Okage: Shadow King | The Cult Hit JRPG With No Cult
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2022
- There are all sorts of strange and bizarre games that come out without breaking into the mainstream. Whether it be due to subject matter, appearance, or just lack of advertising, these games can live on through small followings and become cult hits (or cult classics, if you prefer). Yet, sometimes, you can have a game that seems perfectly formulated to become a cult classic, and just never find its audience. That's the case with Okage: Shadow King, a quirky PS2 JRPG from 2001 about a young boy being possessed by an ancient evil shadow man who wants to take over the world. A very small and strange world filled with people who look like puppets.
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#jrpg #obscure #ps2 - เกม
Sorry it took so long to get this out, I had some stuff come up and couldn’t work on this for a bit. What do you think about comedy JRPGs? Think we could use more of them?
This was a game I adored as a pre-teen/young teen and I was always so, so sad nobody knew of this. I hope it does eventually gain more fans and light on it, because it's so fun.
I definitely discovered it one day and decided to buy it for myself this month (after remembering what it was called) and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Stan’s the best! 😄
I loved this game growing up, my twin brother was the one who actually got it and id just watch him play. At 31 now and with him passing away 2 years ago this game gives me so much nostalgia, holds a special place in my heart
To defend the battle system: When you choose an action for a party member, it has to wait for all combatants in the battle to do their turn *in order,* which is dependent on AG (Agility stat). As for the large swarms of enemies that make battles slow, Overdrive and Burst is the name of the game. It may suck, and as probably the most dedicated member of the Okage: Shadow King cult, it can take the fun out of the game, and can sometimes be extremely frustrating. That said, you would probably have more fun if you had a better understanding of how the battle system worms. Thank you for making this video, I legit screamed when I saw anything Okage: Shadow King related in the recommended.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate hearing from people who really like the games I cover since I rarely hear anything about them. I did actually use Overdrive quite a lot, it did help... I just forgot to mention it in the video.
i had no problem with it. I beat the game at Ari's level 43. Then grinded Ari to 99 and beat the game after. I have yet to get the all of the gears to make that sword. This is also the game that kick started my love for jrpg's.
If this game came out today Stan’s human form would be a tumblr sexy man instead of a buff dude
do NOT fuck with the okage shadow king fandom there are 3 of us
The cholesterol is to help a man become a fat punk so he can date the lady he's crushing on in a different town. You also gotta bring him suspenders, a mohawk wig, and contact lenses so his eyes are more piercing.
Of course, why didn’t I see that? That’s the epitome of logic.
I've been a huge fan of Okage ever since I was a toddler.. its inspired me as an artist in so many ways I couldn't even describe. Regardless, it feels so nice to see someone give this game the love it deserves!!
Thank ya kindly for watching. I appreciate it. Good to know it’s impacted you as an artist, that’s always nice.
My step mother bought the game for me when I was like 7 years old. I’m almost 30 now and it has stuck in the back of my head the whole time lmao. I just recently emulated it again and it makes me so happy to remember EVERYTHING somehow. My memory is somehow crazy enough to remember that there is an item hidden behind a bush when you first leave your house in the beginning of the game...
Okage is brimming with imperfections. I also thought the battle system of this game was strange, but I fortunately ended up liking it. At the time this game was released, ATB systems like in Final Fantasy 9 were very normal, but they didn't have that "pause" that Okage did. I might be in the minority, but I thought this was a good thing because this gave you time to think and strategize. Okage is a lot less about brute force and moreso about strategy than most JRPGs, and the battle system where things like buffs, debuffs, ailments, etc matter reminded me a lot of the Etrian Odyssey series. You mentioned really liking the Big Bull fight because of this, and I'd argue the developers probably should have made other boss fights more interactive like this rather than just flinging raw damage at the player. Also, a mechanic you might have missed is the Wait/Combine mechanic, Ari and allies could combine their attacks together instead of just jumping back and forth one at a time (this made boss fights and certain normal encounters way faster).
