Rachel hangs out with the Shadow King for a few days, and comes away with her thoughts.
Okage: Shadow King adds another choice to the PlayStation2’s currently sparse RPG selection. Unlike many of the PS2’s games, which appeal to older players looking for more serious environments, Okage makes no attempt to come across as mature. Beginners and players who seek a simple, light-hearted RPG will enjoy Okage. Other players will most likely wish for a greater challenge and more options than the game offers.
Your quest begins in a small town when your family discovers a mysterious bottle. Unfortunately, the bottle houses the Evil King, who places a curse on your sister. The Evil King agrees to lift the curse if you allow him to enslave your shadow. After a little pressure from your family, you agree to the Evil King’s offer and set out on a journey to allow him to reclaim his power and hopefully free yourself. As you travel, you’ll team up with different characters who will offer their assistance.
Even though the game frequently makes you decide what to say next in a conversation, your choice rarely affects the outcome. Instead, you can simply talk to the converser again and select a different answer if your previous one did not allow you to progress. Characters seldom speak a serious line of dialog. People make jokes about stereotypes in other games, society, and stories in general. The storytelling does sound rough at times though.
The gameplay is similar to that found in most other turn-based RPGs. Your characters can perform all the expected moves during battles, such as attacking enemies with weapons, using magic or items, or attempting to defend yourself. Occasionally your shadow will also join the fight. You can see enemies approach on the overworld screen, which allows you to avoid fights if you’re low on energy. However, if you flee from too many encounters, you won’t gain experience and will have a difficult time later in the game. You can refresh your health and save your progress at inns, buy items and weapons in village stores and so on. You’ll also need to solve a few puzzles to progress. Characters will present you with a couple of riddles that start out simple and gradually increase in challenge. Sometimes you must also perform tasks for people in order to acquire an item, which usually involves finding a different object to give to them first. Overall, if you’ve previously played another console RPG, you know what to expect.
Although Okage’s world looks large as you travel through the lands, your movement is actually rather restricted. You’ll attempt to walk through what looks like open land only to hit an invisible wall or a small plant that stops your progress. The unclear boundaries make the world feel somewhat unnatural. On the other hand, the lack of freedom also prevents you from getting lost or sidetracked, which less advanced players might appreciate. The graphics are generally simple, bright, and colorful. You can’t interact with most of the background items. Again, depending on how experienced of a player you are, you might see the limited interaction as focusing the gameplay. Similar to the graphics, the background music also sounds simple and playful.
If you want to play an RPG that doesn’t pretend to be a dramatic tale or one that won’t require a lot of your time, Okage is a good choice. The relatively simple world and missions make the game easier to stick with than some more complex RPGs. More experienced or serious players will want to wait for a different game such as the next Final Fantasy.
