Ugh i hate fetch quests ¬¬'

This Re-Review is coming in a little late. About a year late. Anyways! Install the game to your hardrive now, and load times are almost gone. I also did this with Blue Dragon, and it had the same effect. It may be the most noticeable load time reduction of any game since being given the ability to install games to the hard drive. The longest load time I have had to wait for was like 4 sec. tops. On to my next pointer. There are times in this game, that you will have to power level your team like a motha (bleeper). Unfortunately, your first go at this will be very early in the game, and that kind of stinks, because you never really get going in the story when this happens so it kind of puts the brakes on. There is a point where you will be on cruise control for awhile and then it happens again. Your at level 50 but need to be at 55 at least to beat a certain mini boss. Kiss 3-4 hours goodbye. The only other gripe, is that experience points come in small doses and the tougher enemies don't always translate into more experience, so if your like me, you will take the easy road and fight the same weakling over and over again until it's level time. I will say this. Early on, each level makes dramatic differences in the strength of your attacks. Sometimes all it takes is one level and you can inch past an end boss. The more I played the more I realized how intentional this sort of system is. I can understand why people will be turned off by this title. Think gears of war + FF = Lost Odyssey. You can feel the influences of both Microsoft and the Former FF creator here. It's not perfect, but it's still pays the ultimate homage to old school RPG's. I love it, and give it 8.5 out of 10

Having played Lost Odyssey quite a bit I can certainly understand your criticisms. There are many instances in the game where the pace comes to a grinding halt and you are forced into some of the poorly constructed adventure or puzzle elements you mentioned, or you are treated to a long barrage of cut scenes. Disc 3 in particular is probably one of the greatest insults I've had to sit through in quite some time. There must have been 11 or 12 cut scenes in a row. I actually thought the story was interesting until about this point, when I started skipping them. Cooke and Mack nearly spoil the game all by themselves (third-rate Palom/Porom knock-off brats that get more and more grating as the game goes on).

The constant maintenance is a plus and a minus. On the one hand, it's a great way to keep yourself busy if you're a bit of an OCD completionist like I am. On the other, I find myself tinkering in the menu nearly after EVERY single battle. If I was a casual RPG gamer I'd be really annoyed.

I will say that the "dreams" you can unlock may be the one of the best parts about the whole game. I understand that they are passive experiences and you actually have to *gasp* read but that's the point. The fact that you are reading as opposed to watching something forces you to imagine the story in your head. They are all well-written and each very emotionally touching. A few almost made me cry. If you don't like them you're note forced to read them.

In short: you need lots of patience to play this game, but if you delve in deep enough, you'll find a lot to reward you. I'd give it a 6.5/10 (on the "7-10" review scale that most sites use, not sure if this one does, it'd be a 7.5 or maybe an 8 out of 10).

I am a loyal GamesRadar reader and community member, however I have to say that I disagree with this review. After hearing more good than bad about this game, I decided to pick it up. I don't question the credibility of the reviewer, but I do feel this review over-exaggerated negatively at points. Having played the game, the load times aren't nearly as unbearable (at least for me, I did not download the game to my hard drive and there has not been any frustratingly long loading times). As stated in the review, the combat is classic turn-based format with some twists that keep it from becoming monotonous, and some points in the game call for more strategy in your fights. Not once though, has the combat system felt too complex. Another point touched on is the stop and go of ring-creation/skill management. While I admit, going through the skill management pretty often is minor inconvenience, it's not something that you would spend 5 minutes every time doing, and it adds perks that benefit combat. It may be a little too much management, but nothing so extensive to the point that it is agitating. As for ring formation, its' not something you need to keep going back to like the skill management, and not going back to it doesn't effect your game drastically. Every say 5+ hours of gameplay I'll stop (usually when in a town) to make some rings out of the materials collected over time, and I'll be all set for the next part of the journey. Ring formation (especially when you start forming special rings out of other rings you own at shops in towns) and ring usage is actually more of a plus than a minus. There is fun strategy in the rings you make and use, but wrong decisions aren't make-or-break which is part of whats great about it.

I wholly agree with the reviewer about the 'dreams' part of the game. When I found that I had missed dreams, I loaded up my old saves just to read the great stories I had missed out on.

Lastly, this game doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. If you are a gamer that is more about intense gameplay over anything else, then perhaps you might not enjoy Lost Odyssey to it's fullest (even with it's nice combat). However, this game is beautiful to look at graphics wise, has a great soundtrack, and an absolutely incredible story. The long cut-scenes aren't as annoying as much as enjoyable because it is all part of the atmosphere. Lost Odyssey truly is a great story with a great plot, and the dreams, cut-scenes ,and even the combat, are all the more enjoyable as you become engaged in the Lost Odyssey universe.
My verdict (for what it's worth) 8.5/10

P.s. Sorry this was a bit long-winded, and I apologize for any mistakes or parts that might be hard to understand.

**Great side-boob** :)

I have to say I love this game and hope that they get a sequel coming. I think load times need to be faster and it needs to be less like a movie but otherwise I love this game.