As for everything else, the art style and character designs are crazy charming and oddly grew on me even more as time went on. Personally, I thought the music in this game to be pretty great (for it's time). I doubt there's a whole lot of people who would hear thing soundtrack and think "Damn, I want to jam out to this," but as someone who's recently been following channels like Music Theory for Gamers, I've been able to hear and understand more of the nuance in this game's OST and the odd, creative direction the composer went with, so the music grew on me as well (Highlands theme is, imo, the best).
I'll never forget Gamespot reviewing this game back and the day and coming to the consensus that it wasn't the next big name JRPG people might want to sink their teeth into, but the reviewer instead embraced the developer's strategy of being unable to compete with the budget of Final Fantasy games or the Popularity of Pokemon by being extremely charming, witty and funny - and to that I think the developers succeeded.
okage: shadow king, arc the lad: twilight of the spirits & dark cloud II were my childhood. it's too bad nobody really talks about it.
I even dyed my hair orange because of this game as cosplay in school.
That’s some real dedication. And don’t you worry, I’ll talk about those other two sometime. Probably.
Okage Shadow King, Dark Cloud 1 and 2, and Evergrace were my childhood.
All amazing games I have more nostalga for dark cloud 1 tho compared to dark Chronicle "I'm from Europe" :D but it improves everything about Dark cloud :D but I still love the originals ost. Wise owl forest is one of my favourite tracks
The music was something that stuck with me! I felt that the music of each area matched really well with the environment and over all feeling...
Hey thanks for this! As somebody who's made a few videos on super-obscure games I know how harrowing it can be, particularly to find an audience for them, but this is really well done! I played this as a kid way back when and it definitely left some memories. Hopefully it can find a greater audience someday, perhaps with a revamped combat system.
Kinda glad to know I wasn't just bad at the game as a kid and the final boss just really was that bullshit, even with the Sword of Gear.
Thank ya kindly. Hopefully enough people might want to learn about stuff they've never heard of to make this subject more viable. And yes... the final boss is at least partially bologna.
The cult is me. This game inspired a character in the novel I'm writing. Playing it is a core memory. Love this game.
Will say though I have legit never heard the name of this game spoken aloud and you saying Oh Ka Gey instead of Oh Cage is making my brain break, cuz I know yours is likely the right pronunciation bit it never occurred to me another way of saying it existed :0
Rapper XXXTentacion had an unreleased song called Okage The Shadow King. Also after he died Yoko Shimomoura wrote a song called Nocturne as a tribute to him.
I just recently restarted my Okage run after my friend suggested I play it, and it definitely has a lot of charm to it
Hope you have fun with it.
this was a really nice video!! i've been trying for a long time to find an opinion on okage that isn't just simply "yeah it sucks a bit" so this was refreshing in that regard, it was very informative!
That’s a relief. I was worried I didn’t make this long enough.
Immediately earned a sub for the King Crimson reference! Love this game so much
There's an audience for this kind of game,
And it's me, just me.
There is literally nobody else.
Well, at least it has one confirmed fan.
Okage has haunted my dreams since before I had even been to school, I know what it is now
Okage was such a big part of my youth. The beautiful bizarreness of it, the wit, and the unusual but endearing music - hearing the Forest of Willkur theme as you first leave Tenel, really makes you feel like you're embarking on an adventure. And for a shy, reserved kid growing up, it was easy to identify with Ari. And of course the art style is incredible. It seems like the PS2 had a good number of unusually art directed games, like Klonoa 2, Gitaroo Man, and Stretch Panic. Nice video!
This is my first ps2 game and i love it to this day. Bought it with zero knowledge, zero help but loved every bit of it
Great video, probably the best analysis of this game out there. About Epross, he is not really useless, he is the "thief" of the party, very fast and has decent ATK but low DEF, but his main skill is to use "Soul Bind" to transform enemies into itens, some of the best itens in the game can only be obtained this way, and also stat increasing itens wich you can farm to max character's stats.
