This may particularly interest Mala, but Uematsu has stated that this game has his favorite composition out of all of his projects.  He said in an interview that if he had time to do another concert, it would be the entire sound track.

This may particularly interest Mala, but Uematsu has stated that this game has his favorite composition out of all of his projects.  He said in an interview that if he had time to do another concert, it would be the entire sound track.

I downloaded the soundtrack recently and I can see why he would say this. From the standpoint of pure composition, it's probably his most complicated and sophisticated album. It's clear an awful lot of work went into every single track.

I can't speak for how it works in the game, but it feels like this was done at the expense of the soundtrack's ultimate mood diversity. I don't really know if this is in line with the way most people perceive his work, but what I've always really appreciated about Uematsu's finer works were how perfectly they fit the situation in which they were used, and the target mood of that particular section of the game. I've said it many times on this forum that I think one of the main reasons - if not THE main reason - why Final Fantasy games were effective in storytelling was how much Uematsu's music clarified and amplified the desired mood and atmosphere of damn near every story event in the game.

Again, I have no idea how well this works in the game, but the Lost Odyssey soundtrack sounds fairly unspecific to me. I really don't see how the music has much potential for reflecting what is actually happening in the game, unless the game is just one gigantic series of EPIC CUTSCENES, which I suppose is possible.

Don't get me wrong, however. It is a pretty good soundtrack, particularly by the current dreadful industry standards, and some of the best work I've heard out of Uematsu in a very long time. I'm mainly a little discouraged that he thinks of this as his MASTERPIECE. Probably a sign that his music will continue getting progressively more and more impersonal and cinematic. Oh well.

I can't speak for how it works in the game, but it feels like this was done at the expense of the soundtrack's ultimate mood diversity. I don't really know if this is in line with the way most people perceive his work, but what I've always really appreciated about Uematsu's finer works were how perfectly they fit the situation in which they were used, and the target mood of that particular section of the game.

After the Blue Dragon boss theme actually I'll take anything I can get.

I think a misconception a lot of people have is that music has to "fit" the scene or mood; this is something that people who don't write soundtracks tend to think.  What actually happens is that the music establishes the mood.  There is almost no such thing as the music not fitting the scene.

That said, the music is really good.  It's actually a lot more diverse than you might be thinking, because sweeping orchestral tracks are interspersed with American and Japanese folk instruments and you'll occasionally hear a hard rock tune.  Of course, Uematsu is at his best when he's writing for orchestra, and that's when the game shines.  I haven't played the whole game yet though so I can't comment on the whole soundtrack.

I think a misconception a lot of people have is that music has to "fit" the scene or mood; this is something that people who don't write soundtracks tend to think. What actually happens is that the music establishes the mood.

This is a ridiculous generalization. Are you actually trying to assert that music is solely responsible for establishing the mood of an audio/visual experience?

What happens when you are making a film or a videogame, and you've written the whole story out, created the visual/interactive end, and then go to the composer to score the thing? If the work is of any quality, there is already a mood and atmosphere established in the work that would work with or without the music, and it would then be the job of the composer to make music that, for lack of a better word, FITS in with the rest of the piece. At that point, the music's purpose is to further solidify that which the rest of the work has already begun establishing.

There is almost no such thing as the music not fitting the scene.

I do not realistically see how anybody can hold this belief.

The music actually fits the scene really well! I was going to say that I thought this was Uematsu's best work, having played about an hour of the game and only heard the music there (not having downloaded it or anything), but yeah. It is really, really good and fits pretty damn well!

I think a misconception a lot of people have is that music has to "fit" the scene or mood; this is something that people who don't write soundtracks tend to think.  What actually happens is that the music establishes the mood.  There is almost no such thing as the music not fitting the scene.

