Normally by this point in any JRPG's life, we would simply be rushing to the final dungeon to beat the crap out of the main boss. All the secrets of a game are usually out in the open by now, and there will be no more surprises left for your over-powered characters. Thankfully that isn't the case with Lost Odyssey.
The start of Disc 4 greeted me with a refreshing scenario that I haven't really seen much of since I played Final Fantasy 6. This same scenario was also put in use in Disk 3. It shows that the game highlights every single character.
Visually, the start of Disc 4 looks like a scene from Gears of War. The regular monsters became even more challenging, and my party gets beaten up like crazy. I prevail until I get to the boss of that area. And wow... it's been such a long time since I actually used a lot of the items on my inventory during a turn-based RPG fight. I am not kidding. In most JRPGs, once I get leveled up characters, I don't bother opening my inventory anymore since most of the time my party is strong enough to deal with anything. But when I got to that boss, the Ancient Fiend...Good Lord! After losing twice in a row (and both battles were lengthy, yet enjoyable affairs), I did manage to beat this boss by playing defensively and using a good portion of my item inventory.
What an amazing boss fight! So much better than the early ones in the game. After this boss fight, I thought I'd be ready to go beat the crap out of the final boss. But lo and behold, a new boss arrives but this time with another interesting twist that will require a lot more strategy on my part compared to the previous one I just beat! While I haven't cleared off that area yet since it's getting late and I do need sleep, I have this feeling of elation seeing that particular scenario! I can't wait to play it again tomorrow and hopefully in my dreams I can actually formulate a good enough strategy to beat it.
I would also like to add that in Lost Odyssey, true exploration begins by Disk 4. By this point the Treasure Hunt and the Royal Seal quests are available. Judging from the achievement list, there are quite a few optional bosses in the game. And its not only the Kelolon from Blue Dragon which makes a cameo appearance, but also the Blue Dragon itself, this time as an optional boss.
Another incentive for the side quests are the nice bonus items you can get. These are weapons that can't be bought in stores but have very impressive properties. I imagine, you'll need them in order to face the optional bosses. Also, I have yet to complete the Thousand Years of Dreams stories.
I have no intentions of rushing to the last boss even if he appears in front of me. I want to enjoy this world as much as I can. I can safely say that, for me, Lost Odyssey is the best JRPG that I have played in a very long time. For a jaded JRPG fan, this game is certainly a breath of fresh air.
I do hope that despite the lousy reviews this game is getting, that those who are following the comments we are posting on this blog and are reading the impressions of fellow gamers who have the game right now, would consider other opinions rather than those by paid reviewers.
This game is certainly worth it.
Its certainly longer than Enchanted Arms, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata and Mass Effect. It's length is probably going to be comparable with Oblivion once you choose to do the side quests that are revealed in Disk 4.
So before I go, I would like to leave with you some pictures that we took recently featuring two more characters from the game, Tolten and Sed.
The start of Disc 4 greeted me with a refreshing scenario that I haven't really seen much of since I played Final Fantasy 6. This same scenario was also put in use in Disk 3. It shows that the game highlights every single character.
Visually, the start of Disc 4 looks like a scene from Gears of War. The regular monsters became even more challenging, and my party gets beaten up like crazy. I prevail until I get to the boss of that area. And wow... it's been such a long time since I actually used a lot of the items on my inventory during a turn-based RPG fight. I am not kidding. In most JRPGs, once I get leveled up characters, I don't bother opening my inventory anymore since most of the time my party is strong enough to deal with anything. But when I got to that boss, the Ancient Fiend...Good Lord! After losing twice in a row (and both battles were lengthy, yet enjoyable affairs), I did manage to beat this boss by playing defensively and using a good portion of my item inventory.
What an amazing boss fight! So much better than the early ones in the game. After this boss fight, I thought I'd be ready to go beat the crap out of the final boss. But lo and behold, a new boss arrives but this time with another interesting twist that will require a lot more strategy on my part compared to the previous one I just beat! While I haven't cleared off that area yet since it's getting late and I do need sleep, I have this feeling of elation seeing that particular scenario! I can't wait to play it again tomorrow and hopefully in my dreams I can actually formulate a good enough strategy to beat it.
I would also like to add that in Lost Odyssey, true exploration begins by Disk 4. By this point the Treasure Hunt and the Royal Seal quests are available. Judging from the achievement list, there are quite a few optional bosses in the game. And its not only the Kelolon from Blue Dragon which makes a cameo appearance, but also the Blue Dragon itself, this time as an optional boss.
Another incentive for the side quests are the nice bonus items you can get. These are weapons that can't be bought in stores but have very impressive properties. I imagine, you'll need them in order to face the optional bosses. Also, I have yet to complete the Thousand Years of Dreams stories.
I have no intentions of rushing to the last boss even if he appears in front of me. I want to enjoy this world as much as I can. I can safely say that, for me, Lost Odyssey is the best JRPG that I have played in a very long time. For a jaded JRPG fan, this game is certainly a breath of fresh air.
I do hope that despite the lousy reviews this game is getting, that those who are following the comments we are posting on this blog and are reading the impressions of fellow gamers who have the game right now, would consider other opinions rather than those by paid reviewers.
This game is certainly worth it.
Its certainly longer than Enchanted Arms, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata and Mass Effect. It's length is probably going to be comparable with Oblivion once you choose to do the side quests that are revealed in Disk 4.
So before I go, I would like to leave with you some pictures that we took recently featuring two more characters from the game, Tolten and Sed.
