Xeogred wrote:Didn't care for Otogi 1 at all. This is years after I had played Ninja Gaiden Xbox, Devil May Cry games, Onimusha, Shinobi PS2, Way of the Samurai etc... Otogi's boring level design, floaty controls, and on rails bosses were not fun at all. Compared to all the other Japanese action games I played and loved that gen I didn't see what the deal was.
Did you ever play this?:
There is also another FromSoftware action game which reviewed well, but no one ever talks about:
As for Otogi, I've only beat the first one. But I enjoyed it. Otogi is From Software's eerie take on Devil May Cry, with a pinch of Dynasty Warriors for good measure. Otogi's strongest aspect is its Japanese styled mythological atmosphere which the game exhibits ingeniously. In regards to its time of creation and platform it's impressive. The astounding graphics aid mightily in this regard, with settings and demons rendered in utmost detail. An absolutely phenomenal OST is the final bit of brilliance bringing a sense of tangible malevolent mystery to the entire affair.
A stellar presentation can only take a game so far though, and Otogi is not without issues. Primarily Otogi falters in its enemy lock on system often, which is made fallible due to an erratic camera that fails to keep up with the intensity of battles with dozens of mobbing monsters. The lock on / camera problems only serve to further aggravate a player when they are dealing with an automatically dwindling magic bar that upon depletion kills the protagonist. These combined challenges can drive the player furious when they are near the end of a complex mission, only to be killed by a marauding swarm of demons one cannot properly fight, due to mechanical deficiencies of game interface.
Luckily Otogi allows the hero to level up, and encourages the player to grind older missions for this reason. Higher levels eventually make mechanical problems easier to deal with, and progress is finally made. Hidden powerful equipment aids in strengthening combat abilities as well. With its outstanding presentation, surreal atmosphere, intense voice acting, unusual plot, and unruly combat, Otogi is another weird-but-worthy From Software gem. I think it's underrated, obviously. Gotta get around to Otogi 2 someday (I own a copy).
