I just put 90 hours into Lost Odyssey(in less then 2 weeks), and will probably put many more into it. So I've been trying to nail down what it is about this game that made me so damn addicted, and why it's the first RPG I felt the NEED to play since Skies of Arcadia.

What did they do in this game that made it just... So damn amazing?
(No spoilers)

This is also pretty much just a way for me to gush about the game, and vocalize if to no one else, myself, why I love it. Since I know pretty much everyone else has played it... And if they haven't... THEY SHOULD.

I started playing RPGs in the SNES days, my first RPG was probably Final Fantasy III. At least console wise, I played a game called LARN for the PC wayyyy back in the early 80s, before I was old enough to understand what was going on. So I was spoiled with the greatest era of Role Playing Games.
But anyhow, I will try and keep this from being a wall of text, so I'll just dive in with what I love about this game, and why everyone should play it.

I actually care about the characters in it.
I don't know how they did it, but I care about these chunks of bits and bites, they managed to give them real emotions without it coming across as sappy or over the top. I haven't felt this attached to characters since the SNES days. FFVII came close, but wasn't quite there for likable characters in my book, I love them, don't get me wrong, I just didn't feel attached.

The plot was a by the numbers RPG plot, but was just random enough and inventive enough that it kept me a little confused, and to be honest, I miss by the numbers RPGs, I really do. Magic/tech revolution FTW.
Granted, I could tell who was going to be in my party, and who was going to be a bad guy the moment I saw the... "Wow, they've got a detailed character model.. I must get them at some point."
The only plot point I didn't fully take to, was the romance subplot, which felt a little forced to me... But that's a minor complaint.

The people who made this game must have read my wish list for every little thing that I hoped for, but never needed bad enough to wish for in an RPG.

Being able to open up my menu and seeing how much exp till next level, having a quick heal in the menu, swapping out characters on the fly, changing equipment in a battle without losing a turn, random battles that don't feel like a chore, and being able to pick my language(Hearing the Japanese voice actors let me connect to them more I believe) to name a few I can think of at the moment.

Kaim's memories... 1000 years of dreams, are utterly fantastic and beautiful too. I never skipped one, or read it quickly, I felt as though each one was a bonus in the game, so well written and so full of emotion I turned up my headphones so nothing would distract me.
The first one you get in the game, Hannah's Awakening, filled me with more emotion then I've felt in gaming in the last 10 or so years.

I'm sad I waited this long to play it, but I didn't have the money to buy it at the time it came out. But now that I do own it, it'll be one of the few RPGs I will find myself playing for a long time, along side Skies of Arcadia, Secret of Mana, Earthbound, and FFIII(or VI, whichever you want).

If I didn't already own a 360, this would be a game that forced me to buy one. Squaresoft use to be my reason for buying a gaming system, now I think that mantle will be replaced by Mistwalker and Feelplus.