Last Dance: Otogi 1 + 2
If there is any positive to being a Johnnie Come-Lately with a console it has to be that there's going to be a slew of great titles immediately available. This was the case when I got an original Xbox. Thanks to the steady flow of games that were released on the Playsation 2 and GameCube, I didn't feel the need to pick up the big box from Microsoft until I was able to find a bunch of exclusives worth my while. Since it was more than a few years into the life of the console by the time I was able to piece together a little shopping list and made my purchase, some of the games that I was looking forward to already received a sequel or two. While some of these sequels were destined to happen (Oddworld), one of these game-turned-series couldn't have been more unexpected. The first game was only moderately well received and defiantly did not make an impact with sales. But the most unexpected element of this series is that it was developed by the same team that brought us the Armored Core series and one of the worst games to grace the system at that point. So what happens when a team that is primarily responsible for armies of giant robots gives us their vision of feudal Japan? Lots of destruction!
Otogi: Myth of Demons was originally released on the Xbox for North America in the summer of 2003. Otogi: Immortal Warriors, its sequel, was released a little more than a year later. While either can be enjoyed without the other, but both are worth your time. When placed side by side, players are treated to an epic tale of loss, revenge, and redemption. Considering that Otogi's closest analogues are popcorn action titles like Devil May Cry and God of War, the series easily makes a name for itself with it's unique take on real life warrior, Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
The premise places the character as Raikoh Minamoto, a deadly assassin that serves Japan's emperor. After receiving orders to kill his own father, Raikoh realizes that he must part ways from his deadly clan and steals their most valued possession: Soul Shrine, an ancient sword of untold power. By taking the sword, Raikoh effectively breaks a seal between the human world and the demon world. Now free to enter as they please, demonic creatures of all sorts flood Kyoto. As Raikoh attempts to make his escape from the city, he is nearly caught but the vicious beasts but is saved by strange Princess and brought to a place between the land of the living and the land of the dead. While this saves Raikoh for the time being, it comes with severe consequences, namely Raikoh's body. In exchange for a new body, the Princess makes a deal with Raikoh. He can keep his new flesh as long as he "repents" for his sins as a hired killer. His repenting comes in the form of eradicating the world of the demons that he unleashed.
A story this epic in nature can only be told with voice acting, gameplay, and visuals to match. Fortunately, both Otogi titles deliver each of these aspects with a nearly unmatched beauty. The voice actors heard here do a great job with script. It's not 100% authentic since they don't speak in Japanese, but it leagues above the standard dubbed anime and didn't grate on my nerves (like God of War's voice actors did). The gameplay presented here starts with solid "hack and slash" styled action and uses a combination of unique weapons and combos that makes the player feel as though they are a vengeful force of nature. Where as other games that take place in a similar historical setting will abstract it's characters and content (such as Okami), Otogi uses it's visuals as a way to create a natural ambiance that is immediately captivating. What is initially captivating about these two titles becomes something much more impressive when you realize that nearly everything in front of you is destructible. This ranges from the usual clay pots to entire residential structures. As someone that played Red Faction simply for the highly destructible environments, I'd often wondered why we didn't see that level of detail displayed in games outside of a first person shooter. Otogi single handedly brings this concept to third person action games in such a visceral nature that you'll wonder why other games in the genre (namely, the frozen environments of God of War) haven't taken cues from Otogi.
Each game in the series features over 25 giant levels of demons, devils, and other bad guys to sprint though as you slice and dice them to bits. The level flow is largely the same through each of these levels: destroy minion demons, find boss, kill boss. While it sounds overly repetitious, the formula is able to work through the entire game thanks to a few non-linear elements and the sheer scope of some of the larger levels. The breakneck speed of the game will also keep you from noticing this. Since Raikoh is sort of undead, he needs a steady stream of life essence to maintain his vitality. You can find this in the enemies and objects that you destroy which allows him to prolong his presence in the world of the living.
The Immortal Warriors sequel is more than just a standard update to the original and features a bunch of gameplay additions and tweaks. You'll get five other playable characters to destroy things with, a vast array of weapons, spells and costumes to experiment with for each character, and a "Chaos Mode" that gives players a series of tricky challenges comparable with Ninja Gaiden Black's Mission Mode. Immortal Warriors comes out on top as the better game, but since both of these games tell a single story, you shouldn't skip over the original (especially since it's so cheap).
From Software brought us some of the most unique and underappreciated games to the grace Microsoft's first foray into console gaming. While it's best to forget that things like Murakumo ever existed, their more renown titles like Thousand Land, Metal Wolf Chaos, and both of the Otogi games are ones that should be remembered for reinventing gaming clichés. For what could have been just another ninja game, Otogi uses everything in it's arsenal to make sure that it's a lasting and memorable experience.
Game-Boy
Posted to Video Games on 18 February 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: from software, last dance, otagi, otagi 2, xbox
If you've never played this game, you HAVE to. It is gorgeous.
Gorgeous it may be, but an action game with a time limit like in Otogi is just plain annoying.
@Nexus
Yes, I found the time limit annoying as well, especially since I'm more than a little bit of a perfectionist and want to destroy everything in each stage. However, every time I play I get this "new game+" sense with all the levels. Like... you're supposed to just do your job the first time through, then later, come back when you're more powerful and "complete" the stages. Sort of like Warriors Orochi or, to some extent, the Persona series.