Ever since Final Fantasy VII came out, the series has pretty much dominated the JRPG landscape. Every game in the genre was compared to Final Fantasy. That all changed when Lost Odyssey released.
Developed by Mistwalker and Feelplus, the core development team prominently featured ex-Final Fantasy developers. The end product shows this in the best possible way. Lost Odyssey could be considered a spiritual cousin to FF, but brings the franchise back to the roots that made it famous: Brilliantly executed turn-based combat with a unique twist and a masterfully told story through the eyes of some amazing characters.
Lost Odyssey’s Success
And succeed it did. The game lived up to the hype. It brought players into a deep world coming to grips with magic, as well as one going through its own industrial revolution. Players control Kaim Argonar, caught in a war between nations, a pawn with no memory of his history. With that as the start-off point, players delve deep into the ongoing war’s cause, only to find Kaim and his cohorts delving deeper into a web of conspiracies. Kaim finds more immortals like himself left with no memory of their past, aside from the few years previous.
Given that Lost Odyssey managed to give the Final Fantasy franchise a run for its money in terms of critically and commercial JRPG success, it’s a shame that we’ve yet to hear much about a potential sequel. With the ending as is, there’s plenty of room left for Mistwalker and Feelplus to develop from. It wouldn’t even be too hard. Many of the core gameplay aspects – such as the battle system, world, and some core characters – are already there. It’s just a shame that Mistwalker and Feelplus don’t plan on delivering for the fans, myself included, any time soon.