Otogi: Myth of Demons

"Otogi Is Like Shinobi For PS2 On Steroids."

Otogi is the newest hit title that Sega has produced for the Xbox. Sega seems to has taken it's sense of style from Shinobi games and placed it into a bigger, prettier world, but where you play as a samurai instead of a lone ninja. Otogi is basically a beat'em-up mixed with Shinobi-style gameplay. I'm just glad they didn't take one of the things that turned-off most people from Shinobi; the difficulty, which was impossible at times. Anyway, on to the review.

The controls are well set-up and respond well. The controls are almost just like the one's Shinobi for PS2, for those of you that have played it. You have a button to move, control the camera, cast spells, use a powerful attack, use a weaker attack that can do more combos, dash, and lock onto enemies. The only thing missing is the ability to run on walls, which would have been awesome. Overall, the controls are great and easy to get used to.

You play as Raikoh, a samurai that's an assassin for hire who was dead, but revived by an unknown entity to rid demons from the land where the Imperial Court once reigned. The Imperial Court's reign over the land when the Great Seal was destroyed by an unknown phenomenon, and all signs of human life disappeared, and demons wandered the land. You have to kill them all or the entity will kill you.

Otogi's gameplay is pretty much like Shinobi's, a fairly linear beat'em up complete with lots of different combos and lots of enemies. The game has you earn new spells and weapons by buying them and finding them within the game. There are around 10 or so weapons total that you can acquire and they all have their differences. To buy weapons, you just have to complete levels and you will get money.

Otogi is also an RPG in a sense. You level up after gaining so much experience and your stats get higher as you gain each level. You'll probably gain a level after beating 1 or 2 stages or something. Leveling up also takes longer after you have leveled higher and higher.

The combat system is fairly good. There is a good bit of combos, but probably not more than ten different ones. When you jump, you do different moves that you wouldn't do on the ground, and when you attack in the air, you stay still in the air for a while, which allows you to do 7 and 8 hit combos while in mid-air. Using the dash button will let you stay in the air even longer if used correctly. Overall, the combo system is good, but there could be more combos. More attacks equal more fun.

A thing that really makes this stand out from most games is the geo-mod system, which lets you destroy just about anything in the environment. Not too many games have this on consoles. There's hardly anything you can't destroy. This makes the game just that much better, and it's a great feature. To progress in most of the levels, you will have to make use of this feature.

The level designs are very good. They look like a cross of something you'd see in Shinobi and something you'd see in the Tenchu series. All of the levels take place in what looks like oriental China or something. They are all designed very well and are fun to explore, but most of them are fairly linear and have a straight path for you to go on.

The replayability is pretty good. There are lots of accessories, spells, and weapons to buy and collect. The game is also fairly challenging. I'm sure it'd take you a few or more tries to beat most levels, and there are 29 levels in the game.

The graphics in the game are magnificent. Everything looks amazing. The game is also very stylish looking. You'll see things blowing in the wind, Raikoh's scarf flow through the air when he moves, great looking water, and other good looking details in the game. Overall, great graphics. Like the graphics, the soundtrack is also very good.

Pros:

+ Leveling up system is fun
+ Lots of weapons, spells, and accessories to buy and collect
+ Geo-Mod system makes the game much funner
+ Stylish and great-looking graphics
+ Good soundtrack
+ Lots of levels (29)
+ Good combat system
+ Difficulty is just right

Cons:

- Some might find the game to be tedious
- Not as many combos as I'd like there to be

Overall, I think this is a must-buy for Xbox if you like straight-up action games and beat'em ups. The game feels like a mix between Devil May Cry and Shinobi, and that's a good thing. Go buy this! NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/03