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One of the BEST games ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 26
Date: October 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Just had to edit my review... it was so poorly written. This is truly an underrated game and I'm sad to see that it's not part of the Xbox 360 compatibility list. It may well be lost forever... cuz who wants to keep a big clunky Xbox around?

I just realized it today, but Otogi's camera works even better than Super Mario Galaxy's camera, which is considered the current pinnacle of 3D cameras I suppose. The controls are perfect. Environments are destructible, and you can replay levels in their destroyed state after the fact or reset them to demolish the landscape all over again.

This game is art. And I have no idea why developer From Software haven't bothered to do anything nearly this creative since (save for Otogi 2). Better than Ninja Gaiden. Seriously. Experience it if you ever get the chance.

Beautiful, Deadly Sleeper Waiting to Happen

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: July 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Otogi: Myth of Demons is a mythological action-RPG much in the vein of recent hits like Devil May Cry and Shinobi. Published in the US by Sega (a sequel is already being worked on in Japan) and developed by From Software, Otogi deals with an undead samurai named Raiko, who is charged with destroying an invading army of demons and freeing trapped souls, restoring the balance of ki to the land.

Gameplay set up in a series of linear missions, each with its own objective (but often boiling down to "kill everything"). At the end of each mission, you are able to upgrade Raiko's abilities based on your performance, and can purchase additional spells or weapons. You are able to replay missions, with the option of having the highly destructible backgrounds intact or in the damaged state you left them. In all, there are about 30 weapons (including swords, staffs, and axes), 12 spells, and 29 levels to visit. A second replay lets you keep all the items and stats you build up.

Similar to Sega's PS2 game Shinobi, Raiko's life meter and magic meter are connected. If his magic runs out, it starts eating away his life. Magic is recharged by - you guessed it - killing demons, and killing them as quickly as possible. There are many attack combos possible, including stabs, twisting slashes, leaping attacks, and launching attacks - different combos work better against different enemies.

But the combat has more to it than just hack-n-slash. In an interesting twist, Raiko's weight directly affects his performance. If he is lighter, he can dash faster and jump to greater heights, but his attacks do less damage. If you increase his weight, he becomes slower, but his attacks are more powerful. Also, if Raiko uses fire-based magic more often, he becomes more susceptible to ice-based attacks by enemies. Overall, you can increase attributes like strength, defense, and speed, up to a max level of 31. This lets you customize Raiko to your own style, lightning-quick or full-on power.

Controls are as follows: A is jump (hold to double-jump), B is a weak attack, Y is a strong attack, and X is magic (hold to increase power). The L trigger locks-on a target, and the R trigger lets Raiko dash. Proficient players can spend most of the missions in mid-air, a la Sega's GunValkyrie, helped by combos and dashing that keep you aloft. Battles can be very dynamic, as Raiko can hurl opponents through buildings, and throwing them to the ground leaves craters in the earth.

The game set in mythical Japan, so the backgrounds include temples, bamboo forests, lakes, and the like. On selected levels, certain enemies and platforms appear only when the moon shines on them. The environment can also change, affecting gameplay: on one particular frozen level, a river soon melts, changing the battles entirely. The soundtrack is a welcome change, consisting of traditional Japanese instruments like flutes and drums, and is dark and foreboding, adding to the atmospherics.

Otogi's visuals are some of the best on the Xbox. Raiko is a wonderfully rendered character, and the demons he faces are all fearsome and inspired. Battles explode in a shower of smoke, crackling energy, and sparkling swordplay. Some of Raiko's stunning magical attacks include a huge dragon of flame and a dancing swarm of icy butterflies. Together with the great sound effects - including optional Japanese voice-acting - and Otogi ranks as a superb technical achievement.