I LOVE THIS GAME!! I wish they’d do a remake of it, i think it needs it. the english translation is rough, and i think there is room for improvement on the level design . the art style is PERFECT though. i also wish they had made a sequel, it deserves it
I love this game. It's such a charming subversive RPG with endearing characters. It's a shame it's not well known.
I remember playing this game first when I was 7 and I fell in love with it, it’s not my favorite game and it still gives me nostalgia like playing old Minecraft
No matter how little or many people like this game it will always be in my top 3
0:23 yo versus 2000? Nice
I dropped the game shortly after the dock town originally. Having to sometimes go to every NPC to see who needs what took me out of it. Took me forever to find the guy in the second town who needed a spring.
thanks for making this video. i always watched my brother play it as a kid and i also did years later but got stuck midway through. what an interesting twist of an ending.
I still think about this game all the time. It was kinda sloppy, but it had so much charm.
I only know this game because of Xxxtentacion- Okage the Shadow King
Excellent video my friend!
Thank ya kindly for helping, my dood.❤
Thats so weird, i never had a problem with the final boss, i just stuck with Ari, Rosalyn and Linda as my perma party through the whole game and he went down pretty easily. The game sadly doesn't have huge story needs or specific locations for them so once you got a favorite party just stick them and go go go.
"The cult hit JRPG with no cult" Hello, I am a vtuber with a design choice playing direct homage to Okage.
I’ll be honest, this is one game I never actually experienced. I Al intrigued to check it out. This one looks precisely up my domain.
Great Review there Hoolie
Real ones know to hold onto the fruit knife.
Considering how well this video did and most of the comments being mostly the same, I guess y'all found your cult.
I definitely can clearly remember that pop song that was tormenting the town. It was so cute. I loved it. 😂 This game was frustrating to play through but I adored it for the aesthetics and story and I still do. Not sure I’d have the patience to play through it now but it’s definitely a game that I think deserves recognition for the creativity.
I literally found out about this after knowing that an AMAZING game on Roblox had a modified version of Madril music in the first world.
Very well done video! Just finished this game again the other day, and I was curious if someone had ever done an in depth video on it. Your video was the first thing to pop up in my search! I still have some small glimmer of hope this game may receive some sort of remake or sequel sometime in the future, even though the chances of that are next to impossible. It'd just be nice to see this world and its characters return in some way or another. Anyway, I really appreciate this video as someone who loves this game! Well written, and it goes into depth on its good and bad qualities. Here's to hoping more people discover this game!
Thank ya kindly for watching. And hey, maybe they’ll pull a Bloodstained and put up a legally distinct successor on Kickstarter one day.
"..I have no doubt there is some super detailed multi-hour video essay picking apart every aspect of this game's narrative.." There is not. It is- tragic. You are a pioneer. Mystery is as deep as the hypothetical "300year old" dust build up on the protag's house.
Well, I guess I was right with the title after all. Shame.
That's crazy cause I couldn't even beat the fish boss (2nd one) as a kid and it just made me so frustrated with the game but I always thought the art style and idea of the game were SUPER cool I wish they would remake this game! It would be a solid remaster but with a better battle system obviously lol.
I first discovered Okage at a local used game store near where I used to live in, I think, 2016. (I don't recall what year it was)
I love the game, even though I never made it past the 2nd dungeon because other games distracted me from it. (Mostly due to my ADHD, I have the one where my personal interests can change from week to week, which sucks when you wanna get through a backlog of video games you keep wanting to finally beat. Lol)
okage was one of my favorite games when i was younger and ive recently been replaying it. ive never seen anyone online talk about it. this video is really well done :) though i will say i disagree with the ost points, the songs in this game still get stuck in my head a decade later, its the reason i wanted to replay it. i personally love super busy music, so i habe a bias for songs like the one in the big tree hole.
That's fair. I can see why some might find the soundtrack more enjoyable than I did, it just never really caught my attention. Thanks for watching.
I'm just going to say this now. I LOVED this game when it came out but I really couldn't get far in it because of the long, long, loading times for EVERY battle. Shoot me!
