As if we needed more proof the devs behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are the right kind of JRPG sickos, they're full of appreciation for the underrated Xbox 360 gem Lost Odyssey. Guillaume Broche, the creative director of Sandfall Interactive, believes it represents what's a rare MO in terms of design and execution, and it truly left a mark on him.
"For me, Lost Odyssey was the last grand turn-based RPG adventure with realistic graphics," he explains to Eurogamer. "Its themes were very heavy and very well-handled – it's the last game that made me cry."
Bold words, but you'd expect as much from Final Fantasy icon Hironobu Sakaguchi, who co-wrote Lost Odyssey with Kiyoshi Shigematsu. Sakaguchi actually founded the game's studio, Mistwalker, in the mid-2000s, after leaving Square Enix due to creative frustrations.
Well-crafted and ambitious though it is, dealing with immortals and combining magic and technology in a world burgeoning on war, the fantasy-adventure struggled to tap into the same massive audience as Final Fantasy. Action RPGs were becoming more in vogue – Oblivion came out the year before, Mass Effect and BioShock debuted in 2007 – and exclusivity across the aisle at Microsoft might not have been the right fit, looking back.
"It became a cult classic because few people played it, as it was available only on Xbox 360 while its core audience was probably more used to PlayStation consoles," Broche muses. "But that core audience who did play it loved it. The critical reception at the time was very unfair in my opinion, as the game was criticized for being 'old school' at a time where it felt like every game that was not an open-world was viewed as 'old school' by the western press."
He's probably onto something there. Outside role-playing games, sandboxes were becoming increasingly popular, as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and more hit series utilized a more open structure ala Grand Theft Auto. Broche maintains Lost Odyssey is a release that deserves more flowers.
"Its linear structure, coupled with a world map, an amazing story, and fantastic music, made it one of the best games of its kind," he finishes. Sadly, Lost Odyssey remains relegated to the Xbox 360, but maybe the 20th anniversary could yield some form of re-release. People are definitely more ready for what it has to offer now than they were back then.
