Homemademech - Playstation 2 Okage: Shadow King reviews

Competitions

Affiliates

Okage: Shadow King

The one drawback of the summer is that there is few games to recommend.
This year is no exception.
With the exceptions of Medal of Honor : European Assault, Psychonauts, Destroy All Humans and one or two more (not coming to memory at this moment) there has not been a glut of great gaming!
Worse some games I thought would be great turned out to be duds. Yes, Namco, I do mean you and your terrible Arc the Lad : End of Darkness game! I hate you!

Not to mention you might be in a bit of a budgetary bind and might be looking for a few bargain games to check out. Worry not, this week I have three selections from a few years ago that should be quite affordable for your gaming budget in the here and now.

This week I have two RPGs that should be in the affordable range right about now.
Breath of Fire : Dragon Quarter and Okage : Shadow King.

This, of course, is the review of Okage : Shadow King.
It’s not a slice of quirky fun like Psychonauts, but it does have it’s moments.
In this game you play a “overshadowed” boy… in other words your abit of a pushover.
It’s not that YOU (personally) are a pushover, but the game kinda relentlessly goes out of it’s way to sometimes make you look bad (no matter what you say when given the chance to say something).

Anyway one night, as the circus is near your small town, your sister is attacked by a ghost and suffers the terrible affliction of pig latin… something. In short she talks funny and you are served up on the sacrificial alter (sorta) to save her… well, it’s not like she’s going to die or anything but shush, your soul’s being sold to some ancient evil and that’s all there is to it.
Anyway you get bonded with a shadow who is supposed to be this great big incarnate of evil -- though it’s only all talk and not very evil, despite the fact it tries to be evil… though you push it towards the light, or something like that.

Your shadow is abit weak, and when it learns that it’s former power has been taken (while it was sealed away in a bottle) by these creatures who have made themselves “Evil Kings” in his imprisonment, well that just won’t sit well with your new “shadow” and he sets out (dragging you along of course) to conquer these “Evil Kings” and regain his power so he can rule supreme once again as the true “Evil King”.

Along the way to overthrow “Evil Kings” you meet an interesting female heroine with a hatred of your new “companion”, mostly due to an affliction of her shadow which (by the way) also happened to your sister when he cured her, but she sorta had a different reaction that our heroine (Rosalyn).
You’ll also meet a rather odd professor of -- well, you’ll find out when you see him.
Oh, and then there’s the Evil Kings who, as it turns out, are not what they seem.
In fact EVERYTHING slowly begins to unravel and things that seemed so cut and dry become muddled in a greater truth, one that flips the very world upside down and makes for quite an interesting story.

The gameplay is interesting, and it makes you think.
That’s what I like about games. Turned based strategy. And no realtime action which means I can actually take my time mulling over a move, which I find nice. Not many people are fans of turned based strategy, but since some of my most recommended RPGs are turn based combat (Arc the Lad : Twilight of the Spirits, Breath of Fire : Dragon Quarter, Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy X for instance) you can see why I’m so pleased with this particular form of combat (and not pleased with the so-called “realtime combat” like in less than wonderful games like Arc the Lad : End of Darkness).

You shouldn’t have too hard a time getting the hang of the controls, and combat is easy enough. Pick a target, choose an attack or power to use, and have at it. Easy.
The graphics are interesting (not to spit and polished shine of graphics ala Final Fantasy franchise and other similarly beautiful RPGs), and the characters are also interesting. The gameplay is (again) your usual standard turn based combat, yet I find that’s my favorite for RPGs. Also the RPG elements in this game are not the most original. Really, you’ve seen some of this before. Still, despite all that I still think Okage : Shadow King is a nice little slice of RPG gaming, and the fact that you can get this innovative little gem of a game for a good low price now kind of sweetens the deal to try it out.

The people who did Final Fantasy didn’t lose any sleep over this game, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a check see. And since Disney/SquareEnix are well on their way to probably disappointing Kingdom Hearts fans you’ll need something to occupy your RPG time while you suppress the need to send possible hate mail during the Christmas holiday should Disney go back on their word to release Kingdom Hearts 2 at the end of the year, in which case I recommend this game (for starters).
Ok, let’s break it down now.

Okage the Breakdown
What’s Hot?
It’s a little slice of something a tad different. It’s not totally original but it’s also not the same old same old.
The game isn’t going to be something to commlink your homeworld about, but it does have quirks and bits of spunk and style that makes it something abit refreshing over games that fell short of expectations (and yes, Namco, I’m looking at you again. You and your Arc the Lad game).

I liked this game. It’s story is abit of a kick, the gameplay is nice and easy to grasp, the graphics are quirky and different from your standard RPG game, and even the music has abit of a shine to it.
It’s not a Game of the Year, but it’s also worth your time to play. And heck, since you should be able to grab this for a nice low price it should be worth a checking out.

What’s Not?
Hmm… I can’t think of a thing. For a bargain priced RPG it’s got some spunk so I think it’s worth checking out in either rental or buying.

Moments to Remember?
The story has some interesting quirks, and some of your decisions lead to rather interesting moments.

What to Ignore?
HOWEVER at times the game seems all too willing to just drag you along where it wants to go. You want to do one thing, but the game is hellbent on making you do it it’s way. And yes, that’ll frustrate you at times. It seems at times no matter what you say you can’t seem to win when it comes to having things your way, and that’s just bad. I know the story has to go in such and such a direction but why does it have to drag me kicking and screaming along with it?
Also you can form relationships with certain characters (like one of the two females who join your team), which is monitored by a certain being you meet in the inns along the way (where you can save the game). Me? I always stuck to the parasol wielding Rosalyn but somehow nothing really pans out from this no matter how hard I try… yeah. What’s the point of being able to form a relationship if nothing comes of it?

Overall?
It’s not best of the year, but it’s not bad either.
A quirky little RPG that is worth checking out, this little slice of RPG life if a game that has some quirkiness to it, and while it’s not up to the level of Psychonauts it’s also worth checking out.
If you can go rent it, if you can find it (for a good low price since it’s like a 2001 game) go get it.
And if you can get anywhere on a relationship in this game do let me know.

Playstation 2 - Okage: Shadow King

Playstation 2 Okage: Shadow King Reviews

Okage: Shadow King

Playstation 2 Okage: Shadow King Images