While not quite having the same high profile of Devil May Cry or Shinobi, and similar to those games in a couple of ways, Otogi: Myth of Demons stands on its own as a compelling, well-executed, gorgeous game that action junkies ought to give a serious look.

read

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: September 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Well, one thing that I didnt like about the game was its very vague and not so interesting storyline, but the gameplay made up for it. Otogi is the game for people who dont easily give up if they lose once or twice. You have to have a lot of determination to make it through the game, cause some of the levels are that much of a pain ...But one nice thing about it is the ability to go back to levels uve beaten and increase your stats and them and earn secret weapons. Doing this can increase your experience and help you conquer the harder future levels. Plus you have the option of purchasing weapons, spells and accessories....I stil havent beaten the last level (lvl29)...but im just biding my time, gaining experience to make it easier....If your not someoen prone to throwing your controller on the ground when you lose and would rather press your start button to give that level another try. then otogi is your game....

A great game, but destined to disappear under the radar.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: December 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Well, I was dispairingly sitting in my local video rental store on a friday night. Naturally, all the games I wanted to try were sold out. In my left hand... Legacy of Kain: Defiance. In my right... Otogi. Vampires or demons. Demons or vampires. Apples or oranges.

I thought Onimusha was decent, so I decided to give Otogi a shot.

Dear God. This has to be one of the most stylish and unique games I've ever had the privilege to play! Once again, Sega has given us a masterpiece. Unfortunately, like every other great Sega game, it will most likely go unappreciated by the masses. But don't let that stop you!

This game is pure adrenaline. The action is fast paced, the enviroments are beautiful, and the music is stunning. The game simply oozes Japanese mythology. Imagine, if you will, a lush meadow with bridges, small stone structures, and of course, lots of challenging demons to obliterate. Now imagine being able to destroy all of it. Imagine fighting mid-air with a crow-like warrior demon, smacking it THROUGH a wall, and listening to its surreal howling as you absorb its soul. Yeah, it's like that.

Even though the stages are fairly small and linear, the game makes up for it with superior attention to detail. And I can't stress how good the music is... although a few songs are repeated throughout the game. This can be easily overlooked, however. The music is THAT good.

Now with all that said, this game isn't for everyone. The protagonist has a Legacy of Kain-esque magic bar, meaning that he must have souls to stay alive. Once your magic bar is depleated, you begin to lose life. Once you're out of life... you're dead. (Obviously!) This isn't as bad as some would have you believe, though. The difficulty is medium... you may have to play a few levels over again, but this rarely becomes frustrating.

Anime fans will feel right at home playing this game. All you Inu-Yasha or Ninja Scroll fans out there have to give this game a try. The furious hack-and-slash, high-flying battles will please arcade game fans as well.

I beat the rental game in about a week, but it was so addictive I had to go out and buy it. Otogi is a solid addition to any X-Box library, so do your self a favor and play this game. It will be one of the best games you've never heard of!

Stunning action game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Mindboggling presentation and probably the best level design in an action game ever. You mix in furious high-comboing shinobi style 3D action with mid-air glorious gunvalykrie esqe combat with endless combinations of weapons, spells, accesories with a tight leveling up system that adds huge replay to levels with a haunting presentation that sucks you into the game with the most amazing and widly innovative levels ever put in an action game and you have this masterwork.

The game is deeper then any action title to date. Not only does it have an impressive 29 levels and the ability to replay them, there is also actually a need and desire to replay and master them. When you first get to most levels, they are so insanely difficult that you will have to do a more cursary runthrough the level in order to meet the objectives, get the most experience possible, and get out of there while you are still alive. It is almost impossible to master most of them on the first run through, but possible to complete them. Later in the game, when you have more experience, items, life, and weapons you can go back and really raise hell. And there are two great reasons to go back and play and master these levels which set apart this title from other action titles. 1) With the RPG element it the game, you need to go back when you have the ability to get the most experience and gold possible so you can better attack the next levels. 2) The level designs are so unique, amazing, fun, and challenging you will actually want to go back and play them. You will want to gather people around the TV say and say "look at this stuff, it's damn crazy."

