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So I've been playing Lost Odyssey for a while now and wanted to make a post about it. Let me preface by saying: this is the best turn-based RPG I've ever played.
Now why that is, I'm going to detail the combat system in depth as far as possible without it becoming a full-on review:
Basic gist, you input all your commands at your own pace for your 5 man party. Enemies have a Elemental Type and a Personal Type (think Mechanic, Organic, Beast) that you can play into for bonus damages. It's pretty typical, but here's where things get interesting:
- formation: your 5 man party has a front-row and a back-row. Your front-row takes 100% damage, while your back row takes 10% damage. If your front-row is attack, the defensive buff on the back-row is dimished slowly, until the backrow takes more damage. This sounds pretty cut and dry, but enemies can ALSO use this. So there's scenarios where 3 guards are in the front-line, with 2 casters in their backrow, forcing you to play into that. There's also moves that buff or debuff your 'formation' , allowing for easier damage. There's also bosses that have attacks that put all your party members in the front row, forcing you to waste a turn changing formation.
- turn order is set, but invisible. Every thing has a specific order though, items always go first, then attacks+spells, then skills. So once you choose all your attacks, that's how it plays out. This has a few things going for it: namely that items suddenly are VERY useful. They are always first, meaning you can safely heal a damaged character instead of using healing-magic or abilities (which are last). A healing-ability is then handy to use on a target that you anticipate will take damage, to heal them after that damage was dealt. Secondly, some abilities have a casting-time, which is noted in their abilities. For example, Flare (the typical fire spell) has casting 1-A, which mean it casts in the same turn (1) and casts pretty fast (A). Another spell has 1-H, meaning it casts the lastest (further down the alphabet means its slower). But there's also spells that are 2-D, so you need two turns. If you're hit while casting, you go down another letter, so it's possible that if you're casting 1-H, and are hit 3 times, you suddenly have to wait another turn to finish casting.
- this is compounded by the ability: Support Casting, in which a character skips his next 3 turns to increase the casting speed of an ally, allowing an ability like All-Flare (basic fire spell that hits everything) to be a 1 turn cast instead of 2 turns.
- your team is composed to two types, Immortals and Mortals. Immortals cannot learn new skills, only through using equipment and by observing party members, while Mortals learn skills the typical way. As a result, Immortals are SUPER moldable into what you want them to be.
- enemies are extremely dangerous and will use a ton of abilities/status effects to ruin your day. Bosses are equally dangerous: if you go in without a plan you WILL die as they all hit like trucks. For example the first boss has an ability that deals over 100 damage to your entire party, while your party only has around 150 HP at that time. Regular fights can see you dead quite fast too: so you have to play smart.
All this together really makes for one of the best RPGs I've played. Fights are strategic, you can plan ahead of them (using status effects, equipping certain items and skills on your immortals to prepare), fights are hard, the music is great too, just a great puzzle game in that sense.
Highly recommend it.
Now why that is, I'm going to detail the combat system in depth as far as possible without it becoming a full-on review:
Basic gist, you input all your commands at your own pace for your 5 man party. Enemies have a Elemental Type and a Personal Type (think Mechanic, Organic, Beast) that you can play into for bonus damages. It's pretty typical, but here's where things get interesting:
- formation: your 5 man party has a front-row and a back-row. Your front-row takes 100% damage, while your back row takes 10% damage. If your front-row is attack, the defensive buff on the back-row is dimished slowly, until the backrow takes more damage. This sounds pretty cut and dry, but enemies can ALSO use this. So there's scenarios where 3 guards are in the front-line, with 2 casters in their backrow, forcing you to play into that. There's also moves that buff or debuff your 'formation' , allowing for easier damage. There's also bosses that have attacks that put all your party members in the front row, forcing you to waste a turn changing formation.
- turn order is set, but invisible. Every thing has a specific order though, items always go first, then attacks+spells, then skills. So once you choose all your attacks, that's how it plays out. This has a few things going for it: namely that items suddenly are VERY useful. They are always first, meaning you can safely heal a damaged character instead of using healing-magic or abilities (which are last). A healing-ability is then handy to use on a target that you anticipate will take damage, to heal them after that damage was dealt. Secondly, some abilities have a casting-time, which is noted in their abilities. For example, Flare (the typical fire spell) has casting 1-A, which mean it casts in the same turn (1) and casts pretty fast (A). Another spell has 1-H, meaning it casts the lastest (further down the alphabet means its slower). But there's also spells that are 2-D, so you need two turns. If you're hit while casting, you go down another letter, so it's possible that if you're casting 1-H, and are hit 3 times, you suddenly have to wait another turn to finish casting.
- this is compounded by the ability: Support Casting, in which a character skips his next 3 turns to increase the casting speed of an ally, allowing an ability like All-Flare (basic fire spell that hits everything) to be a 1 turn cast instead of 2 turns.
- your team is composed to two types, Immortals and Mortals. Immortals cannot learn new skills, only through using equipment and by observing party members, while Mortals learn skills the typical way. As a result, Immortals are SUPER moldable into what you want them to be.
- enemies are extremely dangerous and will use a ton of abilities/status effects to ruin your day. Bosses are equally dangerous: if you go in without a plan you WILL die as they all hit like trucks. For example the first boss has an ability that deals over 100 damage to your entire party, while your party only has around 150 HP at that time. Regular fights can see you dead quite fast too: so you have to play smart.
All this together really makes for one of the best RPGs I've played. Fights are strategic, you can plan ahead of them (using status effects, equipping certain items and skills on your immortals to prepare), fights are hard, the music is great too, just a great puzzle game in that sense.
Highly recommend it.
cutscenes can run a bit rough and loading rears its ugly head from time to time