I don't agree with this at all. As a composer who has composed for a few short films and computer games, I have been asked to compose music for very specific events. The music needs to compliment the visuals and the narrative. Sure, you could put any music behind a scene and it could completely change the meaning, but the director usually has specific idea of what kind of mood he is trying unveil in the picture and it the composer's job capture this through the medium of music.

btw, this game is actually sick. it has a very deep and enthralling story, I cant stop playing it. the music is great and the battles are just awesome too, challenging as well. boss fights will probably take you more than one try to beat. also, the skill learning system is reminiscent to final fantasy 9's AP stuff. its really fun and if you like jrpgs and/or final fantasy you will probably love this game. its definitely a 9/10 for me at this point in time.

I think a misconception a lot of people have is that music has to "fit" the scene or mood; this is something that people who don't write soundtracks tend to think.  What actually happens is that the music establishes the mood.  There is almost no such thing as the music not fitting the scene.

http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=3397.0
I beg to differ.

I don't own this, but it looks to me that this is just another epic J-RPG that is just too long to finish.

I am going to back out of the music discussion because as a composer with enough experience to have an opinion I'm going to stand firm and it really won't get us anywhere other than derailing the topic (agree to disagree ok).

Lost Odyssey hasn't been getting the best reviews ever, but I think I'd like it a lot. I have no problems with it being traditional and based on the gametrailers review, it has some cool ideas and the battle system seems good to me. I am really interested in the soundtrack and I just have really high hopes for this game, considering who are behind it. Blue Dragon didn't appeal to me at all but this and Mass Effect almost make me want to buy xbox360. Mass Effect will surely come out on PC as well though.

But still, this game looks excellent to me. My friend will most likely buy Lost Odyssey when it comes out in Europe so maybe I can just borrow his xbox360. In any case, I really want to play this.

I really, really love the game.  I'm played about 10 hours or so in the last few days, although there's a lot of idle time in there so it might be half that.  It's an extremely well-done RPG in a very specific style, just like it is billed as.  When I bought Halo 3 and played the singleplayer campaign and I was extremely impressed with the high level of polish and really clever level design (although unless you play on the hardest difficulty you can get away with run-and-gun and it actually ends up seeming pretty crappy).  This game sort of gives me all the same feelings that Halo 3 did, in a different genre, so I guess go ahead and keep being excited.

Mass Effect will surely come out on PC as well though.

But still, this game looks excellent to me. My friend will most likely buy Lost Odyssey when it comes out in Europe so maybe I can just borrow his xbox360. In any case, I really want to play this.

Mass Effect comes to PC in like May or something I don't know, but I know it's been confirmed, an I'm pretty sure it's out in Europe already, because I live in New Zealand and it's out here so it MUST be out over there. I am sp saving up for a 360 for this, Mass Effect, and some other games.

I am going to back out of the music discussion because as a composer with enough experience to have an opinion I'm going to stand firm and it really won't get us anywhere other than derailing the topic (agree to disagree ok).

that's weak dude you totally just said all music fits all situations and then said I AM A PROF. COMPOSER SO LETS NOT TALK.

shit im gonna go to a funeral and play some gza check me out *does a kickflip*

shit im gonna go to a funeral and play some gza check me out *does a kickflip*

oh man this is an awesome idea, thank you.

Kaim runs like a retard, which annoys me immensely, and that single strand of hair over the front of his face is also horribly annoying. Gah!

Now for some criticism from someone who actually played the game!

It's really hard.  It's difficult to balance a turn based RPG (although the DQ series has done it near perfect) but this game is difficult in a "WE ARE CHEAP" sort of way.  The game actually has a low encounter rate and you're not likely to encounter many enemies in a single field.  But, enemies have super overpowered special attacks that can whipe out party members in 1-2 hits so most boss battles (and even normal fights) end up being a prayer session that they don't repeat their ZOMG HAX skills twice in a row. 

What makes this even more annoying is that there is absolutely no grinding in this game.  The experience is scaled like in Suikoden so eventually weaker enemies will be giving you 1exp per fight.  The skill system is also an incredible chore as you have to constantly micromanage everything you're learning.  The battles being turn based doesn't detract from the game so much as they are completely unforgiving. 

