I'm sitting here at my desk at work and can't seem to get it out of my head just how good Lost Odyssey was, not for it's characters, combat and story (which were all great) but one lasting connection I feel. While not forgettable, it's rare that I think of any characters or plot elements from the actual game. I've always thought that the voice work in Lost Odyssey is some of the best to date in any video game but the content holds it back from having a strong impact except in a few scenes that they just nailed in terms of context as well as acting. (Lirum's death for example) But what I find myself constantly thinking back on are Kaim's dreams.
I find it amazing that the dream sequences are almost completely without voice talent and yet feel the most powerful to me. Maybe that's what makes them memorable and allows them to stand on their own as a storytelling pillar for Kaim. The other characters are described as in depth as one would expect for an average person. But even the other immortals are given this, relatively stunted, overview of their lives and actions. The dreams take this the necessary step further to properly portray the joys and horrors that would come with a life of immortality.
It's completely changed my opinion on a game that I didn't recommend to people in the past. It has also morphed my opinion of Kaim, making him easily my favorite character in any game, almost entirely based on the depth of his character as explained by these simple, yet often terribly tragic and heart-rending, stories. By themselves, they may not amount to much but in context they have broadened my emotional connection to, and understanding of, a character like no book or movie ever has. I find that amazing.
Score one for the written word and therefore obscurely, LordJim (damnit)
2 comments:
I've had a similar experience with the way 'writing' has been integrated in the game Alan Wake. Those pieces of manuscript are voiced by the main character actor though, but that's a good thing since I can't actually read (as most of you know).
I'm not finished Lost Odyssey yet, I think I'll give it a few of my holiday hours this week. I'm not finished Alan Wake either. Dilemma!
PAK CHOOIE UNF!!!
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I couldn't get into Lost Odyssey. Maybe I've just moved past JRPG's, maybe having an energetic rug rat has robbed me of the motivation to get into these sort of games. Dunno, but I will get back to this one eventually, based on your recommendation (see, I DO care about what you have to say. Sometimes...).
In the meantime, however, I started up Deus Ex: Human Revolution this week and good God (!) is it fantastic (so far)!
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