First impressions of Okami
I bought Okami for the PS2 last week, having eagerly awaited its release. This isn’t a review (I’ll save that until I’ve explored the game further), but I thought I’d post my thoughts on it.
It’s a terrible shame that Clover Studio has been dissolved by parent company Capcom. It seems their unusual games (which include Viewtiful Joe) haven’t managed to turn critical acclaim into commercial success.
Okami itself (via an almost boringly long introduction) tells the tale of a village cursed by the demon Orochi, a many-headed black serpent that lives outside the town in a cave. Every year the villagers were forced to sacrifice a young woman to the demon. This continued until a young man, with the help of a mysterious wolf, fought the demon to save the girl he loved. Together they banished the demon and a shrine was built to mark the site.
But, as the intro says, that is not the end of the tale…
A hundred years later, an unidentified someone removes the hero’s sword from the plynth. This act releases the demon once again. The world is now a blackened, lifeless wasteland. An appeal by the forest nymph Sakuya sees the sun goddess Amaterasu appear in the form of a white wolf.
I’ll put it plainly: Okami is the most beautiful game I have ever played. The artwork, which moves and flows like a combination of impressionist painting and Japanese calligraphy, is breathtaking and seems to get better with every moment you spend playing the game.
Innovative touches are in abundance, the main one being the brush. Through the discovery of techniques you can use it as a weapon, or to restore life. I’ve already used it to paint a bridge over a cliff and a star back into the night sky.
There are also genre formulaic gameplay elements. There’s a bit of pot smashing for money and Amaterasu’s little friend Issun is rather like Link’s companion Navi in Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As long as I don’t end up lighting torches and pushing blocks around I won’t complain too much.
Okami seems tremendously promising and may earn a place in my top 50.
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February 13th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I’m still fighting with Twilight Princess on the Wii to discover why it is so many critics and friends adore it.
Uber long Final Fantasy style pointless cutscenes that make little to no sense, lots of running around, too much help on the obvious crap and none on the non-obvious stuff…
Damned thing is possibly the most frustrating game I’ve ever played.. or not play as I spend most of my time sitting watching it play itself.
I don’t remember Ocarina being that bad (in fact I enjoyed it).
I think that’ll be a trade-in… maybe put some cash towards Wario or Wii Play.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:07 am
I loved Ocarina of Time, although it’s hard to choose between it and Panzer Dragoon Saga for my favourite adventure game. If you ever get the opportunity to pick it up with a second-hand Saturn, you must buy it. I think you’d love it.
I’ve remained firmly spoiler-free on Twilight Princess. I have to admit, it looks like a bit of a “Greatest Hits of Zelda” with a possibly awkward control system tacked onto what is essentially a Gamecube game.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Wow Okami looks really great sounds like a really unique control system too, I agree it’s a real shame the Clover Studios has gone.
One day I’ll play the zelda games.
Did you ever play Beyond Good and Evil? I had it on the old xbox. That’s a great game really good looking too that’s one I must put on my top 50. I need to drop a couple I keep remembering old Amstrad games that are better than some of the ones on there - Rockstar ate my hamster?
February 14th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Capcom are denying rumours that they plan to release Okami on Wii. I think it would be a great idea.
If you get a Wii, download Ocarina of Time.
I never played Beyond Good and Evil, but I remember that it looked good and Edge had a interesting piece on it a few months back.