Otogi: Myth of Demons

"Who says original action games are dead?"

Introduction
Otogi, published by Sega, is an incredibly fulfilling hack-n-slash action oriented game. The innovative gameplay breathes fresh life into a relatively stagnant genre. The graphics ooze style and beauty like no other. The story is minimal but fits the game perfectly. You are a warrior in an ancient Japan styled fantasy world. Having been brought back from death by the queen to cleanse the world of evil, you will fight thru fully destructible environments to free the souls that keep you alive.

Gameplay - 9.1
Hack-n-slash games have been a dying breed in recent years with most games of the games in this genre repeating the basic formula that made them favorites of the past. While Otogi may seem similar to many other games of this style on the surface, when you dig deeper you will find many things that stand out from your standard slashfest.

While a health bar is the standard for games of this nature, Otogi uses health in a new way. Two things make up your health in the game. The first is magic, which will be drained from you at a constant rate. To keep your magic from running out you need to kill evil demons and creatures who, when they die, have their souls released which will restore your magic level. If your magic ever runs out on a level your actual health will diminish until you die unless you replenish your magic. I know many are thinking this doesn't sound like fun to me and I was also apprehensive of this until I played the game. It forces the game to not lull into dull moments wandering around and keeps a high level of apprehension throughout the course of the game. This simple but innovative feature adds so much to the game you really have to experience it to fully see what I mean.

The controls in the game are extremely well implemented with only one flaw. Basically you have one button for a quick attack, one for a power attack, and one for magic. Combos can be performed by linking together these different attacks and makes for an extremely easy to pick up and play but hard to master control scheme. When you do these combos your warrior will also glide thru the air for an indefinite period of time as long as you are linking more combos together. The possibilities to link together up to 500 hit combos, on some of the more enemy ridden levels, adds a fun challenge to the game. The only flaw I have found in the gameplay is the camera, while not particularly bad, is also not particularly great either. It is controlled using the right analog stick and at times can be a bit on the frustrating side.

The environments, the beauty of which I'll speak to later, are fully and completely destructible adding some good old fashioned destruction fun to the game. While it may be destruction at the simplest, it is not without a purpose, as destroying everything and anything can yield different powerups and lead to 100% completion of the level. While it's not essential to making or breaking this game, it is a nice touch that is well appreciated by this gamer.

The game also makes use of a very simple rpg type leveling system as you progress. Basically, as you reach certain levels your characters magic will take longer to decrease and you will have the options to buy more and more powerful weapons. While it is incredibly simple it adds just one more nice touch to an already very enjoyable game.

All of these small little innovations and aspects of gameplay blend together to make this one of the most enjoyable hack-n-slash styled games I've played in a long time. For all real fans of this genre you will likely be very pleased with the stylistic and unique formula for fun.

Story - 8.1
There really is not a lot of detail to go into about the story as it takes a backseat to the gameplay however it does fit the game very well. As I briefly stated at the opening you are a warrior in a fantasy styled Japan who has been brought back by the queen of the land. There is a growing evil in the land that needs to be cleansed, which is done by freeing the souls of your enemies when you kill them. As you progress thru the game there will be some twists and turns as you learn more about how to destroy this evil. The story unfolds after each level in which the queen will speak to you briefly thru cutscenes. While the story is not the main focus of the game, it serves the purpose well enough, providing a reason for your hack-n-slash adventures.

Graphics/Sound - 9.4
Otogi is without a doubt an absolutely beautiful game to look at. The draw distance is very good providing for some breathtaking panoramas. The character models for you and the enemies are very well done and look quite good even when you are looking at them in detail. The various destructible environments are full of special effects when they are destroyed and quite nice to look at before you do so. The animation in the game is extremely smooth and I have noticed no lag in it at all. The game has a very oriental style that is evident throughout everything in the game and on screen just simply looks great. There is not one thing bad I can say about the graphics in the game.

The sound is for the most part well done but leaves some to be desired in voice acting. Otogi was originally a Japanese release and as such was dubbed in English with the usual less than satisfactory results. The destructive environments make the appropriate explosion or breaking sounds. The sword hitting objects has an enjoyable metallic clang that sounds just right. The use of magic sounds about what you would expect. The music enhances the feeling of being in this world. Besides the mediocre voice acting elements the rest of the sound is quite good.

Play Time/Replayability - 8.4
The game takes a while to progress thru fully. You are able to go back to past levels after you beat them in order to help you level up when you reach the later harder levels. I'm not quite sure the length of the game as I played it over a long time and not straight thru. I think that it would be around 15 hours or so. To get 100% completion of every level takes a much longer time as many of the later levels are quite difficult to complete fully. Attempting to fully complete the game in this way adds quite a bit of playtime to the game.

The game has a lot of replay value to fans of hack-n-slash game as there really is nothing else quite like it. I found it fun to go thru the game many times and it's a game that I constantly throw in from time to time. For the price of this game you will definitely be pleased with the value of this game if you are a fan of the genre.

Final Recommendation - 9.2
To truly understand everything I have said about why this game is such a blast to play you must experience it for yourself. I heartily recommend this game to anyone who has been looking for a fun and unique hack-n-slash styled game. For those that enjoy these games I consider it a must have for xbox owners. For those that don't enjoy this genre you most likely won't enjoy this game, however I would still recommend to these people to at least give it a rent. You may be pleasantly surprised when you get this game, I sure was.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/16/03