Kissing and Linda are your buffers Rosalyn is dp bull is tank ari is synchronicity if you have kissling and Linda in your party you can set it up to increase your hit criteria and attack pace
This was a game that has genuinely haunted my memories from as far back as elementary school. I rented it and had to return it and forgot the name for about a year or so before it had come back. Though I eventually got it for myself, I think it wasn't too long before the gamecube came out, which entirely stole my focus from the PS2. I'm really glad I decided to look into this again and found your video on it because it reminded me so much of the parts I really did love and also reminded me why I wasn't too hurt to set it back down with the speed of combat.
I recall feeling that I had never found a game so enthralling and curious to me from that point onward, so it stayed an absolute enigma. Thanks a bunch for covering this as you did a really solid job on the video.
I have to ask though, was there any other game that sort of captivated you with a world and characters so bizarre you never forgot them? I'd really love a recomendation if you have something in mind akin to this.
Thank ya kindly. Hope you stick around for more obscure stuff that may be worth your time, there's lots of titles no one covers.
Off the top of my head, there's... OFF. Plus The World Ends With You, although that one might not be what you're looking for.
30:22, I knew it! I figured Stan was actually Pollack as he mentioned being sealed inside the bottle and one of the reclassification men mentioned Pollack trying to get rid of classifications and rewriting the world and “being a thorn to Beiloune”. The only person I could think of who Beiloune would hate just as much is Stan. But that’s just my best guess. But it’s probably just best left up to interpretation.
Also it was mentioned that Pollack disappeared for several years, and was defeated by the hero Hopkins as well! and Rosalyn asked Stan herself if he was willing to wait ANOTHER several hundred years (implying three hundred, the same amount that Stan had been first sealed within).
@@michelleswondrousvideos2784 Lots of fun little details in this game if you look for them.
@@HoodlieRPG 😁 *nods in agreement*
Loved this creepy game. Was trapped in the escapeless abyss for years
This game was my favourite to play in high school. I still have it in my display case. This makes me want to play it again.
Have fun. Let me know if you get a different ending than I did.
I loved this game when I played it and I agree with you 100%. The combat is the worst part of this game and it was so annoying to have to worry about Ari being randomly one shot and the game ending. Did you know there are multiple endings for the game? Yeah....there are.
… hopefully someone else documented those endings, because I’m certainly not going through this again for them.
@@HoodlieRPG Haha I don't blame you. They use to be on TH-cam but I am not sure now.
I Love Okage ShadowKing
I JUST STARTED PLAYING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME & IT REMINDS ME OF FINAL FANTASY 7, EARTHLOCK & SNES EARTHBOUND, THE GAME IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! 😂
Interestingly enough, I actually got introduced to this game through Aphmau's minecraft diaries series when I wanted to find out where the song for Levin's music box came from. I ended up diving into the world of JRPGs because of this game and others like it
*Shin Megami Tensei, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors, and The World Ends with You just to name a few.
I didn’t know 999 counted as a JRPG. Great game, though. Super weird.
