OKAGE: Shadow King

by Sony Computer Entertainment

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005NYZ7
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 5.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 2, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,513 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The spirit of an evil king has been unleashed, and it possesses the shadow of an young boy named Ari. Bearing the burden of the evil spirit on his slender shoulders, Ari must journey through an animated fantasy world that is by turns whimsical and ominous, and endeavor to free his shadow.

Okage: Shadow King is an absorbing role-playing fantasy with more than 80 hours of adventure and gameplay. It features richly imagined 3-D worlds, including five towns, six fields, and nine dungeons. There are six fully realized characters, with unique personalities, strengths, powers, and attacks, and 100 enemies to battle. Dramatic battle sequences allow allies and enemies to fight simultaneously and in real time. As your team explores the worlds of Okage, you will have access to more than 100 spells, attacks, and weapons, and more than 150 items to collect and use. You will engage in realistic conversations with nonplayer characters, decipher clues, and unravel the secrets hidden in every corner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining....., October 14, 2001

By	"mnorth3" (Carlisle, Ky USA) - See all my reviews

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...

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and cute, but a few bumps along the way, September 22, 2002

By	"smyrgl" (Aspen, CO United States) - See all my reviews

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best PS2 game I've seen (So far), December 9, 2001

By	J. J. Chiappelli "jjcx" (Pasadena, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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).