Besides those nitpicks, the "mature" storyline is a definite departure from the standard jRPG fare.  It's still pretty pretentious and there's lots of emo fags falling to their knees and crying but there are several heartwrenching scenes and Uematsu's score is pretty damn awesome and fits the mood.  The Thousand Years of Dreams sequences are incredibly well written but HOLY FUCK do they kill the flow of the game.  The pacing is spot on for an RPG but when you're thrust into a TEXT ONLY RADICAL DREAMERS-ESQUE FANSERVICE SCENE it totally ruins some scenes.  It's integral to the story but they could have gone about this in a completely different (read: better) way.

Overall, it's an above average game and hopefully future jRPGs will follow in its footsteps by not sucking.  The balance could have definitely been tweaked and the text only cinemas could have been totally axed, but everything else is spot on.  I recommend this for a rental because it's not everyone's cup of tea.

I'm actually 100% agreeing with Marcus, although I recommend it a bit more than just a rental because I really enjoy it.

Like he said, it's really hard as hell as the enemies basically decide randomly that "I KILL YOU" with certain attack. It's only on disc 1 and there's enemies that poison the whole party with one attack. Note though, through the skill system, the Immortal characters can learn Poison Immune (and so on) and I guess the mortals have to wear the Immune accessories. I'm not too sure. I faced a boss not too long ago that was a giant worm creature that sucks up magic from it's five smaller bug friends. Once it's magic meter fills, it used "Para-Flare" which dealt up to 200 HP or more damage to the party and also paralyzed them (unless you were Immune or EXTREMELY lucky.).

So yeah it gets annoying as hell when you're trying to grind (read: it's impossible) and you're dying in the normal battles.

As for "micromanaging", I don't think it's bad. I actually enjoy the twist of immortals learning skills from accessories and linking up with the mortal characters. It's pretty interesting. Also, even though the EXP will lower, the SP will always stay the same. SP is required for immortals to learn skills.

Finally, the story is great and different. At points it has been ridiculous so far but I guess it "has" to be. I mean the main character (and a few others) are immortal so you're bound to run into all sorts of people that will freak out. This one scene actually made me shed a tear, but I hope it was just because it was ridiculous/sad and that it was 3 AM. The Dream Sequences like Marcus said, are extremely wrong. The thing is, you can choose not to view them at that time so it doesn't necessarily mess up the flow too bad.


So in the end, this is an excellent game and I think it's a lot better than what it's getting reviewed. If you're not bothered by traditional RPG style (it does it extremely well), then this might be a game you'd really want to check out.

that's weak dude you totally just said all music fits all situations and then said I AM A PROF. COMPOSER SO LETS NOT TALK.

shit im gonna go to a funeral and play some gza check me out *does a kickflip*

Actually that's not what I said.  I said that the music will shape the situation.  So, really there is no such thing as it not fitting.  It's just that sometimes the mood established by the music isn't what maybe you wanted it to be.

About the game: I'm pretty far into it and I don't think it's outrageously hard or really even that cheap at all.  In my opinion the difficulty is pretty finely balanced; as long as your strategy is sound you should never actually die.  The enemies never outclass you, they just require that you make the most of your available abilities.

One thing that is hillarious about this game is that sometimes it plays like a Final Fantasy: Greatest Hits album.  Last night I totally just played through the ShinRa mansion, for example; I also had Palom and Porom in my party at the time, and before that I had re-enacted Edward's dream sequence from Final Fantasy IV when he fights a monster and a ghost appears and tells him to be strong.

Now for some criticism from someone who actually played the game!

It's really hard.  It's difficult to balance a turn based RPG (although the DQ series has done it near perfect) but this game is difficult in a "WE ARE CHEAP" sort of way.  The game actually has a low encounter rate and you're not likely to encounter many enemies in a single field.  But, enemies have super overpowered special attacks that can whipe out party members in 1-2 hits so most boss battles (and even normal fights) end up being a prayer session that they don't repeat their ZOMG HAX skills twice in a row. 

sounds like xenosaga (1 more than the others) which makes me sad as heck.