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Okami

2007-08-17

Grade:  9.3

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Okami screenshots:

Okami screenshot 
Nothing in the demon's training could have prepared him for this

Okami screenshot 
Now there's something you don't see everyday

Okami screenshot 
Well, YOU try making a wolf stay in one spot for a while, it ain't easy! Grumble..

Okami screenshot 
Ammy will now demonstrate how the techniques work. See the dead tree...

Okami screenshot 
And presto! The tree even gives you some food for your trouble. Just don't ask us where it kept it this whole time

Okami screenshot 
It's coming right for us!


Okami screenshot 
Yes, that fish is dressed in clothes. Spiffy dresser, that one!

Okami screenshot 
Giant sky roads have crosswalks too

Okami screenshot 
For the last time, I am NOT Link!

Okami screenshot 
This is one of the bosses I saw too much of

Okami screenshot 
Another one of Orichi's 8 heads, wearing a hat made out of fire. That little rat at the bottom is you

Okami screenshot 
Oh no, not the cherry blossoms!

Okami screenshot 
What's that you say. Ammy was standing in a different spot during one of those demonstration pictures eh...

Okami screenshot 
And ... then there's a magic circle thing ... and the cherry blossoms appear..

Okami screenshot 
Go ahead, let out the artist in you. 'Cause he is starting to stink

Okami screenshot 
Another flame hat! Wow, setting yourself on fire must have been the hottest fad back then

Okami screenshot 
Go ahead, cry if you want to. No-one will think you any less of a man. jpg

Okami screenshot 
Ratatouille, the Japanese recipe


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A magical fable about a wolf and her...bug?!

   Before this review gets underway, do me a favor and breathe in through your nose. Smell that? No, I don't mean the smell of days-old pizza, dirty laundry and other things that are best left unidentified. I mean the smell of freshness, the smell of something new and unique, that heavenly aroma with an added lemony-fresh scent. That, my pungent friends, is Okami you smell. Smelling metaphors aside (which I can get away with because you play as a wolf in this game), Okami is one of those games that come out of nowhere and actually manage to present some unique gameplay ideas that *gasp* have not been seen before. It's also a game worthy of supporting the "games can be art" argument, sitting smugly beside other games such as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus as something you'd feel comfortable playing in front of your high-class, snobby friend who still thinks that all games are for kids. And you get to play as a wolf god in ancient Japan who uses brush techniques to restore the cursed land and battle giant, eight-headed dragons. If all that still doesn't appeal to you even the slightest bit, I can only conclude that you are a vegetable of the gourd family (most likely a cucumber).

What could have been an all-too-obvious song choice for the soundtrack? "Bark at the Moon." *forced laughter*

   Developed by Clover Studio, a subdivision of Capcom that for some silly reason has now been re-integrated back into its parent company (perhaps a bout of jealousy on Capcom's part after they were up-staged by their smaller subsidiary), Okami is simply a game that any self-respecting gamer should at least try. In Okami you play as the god Amaterasu in wolf form, self-assigned with the task of ridding Japan (or Nippon as it's called in the game and in the tongue of the Japanese) of the evil dragon Orochi, who has re-awakened after 100 years of being sealed away. The story starts off simply enough, but includes some surprises and twists later on which, while not gasp-worthy, help to give the story a meatier feel than certain other games (which shall remain nameless) where you are just tasked with rescuing a princess and sent off on your merry, sewer-crawling way.

   Okami is such as a beautiful game that I run the risk of going on and on about its looks for too long, just as a smitten, love-sick teenager might bore his friends with how adorable his latest crush looks. And how she is finally a real girl and all that. Chances are, you've probably already heard about Okami's unique look anyway, so I'll keep the fawning to a minimum. To set the record straight, it's not that Okami has some groundbreaking graphics that will knock your socks off - last time we checked the PS2 still wasn't able to stand up to the next-gen platforms in terms of raw graphic power. Instead, the game impresses with its great use of color and an absolutely unique, as far as video games go, visual presentation. The game uses a rather muted, simple style that looks a little bit like a watercolor painting, and which, mixed with Okami's traditional Japanese artwork, just pleases your polygon-beguiled eyes to no end. If you are too young (or too old, or too medicated) to have actual orgasms, just stare at this game for as long as possible because it's definitely the next best thing.

Sure, she looks great, but what about her personality?

