#47

Change YoY: -3   My Rating: 9.0 / 10

Back during the 7th console generation I felt like there was very little reason for me to get an Xbox 360. I had a PS3 at the time, and just about every game that I was interested in was available on it, so I just thought I had no need for a 360. I didn't really care that much about Halo, Gears of War, or Fable. However, that generation was missing one thing I really wanted: a great Final Fantasy game. FFXIII failed to live up to expectations, and the series in general was struggling to adapt to the HD era. Except we did get one, just under a different name and on a console I didn't own. Hironobu Sakaguchi had founded a new company called Mistwalker after leaving Square, and eventually made a deal with Microsoft to develop games for their new console back when they were still trying to break into the Japanese video game market. This resulted in two exclusive titles, the latter of which is the topic here. Lost Odyssey was just about the only game I really felt sorry for missing out on during this period of time, and that remained the case until around a decade later. My then-girlfriend, and current wife, bought herself an Xbox 360, and I figured I might as well try and find a copy of Lost Odyssey since I can actually play the game, and eventually I did, for just 5 euros. Turned out to be one of the best 5 euros I've ever spent.

There's a lot I loved about Lost Odyssey. The setting is quite unique, a world that is just emerging into a new world of technology following something of an industrial revolution, albeit one powered by new forms of magic rather than science, the characters are very well-written and each have their own clear personalities and goals, the story is admittedly following many familiar paths, but includes enough twists and turns to always keep the player guessing, and the music by Nobuo Uematsu is excellent. Yet, rather oddly, perhaps the best part of the whole game are these short, written extra stories the player can unlock over the course of the game that recount various events from the past, mainly about the main character Kaim. While they aren't necessarily any masterpieces of literature, they are expertly crafted and emotionally resonant short stories that left a lasting impression on me, some of them genuinely hitting me quite hard as well. I still remember many of them vividly, even though it's been years since I played the game. I still haven't played any other games on the 360, but Lost Odyssey was worth the wait.

Early next month Mistwalker is finally set to release a new home console title, Fantasian, and I am very much looking forward to getting a chance to play another game by Hironobu Sakaguchi that also features a supposedly excellent musical score by Nobuo Uematsu.

#49: Must be a Bayonetta, maybe this Origins game?

#44: Not sure, maybe Dune2?

#43: Whatever this game is, I want it. :)

#42: Must be King's Bounty.

Cult of the Lamb?

Wrong on all accounts for both of you.

While I get that #44-#42 are pretty difficult, I'm also very surprised nobody found out #49 and #45 yet, I thought those were very easy. Well, guess I'll have to come with another round of hints then...

#49 - You can't use the signature moves of the series in this title, but you can use some other person's equipment instead.

1. It's a Metroidvania kind of game where you have to go back to previous places once you found the necessary equipment to get to new places in them.
2. While the signature move are missing, the main character is still attacking with the hair.
3. Among the items you can get are a hat that lets you float longer in the air, boots to run really fast and a cannon that fires down for multiple-jumping.
4. The signature move mentioned above was dancing, which allowed the main character to transform into some animals, but as mentioned, not in this one.

#45 - A Jump'n run on a Disney license

1. You can choose which stage you want to go, though one is not really accessible until you got something from another stage first
2. Halfway through the levels, there's a character who can bring you back to your home base and level select screen, but he will only do this once per level.
3. To quote the Nostalgia Critic about an aspect of the game (and the franchise in general): "It will never leave, it will never leave!"

#44 - An RTS that becomes more of a 4x over time in space and in real-time

1. With every rank increase, the playable part of the game world map increases, and with it what you can build and research
2. The world evolves around the scope of the game very independently, meaning some factions may be eradicated before you get a chance to meet them in the storyline.
3. You start with 3 planets (one of which bien in serious disrepair after an attack devastated the colony, it's also the reason you got promoted to this position in the first place) and a small fleet and have to fight off pirates at first, but later on you'll  deal potentially with a galactic world war if the AI is particularly agressive on that run.

#43 - A base-building game where your handful of people must survive the end of the world, as hell has taken over.

1. First you just need to survive, but after a while your group of survivors will do things like farming, crafting, both scientific and occult research, build shrines for rituals and an alchemic table complete with a philosopher's stone.
2. Research needs sometimes some specific items that you can scavenge, as in scientific books, research kits, scientific data to progress in that tech tree.

#42 A very long turn-based Fantasy game with clear influences at Civilization, Master of Magic and Heroes of Might & Magic.

1. The game world consists of a planet that has been blown to bits to avoid the forces of chaos to take it over, and the main story consists of assembling those shards and combining them with yours to recreate the planet.

DuckTales?

More hints:

45. This politics-heavy character-action game spawned a lot of memes
44. A fighting game that saw a re-release in a collection released recently
43. Bela Lugosi famously interpreted the villain of this non-linear game
42. The companion to this very popular main character is a little star
41. Wind's howling

Haven't been paying attention up to now, but 49 is a Shantae game right? Though which one I'm not sure. Pirate's Curse?

45: Metal Gear Rising?

Wohoo!

Yep, that's the one!

The game also has one of the best soundtracks of all times, especially it's version of Scuttle Town:

44) One of the Marvel vs. Capcom games I assume, maybe 2?

42) Super Mario Galaxy?