Lost Odyssey Strategy Guide Review
Primagames' Guide for Microsoft's JRPG Has a Split Personality
May 7, 2009
Primagames definitely had their work cut out for them when they set out to construct a strategy guide for Microsoft's massive JRPG, Lost Odyssey. In addition to a lengthy story, the game contains many little quests and item hunts for the guide writers to define and detail.
For example, Kaim, the immortal hero of the story, has several dreams to unlock of his past 1000 years. These dreams are triggered by walking into certain areas or talking to specific people, and not all are that obvious to find. In addition, there are invisible chests, treasure-hunting clues, Tolten's Royal Seals to unlock -- both of which are scattered all over the world -- and the Backyard tournaments have secret bonus prizes if players perform certain actions in battle. The guide has to tackle all of this.
In general, the writers did a good job guiding the player through the story, the bosses, the treasure chests, and all the hidden items. However, near the end of the guide, it feels like the writers got tired of the game and writing the guide, and many things were left out, especially for the sidequests. As a result, the guide is a bit unbalanced and has a definite split in its usefulness.
The Guide Excels with Lost Odyssey's Main Story
The strategy guide can't be beat when it comes to the main quest. Large, detailed maps grace every new area with all items and quest items plotted out. The walkthroughs not only guide players where to send Kaim next to move the story along, but they also point out where to go to find treasure chests and where to find all of Kaim's 1000 Years of Dreams. For this latter fact alone, the guide is highly recommended.
The boss prep is another highlight. For every boss, the writers provide a list of recommended accessories, skills, and probably the most important, the recommended average level for the party before attempting the boss. Knowing whether or not to level up before attempting a boss is a welcome piece of advice for any gamer.
The appendices deserve a huge honorable mention as well. These detail what is expected, such as lists of accessories, spells, dreams, skills, rings, ring components, the Backyard Tournaments, and enemies, but the appendices also include lists of all of Tolten's Royal Seals, the invisible chests, the treasure hunts, the Cubic Music Scores even though all of these items are plotted out on the area maps.
The Primagamers Dropped Both the Sidequests and the Seeds
However, the guide has a few large flaws as well. The first is the lack of an overworld map. Players spend a considerable amount of time wandering the overworld in the Nautilus, either traveling to new areas or diving for treasure. Since the guide does not provide a map of the overworld, it does not plot out all of these treasures hidden in the bottom of the sea.
As a result, not all of the Seeds are identified for players to pick up and give to the Pipots for items. Also Pipot and Seed related, the guide briefly mentions the great Seed exchange amongst the Pipots, but never details anything else about the exchange. It tells players to take the Prickly Seed to the Pipot in Saman City, but doesn't tell where to take the Solid Seed that was given. Sure, players can easily figure it out, but then what is the purpose of the guide?
The biggest problem the guide has is the lack of help for the sidequests near the end of the game. Only a couple of maps of the new areas are provided, and even though a few areas are so small that maps may not be necessary, maps are definitely needed for the most complex area of the game, the Temple of Enlightenment.
The writers could claim that with the many levels in this area, constructing maps would be difficult, except that they had no problems providing maps for the Sewers of Uhra with similar features. Without the maps for this area, the writers tried to guide players with just a written walkthrough, but the lack of maps made it difficult to get a feel for where to go. Players will have an easier time foregoing using the guide at all in this area and just playing through, especially since the guide doesn't offer any useful information on the enemies in this area either other than their stats.
Final Word
The strategy guide is so useful for the main quest, that the bad points of the sidequests don't cancel out any recommendations for purchase. The detailed area maps and appendices make the guide worth every penny and give it an edge over any walkthrough found online. As for the sidequests, it's best for players to use the guide only to learn where to find them and then fly solo the rest of the way.
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