Review Okami Developer: Clover Studio Publisher: Capcom Genre: Action Release Date: September 2006 Platform: Review by March 7, 2007		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

Does the name Amaterasu Omikami ring a bell?  I am perfectly certain it doesn’t, unless you are familiar with Japanese mythology.  Amaterasu is the sun goddess, ruler of the High Celestial Plain and probably the most important deity in Japanese mythology.  In Okami, you get to become deity for a day - or as long as the game lasts – by  taking control of Amaterasu in the form of a white wolf.  But what is a deity doing roaming the mortal land? To answer that we need to take a stroll back into history.

Many years ago the land of Nippon was plagued by the evil of the 8-headed beast, Orochi.  Every year, Orochi would satisfy his hunger by selecting a maiden from one of Nippon’s villages to sacrifice.  But Orochi’s reign would be shattered by a mighty warrior, Nagi, who defeated Orochi in an epic battle. Nagi wasn’t by himself though.  He was assisted by a fearless white wolf, Shiranui.  But, during the battle, Shiranui would suffer fatal injuries and die shortly thereafter.  A statue of Shiranui was erected in honor of the valiant wolf who helped save Nippon.

Now, exactly 100 years after those events, evil roams the land of Nippon again. Orochi is back, more fearsome than ever, but this time the evil that comes along with him is greater than one could ever imagine. For the grand undertaking of fighting this “new, improved” evil, Amaterasu will be summoned into the statue of Shiranui, and the white wolf that liberated Nippon in the past will rise again.

Amaterasu’s primary concern, before engaging into some serious evil butt-kicking, is to restore the land of Nippon.  Evil has left its mark everywhere. People have turned to stone, the flora has withered and black, cursed clouds float in the air.  In order to restore the land, Amaterasu will have to use her divine restoration powers as well as eradicate the evil minions that taint it.  She won’t be alone on her quest though, since a little poncle, a creature not bigger than a bug, called Issun will accompany her, latched on her fur. Issun offers a comic relief in the dialog, with his snappy and, sometimes, obnoxious comments, as well as his machism!  Other than that though, he doesn’t offer much to Ammy (as he calls Amaterasu).

Ammy’s divine powers come in the form of the Celestial Brush. There are 13 different brushes that have various powers, from making the sun appear or restoring withered trees, to harnessing the power of fire and thunder. Ammy will start the game “naked” though, with none of her divine powers, which she will have to gradually recover. Each power is used by drawing a certain symbol on the screen, e.g. a circle in the sky for the sun or a horizontal line for a power slash.  And when I say “drawing” I mean it literally!

The celestial brush is a most unique element that takes Okami to a whole new level of gameplay.  By keeping R1 pressed, everything pauses and the screen turns into a canvas, on which the celestial brush is used by moving the right analog stick and pressing the square or triangle button to draw.  Drawing that way is not very easy at first, which is why the first divine powers recovered are simpler to draw.  Still, even a simple circle or straight line is not very easy to perfect when trying to press two buttons and move a little stick around.  Don’t worry though, since pixel perfect precision is not required – but don’t draw a cardiogram where you need a straight line and expect it to work.

When drawing away, be aware that ink is not infinite, and every time you draw something, a bottle of ink will be used up and will take some time to replenish. Use up all the available bottles, and not only will you temporarily lose your brush, but you’ll also have to make do with biting your enemies, since when the celestial brush is lost, so are Ammy’s weapons! Bonus items that award faster ink replenishing or temporary infinite ink will prove priceless.

Most of the nasties in Okami are hidden in floating demon scrolls or demon gates.  When Ammy touches a scroll or a gate, a battle begins.  Ammy can use two weapons at a time, a primary and a secondary one.  There are three types of weapons: reflectors, rosary beads and swords. Starting with a basic reflector, weapons get stronger as the game progresses, going up to a thunder sword, which is a delight to see in action. Of course, Ammy’s divine powers come into play during fighting too, sometimes being the only way to defeat an enemy.  Apart from the scrolls and gates, there are a few enemies that will take Ammy by surprise, and there are also some pretty impressive and pretty tough bosses.

After finishing a fight, Ammy will be rewarded with money and other goodies. If a fight took place in a demon gate, then nature will be restored within a vast radius around the gate. Killing enemies and performing a certain move at the precise moment they die, will award Ammy demon fangs. Demon fangs are used to trade for some unique items that cannot be obtained any other way, and will be proven very useful in the process, so try and accumulate as many as possible. There are also two alternative ways to obtain demon fangs, with the use of two very “special” moves. But I will let you find out what those moves are on your own!

Apart from fighting, Okami offers plenty of platform action, pretty intense at times, as well as several mini-games, some mandatory and some optional. The mini-games vary from fun ones to those that will leave bunches of pulled out hair in your palms.  Finally, in order to break the action, Okami also offers a couple of very easy puzzles.  Thankfully, the controls are flawless, making all aspects of the game smooth as silk.  In all ways, Okami’s gameplay is nothing short of brilliant.

