After getting a first hand look at Blue Dragon, we were informed that we'd also get the first look at the US version of Lost Odyssey. As we've noted, Lost Odyssey will launch worldwide this holiday. We were treated to a brief video of the game in action. The section we saw was still a work in progress and some glitches were evident, but it showed promise. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any gameplay; Sakaguchi told us we'd have to come to Japan for that.
The video began with a nice CG intro and then featured a real time cut scene. The intro ends where the Japanese demo left off. The game's hero arrives in a vibrant town by train. Sure, it was CG, but the artistry of every detail really stood out. The real time cut scene involved what looked like a drunken samurai and some nubile triplets. Everyone loves nubile triplets. Running on the Unreal Engine 3, the character models look nice (and only mostly androgynous).
In an interesting twist, Lost Odyssey will exclusively feature English voice overs in all regions. In Japan, for example, Lost Odyssey will feature Japanese subtitles. In fact, Japanese voice overs won't even be an option -- something that will strike fear into the hearts of RPG fans. Hopefully, the English actors will deliver.
Though we didn't get to see combat, we were informed that Lost Odyssey will feature real time elements. These elements sounded strategical in nature, and Sakaguchi mentioned the concept of rearguards who use magic from a distance, and front lines soldiers that protect the rearguard from the onslaught. We'll just have to wait and see.
Right now, we can't make many judgments on the game, as we really didn't see any actual gameplay. What we did see was very pretty, though. The music was fully orchestrated and well produced, the characters looked good, and the environments were appropriately fantastic. With both Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey both coming in 2007 (not to mention Mass Effect), RPG fans have a lot to be excited about.
