GAME CLEAR No. 85 -- Otogi: Myth of Demons

Otogi: Myth of Demons (2002, Xbox)

Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Platform: Xbox Series X
Clear Date: 3/16/22

Whoops, I let a whole month pass before finally getting this post done. I’ve had my eye on Otogi since it was announced to be backwards compatible on Series X in the last backwards compatibility update for modern Xboxes. With the release of Elden Ring, I figured now (read: last month) would be a good time to jump into this old FromSoftware entry. I had read that it was a solid, underappreciated Xbox exclusive from the pre-Souls days, and I generally agree that it’s not half bad.

Otogi is a third-person, hack-and-slash action game with RPG elements and somewhat inscrutable lore. That may sound a little Souls-y, but Otogi really has very little in common with FromSoft’s present-day cash cow from a gameplay perspective. Otogi is pretty light on the RPG and build aspects, and the player character Raikoh is considerably more mobile than the Souls games allow you to be. Raikoh has a nice, speedy dash move and can stay in midair pretty much indefinitely with certain moves. This gives the gameplay a bit more of a Devil May Cry vibe, which is way more up my alley. The structure of the game is a bit different too, with individual levels that can be revisited at any time.

One of the game’s other chief gimmicks is destruction. Most of the structures in the game are destructible, which is mostly cool. When you’re fighting guys and blast them through a building, destroying it, that is way fun! Even the terrain will sometime crater if you blast a bad guy into the ground.

Unfortunately, the game wants you to destroy pretty much everything, which can get very boring. Part of your grade at the end of each stage (again, DMC vibes) is based on how much of the stage’s objects and structures you destroy. Unfortunately, to get an A, you need to destroy pretty much everything. This wouldn’t bother me if your grade didn’t also have a huge impact on how much experience you get in each stage. This definitely leads to some boring moments of destroying stuff for the sake of destroying it in areas where combat does not cause destruction organically.

The combat, on the other hand, ain’t half bad. As aforementioned, it’s satisfying to batter enemies into the environment, but it’s also fun to keep enemies contained in juggles and combos. There’s a solid variety of weapons and magics that are worth experimenting with, especially if you find yourself stuck on a boss or level. Typically, I like to pick a “kit” and stick with it in games like this, but I actually enjoyed playing around with different styles in Otogi.

The only downside is that, much like other third-person action games I love like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, I felt like I didn’t really know what I was doing until about halfway through the game. In fact, I kind of hated it! But once it clicked, I definitely enjoyed it. However, another critical difference between Otogi and DMC or Bayonetta is that some of the levels in Otogi are definitely stinkers. Just a couple that sucked, but they certainly didn’t ruin the game for me.

The good news is that Otogi did get a sequel, which is also compatible with Series X. Hopefully it righted some of the wrongs of the first game. Also, I think part of the reason I enjoyed Devil May Cry 5 and Bayonetta 2 so much is because of the skill I had accumulated throughout previous games in their respective series. I think the same would apply to Otogi, so hopefully I can hit the ground running with Otogi 2 if ever I decide to play it.

Anyway, I’m super distracted writing this because I’m watching the Genesis 8 Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament. A Captain Falcon is still in it! Gonna go watch that. Otogi is not bad, and I’m glad I played it. Xbox Series X backwards compatibility is still so cool, and Sony really needs to up their game!!!