Okage would have been better as a weekly show or comic. It’s kinda like if persona 3, Disgaea, and invader zim fused if dib and zim shared a body. This game is basically the original “quirky earthbound inspired jrpg”. I think the issue is that there are so many games like this now that it’s not really special anymore even if it was unique years ago
Also the visuals remind me of blinx 1 and 2
can’t believe i’m not the only person who imagined Zim when Stan was talking lol
I totally forgot I played this game until this video got recommended to me 😅 I think I enjoyed it too, I just never heard anyone else bring it up ever
“Siezing the means of experience production” XD
Finally a decent video about okage
Well done analysis man, i just finished okage and i was happy to see this video up, there is maybe 1 other video? really surprised to see not much if any info on this game, considering its such a well made game with amazing writing. it is genuinely funny & the art direction is great and has aged really well. It definitely deserves the “Cult” classification;) & see why it was overlooked at the time, but seems probably more relevant now than ever, & i would go as far to say thay its a masterpiece. easily one of my fave rpgs now. i know i’ve seen the the earthbound comparison alot but the inspiration is obviously there and there are lots of meaningful interactions with npcs & alot of reward for exploration. the anti capitalist overtones are really nice & i actually loved the music & was impressed with how the battle tunes vary so much, nice ambient tunes that compliment the art direction, & honestly i cant say that for most rpgs. i understand the areas are small but im really ok with that. the dungeons are definitely the weakest part of the game, but dungeons are never really my favorite part of any rpg. but yes ofc 9 floor dungeon woth one save point at the first floot is annoying af. Battle is nothing special but i like the simplicity. as someone who plays alot of rpgs constantly i felt like this game was a welcomed vacation from the typical bloated table set of an rpg. the pacing in the game is great and always has you doing something and the story propelled me constantly. its a really heartfelt & touching story underneath all the silliness. anyways its a really beautiful game that deserves more attention. cant wait to replay this down the road and spend more time with it.
Thank ya kindly for watching, I really appreciate it. I'm glad you enjoy aspects of this game I'm not a huge fan of, it's part of what makes games like this so fascinating.
@@HoodlieRPG Yea i totally understand where you’re coming from. There is ALOT of jank, and im a sucker for some jank admittedly . i really enjoyed tapping the d-pad to make Ari float around 😂 Battle system is definitely very base line, but all the animations & character designs are so charming its hard for me to forgive any short comings the game has. i cant help but think
that was the intention of the developers. theyre not trying to reinvent battle systems and create massive open worlds, theyre telling a story with substance in an rpg setting. pretty neat
The music in this game is amazing wym
This is my all-time favorite video game! I get the complaints about the battle system though. That being said, one of the best ways to handle big enemies is utilizing the Wait/Combine feature as well as Ari's Overdrive that make the characters hit harder. Makes the boss battles and Urn fights much more manageable
I actually did that for a lot of fights… I just forgot to mention it. Glad you really like the game, though.
@@HoodlieRPG Ahh I wasn't sure because I don't notice any footage of either in the video
Yeah, I got over the gameplay pretty quickly, but I was hooked by the characters and pulled by the story. I still can't get over the artstyle because it fit the story so well, but it wasn't apparent until late game. The characters looked like cute dolls because they really were dolls, and the enemies looked like children's toys because they really were toys meant for a child.
I loved this game. When i moved last i saw that i still had my original copy. What i wouldnt do to play this again
I mean... it's on PSN, if you have the means to access it.
I certainly knew a bit about this game and that it was on ps4 but I didn't think about buying it. Until I watched your video.
So thank you for making it. I think I'll enjoy it (combat aside).
It’s $10 well spent for a playable art book. Hope you enjoy it.
Una video review de Okage shadow King en 2022-23?
Hermano te ganaste subscritor nuevo.
Um… gracias?
I got to what I think was the final dungeon and, like FFXIII, I just kinda quit when I couldn't win it.
I didn't want to grind out more in the game and I wasn't super invested in the characters. Despite having always been interested in the game since I played the demo so far back, there wasn't really a lot that hooked me into it beyond nostalgia. I wanted to complete it because it did have a neat art style and I was curious about where things were going, but the game spends a lot of time having characters shit all over Ari because he's supposed to be basically a bland NPC given a more prominent role because of Stan's possession, but the game never grows out of it and they just sort of shit on him until the end. Considering you're playing Ari, that gets old *fast.*
Yeah, haha, he's a nobody, hilarious. Fun premise at first, tiring after a little while, frustrating by the end.
Watching this does make me want to finally finish it, but like most games that disappointed me, I will probably just cheat my way through most of it once I get tired of grinding.
Don't worry, I'm sure Stan would approve.
...I loved this game and never got to finish it also music was my jam
I'm just here because someone posted the enemy designs
One of my favorite games. At the time it really hit me hard.
I hope it didn’t knock you out and make you restart.
