Honestly, the souls of most RPGs tend to be dead. Many of us harken back to the SNES era and think about how well the game 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 breathe fresh air, while it isn’t brand new in terms of concepts, the game holds more than that, its got 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 as well as fixing the mess he has had a hand in creating. You spend this time coming across other characters who are quite endearing, 3 other immortals as well as 4 mortals, who as the story continues, you discover that their paths are interwoven. You are also given insight into Kaim’s and the other immortal’s lives 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 gameplay as well. Lost Odyssey is graphically beautiful when creating the world to which it extends. This also goes for the battles, where every accessory and weapon is represented on the character’s person. 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 wasn’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 immortal 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 be known as one of the great JRPGs of this generation. The emotions, voice acting, and just beauty within the characters doesn’t leave much to the imagination; and the gravity of the drama the writing short stories allows the mind to truly wander within its own zone. Do yourself a favor; pick Lost Odyssey up for the first truly epic RPG experience of this year.