Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors

Added November 3rd, 2004 by Sallizar

Introduction:

Almost every industry rag and online gaming site lists Otogi: Myth of Demons as one of those must play games that no one actually played. It was even one of the featured games in Volume 3 of our very own Underrated Games special. Now typically a game that gets these kind of kudos, but has poor sales figures, rarely gets a sequel. Thankfully it must have done well in Japan, because From Software has done the unthinkable and somehow conned Sega into releasing the sequel in the States. Instead of just throwing Raikoh headlong into another solo adventure, Otogi 2 sports an entire supporting cast of six new characters that are all playable. Combine that with the all-new Havoc mode and you have the makings of another cult classic.

Gameplay:

Like the previous Otogi, the latest version pits Raikoh against a band of demons bent on destruction. This time around his generals join him and they are all playable characters. Each character has a unique weapon and fighting style and in some cases an even more unique character design. Tsuna the wolf man wields two spinning blades, Kintoki is a behemoth of a man with a giant ax and I’m still not real sure what the tree trunk shaped Suetake is. The characters all vary in their abilities and it’s great to have so much extra variety in the game. Raikoh’s a great character but some of the new ones are even more fun to play as.

Combat in the Otogi series (can we call it that yet?) is very unique and reminiscent of Chinese films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero. The majority of combat takes place while your character is hovering and dashing through the air. Racking up a 200 hit combo without ever touching the ground is actually quite attainable. Watching a veteran player is akin to watching an aerial ballet of destruction.

While fighting the various demons you’ll encounter you’ll be able to inflict a ton of collateral damage on the surrounding environment. Almost everything in the world is breakable and it seems to me that the levels have even more things to destroy this time around. Not only does trashing the environment look cool, it’s also a goal. You actually get graded on how much destruction you cause. Also, various objects contain souls that you release by breaking the objects. Find all the souls to unlock goodies for your characters.

Otogi includes a few RPG style elements like stat points, levels, and items. You’re characters will grow more powerful as they defeat demons and gain experience. You’ll need to replay the early levels a few times to get your characters powered up for the great boss fights. You’ll also be able to purchase items and magic in the shop to equip. Each character can have one item and one magic equipped at a time. Items range in ability from preventing Silence to adding damage against Demon Spiders. Magic is classified into four houses with each being weak or strong against one other house. This adds a touch of strategy to how you outfit your character for battle.
Graphics:

It’s not Ninja Gaiden pretty, but it’s darn close. Screenshots of Otogi just don’t do the game justice. The graphics engine supports tons of enemies on the screen at once all while spitting out tons of particle effects. Character and enemy designs are all amazing. The level design makes you feel like you’re actually in a mystical feudal Japan. The art direction and natural aesthetic must be seen to be believed. With all the particles, lighting and broken pieces of environment flying around the game does frame skip on occasion. It’s not a major issue though and it’s hardly noticeable. The entire presentation of the game is so good that even the loading screens (inky letters floating down a river) are fun to watch.

Audio:

I despise English dubbed voice work on Japanese games. If a game has the option I always set it to Japanese voices with English subtitles. Otogi is the one exception. This is the example that all game developers should follow when it comes to matching English voice work with a Japanese game. It’s absolutely brilliant no matter which language you choose. Musically the game is also stunning. The score is a haunting very Japanese sounding mix of strings and drums. It’s very subtle and atmospheric, but doesn’t overpower the action on screen.

Controls:

Otogi 2 controls just like the original. Like in other third person action game the camera is problematic. Add in the fact that you’ll be hopping and dashing around in mid air and it all gets a little wonky sometimes. It’s no better and no worse than any other third person game though and once you get use to it you’ll be fine.

Directional Pad - Change Lock-On Target (When Locked)
Left Thumbstick - Move Character, Click to Re-Center Camera.
Right Thumbstick - Move Camera
A Button - Jump
B Button - Light Attack
X Button - Spell Attack (Hold to Charge, Release to Attack).
Y Button - Heavy Attack
Start - Pause Menu
Replay:

The weird thing about Otogi 2 is that you can usually beat each mission in a fairly short amount of time. At first this led me to believe that it would be a relatively short game with very little replayability. That, however, is not the case at all. After you cleanse an area of demons you can replay the mission in the same state of destruction you left it. This allows you to keep going through a level destroying the environment until nothing stands so you can get the highest destruction ratings. This also lets you try those missions with characters that were not selectable the first time you played it. It’s fun to retry a mission that was meant for Raikoh with another character that has different abilities. This is also really useful for leveling up each character. Along with the standard story missions there is also a Havoc mode. Havoc mode is a string of special missions with unique goals like destroying 99 arches as quickly as possible or taking on never-ending waves of demons to see how many you can vanquish before you’re overwhelmed. Havoc mode can also be used to level up your characters. Lastly, once you’ve defeated the final mission there is a second play option. Playing through again lets you get the Moon Light Sword, Raikoh’s ultimate weapon.

Summary:

If you liked the first Otogi, you’ll love the sequel. It does the same things well and adds a bunch of great new features. Chances are you didn’t play the original though. Not to worry, you can jump right into Otogi 2 without ever having played the first. It’s a great hack and slash game with gorgeous art direction that belongs in every Xbox gamer’s collection. Hopefully it will avoid the “Underrated Game” curse this time and I’ll get a chance to review Otogi 3. I’m not holding my breath though.