To give you and idea of some of the early innventive levels which is the games real strength and why you need to buy this game you will do things like:

1) Go through an ancient ruined city; dodging behind buildings; fighting hordes of demon skulls, demon sorcerers, and other demon (stuff); causing as much destruction as possible; not falling through a massive bridge; not being sucked in by the incredible AI which tries to make you jump off cliffs; trying to get as many items as possible; and double-jumping up huge platforms to a summit to reach the final objective all while the final objective launches a fury of massive fireballs that can send you to death faster then you can say "damn not again". And once you get to the objective, yep, more hordes of demon sorcerers preventing you from taking out the objective while it launches fireballs at you.

2)Trying to get across a massive series of bridges to take out a evil sea nymph. Only about 10 problems though: if you fall in the water it begins to sap your magic power(and in turn your life); being pursued by hordes and hordes of powerful demons that can smack you off the bridges or destroy the bridges(their choice); when you attack the hordes of demons after you, you will probably accidentally destroy some bridges; whenever the moon is covered by clouds the spirts of the dead come out in the form of small fireballs that surround you preventing you from moving anywhere except at a crawl; if the fireballs come out when you are on the bridge, one of the demons will destroy while you are putzing around; if you are in the water when the fireballs come out, the water will sap your power while you are putzing around. When you get to the sea nymph, guess what, she is invincible when the moon is covered. So you have to avoid her(not easy) while she chases you and launches a barrage of magic attacks and you are surrounded by fireballs, try to chase her by dashing multiple times in midair as she flies away when the moon is uncovered and do what you can in a mid air combo you can manage before falling into the magic sapping water, get back to dry land before the moon is covered, deal with more hordes of demons trying to smack you off the land, and repeat.

3) Ride a ship through a graveyard of sunken ships to fight a big time demon. Problems you ask? The angry spirits of the dead who sunk with the ships (which the boss is the great embodiment of) are kind of (mad) and want your ship to sink as well. They jump on it in forms of massive, heavy blobs that try to weight it down and sink it. While you fight them off(you have to destroy them or they will jump back on the ship), some demons launch magic attacks at you, some demons try to hit you off the ship, and the ship is constantly tipping under the weight of the blobs and makes you slide off. And if you don't have everything on the ship under control when you get to the boss(not easy), the great big blob will quickly send you sinking into the great abyss.

Which leads me to another amazing thing about this game which sets it apart. In action games you usually feel invulnerable, unwavering, bold, courageous, and not afraid at all. Not really the case in Otogi. I have never really been scared in an action game before. But the creepy presentation, creepy story line, creepy visuals, and all around creepyness give the game a unique feel to an action game. The image of me sinking into the dark abyss in the graveyard of sunken ships to become and angry spirit that will in turn try to sink more ships and destroy more spirits is just damn creepy. It gave me the chills each time it happened and still makes me shivers. You almost have to overcome your fear in the game and do what has to be done to purify the world. It really does make the game as some have said a religious experience where you get sucked into the games realism, creepyness, and difficulty and use your talents, weapons, and ingenuity to overcome the situation and purify the world of the demons.

BUT BEWARE. The first three stages are a laughibly easy warmup and a poor representation of what the game is. Make sure to keep playing to get to the really interesting and insanely difficult levels.

It just keeps getting better and better.......

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

WHen i first picked up this game i thought to myself that i wasn't going to really like it. Actually, that was when i rented it. I thought to myself that it was probobly going to be really cheesy and not great at all. My friends, i was wrong!
THe game features a ninja/samauri, kind of like Ninja Gaiden, (FLowers make him appear). After beating levels, not to hard, not to easy, you get money depending on how many enemies you defeated and objects you defeated. Also, how quickly you managed to beat it. You also, of course unlock the next mission. You may then buy weapons, magic, or accessories, that can raise your speed, health, endurance, strength, or magic power. After beating each mission, your level also raises. WHat i like about this game is that you may go back to the previous missions that you already had beaten and beat them again which gives you more money, stats, (etc.) The levels can get frustrating, but you just have to keep on going and not throw your controler on the ground and scream, "I CANT BEAT THIS STUPID GAME, HOW HARD CAN IT GET." Don't get my wrong, some of you might to this, and this is certainly the kind of game that can do this to do, but if you have patience, you can beat the game.

