Otogi: Myth of Demons

"A great action game held back by a few problems"

Every year there’s a game that slips under the radar of a console, for Xbox last year, it was no doubt “Deathrow”; and without a doubt, for the year of 2003, it’s “Otogi: Myth of Demons”. “Otogi” can best be described as Xbox’s answer to “Devil May Cry” for the PS2. Just like “Devil May Cry” when it landed in 2001, “Otogi” is a fast paced, over-the-top action game, bursting with style and flair.

In “Otogi” you play as Raikoh, a man resurrected by a mysterious princess to lay waste to a legion of demons that have been unleashed on earth. Granted magical powers and a chance of redemption, Raikoh begins a one man war against the daunting odds. Asides from the basic premise, the storyline is pretty much non-existent in “Otogi”, there are a few cut scenes throughout the game but none of them really add any depth to the storyline. It’s kind of a shame too because the game has such stylish look and feel to it.

The action plays very identically to “Devil May Cry”. Raikoh can arm himself with an arsenal of swords, hammers, spears and so on, each with their own specific strengths and weaknesses. All the weapons look awesome and Raikoh can unleash some extreme devastation with them. The combat system is nothing you probably haven’t seen before, but it’s done in such a fast paced and simplistic way that you’ll probably love it. You have two attack button, light and heavy, and can piece them together to make a variety of combo’s much like you do in “Dynasty Warriors”. The action is fast and furious and is just a blast, period. It doesn’t get much more satisfying than sending an enemy into a wall and watching it shatter into pieces. The game sports some incredibly destructive environments and does give you the feeling that Raikoh has super-human abilities. You can also practically float in air and lay waste to rows of airborne enemies at once.

Much like “Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver”, since Raikoh is dead you must constantly slay enemies to maintain your existence in the living world. With every enemy defeated you refill some of your magic power bar, if this bar becomes depleted, it’s light out. If that wasn’t enough to worry about you also have to keep an eye on your life bar which is pretty sparse throughout the entire game. Even though Raikoh constantly regains his life, you’re almost always taking hits from all sides so the regeneration ability doesn’t really do jack. At times you take countless hits that it’s almost impossible to even regain your composure and escape to a safe spot to regain your life. The overall maintaining magic by beating enemies doesn’t work very well in “Otogi”. It’s easy is some levels to keep your magic in some levels, but a pain in others.

For each level beaten in “Otogi” Raikoh gains experience which increases his power, magic, defense and such. The problem with this is that some of the later on levels you have to continually replay past levels to gain more experience if you’re going to hope to stand a chance against the new enemies you’ll encounter. This is fine at first, but after awhile really does become chore and detracts from the better portions of “Otogi”.

Graphically the game looks pretty darn good, but a bit uneven. While some levels look just gorgeous and sport some beautiful lighting effects; there are plenty of others that are pretty bare and lifeless and this does undermine the presentation as a whole in “Otogi”. Better than the graphics believe it or not is the sound. The sound effects are average, but the music is fantastic. “Otogi” never cheats its mood by adding in idiotic rock guitar themes and other garbage. It keeps with its roots by providing a sweeping musical score using dozens of ancient Japanese instruments. You really don’t find music this good too often in games and it adds immensely to the atmosphere of the game.

In all despite a few minor gripes, “Otogi” is a game I can recommend to everyone, if you’re a fan of action games in whatever manifestation, then you shouldn’t be disappointed with this game. It’s a shame the game didn’t receive much of a reception because it definitely deserves to be noticed among the Xbox library, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the sequel.

Pros:
+ Excellent graphics
+ Superb music
+ Awesome action
+ Lots of weapons
+ Easy to pick up

Cons:
- Some levels stink
- Not enough depth
- Can get very frustrating

Graphics- 9.0
Gameplay- 8.0
Sound- 9.5
Overall- 8.0

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/04