Customer Reviews

OKAGE: Shadow King

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Okage: Shadow King is a terrific game in that it breaks the usual "boy saves the world + girl from evil" formula we've been seeing for the past few years in console RPG's. It also boasts some of the most impressive visual styling (paying more than a little homage to Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) and funniest dialog in any RPG within memory. Still, there are a few problems.

The story is that you are an average boy who gets trapped into becoming the host of an evil being from the past in order to save your spoiled sister from the dreaded "Pig Latin Curse." Anyways, this evil being, who is named Stan, takes possession of your shadow and orders you out into the world with dreams of conquest. This may not seem like the setup for a comedic RPG, but Okage is very lighthearted and has more than it's share of funny moments. You meet some very colorful characters along the way and the way they react to Stan leads to some very interesting situations.

The problem with Okage lies with its battle system. It is very simple and battles themselves are not all that entertaining. It makes me wonder why the developer chose to make an RPG out of this game instead of an action/adventure. A dungeon crawler like Dark Cloud or Zelda seems more appropriate. Also, the load times are unacceptable given the graphical complexity of this game. Despite being very visually inventive, the polygon counts are low so there is no excuse for 10 second load times. This is especially noticeable in towns when you have to explore houses and even going from one room to another incurs a massive wait for loading!

If you're looking for something different Okage will provide you with a fun experience, but expect a little tedium to accompany it.

There are flaws, which I believe have been mentioned. Yes, there are some long load times. Yes, occasionally the game seems to go on boring stretches. And yes, going into the dungeons and fighting the "evil kings" is repetitive. But if you stick with the game, everything changes, and you can forgive the flaws easily.

One of the themes they play on at the very beginning of the game is the old "Don't judge a book by it's cover" adage. This holds true for the game itself - I'm just now beginning to unravel the actual, real plot of the game, and I'm almost ten hours into it - a great mistake by the game makers, but it is an incredible story.

The game really isn't for everybody; the humor bears greay resemblance to that of "Earthbound" or the Monkey Island series, and the long conversations can only be enjoyed by honest RPG fans. However, if you are looking for a compelling game (And you don't mind spending some time dragging yourself through some rather tedious missions), then you can't go wrong with "Okage."

And if you're still not sure, rent it and play it for a good ten-fifteen hours before you make a decision - that's where the MAJOR plot twist comes in (I don't want to spoil it for anybody who doesn't know).

This game may not be for everyone, but is worth renting to find out if it is for you. Okage adds a new humorous twist to the rpg genre. The characters are very well developed. The battle system adds some unique features, like being able to combine all three characters attack's into one for extra damage. The story line is very strange but will keep you hooked and entertained. I have owned the game for one week and already on the last chapter. Do not think the game is short though (I beat final fantasy 8 in about the same amount of time). I hope you will give this game a try. This is the only rpg for the PS2 that I've been satisfied about buying, and I own almost all rpg's for the PS2. I own 42 PS2 games altogether and am most satisfied with this one...

This game is simply fantastic. A quirky story featuring very interesting characters with lush graphics, make this the RPG that PS2 gamers have been waiting for. If you've finished up with Dark Cloud and can't wait for FFX, this game is definatly worth a look.

I myself, am a very hard core RPG player. I've played all sorts ranging from Final Fantasy all the way back to Chocobo's Dungeon. I felt I needed a break from serious RPG's, so I descided to give Okage here a try.

Okage is a very different game, that doesn't resemble any game made. If I could describe it, I'd say that its a great game overall. With a very complex battle system, hillarious scripts and charactors, and the most bizarre magic, this is an awsome game!! It also has EXCELLENT graphics and unbelievable enviornments!!

The battle system is somewhat real time fighting, and mixed with a wide variety of maic and special moves. I enjoyed fighting and gaining levels to gain new attacks.

The story is divided into seven chapters, each with a fake evil king to destroy. You are a young boy Ari, who gets possesed by your shadow, and your on a quest to help regain the Evil king Stan's(shadow) power and release him from your world. A lot of twists are in the game to, and its just one of those sit back and have fun types of games.

Okage is one of the greatest games for the PS2, and if RPG fans want a good RPG, I'd reccomend this one.

Email me if you have any questions

A humerous, little-known RPG that parodies conventional RPGs.

Plot

You are an ignored teenager, whose sister falls under a Pig Latin curse...and this dire circumstance forces you into the spotlight. Your Father calls upon the spirit of a bottle to cure his Daughter...unbeknowst to any of you, he has summoned forth Evil King Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV, who reigned as the tyrant, Evil King Gohma, 300 years ago. In exchange for curing your younger sister, Evil King Stan possesses you, and orders you to help him restore his reign over the land. Thus, you must travel o'er the land, disposing of typical villain archetypes who have come to power during the course of Stan's absence. In the course of your journey, you meet heroes, scholars, princesses, and other RPG character archetypes, composing the stereotypical rag-tag band of outlaws. After all, you'll need all the help you can get...those evil kings aren't going to go down without a fight...

Graphics

The visual style is meant to be a tribute to that of Tim Burton, the guy who made A Nightmare before Christmas. Henceforth, everything looks Goth and Halloween-esque. The atmosphere can be described as "Halloween in every season but Autumn." So the atmosphere is BOTH cheery AND dark.

Sound

The music is silly, but fitting for the backgrounds. In some cases, it is even good for listening pleasure outside the context of the game. They try to make the music sound Irish in places, with bagpipes and flutes. The sound effects are what you would expect to hear in an RPG, with some other humerous sound effects like the kazoo and such. Some of the fanfare themes sound like they were taken from the Super Mario Bros., and the Evil King Marching theme sounds reminiscent of Bowser's theme.