   As you play as a god, throughout the game you will be doing good deeds for people (and for the land itself), in order to earn that greatest of all rewards, "praise", which can be used to level up aspects such as your health, ink pouch, or money pouch. Yes, people, even gods need cash. Amusingly, not only can you carry yen, but you can also buy items like bones or feedbags from merchants. The latter, bless their naïve and greedy hearts, never show the slightest bit of surprise at the fact that shopping has suddenly become a popular pastime among wolves. I guess they just assume that you've been "sent to do some shopping" by someone else. In the best of capitalist traditions, you can feed the grub purchased from the merchants to different animals for more - yes - praise. In short, there is all kinds of praising going on all over the place pretty much all the time. Rejoice, will you?

   Playing as Amaterasu, or "Ammy", is a surprisingly (mustn't...over-use...'unique'!) fun experience, and certainly it is not often that you get to play through a game solely as an animal. As such, you can use your canine powers to dig for treasure, bark at animals, eat any food you come across, and even learn a move that makes you urinate on your enemies, humiliating them and making them drop "demon fangs", which you can trade in for special items. Sadly, you can't urinate on actual people, or drink from toilets. Yes, I tried.

   As you might expect, you won't be going through the game alone, and almost from the get-go you are joined by a tiny, hopping bug-like creature named Issun who rides on your back and provides humorous commentary and does all the talking to people for you. He also, in a classic pervy anime-style, ogles pretty much every woman you come across, beside, or on top of. Issun's role is much like Midna's role in Twilight Princess whenever Link is in his wolf form, and they're both essential for their respective games, as going through the motions without them (wolves being mute animals and all) would probably prove to be a bit too stoic an experience for most of us button-pushers.

Psst. There's a special move you can buy for 2,000,000 yen that lets you drop an exploding piece of doggy doo on the ground. I'm not even kidding!

   The best aspect of the game comes from the brush techniques that you continue to learn throughout the adventure. You start off with the "rejuvenation" technique, which lets you use the celestial brush by holding down R1 and then painting over the screen with the brush in order to restore ruined objects. As you play through the game you gain plenty more abilities and learn all kinds of fun things that you can do with your, umm, instrument. There are 13 different brush gods, all of whom, once found, will teach you a new technique. By the end of the game you'll be able to turn day into night by drawing the moon in the sky, create trees simply by dotting the ground with the brush, make dead trees bloom, and even create bombs by drawing a round circle with a line coming out of it for the fuse. There is a great multitude of abilities in all, since most gods give you more than one technique, and existing abilities can be powered up to higher levels. Beg as you might, I won't be going into them all here, however, for fear of spoiling the experience. Trust me, it's for your own good. One of the most enjoyable parts of the game is finding the brush gods and gaining the new abilities, as each one opens up new areas to explore and secrets to find, so you'll be eagerly awaiting to see what kind of magical trickery will be added to your arsenal next.

Mini (lazy) review: think of the parts that you play as Wolf Link in Twilight Princess, replace Midna with a bug and make it last longer! (Pay check now, please!)

   Monsters roam the land in Okami, depicted as floating scrolls on the screen, and when these are touched by Ammy, you enter a combat zone and fight using one of three different types of weapons that you have at your disposal. Aiding you in combat will be all your brush techniques, and the one you'll probably find yourself using the most is the "power slash" move, where you simply draw a quick horizontal line over the enemy to cut them with the brush. God, I wish I could do that in high school. The flow between combat and the point where you "pause" the action to use the brush techniques is smooth and feels natural, and linking together your attacks and your techniques is very satisfying.

   All of the game's dungeons are very well designed, (albeit reminding me somewhat of many of the dungeons I had been through in some of The Legend of Zelda games), and each features the standard end-of-level boss. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for these guys: waiting around for an eternity just so the hero can come and dispose of them isn't the greatest of jobs, after all. In Okami, these bosses are the strongpoint of the game as far as monsters are concerned, as they usually provide the first opportunity to really put that new move you just gained to the test. And just wait until you finally reach the end boss of the game! This one won't go down so easy, and you will be using all your techniques in many imaginative ways in order to finally dispose of him.

Who let the wolves out?!

   Remember how I said that I'd keep the fawning to a minimum? Well, to hell with it. Okami is one of the best games to come out for the PS2 library, and if you play it you will see why. (And if you don't you will learn that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee). The music and sound effects are great - I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the soundtrack for this game - and the game sucks you into the story of Ancient Japan, and holds you there quite effectively for most of the way through it. I say "most of the way" because, after finishing the game (and finding every secret, I add with only a slight hint of bragging!), with a total run time of around 60 hours, I did occasionally find my mind wandering. Yes, the game is very long, which could put a few of you off, but you have plenty of side-quests to keep you entertained, which includes finding 100 stray beads (the game says 99, but you get the 100th one after the credits end, the sneaky sods) which are scattered throughout the game. Incidentally, the story that the game is based on is completely true, though not many people realize that Japan was saved and then ruled for a couple of years by a dog; the period was called "The years of surprisingly little advancement", also known in the US as "The Sixties".