I adore OKAGE... but yeah, it has it's flaws, especially in the combat. I guess I
'm mainly just a sucker for it's overall vibe and aesthetic so the flaws never really bother me that much. A remake with overhauled visuals and combat mechanics would be a wonder but sadly that'll never happen.
Ya never know. Maybe an indie team will make a similar, but legally distinct, spiritual successor that fixes up the combat. That'd be neat.
@@HoodlieRPG much like the Pizza Towers and Undertale's of the world, indie developers are truly doing the Lord's work.
The battles were something you really hated here, but it's something special.
Also sorry for this being so long.
You don't attack when your bar is full the person with the fullest bar goes next and if you're able to wait for a character to have a full atk bar it ups your attack.
(No the game does not tell you this.)
And upping speed raises the bar faster allowing for stronger attacks and quicker moves.
(This applies to enemies as well even though their bars can't be seen)
Charge doesn't use much of your atk bar and allows you to do massive combination and burst attacks for the price of wasted time.
Also ice moves ,or bust, are what you use on large groups of enemies, it is litterally half the reason they exist.
The moves are slow on purpose and are slow for the enemies as well, allowing time to pause mid attacks from enemies letting you heal or defend.
Imo the reason this game's combat sucks is because there is no tutorial.
Fair enough. I was hoping someone more familiar with this game could let me know if I was screwing up. I guess it’s just one of those things that’s annoying because it doesn’t tell you how it works. If I ever decide to replay this game, I’ll keep this advice in mind. Thanks.
Also, nice profile picture.
This was one of my favorite games on the ps2, and one of my favorites of all time. I'm sorry you suck at the combat, when I found it kinda easy...
what's the name of the song at the start of the video? the piano one
It's called "Bar Time" from Atelier Sophie.
@@HoodlieRPG i knew i recognized it from somewhere haha, thanks mate
Good vid btw
Imma be honest, I only know of this game cause XXXTENTACION name drop it in a song but it still looks cool
Hey! Cult fan here of this amazing game. Easily one of my favorites.
I can tell from your picture you’re also a fan of a certain other obscure game rarely discussed. A certain Reptilian Spin.
@@HoodlieRPG but of course. Somebody has to play the games long once forgotten and keep them alive lol.
i have a theory that their design was based on rag dolls, based on a lot of spoiler related context. i love this game, but i can totally get why you think it has a poorly spaced mid game. a shame, really. and yes, i feel as though there are some things i didn't see you using that would've made combat easier... it's still horrendous. indisputably needs work on the combat mechanics. it also happens to have a system i can explain that would help you understand that "randomness"
I’ve gotten several comments since uploading of people giving me tips on the combat. Several of them were about using Ari’s Overdrive, which… I never mentioned utilizing in the video. I did use it, but I never brought it up. So… uh, my bad.
@@HoodlieRPG ah, ok. understandable. not curious about the mechanics, though, huh. or were those covered by rowdy diehards earlier too? lol (putting that nicely, i assume)
@@offyourocker Yeah, someone else explained them.
@@HoodlieRPG not surprised. i'd prefer i wasn't "that guy" so have a good day/night
🔥
i love this game!!!! my mom had itbfor ps2 and i own itbon psn
Gear Love!
amazing video! anyone know the music from 30:29?
It's just the game's final boss music.
Also you never got the gear sword or hero rapier each character has a legendary weapon I got to the highest lvl 99 yearrrrrs ago
16:14 Socialist Stan Real!?!?!?!?
He's real if you believe in him. Otherwise, he's just an edit I made for a joke.
#Okage Is So Underrated Its Not Even Funny, One Of The Best I’ve Played In A While Next To #CitizensUnite 😂
How long did it take to make the video?
I don't know... like, 3 months?
Do Grandia 2!
Someday. I need to do Grandia 1 first.
I liked Okage but the ending half after the desert was disappointing.
Xxxtentacion made a song called okage
Was it about this game?
so play the game cuz its weird, dont play the game if youre impatient
1000th viewer let’s go 🔥
Aw, heck yeah. Thanks, dood.