Gameplay

The battle system is semi-real-time, semi-turn-based, as you have ATB gauges, like in recent Final Fantasys, but once it's a character's turn to attack, action pauses, and you have to choose your attack before another character can. If you're not sure which action to have a character take, just select "wait," and then cancel that "wait" once you have decided upon a course of action.

You can choose to combine your attacks with other party members (synchronize your attacks, thus more than doubling damage rather than attacking alone), or you can exploit enemies' weaknesses by casting spells of an element they can't stand.

One greatly irritating thing about the battle system is, if your main character falls, it's an automatic game-over. In which case, make sure to heal your main character often, even if you think he doesn't need it. 1HP makes all the difference. This forces you to strategize.

Enemies appear in the field in semi-real-time, semi-random way...enemies can materialize anywhere they want, but you still have to run into them before battle is initiated.

Dungeons can be mazes, or large open rooms...you have to destroy urns and use magic circles to open gates, thus, dungeons tend not to be linear, a rather good move on the part of the developer.

Overall
You're getting this game mostly for the humor, plot, or character designs, unless traditional RPGs are really your thing.

First and foremost,if you are one of those die-hard,extremely serious,Final Fantasy obsessed,couldn't laugh even if my life depended on it RPG players,then don't play this game as it will confuse and destroy your narrow,closed-mind.But if you like to have fun when you play video games,appreciate something original and like to laugh;then check this one out!

Okage:Shadow King is truely a unique RPG set in a "Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas" type enviroment.From the very start, the nature of this game is light-hearted and extremely humorous.
This RPG is the story of a young,insecure boy named Ari that no one seems to notice(downright ignore in certain parts!)Regardless of what you say or how you feel,people will pretty much just tell you what to do and how to be,all the while ignoring your responses(does any of this sound familiar to you in your life??)All of this changes for the quiet boy the day his zealous,nutty-professor type father shows him his cursed lamp that holds the "Evil King Stan"!Stan is a shadow monster who can only exist in the outside world by posessing a person's shadow.
However,the shadow must be from a person who could "easily get lost in someone else's shadow"!Naturally Ari is the perfect canidate as he is never noticed and has next to no self-confidence.Stan however is hardly a "monster",in fact everyone he tries to scare just finds him "cool",or even "cute" by the girls.Stan being the self-proclaimed terror that he is,won't rest until he and Ari(his "slave" as he calls you)find the cause for his loss of horrific,dark power.

The storyline for this game is just great,and I could really feel for Ari being so overshadowed.However this is all done in a humorous manner,and everyone,even the "villains" deliver some lines that are really funny(my personal favorite is from Ari's younger sister:"Mom gave me a book she reads to help me out with my first date tonight.What's it called?"Controling Men Made Easy!")The characters are very intresting esp. in their outer appearance.The whole game,even with the random enemies you fight,
is created with a trippy,but very appealing artistic style.

The gameplay is very typical and very easy to get the hang of, but that's not to say that it's boring.Both kids and adults will have fun with Okage.The soundtrack was pretty good,sometimes a little goofy,but never annoying.My favorite track was when the game first opened up with the bagpipes at the title screen!

I think 90% of the people who would play this game would have fun with it and enjoy it alot,esp if you had fun with the Super Nes RPG "Earthbound".It's funny,quirky,kinda off-beat but strangely addicting and alot of fun.To me Okage is a great break from certain RPG video games that take themselves SOOOOOOO seriously(cough!Final Fantasy-cough!)This is a game that you can play while relaxing in your favorite recliner and munching on the junkfood of your choice!Enjoy it,laugh and have fun....isn't that what video games are supposed to be about??

Okage: Shadow King is the story of a 16 year old boy named Ari whos life is turned upside down by none other than his shadow. It all starts when his father finds an old bottle. Meanwhile, Ari's sister Annie is found lying unconsious on the ground near her home. Apparently, she was attacked by a ghost, and was cursed. Now, she can only speak pig latin! Ari's father decides to open the bottle he found, and out pops Stan, the Shadow Evil King. He offers to help Annie under one condition: Ari must become his slave for life. With no choice, Ari agrees. Now, Ari's shadow is possesed by this Evil King, and must journey on to help the King revive back to his normal state, and gain his power back. Along the way, you meet wonderful characters, strange new worlds, and fight bad guys. This amazing RPG is a game that every family should own. I would give this game 5 stars for the fact that it is unique, and the story line (which is the best story line I've ever seen...read...whatever).

Okage is really a great game, its got an interesting plot that swerves off the "save the world" lane--not that I have anything against other RPGs, but Okage can make you me laugh. That's hard, I'm not the happy type. Some say the bosses are too hard, and they are, but if you have brains it becomes much easier.
The five-stars is my personal opinion, but Okage has many flaws. If the main character, default name Ari, dies, you get that big "GAME OVER." There aren't any random battles, but there might as well be. There are ghosts running around trying to kill you--best kill them first.
Okage's lovable and yet very "hateable" but I liked it.

I loved it. The game was fantastic! With a challenging plot and unique characters, this game brought a new meaning to RPG. In the game, you play as Ari or as another name. Your a boy (In the beginning I wondered if it was a girl or guy, but its a GUY), and people see you as quiet. After Ari's sister gets attacked by an evil king, she becomes unconcious. Ari's dad, always to the rescue saves her by opening this bottle and this bottle has Stan. Stan the Evil King who says hes the REAL Evil King of all the world. One of the more funny main characters in the game who seems more ridiculous than a ruler. Anyways, he helps Ari's sister but Ari must pay a fine for this wonderful deed he has put upon his sister. He must become Stans slave to go kill and defeat all the fake Evil Kings in the world. And basically its the most wonderful RPG I have played. I recommend it to most but it isnt really for adults.