Otogi strikes out into brave new frontiers by offering action fans a glimpse of future gaming.
The story of Otogi follows a warrior named Raikoh who finds himself skirting the realms of the living and dead. Put there by a Princess who desires to purge the demonic presence in the living world, Raikoh follows her bidding, which usually involves fighting demons. The plot is an amalgamation of irritations and subtle haikus as it is neither satisfying nor without merit, but simply is. It isn’t easy to appreciate the story, as it will constantly leave you with questions that will never be solved, yet its style is unique and interesting enough to overcome the lack of information.
The gameplay is an amazingly addictive hybrid of action and roleplaying, with enough depth and content to warrant playing the game repeatedly to experience everything it has to offer. During the missions, Raikoh has basic moves, such as an attack, heavy attack, and magic attack, all of which can be strung together to create some impressive looking combos. In addition, Raikoh is incredibly speedy, and has the ability to fly in the air by using a dash. This incredible power Raikoh possesses is balanced with his limited and constantly diminishing magic meter that is used by his magical abilities and increased by vanquishing his enemies. This adds a sense of urgency as Raikoh gives liberal application of pain stick to his enemies, and generally increases the excitement of the game.
After a mission is completed, you have the ability to buy new goodies such as weapons, magic, or artifacts. After you’ve done this, you can either go on to the next mission, or try and perfect your score on a previous level. By destroying all the objects in a level and freeing the souls within, you not only gain experience and money, but can also unlock hidden items and magic. It’s an addictive incentive to “catch them all” so to speak, and doesn’t feel contrived in its mission of increasing replayability.
The action is one of the best aspects of this game due to the high kinetics of a fight. Raikoh’s heavy attack has the ability to send your enemies flying through the air, and consequently into other enemies or through walls, rocks, ships, or other paraphernalia unlucky enough to be in the path of Raikoh’s enemies. After a fight when the landscape is decimated, and the ground is cratered with your enemies’ bodies, the satisfaction gained is a rare feeling seldom found in gaming today.
The graphics are among the best you are likely to see on the xbox. The models for Raikoh and his enemies are incredibly and creatively detailed, and the animations look amazing, up until the point they receive the business end of Raikoh’s pain stick. The levels have very unique feelings associated with them, thanks in large part to the use of color as well as structures and buildings. One particular level of amazing quality has a forest of bamboo trees under a dark green sky. It looks absolutely amazing, even when sending enemies careening into the stalks and mountain side.
The sound is extremely satisfying, with the violence and dialogue performing above par on all counts. The music has a lucid feel that has no equal for the feeling it emotes. The voice acting is surprisingly well done, and deserves accolades considering the small amount of effort usually allocated to this facet of gaming. In addition, the original Japanese is available for those that prefer it, an option usually not available in games that are dubbed.
The game takes about 15 hours to beat if you aren’t interested in collecting the extras in every level, and offers a plus mode which allows you to play again with all your items and weapons on a harder setting. The higher difficulty level makes things a bit more frantic, and makes the game feel fresh.
Otogi strikes out into brave new frontiers by offering action fans a glimpse of future gaming and the unique kinetic feel that other titles similar to Otogi can offer. If you haven’t checked this title out and have the opportunity, do yourself a favor and experience one of the best sleeper hits of the xbox.