It took a little longer than expected, but Okami is finally on the system it should have been put on in the first place...And what a match it is!
Story: I don't really want to spoil anything with story, so I'll just keep it simple. 100 years in the past, Amaterasu (if you want some real Japanese mythology background, she's the Shinto sun goddess, daughter of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods who created the islands of Japan) came down in the form of a white wolf to fight off a demon called Orochi. She and a hero called Nagi eventually brought him down, but she suffered mortal wounds and died. Now, in the present, Orochi has returned and Amaterasu has awoken from her 100 year slumber, once again taking the form of the wolf she was long ago. Now she sets off on a journey to restore the cursed land of Nippon and polish off Orochi yet again!
Gameplay: While Okami is very Zelda-esque in many aspects, the actual combat gameplay is probably the most defining thing between the two games. Unlike in Zelda, where enemies are fought in a seamless part of the world map, Okami battles may be fought by 1) Jumping into or being chased down by a floating evil scroll that can be found on the map, 2) by entering a cursed gate, that may also be found on the map, or 3) scripted encounters by which you meet new enemies (usually when you enter an area for the first time, etc...
When you enter battle, a evil force field surrounds you, and you are forced to do battle in this small circular arena until you defeat all the enemies or you find a weak point in the field to destroy and escape from (a red spot in the usually purple arena walls)...At your disposal at first is Amaterasu's initial reflector (that's the name of the mirror on her back), but you will soon be gaining many other useful brush techniques over the course of the game, as well as more powerful weapons...
Attacking with the reflector, you must carefully time your attacks by waggling the controller so you can put in a combo (each added attack in the combo does more damage than the last)...While this may seem frustrating and impossible to do at first, you really do get used to it and will be putting out combos left and right if you give it a little time...
Another aspect of gameplay I just barely touched on is the use of the brush...In combat, the brush can be used for many things, all of which I would consider spoilers, so I won't talk about them... =) Many people have talked about the controls not working or being inefficient, but I personally have had few problems from the start, and now I can do pretty much every brush technique on the first try...Again, just like with the timed reflector combos, it just takes a little practice!
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Time to break down the score!
Visuals: 9.5
Absolutely beautiful...All the little things like flowers blowing in the wind, to the flowers that you can grow from drawing dots with the brush, to the grass and flowers that grow behind Amaterasu as she runs, to the fantastic Japanese art-inspired character design, it really all adds up to a gorgeous package...Unless you have a really weird hatred for toon-shading-like art, then you will feel bliss...The only problem is that the pop-up is rather bad, which can be a pain when looking for clover beds, animals to feed, and hidden treasures (which glow from the ground), only to have them magically appear 20 feet in front of you...
Sound: 10
There's really not much I can say here without sounding like I'm part of the Okami sound team...But I'll say two words: "beautiful" and "epic"...I know I've already spent at least a couple hours of time just RUNNING AROUND THE OVERWORLD doing nothing but listen to the music because of how wonderful it sounds...I'm actually even listening to Okami music as I type this up...
Gameplay: 9.0
The battles start off really boring since you only have a single weapon and technique to your name, but as you progress you learn more and more, and eventually have lots of options to make for some rather interesting fights...The amount of strategy involved is also a lot of fun, trying to figure out which attacks are the most effective on what enemy, particularly when you'll be fighting multiple enemy types at once...You are also encouraged to get through fights quickly, because at the end of every fight you are awarded with bonuses depending on how much damage you took and how quick the battle was...
The side quests are interesting, and can be a lot of fun, but it feels like they overdid it on a few of the more unique ones (all I'll say is "digging underground minigame", which was a bit of a pain in the ass for me)...
Oh, I guess I should explain the level-up system...Over the course of the game, you get "praise" for helping people over the course of your journey (also through side quests such as finding and digging up clovers or feeding animals that you come across)...This praise can then be used to upgrade your health, amount of ink in your ink pot (which runs low with each technique you use, though it refills itself over time), size of your wallet, etc...So in essence the game is an ARPG...
Controls: 9.5
I've already mentioned a bit about the controls, but it pretty much boils down to two things: rhythm-based waggle attacks and brush techniques...Both DO take a bit of time to get used to, but once you get it down, you'll be wondering what you were complaining about in the first place...Especially if you compare it to using the analog stick as a brush... =)
Lastability: 9.0
I've already clocked in 38 hours, and I still have a few more collectibles to find, as well as a bunch more animals to feed...I also hear that there is a New Game + where you get to keep your stats and most of your moves, so I will definitely be playing through the game again...
Overall: 9.5
If you are a Zelda fan, pick this up...It's a ripoff for sure, but it's the best damn Zelda ripoff there will ever be, and it has its own amazing unique flavor to it...And I don't want to hear any whining about ports and all that!
Topic: Okami (Read 7950 times)