PROS

1. Great graphics
2. Great gameplay.
3. Great levels.
4. Great weapons.
5. Great controls.
6. Not to hard.
7. Not to easy.
8. Everything else.

Cons

1. You heard me, nothing falls in this category.

PICK THIS GAME UP TODAY, IT IS WORTH $50, MAYBE EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!!

Straight up action plus a little bit of chaos.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: August 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Do you want to smash stuff? Look no further. Otogi definately delivers in that category. And as a plus- you don't quite need to pay attention to the story in order to get the most fun out of it. I don't say this to sound like I don't pay attention to the story in the games I play, but I've been sick of winding storylines for the past few months. I needed some action. After remembering the fun I had with the Otogi 2 demo disc, I set out to find that. Well, it was sold out at the store, and I settled on the first game. At first, I wasn't exactly blown away. Things started out slow with the first two levels, and the controls bugged the hell out of me. But once I got past that, I found a lot of fun in each level, and ended up playing for hours at a time. 'pretty surprising with how I felt at first.

Otogi is the story of Raikoh, a being who has been summoned by a princess to destroy demons and free souls in the living world. He's basically a samurai with some cool abilities like the traditional double jump, floating, magic, and the ability to weild some of the biggest swords I've seen this side of Berserk. All Raikoh has to do is defeat the demons specified in each level (though sometimes the objective changes). That's all. In fact, you don't even have to free souls- you can just move on. But freeing souls is where a lot of the replay comes from. Freeing every soul from each level nets you a very powerful weapon. Souls can be found in certain parts of each level, usually in rocks or buildings. And just how do you get these? Smash the crap out of everything. Yes, you can destroy nearly anything you see in Otogi. Rocks, trees, tombstones, bridges, houses, wells, you name it. Heck, you can even knock enemies into parts of the stage, destroying both. All of these will soon be reduced to nothing if you're like me. In fact, the game even rates how well you destroy the objects in each level. A nice touch if you ask me. It's about time we get something like this. At the end of some stages, you get to take on a massive boss. Some more difficult than others. A great example of this includes a water demon in a volcano stage. You can dispatch this sucker with one charged up shot of Phoenix magic. But then, bosses like the giant insect on the floating graveyard often take you out before you know what hit you. The challenge is a little uneven for some players. I'm always reading posts about how people gave up on the game because of a boss that took them out because of a 'bad camera angle'. It's a lame excuse, but that's one of the cons in Otogi.

That blasted camera. Even after I beat the game on 2nd play (think Chrono Trigger's New Game +), I didn't like the camera. It's the worst part of the game. It's slow, reversed, and caused me to get my ass kicked more times than [insert Courtney Love joke here]. I'm serious. In some stages, tons of enemies will gang up on you, sometimes knocking you against a wall. This causes the camera to go directly above you, which would normally be a good thing- see yourself and everything surrounding you. Not in this case. More often than not, the camera zooms in on you, preventing you seeing any enemies. Stupid. And when you use the right thumbstick to move it around, prepare to move it the other way, as the directions are in reverse. Another problem with the game is the magic meter. For Raikoh to stay in the living world, it requires magic. Your magic meter drains as you run around each level, and you need to defeat enemies in order for it to not go down. Well, that's not a problem until you take out every enemy with a charged up magic attack, and then you have to run through the last 2/3 of the level freaking out over if you're going to make it or not because of the stupid magic. The magic meter is more of a timer. Once it's drained, you hear Raikoh's heartbeat, and his life orbs start to drain as well. Once those are gone, you're done. The only other main con for me is how short the game is. There are under 30 levels, and once you go through the game (and see a very lame ending), you have the option of 2nd play. This lets you go through the game again, but this time with the weapons, magic and accessories you had when you beat it the first time around. Sorry, but isn't that what you can do even without the 2nd play? During your first run, you can go back to earlier levels (do this often- level up whenever you think you're too weak) with the option of having the stage as it originally was, or all destroyed. 2nd play isn't exactly much, but it's nice they at least gave us something. If you complete this mode, you get a better ending.

