Developer: Mistwalker and Feel Plus

Platform: Xbox 360 (click to purchase)

Release date: 2/12/08

Grade: A

Honestly, the souls of most RPG’s are void. Many of us hearken back to the SNES era and think about how well the games, RPG's in particular, simply felt.

You got attached to the characters; you loved learning the little niches of the game; and the story was captivating enough for you to play for hours on end just to find out what happens next.

Yes, there have been a few exceptions to that such as Grandia II, Final Fantasy VII and Skies of Arcadia. But for the most part, it feels as if the RPG genre, the JRPG genre in particular, has been flowing through the motions.

This is why Lost Odyssey is such a breath of fresh air. While it isn’t brand new in terms of concepts, the game happens to have the one thing most RPG's lack today....soul.

The story begins as you follow Kaim Argonar, a man who seems immortal, but has no past. Of course, through this adventure, you will gather his memories and fix the mess he has had a hand in creating. You spend this time coming across other characters that are quite endearing - three other immortals and four mortals - and as the story continues you discover that their paths are interwoven.

You are also given insight into the lives of Kaim and the other immortals by the way of short stories, whose tales are intricately woven with beautiful music and powerful prose.

The ambiance within those short stories extends out into the game play as well. The game is beautiful when creating the world to which it extends. This also goes for the battles, where every accessory and weapon is represented on the characters.

The music is also done extremely well, as each score carries itself majestically into the scene in which it is presented. The sound effects, however, can only be done so much, as many of them are repeated throughout the game. There isn’t much they could change considering the fact that it’s an RPG, but it would have been nice if they could do a bit more to add variety.

The same could be said about the battle system. The old school appeal extends into the battle system, but as such, there isn’t much new. The Judgment ring system adds a bit of action to the standard battle screen, and the way that the immortals gain skills makes for a bit of varied character development, but that is where the buck stops. It doesn’t harm the game as much as one would think, because of the ambiance and feeling that this title has - but there could have been more.

Saving can be a little slow as well, considering that it goes to the screen twice. It is nice at first, but it soon becomes annoying.

These small tiffs aside, this can honestly be called the first great JRPG of this generation. The emotions, voice acting, and beauty within the characters doesn’t leave much to the imagination; and the gravity of the drama in the short stories allows the mind to truly wander within its own zone.

Do yourself a favor; pick this one up for the first truly epic experience of this year.

You can find Adam Thomas at the Gamer Studio, and at Myspace.com/thegamerstudio