Hit or myth. Review

Hit or myth.

"Otogi" might sound like a Japanese breakfast cereal, but it’s actually

the shortened form of Otogizoshi,

which means a short prose fiction from the Japanese Edo period.

But if you were anything like Raikoh, a warrior caught between life and death,

breakfast just has to include a daily dose of ancient Edo demons, fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. After all,

the day simply hasn’t truly begun unless you’ve killed something.

Raikoh’s

life is held in limbo by Princess, a mysterious, shrouded woman who assigns

Raikoh quests to atone for his evil past life. From level to level, Raikoh tears

it up, slicing and dicing in the third-person in Otogi: Myth of Demons.

Otogi is essentially a glorified hack n’ slash affair. You

battle your way across 29 levels just obliterating everything. Besides the gathering

of minor enemies, there’s often a seriously wicked beast terrorizing the lands

with demon-stink breath or demon-dancing or something. Simply make your way

to that pivotal denizen of the darkside, off the sucker, and it’s on to the

next level.

Raikoh definitely travels in style thanks to copious amounts of dashing and

jumping. You’ll soar up into the air and gently float down, just wailing on

all the bad guys dumb enough to be near you. A magic meter is constantly depleting

and dashing uses up more, but it’s a great way to slice your way through enemies.

You’ve also got projectile attacks in the form of spells, which look cool but

again suck up precious magic.

As you progress you gain experience and can afford better weapons and items, lending what seems like some RPG depth here. You’ll gain weapons by accomplishing different objectives or purchasing them in between missions.

It’s a nice try, but aside from slightly different speeds or whatnot, the

weapons all play the same way. Combos remain grounded in the common three weak

slashes followed by a heavy one. You can target specific enemies, but in those

moments when you are completely surrounded, it winds up better just to keep

hacking away. Nonetheless, targeting that one specific boss enemy can still

prove useful.

Unfortunately,

the bosses are really the only enemies that put up a real fight, as the AI is

pretty stupid. This makes for a repetitive game, making you hack your way through

mindless enemies until you pass each level.

While there isn’t a ton of depth here, it can be quite fulfilling watching

the explosions and slaughter. The game really takes off when you start enjoying

the fact that just about everything can be destroyed. You’ll tear through trees,

bust open walls and lay waste to almost everything your blade touches, leading

to a kinetically pleasing experience. When you’re kicking demon-ass and busting

up the environment, you really feel like a force of nature.

The game is very challenging and getting through the levels will take multiple

tries, drawing a comparison between another distinctively Japanese game, Shinobi

for the PS2.  While the two are set in different time periods, some of the action

bits feel similar.

But Otogi more than one-ups Shinobi in its

looks. It seems to share style with games like Panzer

Dragoon Orta and Gunvalkyrie, but the smoky

atmosphere and the distinctly Japanese look of cherry blossom petals and temples

of gold give it a more refined feel. Great lighting, sharp colors and good animation

seal the deal. At times it is enough to make you forget about the repetitive

slashing and the difficulty.

I’ve noticed that other games developed by From Software tend to have some

anti-aliasing issues with jaggy edges, and you’ll occasionally find that here

alongside a dropped frame or two. Nonetheless, Otogi is a rich,

beautiful game.

The unmistakable cultural flavor continues in the music, richly imbued with

chanting, drumming, the strums of a zither. Voices come in Japanese and English,

both of which are good. Even the English narration carries that heavy-handed

importance prevalent in Japanese operas.

Otogi‘s somewhat repetitive action is not entirely compelling,

but this one is really all about style and looking cool. It might not suck you

in, but it should satiate your hunger for both fast-paced action and eye candy.

And that’s not a bad breakfast at all.