Otogi is a game that so many people have overlooked, or may not have even heard about, but if you have an Xbox, and like action titles you will almost certainly love it. Unlike most action games out there, this one has a lot more depth, as it has some RPG elements. You play as Raikoh, an undead warrior, brought back to life by an unknown princess to defeat the sorcerer Michizane. Obviously, being an action game, the story takes a backseat to the gameplay, but unlike many action games it's bearable. It isn't a great story, but it's not a terrible one as it unfolds.

As I have mentioned there are RPG elements in the game. The more enemies you defeat, the more gold you collect, which can be used to buy weapons, magic, accessories, or to repair weapons. You will also gain experience from defeating enemies, and when you get enough you will level up, improving upon your base stats. There are 33 different weapons in the game, ranging from large swords and war hammers to twin swords, axes and staffs. These can either be found, hidden in levels, bought from the shop, or unlocked for doing specific tasks. (The game does not tell you what these are though). There are also 12 accessories, each of which has a purpose, and depending on what level you are playing, you will want to choose a specific one. There are four main spells in the game, from different "houses." Ones from the house of Soryu oppose Byakko, and Suzaku opposes Genbu. What this means is that your magic will either do double damage (meaning you will take double damage from their spells) or that you won't have an upper hand, but of course neither will they.

Another element is weight. Each weapon or accessory will have its own weight. Heavy weapons/accessories will mean that Raikoh will move slower, and jump lower, but will not be as likely get flung back into a wall when hit, taking more damage. Lighter weapons and accessories mean that Raikoh is more manoeuvrable, but will get sent flying if hit by a strong enemy. Yet another interesting part of the game is magic. As Raikoh is undead, he is sustained by magic, meaning that throughout the level your magic meter will slowly drain away. This may sound bad, like it's a time limit, but defeating enemies will give you some magic back. This also gives the magic system a bit more depth, as you have to decide whether it would be worth casting a spell, or not, as it will drain your magic quickly.

There are 29 levels to get through, but halfway into the game something will happen (I won't give away the story) and the looks of the game take on a darker twist. You will find yourself playing through 5 or so levels you have completed previously, but they look quite different, as they are based on Raikoh's memory of them, meaning that parts of the level will, for example be upside down, water will be replaced with blood, you may find yourself playing through the level from where you finished it to where you began it last time - this isn't as bad as most games that have levels repeated in them, as they can be quite different, and all the enemies in them are different as well.

Great! - Over my intended word limit already, and I haven't even touched on how fantastic this game looks… This is easily one of the best-looking games out there just now. It has a fantastic art style, with plenty of atmosphere, and has the best particle effects I have ever seen in a game. It has plenty of colour, and a great "soft" lighting scheme, which works really well with the style of the game, and gives the Otogi an almost dream-like appearance at times.

The game generally runs at a perfectly smooth frame rate, even with tens of highly detailed enemies on the screen at a time, and special effects going on as well. It does slow down occasionally, but it is nothing that gets in the way of gameplay, and generally looks fantastic when doing so. (Usually when there are a lot of spells going on and enemies up close). What's even better is that the great-looking levels are almost completely destructible, but it's not just objects in the level, if you hit an enemy into the ground they will leave a "crater" which looks amazing, and even more impressive, the game saves the exact state the level was in when you left it. Not only is this a cool feature, but it is also integrated into the gameplay. In each level there are five souls hidden, and you have to destroy whatever they are "trapped" in to set them free. This is totally optional, but adds a lot to the replay value. Speaking of replay value, you will want to play the levels at least two or three times each. When you complete a level the game records your best time, max combo, the percentage of spirits released in the level, number of enemies defeated in it, and you are ranked on how much of the level you have destroyed. None of these things are necessary to complete the game (you can run through a level once and be done with it if you like), but they are key to unlocking some weapons/items in the game. As they are important in this manner, you can go back to any level you have previously completed at any time.

When beating the game you also unlock a "second play" mode, which allows you to go through the game from the start with all the weapons you have unlocked, but also makes you more powerful, meaning you can destroy some of the stronger structures in the game with a regular attack instead of a hard attack.

Otogi's goodness doesn't stop here either; it looks fantastic, but also sounds great as well. It has an impressive soundtrack that sets the mood very well, and fits in nicely with the theme of the game. Sound effects are passable, but don't really stand out in any way.

I have already gone on a bit too long, and I hope you're still reading, but I still can't emphasize how good the game looks, plays, or sounds. Otogi, at times presents a challenge, but the difficulty progresses fairly well, and is great fun to play regardless. Whilst I have been raving over how good it is, it's not quite perfect, and has a couple of flaws. Whilst the controls are fine, the camera controls have the left and right inverted for some reason, and the camera itself can get quite frustrating at times. The game does have a lock-on feature, but it will pick the closest enemy to you, not the one you are pointing at, and thanks to the camera, is often more of a hindrance than help. The game has both the English and Japanese voiceovers in it, which is nice, but unfortunately you only have access to the Japanese ones in "second play," they are not available from the start. The voiceovers aren't nearly as bad as some games, but the Japanese ones are still much better. Due to the nature of the game it can tend to get a bit repetitive at times, but then again so does every other game of a similar type.

Overall I would highly recommend you purchase Otogi, and keep your fingers crossed that Sega, or someone else publishes the sequel over here. If you are an action fan, and like your games to have a bit more depth than most, I would definitely pick this up, likewise for all you graphic whores out there Otogi is a visual experience not to be missed. AF