Lost Odyssey - time to get excited?

[Wrestlevania]

Mistwalker, developers of forth-coming Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey, have just released a glut of screenshots and artwork showing off numerous character and location designs.

Not typically being a fan of JRPGs such as this, I've never the less been tentatively interested in the title. Not being a graphics whore either, I'm not changing my mind about the game based on these alone. But it's certainly got some flair to it, no question.

The story is what interests me the most:

[The] player takes control of Kaim, a man who has lived for 1,000 years. The game's story revolves around the many generations of which Kaim is a part, his loves and losses and conflicts in a world nearing a "mystical industrial revolution".

Nothing particularly out of left field regarding your average JRPG, but it piqued my interest anyway when the game was first announced.

Anyone else interested?

[toblix]

I'm always interested when someone goes "I wasn't really interested in this game, but look at this [screenshot/text/feature/hot lead designer]".

[Wrestlevania]

"I wasn't really interested in this game, but look at this [screenshot/text/feature/hot lead designer]".

...how else would you get excited about a game if it wasn't for at least one of those 4 things?

• the side of the bed you got out of that morning?
  
• you received oral sex the night before / whilst reading the preview?
  
• you've decided the next game you read about will be the one you obsess over?

[miffy495]

Well, I gotta say, though not the most original thing in the world, that premise does lend itself to a wide range of awesome possibilities. Don't know if I'm anything near pumped for this one, but I'll be keeping it in my peripherals...

[Wrestlevania]

There's a strong narrative thread about the lead character being cursed(?) to live for 1,000 years, as punishment for something. At the time, he's supposedly at the peak of his life, very much in love and everything's going swimmingly.

If I remember correctly, the curse is placed upon him very much with the knowledge of what is to come on the part of the caster(s). This is so that the lead character has to watch everything he has worked for and cares about - including the love of his life - slowly die around him, whilst the society falls from grace into a bitter war lasting many decades.

This is primarily why I'm interested in Lost Odyssey. I also like the art direction chosen to complement the story; something about it seems unusually "right" to me.

[Dr.Gash]

I played the demo of Blue Dragon and that felt pretty flat and generic in my view. In fact, of the RPGs I've played on 360, not a single one has managed to engross me fully.

Saying that, I remain hopeful that someone will manage to create a really strong RPG brand on the Xbox. Since Mistwalker have managed to pump out one game on the console already, maybe they'll be able to pull something truly magical out of their designer hats this time around.

Jury's still out.

[Noyb]

There's a strong narrative thread about the lead character being cursed(?) to live for 1,000 years, as punishment for something.

What are the odds that curse will take a backseat to game over states when the ubiquitous RPG battle mechanic kicks in? Unless it's like Planescape: Torment. (Oh, crap. That's the game that I forgot to complete before canceling my Gametap account. Combat got annoying enough for me to shelve it, and forget about it until now. The story seemed very interesting, playing as an immortal protagonist, but I didn't get much farther than chasing a guy through some ruined building near the first town populated by enemies I wasn't strong enough to fight or skilled enough to evade.)

[Wrestlevania]

You might fair better just skipping all that and reading the Planescape: Torment novel instead.

It's basically all the pertinent story-telling text and dialogue ripped straight from the game, with the few gameplay-dependent segways filled in by the guy who pulled it all together. Sounds compelling enough to me, just haven't gotten around to taking it to the local digital printer-bookbinder yet (can't stand screen-reading books).