3 September 2009
Josh

Lost Odyssey 2 not Hironobu Sakaguchi’s next project?

Originally Lost Odyssey was meant to be a series. Developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy and made for a “competing platform” . . . it was to be Microsoft’s answer to Final Fantasy. Created by a company called Mistwalker that Sakaguchi founded.

This at a time when Final Fantasy was an exclusive asset to the PlayStation platforms. With spin-offs landing on Nintendo platforms but not the 360. This was key in Sakaguchi’s decision to release his RPGs for Microsoft’s console in order to fill that gap with some next-gen RPG goodness.

To quote the H&E Head of Microsoft,
“As you know, I was very complimentary of the game last week, and now some are speculating (or is it more like vain hoping) that LO could perhaps become the 360’s Final Fantasy. Lost Odyssey is very much a throw back to games like FF VII and X, which is why it was a hit with many gamers, but also took some heat from others. It’s a strong title, and I’m very interested in seeing a sequel, either in the Final Fantasy mold or as a direct follow up to the original, but the series would need a few more successful iterations under its belt to begin to touch the legacy that is embodied in the Square-Enix series. ”

However, Final Fantasy XIII has now gone multiplatform and is in development for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. So where does that leave Lost Odyssey 2?

Lost Odyssey was originally going to be just one of three Xbox 360-exclusive RPGs from Mistwalker. One of those games, Cry-On, was cancelled. The first game of the trio was Blue Dragon. That game was the only one to really make a name for itself, as the game spawned not only an anime but also a DS sequel.

Sadly though, Lost Odyssey wasn’t necessarily a financial success. It did do reasonably well though, selling over 100,000 copies in Japan and debuting with 203,000 copies during the first month in the U.S.

Sakaguchi didn’t forget about the game either, as fans got two Lost Odyssey downloadable content packs that added some extra purchasable content to the game.

However in May of 2009, Sakaguchi updated his Mistwalker blog page saying he was pondering his next project. But nothing really hinted at Lost Odyssey.

The last hint we got of this new project was just that . . . it is an ALL-NEW game and not related to any of his previous works. So it looks like we’ll have quite a bit more waiting to do before we hear from Lost Odyssey again. For shame!

25 September 2009 13:20
bluemanrule

I concur. Lost Odyssey was one of the best JRPGs I’ve ever played. I really want a sequel but its lifetime sales don’t justify it. 800k units is not a lot compared to the investment required by Mistwalker. I’d love to see a new Lost Odyssey, similar to the FF formula. Come on Sakaguchi-san!

12 November 2009 16:47
D

Its the best rpg available on 360,and the best rpg i played in a very long time.I played the last remnant,and well i have to say lost odyssey kicks the last remnants ass in every category.I would Love to see lost oddyssey growing as big as Final Fantasy is.And im in desperate need of LO 2!!

6 December 2009 19:26
Cloudane

I don’t really think of this as a spoiler but be warned anyway.
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The way LO ended, there is technically room for a sequel but I can’t see how the story can be taken any further. Without reviving old villains and doing it all over again “Advent Children” style, anyway, and that wouldn’t be enough for a full game.

I would say the story of that world is over, just like most of the Final Fantasies.

Now, I know that “Final Fantasy” didn’t make a lot of sense as a title in the long run, but it still works as a generic title. “Lost Odyssey” doesn’t, unless you want 13 games where you dream of 1000 years of memories (It was superb – once. It’d get old after 13.)

I think the one thing we’ve learned with Lost Odyssey is that you can name it what you like… heck I think of it as the “real” Final Fantasy XII (the Square-Enix one was rubbish). It’s the writer behind it that counts, and his work is rarely anything other than brilliant, supported also by a superb musician. At its heart, it’s the same game series as Final Fantasy, and whatever his next work is I’m sure it’ll live up to it.