Awhile ago, a really nice person sent me a copy of Lost Odyssey. For one reason or another, I have kept putting it off. But lately I've felt the pull towards it, since Disgaea 3 has felt more and more like a chess game with experience than a RPG. Compound it with a ninja strategy game, and well, coffee just wasn't a good enough fix. I am currently playing Final Fantasy VII, and as great as the game is, I really, really need a game with non-polygon graphics. I had already started Last Remnant, so I thought I should finish that, but the Magic 8-ball redirected me to Lost Odyssey. I can't deny the Magic 8-ball. There would be cosmic consequences and reparations.

When I opened the game case, four, count 'em, FOUR game discs popped out. I had a small heart attack. A good RPG should be at least 40 hours, but I don't have the time and energy for a potentially 100 hour game. That's one reason why I have never finished Ocarina of Time. I contacted my benefactor, and she assured me that the game didn't take any longer than any other Final Fantasy game. I would discover in the first few minutes why the game requires four discs.

She could not have been more right.

I have never, ever seen a game with such incredible graphics. Add on top of that turn-based play (which takes longer than hack n' slash) and lots of cut-scenes that run between five and ten minutes long, it's easy to see why the game needs so much space.

I'm only a few hours in, and I'm in love. The turn-based play has some strategic and interactive elements, so it isn't as boring to watch partymembers hack away at enemies one by one like the ants marching in. The protagonist is moody, but a badass, and he has a badass chick companion with a freaking huge sword. The story is even worthy to sit amongst other great RPG epics. Shawn, who claims that he hates watching it as much as he hates watching me play Final Fantasy, wouldn't leave the room while I played. He even helped me find hidden items and watched the epic long cut-scenes of Kaim's memories in silence.

I only have one complaint: the lack of in-game tutorial. The game assumes that the player is well versed in the Xbox controls as well as how to play a turn-based game or that the player read the instruction manual before play. Not that it's hard to make a selection and move on, but not everyone would be as familiar. But if this ends up being my only complaint, Lost Odyssey may become my new favorite game. That may make Shawn very happy. He's tired seeing Crisis Core stuff plastered everywhere.