Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors -- Final Opinion

Otogi 2 provided me with twenty-six hours and ten minutes worth of perfect gaming. I earned the 100% and A rankings for the twenty-six levels where that counts, and completed all eighteen Havoc missions. I have no complaints. Everything was flawless. The gameplay I adore. The graphics are on par with the best ever seen for this generation of consoles. The challenge was tough, but always fair. Camera issues were too far and too few in between to even consider knocking the game. The music is fitting and well done all around. In both composition and sound quality. The length was perfect. The story was classic Japanese mythology. The voice acting top notch. I started with referring to it as perfect gaming, and I'm going to score it as such. I've given it a ten. The original was my Game of the Year for its year, and Otogi 2 is in serious contention for Game of the Year 2004. Now, for the 1.5 people likely reading this, I'm not going to suggest you rush right out and get it.  Even though I surely consider it a must personally. The game recommendation comes with one caveat in my opinion, you need to be of the right mindset to appreciate it fully. What mindset you might be asking? The mindset of being able to appreciate the ratio of the combination of style and skill to fun factor. In other words, being able to enjoy rising to the challenge. If you liked games like Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi (PS2), Nightshade, and Ninja Gaiden (Xbox -- I am including this game from what I've heard about it, as I've not yet played it), then I would suggest you look into Otogi and Otogi 2. Hopefully there will be an Otogi 3.