Unlike the usual fighting games, attacking doesn’t increase the skill bar in Lost Saga. Instead, it stops the recharging process temporarily. It feels pretty much cowardly if the character is reliant on skills. Hit and run tactics are commonplace for these character types. Even those characters strong enough for a melee barrage employs hit and run tactics, an annoying strategy when you’re pressed for time.  The arenas also promote these tactics too. The large levels in Lost Saga are not really capable of confining the players in a slightly smaller space. There will be moments of pauses in-between the chaos, due to the sheer distance the players can get.

Warming up to the game takes time. You’ll need a lot of practice rounds before getting the hang of the controls and the characters in your arsenal. Lost Saga doesn’t feel like a standard fighting game at first. But as you pick up on the three-button system, it’ll feel like old school arcade fighting once again. The focus leans more on the characters. Lost Saga features more than 20 different characters having a themed “hero” stereotype. Having a sizeable bunch of archetypal characters, Lost Saga has rounded up a wide variety of grunts, heroes, magicians, mercenaries, mystical beings, typical fighting game characters, and MMORPG classes. One great selling point of the game was the free will to select and reselect any character before every respawn. While the beta period only offered four of these characters, learning each one and getting used to every terrain is part of the fun.

Character skills vary generously, but the mindset is most often divided into melee and ranged. The assassin can attack faster than the rest, although a bit weaker. Knights have slower movements, but are great damage dealers even skill-wise. The fire mages are typical of the MMORPG counterpart, able to deal area-of-effect damages and even have their own targeting system for a more precise attack. Infantries are more focused on long-range attacks, charm and defensive skills. It would’ve been better if there were more characters to choose from, though. Continued bashing also makes players gradually drop their equipment on the ground for everyone to pick up. This adds another level of strategy and excitement for the players. You can just imagine a fully armored knight suddenly capable of casting a strong fireball skill after picking up that fire magician’s staff; or an assassin running around while swiftly gunning down opponents using an infantry’s rifle.

Lost Saga’s cartoon style is no visual masterpiece. But the cel-shaded characters and smooth 3D environment renditions fit part and parcel to the game’s premise and style. That being said, there’s little to complain about in Lost Saga’s aesthetics. Solid color textures enable the game to load faster too, without compromising details and smooth animations. Additionally, the transparencies, light effects, explosions and other visual stunners run in harmony with the game. At the same time, the sounds typically complement the theme and the characters. It gets annoying with prolonged listening though.

Perhaps, Lost Saga’s greatest flaw is in the cash shop. We’ve come to accept the fact that the item shop is a free-to-play game’s major source of revenue. However, OGPlanet raised the bar too high and took out most of the fun in playing Lost Saga. Apart from the typical fashion and character customizing items, Lost Saga also sells the characters themselves. You’re actually just “renting out” the characters. The game requires a lot of cash points to permanently own the character and retain its spot in your roster for the rest of your Lost Saga stay. In-game credits only extend the rent for a few hours, and mind you, earning credits isn’t really motivating. The game is too stingy when it comes to rewarding players. Having to rent characters loses the game’s casual appeal.

In the end, despite Lost Saga’s fumbles, it still delivered an enjoyable experience. I’m also thankful for the fact that my game pad works well with Lost Saga too. I’ve never really gave much attention to PvP or fighting-based MMOs, but this one definitely caught my eye. There’s a certain level of depth to the game, and it’s more on the player’s quick thinking combined with reflexive movement of the character. I’m clinging on to the hope for Lost Saga’s long-term success. With a diverse character selection, any interested player is sure a suitable battle partner in the game. Fighting fans, give Lost Saga a spin once it goes public.

Review Mister Black
October 27, 2009