That's okay, it's been a long time too since i've finished the game, I think since February more or less. I'll give any insight I can as most people in here will too, since Lost Odyssey is such a fantastic game.

most people underestimate the spells that buffs up the stats in the game, shields being the most important.

Haha i remember that fight. I didnt have too much of a problem with it though. However i havnt played it too much so i wont be of much help later on. Great game btw

Lost Odyssey is a game where it's very important to watch your items and strategies. As many others have said, the game gets harder. But to be honest it was never TOO hard for me anyway. Just make sure your party is always topped up with potions ( especially mana ) and always keep an eye out for best armours and weapons. Oh also make sure you learn off of the mortals. Having 2 magicians with excellent healing powers never hurts in this game.

Here here. This is 1 JRPG where white magic really is a benefit.

Yeah buffs are really important in this game. Skills in general also matter much more than leveling up. You can barely level grind in this game until you get on the fourth disc anyway. I leveled up my immortals to around 60 to fight the end boss, got tooled because I didn't have the spells I needed. So I looked up a FAQ to track down All-Shieldus, All-Barricadus and (I think) All-Zephyrus since I was missing all of those. It was much easier the second time around using those spells. Micro-management, getting the skills and spells you need and strategy are basically key in this game.

Yeah, level grinding really isn't worth it in this game. The way the experience system is setup, you'll gain levels extremely quickly every time you enter a new area - but after a few levels, it grinds to a halt until you reach the next area. Just make sure to learn the important skills as you find them, and to keep your equipment upgraded. Particularly at the early levels, each equipment upgrade makes a huge difference.

Also, the delay before spells take effect makes healing spells extremely weak compared to most JRPGs. Using them preemptively can help, but in general defensive abilities and items are very important to help compensate for the weak healing.

A quick update: I finished disc one tonight! That funeral scene was awesome! Not in a happy way, because it really made me very sad, and yes, I will admit I was actually tearing up at one point. Probably the first time that's happened to me with a game. Hats off to Mistwalker, can't wait to see where this story goes next.

Don't forget you can swap what rings you wear in combat. I was 70 hours into the game before I figured that out, and by then I just didn't bother.

Yeah it's the writing in this game that blows EVERY other JRPG out of the water. Seriously great Disc 1 ending. Who's Aeris. ;)