETITIVE DUNGEON CORRIDORS, next gen total.

not to mention the BAD BAD BAD OPTIMIZATION compared to LO.

 

[Nemesis_]

Errr, I have a spell that turns someone into Kelolon. I read about such a status effect - why on earth would ANYONE want that status effect used on them?

Furthermore, I'm missing a few spells.

(All values are from the left)
1.) Second Level 6 White
2.) Third Level 5 Black
3.) Third Level 3 Spirit

Have I missed these? I'm at the Tribal Ruins in Disc 4 >_>

 

[Orodreth]

Errr, I have a spell that turns someone into Kelolon. I read about such a status effect - why on earth would ANYONE want that status effect used on them?

It can be casted by enemies on your party members so you can use it to revert/cure them from the effects.

I´m not sure if you can cast it also on enemies. that, like mini or frog, would make them very weak if succesfull.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/special/20080222/1007372/

MS H&E Japan's head says he is happy with 100K Japan sales of LO and says they would grow the series on a long term, meaning sequels.

 

[harSon]

http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/special/20080222/1007372/

MS H&E Japan's head says he is happy with 100K Japan sales of LO and says they would grow the series on a long term, meaning sequels.

Yes.

 

[Durante]

MS H&E Japan's head says he is happy with 100K Japan sales of LO and says they would grow the series on a long term, meaning sequels.

I don't believe he's all that happy with the sales, but I fully support MS continuing to funnel money into funding projects like LO.

 

[Kill Your Masters]

Nice. Mistwalker just got started. BD was good, LO was great, cant wait to see more in the future.

 

[harSon]

Hopefully North American Lost Odyssey sales are solid.

 

[Princess Skittles]

Hopefully North American Lost Odyssey sales are solid.

100k (?) first month if I recall.

 

[FateBreaker]

100k (?) first month if I recall.

Well, according to the forbidden "source", it sold 101k its first four days.

 

[Princess Skittles]

Well, according to the forbidden "source", it sold 101k its first four days.

Even better!

 

[siamesedreamer]

Black Cave...ugh. Could've done without that.

 

[Barrett2]

Black Cave...ugh. Could've done without that.

I finished that area last night. Certain sections of this game irritate me; that was definitely one of them.

Out of curiosty, I just began disc 4; how many hours until I finish? I am ready for the game to be over..

 

[clashfan]

Well, according to the forbidden "source", it sold 101k its first four days.

Is that US numbers? If yes, then it sounds pretty good considering it was sold out in alot of places.

 

[widgetraf]

I just got the

Spoiler

Nautilus

, any side quests I can do?

 

[MCD]

I don't believe he's all that happy with the sales, but I fully support MS continuing to funnel money into funding projects like LO.

i support this post.

 

[MCD]

if anyone is having crashing or DRE, try clearing the cache:

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/11131/Xbox-360-Cache-Clear-Code-Revealed/

it helped with a friend of mine, i have yet to encounter any though.

 

[whatdidyousay]

I'm absolutely slammed here at work and had a quick daydream about casting Grounda on my task list. Seriously.

On a side note, I think some of the spell animations are gorgeous, like the hexagonal one for All Barricade or All Shield or whatever. Nice use of color there!