All the JRPG clichés are here, from the lengthy and wayward cut scenes, the victory dance and the ability to rob people of their belongings in their homes. However, this really isn’t a bad thing as Lost Odyssey is refined to the point of being pure RPG fare. Every nuance of the game has been considered and tweaked for the hardcore fan of the genre and the traditionalism is done purposely so.

The player is thrown right into the deep end in the midst of battle between warring nations controlling the mysterious Kaim. The world is on the verge of a magical industrial revolution - think of it as the steam-age on speed and then some. It soon becomes apparent that Kaim is not an ordinary man, but in fact an immortal being who has lived for a thousand years, yet seemingly can’t remember very much of it.

It is the life, acquaintances and experiences of Kaim that the player will follow through the story, gradually unlocking that which has been forgotten and realising the life this aged yet youthful fellow has led hasn’t been uneventful. Much of this is told in the thousand years of dreams; a text based history that isn’t as boring as it sounds. Kaim’s locked away memories get triggered by locations or conversations giving the player a great insight into a massive richness of the character. Whilst there is no real need to read through them, and indeed they can be skipped, these stories provide a tapestry of Kaim’s missing years.

After the first quite intense battle, things slow down somewhat. Initially the characters appear to be very shallow and progress through the first disc seems very slow compared to what follows. By the second disc the story really begins to open up and the realisation strikes that these characters aren’t as two dimensional as they first appear to be and do carry some emotional weight.

Combat in Lost Odyssey follows the traditional turn based line as will be familiar to any ardent RPG fan. All party actions, such as magic, skills, item use and standard attacks are entered at the start of the round and are allowed to play out through some lengthy combat scenes. There is a little twist on the theme though; back-row characters are protected by a wall. This is determined by the strength of the front row characters defending them. As the characters are attacked, the strength of the wall is reduced and the damage the back row takes gets steadily higher. Whilst random battles can take a little longer than desirable to load, what makes battles quite a joy to play is the slick navigation through the combat menus; positions are remembered making it really easy to perform the same actions again without having to trawl through masses of selections every round (and this saves a lot of time).

That said, the difficulty level can infuriate at times; it is easy to find the party entirely wiped out even in random encounters, meaning the game-over screen will be seen more often than Amy Winehouse visits her dealer. This is particularly true earlier in the game before the combat system has completely sunk in and is compounded by the sometimes massive gaps between save points. Judicious use of accessories and rings are a must; correct usage of these items can make a vast difference to progress through the diverse and wonderful environments, particularly when it comes to boss battles. There are times when the game feels somewhat unfair. Lost Odyssey throws a blinder at one point towards the middle of the game by splitting the party into small groups, making it quite possible to be very under-levelled into a boss fight without the ability to go away and rectify the situation.

At first glance the character skill, ring and equipment system appears a little dumbed down. There are only a few slots for equipment, rings and skills; however, on closer inspection it has a some neat aspects to it. All immortals in the game have the ability to learn the skills of those with a shorter life span and this cleverly links into the levelling system. Each battle feels as if something more than just SP is being earned with the effort, and it’s not long before new skills are learnt from a few random conflicts. As progress is made more skill slots are gained allowing for many different abilities to be utilised and better still, these can be swapped in and out as required.

More so, the way the levelling works means there’s no real need to grind. When discovering and playing through a new area, monsters encountered in random battles quickly provide enough experience to rise through the ranks, and then it dissipates to a crawl. By effectively capping the level the party can achieve in an area of the game, the challenge can be almost scripted and so becomes a regulated experience. It won't please the power-leveller, but it's a smart solution to what can be a repetitive part of RPGs.

Being a traditional adventure, Lost Odyssey is full of optional side quests, but to experience them it is necessary to talk to every character and explore every nook and cranny in the LO world. It’s very easy to miss out on most of these even when not simply ploughing as quickly through the game as possible. The many side quests are rewarding in terms of extending the experience and gaining weapons and accessories that make the main quest easier.

For those so inclined, Lost Odyssey provides a game-plus mode on completion of the the story, which places Kaim back at the first battle this time at a enemy shattering level 50. Given that the game doesn’t really open up until the final disc though, this isn’t as enticing as it might sound. It’s far better just to have a save kept aside before the final boss battle push in order to mop up the events outside of the main story arc.

Lost Odyssey is a long arduous journey, but it is one that’s filled with a story that continues to flesh out its characters right to the very end. It’s not an RPG for the first timer due to the very uncompromising situations the game places the player in, but what it does provide is a solid and proficient JRPG experience that lovers of the genre will relish and get a lot out of. It’s a game that needs some dedicated time spent on it, but with that comes an experience that is very rewarding, even if it does cause temple thumping headaches at times.