Otogi Hyakki Toubatsu Emaki is set after the events of the original Otogi and focuses predominantly around the tale of Abe no Seimei, a particularly powerful Onmyo-ji of the Heian-era court. This time around, Raiko is not the forefront of the story and instead we are entertained with an ensemble-based narrative. Again, the game is a visually astounding feast of mythical wonders, but the gameplay is still falling foul of the same beleaguered woes its parent title suffered from.

The game’s focus is that of melee combat and vibrant action within a destructible environment. This would not be a problem if it weren’t for the two poorly implemented addendums to this; the game works in third person and aerial combat is nigh-on essential for the eradication of the trickier foes. This means that in order for these two aspects to work in harmony with the rest of the game, it is paramount that the consequent camera work is logical and consistent.

Instead, whenever the player is required to utilise aerial combat within an enclosed space the camera blithely decides to exhibit erroneous behaviour, and offers no rhyme or reason as to how it can be controlled in its new form. This is utterly catastrophic for any kind of action game because it inhibits the player from interacting with the in-game environment, and means having to battle with the game system instead.

Admittedly, it is partially possible to work around this state of affairs given more practice and the game can be adequately playable for the most part but, unfortunately, these discrepancies in camera work are not the only gameplay faults Otogi Hyakki Toubatsu Emaki exhibits.

Whilst third person action games need solid camera work, they also need to feature a diverse and intricate combat mechanic. The original Otogi was simplistic in terms of moves and combos, and the sequel is almost no different in this respect either. In the sequel’s defence, though, the addition of several new playable characters (a total of six now) and a slight re-working of the combos available does make matters a little more interesting, but the overall vapidity of combat is a major disappointment when compared to the lush visuals that accompany it.

As for the lush visuals, there is a jaw dropping selection of 27 stages and 18 bonus stages, all which offer a finely crafted sense of mythical aesthetic wonder (thankfully, these are now undertaken in a refreshingly non-linear fashion). Whilst you may be somewhat under whelmed by the lack of combat intricacy, the game almost makes up for this in eye melting visuals and an ample amount of playable stages.

You could argue that action-based games are cathartic by nature and that having any depth and method to the proceedings merely clouds the whole experience. Yet, as history has irrevocably proven, games that offer an intricate system for the player to experiment with more often than not endure the test of time and are appreciated for far longer due to the forethought that went into their creation. You see, Otogi did offer a few interesting gameplay nuggets upon its inception. The ability to fly through air whilst obliterating all and sundry was most certainly good fun (if a little derivative of Yuke’s action RPG “Soukaigi” - an impression which, ironically, the sequel has cemented even further by featuring a troupe of magical do-gooders). The requirement that the player destroy enemies in a constant flow so as to reliably refuel the Raiko’s magical meter did help keep the gameplay that much tighter, but it all fell apart when the player actually had to go and enter into combat. This is the crux of the matter and something that Otogi Hyakki Toubatsu Emaki has simply not even begun to address. The lack of combat diversity is woefully inadequate for a combat -orientated title.

It really is a shame, though. This series could have been something special and more than a little bit different, but it is still being let down on many very fundamental gameplay levels. For those that do wish to brave even more Heian-era purgatory, then From Software has kindly included the English version of Otogi (subtitled “Myth of Demons”) along with the release of Otogi Hyakki Toubatsu Emaki. Unfortunately, the amount of English text in the sequel is minimal to none and thus comes recommended only to the hardiest and most resourceful of importers.

In conclusion, Otogi Hyakki Toubatsu Emaki is by no means a bad game and it does improve upon the original. Yet, considering the recent calibre of other games within this genre, for all the minor improvements the overall experience is still somewhat lacking.