My angry gamer protection plan

   To keep anyone from saying "You said the game was great, but I bought it and it sucked so I stopped playing after a few hours, so you lied, waah waah", here is the official list of all the tiny, insignificant Okami flaws I could come up with:

   - The opening is rather slow, and long, and some other cut-scenes might try your patience as they go on for a bit. Just suck it up.

   - The bosses in the game are all fantastic, but you end up fighting a couple of identical ones too many times. To remediate, I suggest searching the web for one of the many illegal ways to temporarily impair your short-term memory.

   - Some fools might be frustrated that the game contains no voice acting, only text and nonsense speak that is similar to that used in Banjo Kazooie. If it really bothers you, just convince yourself that it's Japanese - you probably don't know any better anyway.

   - The game's pace is also slower than that of some other games that you might be used to, so don't go into it expecting non-stop action and you'll do fine. If RPG/Adventure games aren't your thing, rent before you buy.

   - Lastly, and most damningly, the game is easy, sometimes almost laughably so. Most monsters and bosses can be disposed of quickly, and dying requires a bachelor's degree in Ineptitude. Having said that, near the end of the game, if you want all the stray beads, you'll need to fight a few battles that are pretty tough and long, which balances things out a little bit.

   Not much more needs to be said. Do yourself a favor and play this game, unless you feel that you don't have the spare 50-60 hours for it. Easiest conclusion ever, really.


       ... Travis Whipps

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(3 Comments, click to add yours)

On Sun, Aug 19, 2007, 10:09 PM Darthziggy said:

Hey, I have a bachelor's degree in Ineptitude! Well, actually the paper says "English", but what's the difference.

On Mon, Aug 20, 2007, 10:41 AM Zeller said:

Great review! Okami is definitely one of the top five PS2 games of all time.

On Tue, Sep 4, 2007, 01:28 PM Charlie said:


At first I wasn't really interested in the game, looked a bit weird for my taste, this review does make it seem a bit more appetising. Very good review, anyway.  I think I shall steal this game off of you and see for myself.


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. Summary: An artsy fable that combines RPG and Adventure elements into one classic game.

Already played it? Trade it for another game at

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Systems: PS2

Genre: Adventure-RPG. Weren't you just paying attention?

Setting: Ancient Japan

Mood: Calm, light, er...Japanesy? That's a word, right?

Story: Simple, but effective.

Graphics: A cornucopia of muted colors and effects that will make you thankful of your eyesight.

Music/Sound: Well suited to the feel of the game, and easy to listen to.

Voice Acting: The chipmunks they hired for all the voices were pretty good. Good for chipmunks, I mean.

Script/Dialog: Witty and enjoyable, sure to elicit a chuckle or two out of you.

Similar Games: Twilight Princess, the wolf parts.

Gameplay: Sorry to sound repetitive, but Twilight Princess it is.

Strengths: The look of the game, brush techniques, the setting, and the fun gameplay.

Weaknesses: A tad too long, a tad too easy, and the fact that every time Issun said "Ammy!" my traitorous mind thought up Jar Jar Binks going "Annie!" in his annoying, high-pitched voice.

Depth: There's plenty to do in the game, including fishing and digging mini-games. So, fairly deep.

Length: 50-60 hours.

Pace: A bit sluggish at times, but mostly it'll go by quick enough.

Difficulty: Easy

Control: Excellent, except it was a bit tiring drawing all those Lilly pads all the time. Oops, just gave another technique away.

Learning Curve: Gradual

Replayability: You'll surely be back sometime in the future.

Will keep you up until (a.k.a Fun Factor): The Full Moon, haha, get it? Since you're a wolf, and...*voice trails off*

Notable Features: Brush techniques, playing as a wolf, and peeing on things. Hee hee.

Fav. Character: Issun, of course, but Ammy also has a surprising amount of likeability, considering that she can't talk.

Instant Classic: Oh yes.

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Clover Studio

Release Date: 2006-09-19

Players: 1

Multiplayer: No

ESRB: Teen

Target Audience: Zelda fans, the anime crowd, and the Japanaphiles, along with the RPG fans and the Adventure fans. That's a long list, it is.

Recommended For: Pretty much everyone should at least give this game a try, but if you hate games with too much story, I guess this isn't for you.

Not Recommended for: Those who don't have the time required for it.



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