Ammy, being a god and all, needs her praise, and a lot of praise will be awarded to her every time she restores nature, or performs certain good deeds, like feeding animals.  Praise is not just a whim to satisfy Ammy’s divine ego. It is one of the most essential parts of the game, and without praise you have no hope in ever getting too far. Why? But simply because praise can be used to “upgrade” Ammy, in four different ways: health, ink, astral pouches, wallet.

Health is self-explainable, and appears in the form of Solar Energy units. Ammy starts with 3 Solar Energy units and can upgrade up to 20 total, but only 15 with the use of praise – the rest only if certain sun fragments are discovered.  Ink is of course the essence of the game, and you can never have enough.  Ammy starts with 3 bottles, but unfortunately she can only go up to 10.  With the use of a faster ink replenishing bonus though, 10 should be ok, unless you are the reincarnation of Vincent Van Gogh.  Astral pouches act as extra lives.  Whenever you lose all your health, an astral pouch will bring Ammy back to life.  They need to be filled first though, which is done by gathering fruit and veggies – no, no crispy pork ribs or juicy beef steaks I’m afraid.  Ammy can have up to 4 astral pouches.  Finally, Ammy’s wallet is where she stashes her money, and it starts off by being able to hold a 5 digit number, which can be upgraded up to an 8 digit one.  One small piece of advice: focus more on the ink upgrades as well as one wallet upgrade in the beginning.

Money can be used to buy items at the local sellers as well as learn new tricks and moves at the dojo.  There is a big variety of items available: holy bones, Ammy’s favorite food that replenishes her health, scrolls that damage enemies, sake (the drink that is, not the one for Pete’s) and slips that will power up her defense or attack, food for the animals and plenty more. Weapons, as well as some very valuable power ups, can also be bought at certain sellers, but they all can also be found if you look hard enough or kill certain enemies, so it’s up to you how you want to distribute your money. Make sure to save up a good amount for the dojo though, where you will learn valuable combat and non-combat tactics, like double jump, multi hits etc. Oh, and those two “special” moves of course!

The main core of the game is of course to eliminate evil once and for all, but there are so many side-quests and secrets in Okami that will make your head spin.  There are people to help, chests with all kinds of goodies to be unearthed, wanted lists to take care of, hungry animals to feed, hidden areas to be discovered and much more.  If you decide to take on everything and drain every last drop of juice from the game, it will feel like there is no end!  Add to that the high replayability value, with unlockable bonuses, undiscovered secrets and the fact that you can start over keeping most of your arsenal and showing those pesky monsters that made your life hard during your baby steps who’s boss, and you have a game that will give you your money’s worth to the max.

Visually Okami is most unique, with 3D graphics that look like they came out of a comic book. The atmosphere sways from lighthearted and comical to dark and ominous, gripping at all times while constantly retaining the feel of a comic book. This unusual presentation is complemented with appropriate oriental music and the most bizarre way to portray speech ever created!  All “speech” is in the form of some kind of mumbling, the pitch of which varies according to who is speaking. Even though it can get annoying at times, it does fit perfectly to the feel of the game. The overall presentation of the game could be called perfect in its own strange way, but unfortunately there is a problem with the draw distance, which is pretty short.  While this does not affect the main gameplay, it can be a hindrance to one who is intent on discovering every secret of the game. For example, sometimes you may be staring at an open area ending to a big wall ahead of you, but if you walk closer you will suddenly see a chest or a couple of hungry animals, which were not drawn from a distance.  So, if you want to do and see everything in the game, you will have to actually walk everywhere, not just look.

A big drawback in Okami, the only stain in an otherwise spotless ensemble, is its unbelievably low level of difficulty.  Fighting monsters is most of the times a breeze, especially after a couple of weapon and ink upgrades and the platform and mini game sequences, even the hardest ones, can only cost a few Solar Energy units, which not only can be replenished with the use of holy bones but also replenish themselves after a while.  And even if you somehow manage to lose all your health, the astral pouch is there to bail you out.  Add to that Ammy’s godhood, which rises during battles and makes her invincible to a few enemy blows, and all the combat-help bonuses that come in abundance, and the only way to see the “Game Over” screen would be to play blindfolded, using your feet, while breathing into a laughing gas tank.  And you may even beat the game that way!

Don’t let this fool you though.  Despite its easiness, Okami is absolute fun to play, and its length and depth, as well as its superb gameplay and high replayability value, will ensure many an afternoon of total engrossment, trying to help Ammy and Issun fight the evil of all evils.  It is indeed the best non-adventure, and one of the best overall games I’ve played in 2006.  Keep in mind though that this is a 100% action game, with very slight adventuring elements.  If you want something outside the adventure world and your fingers can handle the lengthy workout, then Okami is a game that should not be overlooked.