"Well, I have seen the demo of Lost Odyssey in action. The game is so very grown-up and pieced together with such seamless virtuousity that I really don't know what to say. I'm impressed as I've ever been with a videogame. It is beautiful. I'm about as excited about it now, as a fully functioning (really), independent adult, as I was excited about Final Fantasy VII as a college student, as I was about Final Fantasy IV as much younger man. I look forward to this game.
Seeing (and playing) is believing, and I am a believer in Lost Odyssey. My immediate judgment is a belief that it will sell this console to at least a million Japanese gamers. And Microsoft must think so too –it’s going to make sure this game is everywhere. It will be featured most prominently at the company’s booth at Tokyo Game Show, and, if its promise to host all show-floor demos on Xbox Live holds true, that should mean this game's demo will be available for download next Wednesday night."
These impressions are backed up by that Che guy (previously seen on 1UP) who said: "I played the TGS demo yesterday after all the hoopla and let me just say that for once in his life, Tim Rogers knows what he's talking about."
...
"So I checked out the first 15 action-packed minutes of the nearly hour long Lost Odyssey TGS demo yesterday and I was completely blindsided by how f'ing awesome this game looks and feels (in the emotion stirring sense).
I don't know if this game is going to "steal TGS" or sell a million Xbox 360s in Japan, but goddamn it is an impressive piece of work that will turn a lot of heads. Takehiko Inoue's art direction has taken on a maturity that goes even beyond his work in Vagabond, and seeing it in motion in both the CG and real-time graphics makes me think that his future isn't in manga but rather in 3D and games.
But what really got to me beyond the FF-style combat vs. like 1000 enemies and seamless integration of real-time and CG graphics is the way Lost Odyssey conveys a sense a mystery around its main character (who apparently is immortal). I walked away from the demo immediately wanting to know more about the game's scenario -- hero, villains, f'ed up world, everything.
I haven't played a J-RPG and haven't wanted to play one since... shit, I can't even remember, and now I suddenly can't wait for Mistwalker to finish the damn game. "
He also seemed impressed with Blue Dragon:
"Blue Dragon is good. Graphics are simplistic and clean, but it suits Toriyama's style perfectly and the quality of the models combined with the post-effects happening onscreen really make this game look almost CG in real-time. Gameplay-wise, there are some pretty major twists and I certainly don't want to give anything away, but if you love Dragon's Quest style JRPGs, this is going to be a real beast. The game also feels very lengthy. That's all I can say without getting Tenchu'ed."
When asked about how it compares to LO: "Totally different styles, both games look very next-gen.
In-game graphics in LO look shockingly close to CG. when the movie transitioned into gameplay, the seamlessness with which it happened literally shot chills down my spine. I was like, WTF...."
So... Could these games shift huge numbers of 360's in Japan?
Will be interesting to find out. One thing's for sure though: TGS is gonna be one hell of a show.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3818&Itemid=2