It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but what of the man that imitates his own work without deviation, when given a perfect opportunity to innovate? Lost Odyssey marks the second release from Mistwalker, a studio headed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, co-founder of Square (now -Enix), and the creator of the much revered Final Fantasy franchise. Despite a new label, new platform, new hardware generation, and an atypical premise, Lost Odyssey could have easily been released under the FF banner and none would have been the wiser. However, as comparisons go, there are worse things than being likened to the most beloved Japanese RPG franchise of all time!

Lost Odyssey brings the player into its fantasy-world-in-conflict through a fierce battle between two nations at war, firmly setting its rather mature tone as blood is shed and armour cleaved. Calamity soon befalls the battlefield as a meteor strike obliterates the combatants in an instant, leaving both nations dumbstruck and defenceless. Enter Kaim Argonar, sole survivor of the incident and conveniently immortal/amnesiac, who is tasked by the council (there's always a council) to seek out the cause of this unnatural disaster before it strikes again – in gen-pop.

Even though it does not bear the Final Fantasy brand, Lost Odyssey inherits the same ragtag team of adventurers that quickly becomes embroiled in a plot that inevitably snowballs until the fate of the world hangs in the balance. And what started out as an intriguing premise of immortals piecing together lost memories after wandering the world for a thousand years, becomes a cliché-ridden exercise to ‘defeat the bad guy'. The plot of this 50-or-so-hour adventure (longer if you participate in the myriad of side-quests) randomly switches gears between the absurd, the genuinely poignant, and the unintentionally hilarious, as if it's unsure whether to be Van Wilder or Lord of the Rings – resulting in a story that is never congruent and many of the nice moments are instantly marred by ridiculous characters/situations that follow.

In a curious move, Mistwalker imbued Lost Odyssey with a novel's worth of short stories in a bid to flesh out Kaim's past. As the party travels around the world, Kaim will encounter situations that trigger lost memories - played out as a text presentation that tries its best to emote using a musical score, flashy text effects and static background images. These tales of morality and mortality are well-written across the board and enjoyable for those that are willing to stop between bouts of gameplay and read pages of on-screen text (which can be skipped for those that aren't). This feature, as good as its contents are, feels entirely detached from the game itself, and is about integral to the enjoyment of the game as a novelised prequel is to the Star Wars experience.

There are of course those that will eat up every line of the novel wedged into the game, as well as be able to overlook the countless plot holes, cringe-inducing dialogue, and idiotic character interactions in it. These hardened souls will have a grand old time with Lost Odyssey as the story, while terribly flawed, is lavishly told through some of the finest cut-scenes and exciting action sequences that a large coffer of cash (and talent) can afford. And then there is the exploration and combat that are as vital as the story in a role-playing game.

Exploration in Lost Odyssey has you navigating through a wide variety of environments, from grand cities and underground caverns, to snowy peaks and inside giant mechanical structures. Towns and cities feature plenty of characters to interact with that may lead to side quests, mini games as well as trigger lost memories. Side quests in the game rarely stray far from simple fetch tasks that can quickly become repetitive, while the mini games range from being fun distractions to downright annoying, such as when it forces you to be stealthy when the game isn't designed for it, or a pointless sequence that calls for you to press buttons in-time to onscreen prompts.

The treacherous dungeons you will explore in Lost Odyssey are filled with simple puzzles and light mazes to solve. These levels also feature a surprising amount of verticality, and you will be climbing up stairs and descending steep slopes in these layered dungeons. Thanks to an ever-present mini-map that usually has several levels of magnification, navigating these labyrinths rarely becomes a confusing task. Save points are also fairly well placed within dungeons for a JRPG, and you should have no problems finding them every 30-40 minutes as you progress through the game. Outside of these save points, the only time you may save the game's progress is on the world map.

