Let me start this review by firstly saying how unique and amazing this game is, I’ve been gaming for about 17 years now, and the last game I played that’s made me remember why I fell in love with games was Skies Of Arcadia, and that was years ago. And even Skies Of Arcadia didn’t make me feel this happy about being a gamer. Okami originally came out for the PS2 a few years back, and was developed by Capcom’s Team “Clover Studios.” I didn’t own a PS2, so I missed out on this fantastic game the first time around. Capcom know that many gamers missed out on Okami and gave it a second chance this time on the Nintendo Wii.
The Wii version is a port of the PS2 version. Nothing new has been added; only the motion sensor controls. I wouldn’t call it a direct port as the whole game had to be re-built from scratch, due to some legal issues between the original PS2 developers, Clover studios and new developers, Ready At Dawn.
Story
Okami is set in a classical period of Japan. The game uses a lot of references from ancient Japanese legends and mythology, and does so very well. It often fits them into the main story and even side quests. The game begins in a narrative of an old legend set on the country of Nippon. 100 years ago there was great evil that plagued the land of Nippon. It required a sacrifice of a maiden every year in order for it to keep its power. On the day before the 100th year of its reign, a brave young warrior named Nagi with his divine blade together with a strange white wolf Shiranui with strange powers, fought and defeated the 8 headed demon, Orochi, and sealed it on a temple. A hundred years have passed since the above event and somehow Orochi has been awakened once again and started to plague the land. You now awaken as Amaterasu, the great Sun Goddess in the form a white wolf along with a trusty little friend named Issun. You have been tasked to rid the world once again of the evil Orochi.
That’s the most I can tell you without giving anything away, but there are many parts in the story where you’ll think it’s the end of the game, only to be pleasantly surprised.
Controls
Now a lot of people have said the Wii controls are rubbish. This is simply because people are not having any patience to learn them. It takes about half an hour to an hour to master the control; that’s not long at all. And I’m willing to bet most of you won’t have any problems with them. Painting with the Wii remote is brilliant, like everything it just takes a little practice. Just paint like a Japaneses artist (quick strokes, instead of smooth neat strokes). Once you’ve got it right, you’ll wonder how you ever got it wrong in the first place. The main fault in the controls is when using the dodge technique, it requires you to move the nunchuck in the direction you want to dodge, only it’s way to over sensitive. But luckily, you don’t have to use the technique if you chose not to.
Gameplay
The gameplay is heavily borrowed from “The Legend of Zelda” games, which isn’t a bad thing at all. You have your overworld which is huge. When I say huge I, mean huge! You know that really big overworld section in Twilight Princess where you have the horseback fight to get Colin back? Okami’s smallest section of the overworld map is bigger than that. That should give you an idea of how big Okami’s world map is. Aside from traveling to different towns and dungeons, the overworld is filled with sidequests, dojos, and hidden treasures and techniques; so you’ll be quite busy and can easily get sidetracked.
The battle system in Okami is similar to the Zelda games, only you don’t actually fight in the overworld. Instead, you interact with NPCs known as Demon Scrolls, which are normally just floating around. But get close and they will chase you. Upon touching them, you start the encounter. You are then enclosed inside a barrier as you ready for combat where you attack the enemy. Some enemy’s can be dispatched of easily enough with your main weapons (called Divine Instruments) but most of the enemy’s will require the use of the Celestial Brush. The Celestial brush is vital to the gameplay, as you can use in battle, such as, if an ice enemy appears you can draw the inferno tech, which will burn the enemy to a crisp. You also have to use the brush outside of battle too. Most of the time, it’s to solve puzzles and to get hidden treasure. With the Celestial Brush, you can control the flow of time, turn day into night, night into day, control which way and how strong the wind blows, make waterfalls, make dead flowers come to life, and so much more.
The dungeon design is some of the best work I’ve seen in a long time. The first dungeon is pure genius, and the boss fights are very well done as well.
Graphics
The eye catching graphics in Okami are to die for. If you thought Wind Waker was impressive, wait until you see Okami in action. It’s like watching a moving Japaneses painting. It’s purely beautiful and one of the most original concepts ever in video game graphic design.
Music
The music is simply amazing. Each piece fits the tone. And there’s a few in there that you’ll be humming along to long after you’ve turned the game off. Most of the music isn’t as drastic and epic as say Zelda or Mario, but it isn’t trying to be. It has a very fairytale mood to most of the music and that fits well with the game.
Replay Value
I completed the main game at 46 hours, which was with a lot of exploring. So the main game itself is around 30 hours, but the amount of sidequests and unlockable content to get will keep you playing for about 60 hours+. Replaying the game is a big plus since after completing your first play through, there are a lot of bonuses that will be carried over to your second game and keep you playing for more.
Conclusion
If you are proud to be a gamer, then you owe it to yourself to buy Okami. It’s one of the best games on the Wii by far, and Zelda fans will love it! Okami is truly a masterpiece. If you never played this game, hang your head in shame. You are missing out on a wonderful experience.
I give it a 10/10 on the Zippy Scale.