The graphics are something that people are constantly praising in this game. But they didn't look that great to me. Then again, once Ninja Gaiden came along, I had a new standard for what looks good in a game. But that's being harsh, as the two were released at different times. Otogi does look pretty good. Not jaw-dropping good, but its style is unique. Though it looks about mid-ps2 quality, there's a lot going on at once. The forests, mountains and rivers Raikoh encounters all look great. It's just a shame the same can't be said for some of the character designs. Raikoh in particular. There's hardly any detail on his face. At times, he reminded me of a character model from Ico. But you rarely see his face, I'm just nitpicking. As I mentioned before, nearly everything you see on the screen can be destroyed, which happens a lot in the midst of takin' down some demons. While there is slowdown, it isn't that bad actually. The frame rate's usually pretty solid, colors set the tone for each level, and particle effects are amazing. The music's good too. Most of it is traditional Japanese. Some stages just have ambient sounds, which adds a lot to the atmosphere. Sound effects though, don't fare as well. Instead of painful slashes, we get squishes. I didn't think cutting up a skeleton knight with dual axes would result in a squishing sound.

Dispite the cons, Otogi is a good game. I don't know about it being "just for the hardcore", but I'm sure some more mainstream gamers out there can appreciate it. Levels are easy to understand, it's fun to destroy things, and just watching some of the special attacks are worth playing. But if you're turned off by some of the bad things I've stated here, by all means, pick up Otogi 2. It takes care of most of these things. The magic meter's still there, but it's not as much of a problem if you ask me.

Very impressed!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: September 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game came out of nowhere, and Ive been enjoying it more than soul calibur 2. It takes about an hour or so to really get a handle on the controls. Its very cool after you mastered how to stay airborne. The graphics are top notch, some levels are alot better than others, but overall everything is great. The RPG elements are great, story is decent (the typical ambigous japanese story filled with some corny cliches) If you like anime I highly recommend you pick this game up, very ninja scroll etc. The enivorments are almost totally destructible, which is my favorie part. Its totally rocks to smack your enemy into a building or wall and see particles fly everywhere. Oh and just a side detail, after the rubble falls to the ground. It doesnt fade away lamely like most game do, it actually builds up on the ground. Its a sleeper hit, and will be a cult favorite.

Great Game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: June 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Otogi: Myth of Demons is an exellent action game. Sega once again has made a great game that will probably go unreconized. But not your you because your reading this, which means you have no reason not to by this game. The graphics are excellent, the levels are superb, and the gameplay is great. Believe me if you purchise this game you won't be dissapointed.

The world of Otogi awaits

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Otogi: Myth of Demons - Circa 2003

GOOD:
- Good/tight controls
- Uniquely stylized world and environments
- Lot's of weapons/magic to buy and find
- Every stage can be utterly demolished
- Really great use of surround sound

BAD:
- Simplistic game play
- Liner level design, or small arena type levels
- Sparse and cryptic story
- Weapon-sharpening option in the shop, is an annoying effect where you have to spend gold to re-sharpen your weapons after so many uses

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- Game is broken down into small stages each with a slightly different look and feel
- Exceptionally stylized world feels like and ancient Japanese paintings come to life
- Game music and sound has old-time Japanese Shinto shrine feel to it
- Game play is easy to master
- Environments can (and often will) be completely destroyed, entire buildings will be torn down and hitting enemies into structures obliterates both the enemy and the structure

GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Otogi 2
- Shinobi (PS2)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- This game is based on ancient Japanese mythology; actually this game is loosely based on the legendary samurai Raikoh
- The creators of this franchise are known for the Armored Core series (on Playstation and Playstation 2), note that the final sword (a secret one) called the Moonlight which works similar and has the same name of a popular energy sword in the Armored Core franchise

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