With Mistwalker’s first Xbox 360 title – Blue Dragon - out the door, Game Informer Magazine’s Joe Juba-san chats with the Final Fantasy series creator to discuss Mistwalker’s second title, Lost Odyssey.

Game Informer: Mistwalker was working on two RPGs simultaneously – Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. What do you see as the major differences between the two projects?

Hironobu Sakaguchi: The goal of “Blue Dragon” is for users to feel a warm, positive energy from the hero and his friends by the end of the game. It’s like the accumulation of courage and optimism, as well as an energy that is not crushed easily in the face of adversity.

The aim for “Lost Odyssey” is to be able to experience the appearance and innermost emotions, as well as the splendor and ugliness of people as the story of a man who lived for 1,000 years unfolds. These feelings will be gradually imbued in the player’s heart by the main story of course, but also Mr. Kiyoshi Shigematsu’s “1,000 Years of Dreams.”

GI: At E3 we saw a battle scene that didn’t feature Kaim. Will the focus of the game be split among multiple protagonists, or is it primarily Kaim’s story?

Sakaguchi: As the story progresses, there will be times when other characters will substitute as the primary one being controlled. But, for the most part, Kaim is the main protagonist. 

GI: We also saw a scene in which two children sang to a woman, and the song appeared to have a calming or cleansing effect. Can you explain more of what is happening there?

Sakaguchi: As a result of living for 1,000 years, various blood relations have been created.  It also results in the skipping and reversal of people’s age. The secret of the scene with the two children is concealed within the mystery of that kind of generational intertwinement.

GI: There are other immortals involved in the story. Are immortals common in the world of Lost Odyssey? How are they created?

Sakaguchi: There are four immortals. It isn’t an ordinary existence. How were they created? That’s the greatest mystery of all.

GI: What kind of skills and abilities will the different party members possess? Will players be able to customize their skills in some way (like in Blue Dragon)?

Sakaguchi: Depending on the acquisition and position of the skill, the method that becomes necessary for implementing the trigger control is very different from “Blue Dragon.” Also, mortal beings can create personally learned skills, but immortals don’t find skills from within themselves. Instead, they learn skills from mortals and master and increase their power with high-level fundamentals.

GI: How do enemy encounters occur? Are they random, or will players see foes onscreen before a battle begins?

Sakaguchi: Bosses appear during events. Regular monsters are random encounters.

GI: The battle system appears to incorporate many traditional elements. In your opinion, what is the key aspect of Lost Odyssey’s combat that will set it apart?

Sakaguchi: The “wall system” is a culmination of thinking, while numerically grasping the activation of skills per the trigger button and the defensive relationship of the front and rear guards.

GI: How will players move around the world? Will there be an overworld map, or will the story naturally guide players from one area to the next?

Sakaguchi: At the beginning of the game the world map is simplified and is the type where if you designate a destination on the map it will automatically move you there. In the latter part of the game, after you get a mode of transportation, you can use it to actually move the world. Also, it is possible to dive to the bottom of the sea with a submarine.

GI: Lost Odyssey is scheduled for a near-simultaneous release in Japan and North America. Was the game designed with a more global market in mind?

Sakaguchi: ”Lost Odyssey” wasn’t consciously created specifically with an overseas market in mind per se. It was created for RPG fans, who are, for the most part, the same in Japan or overseas.
 
GI: What is the likelihood of downloadable content being released later dealing with events during the first 1,000 years of Kaim’s life?

Sakaguchi: We are not ready to discuss downloadable content at this time.

Achievements

Achievements for Lost Odyssey are out.

36 achievements, 1000 points. 21 of them are secret. Here are the non-secret ones:

01. Disc 1 clear - Complete disc 1 - 125 points

02. Disc 2 clear - Complete disc 2 - 125 points

03. Disc 3 clear - Complete disc 3 - 125 points

04. Disc 4 clear - Complete disc 4 - 125 points

05. Learn Skill Link - An immortal learns learns a mortal's skill via skill link - 30 points

06. Learn all skills - Kaim learns all skills available - 20 points

07. First Dream of a Thousand Years - Experience the first Thousand Year Dream sequence - 20 points

08. Thousand Year Dream - Experience all the Thousand Year Dream sequences - 10 points

09. Get all Treasure items - Get all the treasures available on fields. If a treasure has been picked up by someone else, maybe you can find it on auction - 20 points

10. Succesful Perfect 3 Combo - In a battle successfully pull off a Perfect 3 times in a row - 30 points

11. 500 Successful Perfects - Pull off 500 Perfects in battles - 10 points

12. Damage over 1000,000 - In a battle inflict over 1 million damage on an enemy - 10 points

13. Defeat 1000 enemies - Defeat over 1000 enemies in battle - 10 points

14. Around the world - Visit all the locations on the world map, including secret locations - 10 points

15. Backyard Lightclass Master - In the backyard, fulfill all the hidden victory conditions for all the battle sets in the Lightclass and gain the battle bonuses - 10 points

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