The world map allows you to select all the destinations you have previously ventured to and instantly travel between them. Another way to travel between locations is by taking to the seas and sky once you have obtained the necessary vehicles. However, outside of specific instances where you will need to travel by ship to activate new areas, this feels redundant as it's much easier to choose your destination from a handy list instead of trying to manoeuvre your ship –which works slightly better than controlling the movements of that rubber ducky in your bathtub by blowing on it.

While roaming hostile territories, your party will butt heads with all sorts of fantastical creatures during random enemy encounters. Subscribing to Final Fantasy X's theory of quality over quantity, the random encounter rate in Lost Odyssey tends toward the lower end of the spectrum. That's not to say they won't be frustrating at times when you are intent on reaching the end of the dungeon and it's long past your bedtime!

Making it more excruciating is the time it takes to actually begin the battle, as whenever a fight is initiated, the game proceeds to show you shots of background scenery, presumably to scan for ninja ambush, which there never is! This is followed by watching your party's warm-up routine, before finally pointing the camera at your foes, all deserving medals for being the paragons of patience that they are. Instead of pushing for extra graphical fidelity, I would've liked for the developers to put some of this generation's extra processing power towards reducing load times. This frequent loading routine isn't game-breaking, but it definitely detracts from the experience as a whole.

The combat in Lost Odyssey starts of rather simple. Your burgeoning party and enemies stand on opposing sides of the battlefield, and take turns clobbering each other until one side dies. As you advance in level and through the game, several nuances will come into play. Veteran role-playing game players will have no problem observing enemy types and their elemental affinities to perform effective attacks against them. It's also common sense to place your hardened members in the front row, and keep your casters in the back. The game even tries to enforce this with a ‘Wall' system where the front row provides a tangible ‘cover' for the back. It's novel, but feels a little unnecessary.

The mortal members of your party will gain new skills as they level up, but the same can't be said for the immortals for some reason. Instead, they will have to crib skills from their teammates, as well as learn them by equipping items. This starts off as a confusing and cumbersome system to acquire new skills, and it won't be until about half way through the game that it starts to pay off, as you gain more skill slots as well as a good variety of skills that can be tailored to suit every occasion and complement the strengths and weaknesses of the rest of your party.

In an effort to engage the player more during the battle sequences, a variety of ‘Rings' may be forged and equipped to augment your attacks. Each of the rings has specific properties that make your attacks more effective – if you can pull it off. As your character performs a regular attack, you have to hold and then release the right trigger at the right time indicated by onscreen cues in order to trigger the ring's properties. Again, it is a worthwhile feature that doesn't come into its own until later in the game. For those that despise timing-based mini-games, it is possible to ignore the rings all together – although you will be forgoing some very nice extra damage that can help immensely in many of the difficult battles late-game.

Outside of the random enemy encounters, Lost Odyssey also features some fairly interesting boss battles that give you something to look forward to (or dread as the case may be) at the end of each chapter. Many of them require at least some forethought into how you structure your party and the skills and equipment you bring. It isn't unusual to be caught unprepared the first time you encounter a boss. Fortunately, in the event of a humiliating defeat, you can usually continue the game from just before said disgrace.

While Mistwalker has so far produced two titles of dubious originality (the other being last year's Blue Dragon), they have certainly proven themselves as more than capable of making drop-dead gorgeous games. Lost Odyssey is undoubtedly one of the better looking games to grace the Xbox 360. Detailed character models wearing outlandish costumes, visually stunning locations with dazzling special effects, and a menagerie of inspiringly designed enemy creatures fill out the 4 DVDs that the game comes on. It's therefore especially disheartening that the game also has noticeable instances of slow-downs and graphical glitches (especially during many of the in-game cinematics) that keep taking you out of the experience.

With the help of famed composer Nobuo Uematsu, whose credits include the music for every Final Fantasy game, as well as the fantastic soundtrack for Blue Dragon, the music in Lost Odyssey is no disappointment. Evocative and haunting at times, and playful and uplifting when appropriate, there's little to complain about here. And considering that the rest of the game comfortably resides in the Final Fantasy mould, even the battle victory music that sounds a little too familiar seems only fitting.