ust seeing a demo of a localized version of Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon was a treat—it’s much easier to relate to the characters when you can actually understand what they’re saying, after all. When that demo was helmed by none other that Hironobu Sakaguchi himself, well, let’s just say it was hard not to geek out just a little bit. We got to watch the man behind Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and a host of other classics take us on a quick tour of his latest RPG—as well as see a surprise peek at the upcoming Lost Odyssey.

The demo started with a few cutscenes, showing off the great character design and animation Japanese audiences have enjoyed since it was released there late last year. One of the characters, Marumaro, is a goofy cat thing with an equally goofy voice. He seems to fill the standard role of annoying RPG sidekick quite nicely. Mistwalker is giving U.S. audiences the choice to listen to the original Japanese voicework or the new English recording, giving purists another way to listen to Marumaro’s squealing.

Sakaguchi showed off the overworld combat system, which lets players pick and choose their battles strategically. He equipped a field skill that enveloped Shu in a glowing red orb, allowing the party to tear through enemies without going through the motions of combat. That skill consumed MPs and also required the party to have beaten that enemy type the traditional way first—a fair trade-off for the amount of time it saved. Another sequence showed the party evading laser beams from above, which should be instantly familiar to anyone whose played Final Fantasy X and dodged lightning. Players can stun enemies on the battlefield before entering combat, too, which adds other layers of depth to the already rich combat system.

Just as it sounds, the game features more of an action focus than most turn-based RPGs. At three points during the game, we were told, players will control mecha in special first-person-shooter-like combat sequences. We saw one of those battles, which featured an airship with lock-on targeting, a massive cannon and mechanized-shark-styled enemies.

A quick boss battle was also shown, highlighting the game’s combat system and odd sense of humor. Players were ambushed by a giant T-rex, who quickly produced a few allies by, well, defecating them out. Soon, not only did the party have to contend with a giant dinosaur, but they had their hands full with a giant pink poo, or “Jumbo Poo,” as the game called it. Characters can summon special shadow guardians to aid in combat, and it was here that Marumaro redeemed himself. His ally is an enormous saber-tooth tiger, who charges enemies in a pretty impressive display.

One of the more interesting features of the game is its game plus feature. Players can select one of three difficulty levels, including the “impossible” setting, which is designed for players who have beaten the game and leveled up to 50. The extra difficulty setting adds new bosses and enemies to the game, giving players the rare incentive to play through a story-based RPG again.

After seeing the Blue Dragon demo, Sakaguchi gave us a quick look at Lost Odyssey, another Mistwalker RPG. Where Blue Dragon is whimsical and cute, Lost Odyssey takes a more serious approach. The game is set after the discovery of mystical energy, in what’s described as the magical industrial revolution. We saw a cutscene that was all rendered in real-time, and even though it was missing some of the shading effects, it looked great. The combat is turn based, but it is supposed to feature real-time elements such as front and rear guards and other strategic elements. The game is set for a holiday 2007 worldwide release. Interestingly, the game’s dialogue was recorded in English first, and the lip syncing will match those sessions. Sakaguchi said he wanted Japanese audiences to experience the game the same way they view Hollywood movies in Japan—dubbed.

Microsoft has high hopes for the work Mistwalker is doing on the 360. Even if these RPGs don’t ultimately attract Japanese players to the console, it looks like gamers in the U.S. will be able to enjoy some top-notch titles when they’re released stateside.