So reading Ty's post about Final Fantasy music got me to thinking about what my least favorite RPG is. I had to think about it for a couple minutes, but then it hit me like a freight train. I absolutely do not like Lost Odyssey one bit. I think while I was investing fifty hours of my life playing it, I tried to convince myself that I was having fun, but ultimately when I look back it was just long, boring, and incredibly cliched.
To start with, the massive number of characters in the game could have easily been cut in half and had little or no impact on the story. Aside from having little story relevance, I wanted to punch Cooke and Mack in the face every time they went crazy over Seth. OH MY GOD!!! SHE'S A PIRATE!!! Plus it seemed like in about every other cut scene, one or both of them was whining about being tired or scared. IT'S A FREAKING EPIC QUEST TO SAVE THE WORLD!!! GROW UP OR GO HOME!!! I also never really was able to pin down Ming's reason for existence. She's the Queen of Numara and coincidentally she's also an immortal. But why? So there can be another one? I don't get it. Also, her romantic scenes with Jansen were cringe-inducing. Why either of them were interested in the other is bewildering to say the least. I guess it's so the game could have a love story. Oddly enough the only character I did occasionally enjoy watching was Jansen, when he wasn't fawning over Ming anyway. Kaim, Seth, Sarah, and the rest were either boring, unnecessary, or both.
Second, the music was utterly and completely forgettable. There wasn't a single song that caught my attention. It's not that the music was bad, it's that music in an RPG is supposed to grab you and immerse you in the story. I will always remember the music that played when Aeris was killed, when Sorceress Edea was introduced, and when Tidus and Yuna said goodbye to each other. I couldn't even try to tell you the music that played during the few pivotal moments of Lost Odyssey. Perhaps Final Fantasy has set the bar too a little high for music in an RPG, but Lost Odyssey fell woefully short.
Now for probably my biggest gripe with Lost Oddysey. Gongora is without a doubt the worst villain I have ever seen in a videogame. He is a walking, talking, cackling, cliche. There have been villains just like him, only better, in several Disney movies. The King's loyal advisor is obviously a bad dude, but no can see it until the world is on the brink of annihilation. Scar from The Lion King, Jafar from Aladdin, even Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove are all just like Gongora except they were voiced much better and are much more interesting to watch. Villains are paramount to the story in RPG's. You have to truly want to defeat the bad guy to invest forty or more hours trying to reach him. In the case of Lost Odyssey, I just didn't care enough about Gongora. Due to my apathy and the recommendation of friends, I'm not going to even bother defeating him. I just don't care. That's the sign of a pretty ineffective villain and a pretty ineffective game.
I really really wanted to like Lost Odyssey. I tried to convince myself that I was having a good time, but after taking a couple weeks off for reflection, I can see that it really just wasn't a very good game. The pointless and annoying characters, lackluster music, and a painfully bad villain add up to make a pretty disappointing experience. Now where's my copy of Final Fantasy X?
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2 comments:
I am somewhat inclined to agree, while also disagreeing. The only thing I disagree on is that I did have fun playing the game, but I think that has more to do with the fact that there is something about RPGs and my continued desire to level up characters that cannot be stalled by a crappy game.
For example, I played The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind more than a dozen times without ever actually beating the game because I kept making new characters just so I could level them up to the point of extreme bad assery. I have a serious RPG addiction problem, which is why I have of recent tried to avoid purchasing bad ones, because I know I'll sink a great deal of time into them even if they're terrible.
By the way, the ending in LO is so sappy and shitty I almost threw up. I was actually cursing at my television I was so mad I'd wasted all my time just for that shit.
well when I read your first paragraph I thought in my head "No! you're crazy! it was awesome!" but through the course of your argument I was reminded of all the things that I didn't like, and I think Id have to agree and disagree also.
It wasn't as good as it should have been. You are 100% correct about Gongora. SOOOOOOO cliche. I remember going "ohhhhhh man" out loud on more than several occasions. I also agree there were too many questing characters. I see the need for all of them in the story, but the game its self could have been played with just Kaim, Seth, and Sarah. I would have been perfectly happy leaving Cooke and Mac as NPC's who helped the story. I disagree about Jansen. He was annoying, and idiotic, and annoying. I could tell he was supposed to be funny, but the only funny part was when we first meet him outside the gate. The noble fool is never a very convincing character, and jansen's antics just made me cringe.
Where I totally disagree is the music. I really enjoyed it. It was very rpg typical to begin with, but if you listen to any of the songs long enough, they get really awesome. Like the main theme in the map screen. Electric guitar! and it rocks pretty hard. I think the problem is that most of the songs start slow and you never get to hear it all while in the game. I have the Japanese soundtrack and it is quite good. The music didn't integrate well into the game perhaps, but the music its self is quite good.
All that in mind, I still had fun, and while it didn't make my top 5, it certainly isn't in the bottom 5 either.
-Ty
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