One reason why the Xbox consoles haven't been able to make much of an impact in Japan is because frankly the Japanese can't find enough of their games on the console. While the rest of the gaming world rejoices at the release of a Half-Life Episode, gamers in Japan couldn't care less. It's this weak Japanese connection that Microsoft has had over the years that gave the PlayStation its edge. But with the wide success of the Xbox 360, even Japanese developers can't ignore it anymore.

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man who defined Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) as we know them today through his immensely successful Final Fantasy series, is now concentrating his resources to bring the missing genre (of JRPGs, keep up will you?) in a big way to Xbox360. Though his previous effort – Blue Dragon – didn't do too much for the genre, probably because of its younger appeal and weaker storyline; the latest release – Lost Odyssey – has finally delivered the true Japanese RPG experience to the 'American' console.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Xbox 360 boasts the best new generation Japanes RPG released till date. But of course, I will have to start right from the top.

You play the role of Kaim, a 1000 year old immortal soldier with no memory of his past. Along with his personal anguish, the world is on the brink of war, thanks to the political influences of the different cities that span this world. He teams up with fellow immortals (also clueless about their memories) and mortals, as the story progresses to prevent an all-out war... and recall memories of his past in the process.

The characters are very well defined throughout the game. The lead character, Kaim, starts with no memory but as the game progresses, he recalls fragments of his past experiences in the form of dreams, or by encountering events that remind him of past experiences. As one would normally expect, these memories are not shown as a cut-scene or an in-game cinematic, the game goes into a different mode called "1000 Years of Dreams" where the memories are represented in purely textual format.

As mundane as it may sound, I think it was an excellent decision to do so, mainly because the dreams are so well-written, that no cut-scene could have done justice to it. Trust me, you have to read it to know what I'm talking about. Oh, and rest assured, you don't have to worry about lack of awesome cinematics in this game.

When it comes to the story, there's no two ways about it. Few Japanese RPGs will have you this emotionally attached to the characters as Lost Odyssey. This matters a lot, considering that story is one of the biggest selling points of these RPGs.

Being true to the JRPG tradition, the gameplay is very linear with the only control in your hands being in the way you upgrade your character with add-ons and the party you select for specific missions. Think of it more as a glorified adventure game than an RPG in its true sense of the word.