Okami

"Artistically unique, original, fun and breathtaking. Okami delivers art, style, and gameplay at its best."

Yes you heard me, and so have you heard all other reviewers praising the game. Clover Studios did it well! And I am definitely hooked. Much like… when I'm anticipating a darn great game like Final Fantasy and it turns out disappointing, just vise versa!

I never expected it to be so addicting. I'll put up the typical points here, and why YOU would be missing a lot if you ignore Okami. It certainly is one unique eye-harassing game, not because it's untidy or unimpressive, but it is in fact, tidy and impressive (altogether very surprising), every pixel of it. And you do not want to miss out on this.

Story [8/10]

Every bit of the story is a little traditional. There exist a land, much like the world called Nippon where there is a small village settled somewhere around Nippon. This quiet village however, was not at peace and was constantly in fear of a monster. For every time they live under the shadows, they were to sacrifice a woman. And this went on for a hundred years until the beast was slain and made to rest by a wolf and a man.

But of course the story doesn't end there. That's the prologue and the real adventure begins when the beast is unleashed onto the world once again and darkness reign the lands and the village. Much like a fantasy world where a hero saves everything on his own, just different. How different? Considering your character is not human, well… I guess the whole game is! You have to see it for yourself, but I may describe to the best of my abilities here.

The story is nothing special, and not the best part of the game. So, 8 is fairly good and anything lower is just… inappropriate.

Gameplay [10/10]

Aha, this is it! Now this… this is where the best aspect of the game draws in. The game revolves around you using a brush as a weapon, and many different techniques or “skills” can be mastered. These techniques are skills where you have to obtain to be able to use their powers. This will be available as you progress through the story. But these aren't just ordinary skills you collect; it is a type of technique where you, the player have to control. You use the powers the way you want it when you want it.

You see, the brush doesn't really act like a weapon. It acts like a magical item that transforms its surroundings and affects them. You obtain the brush very early in the game, and once you do, you can start using it.

The brush works like this. Say, you acquire the Sun technique, where you can bring night into day. To do this, you have to draw a sun in the sky. You bring up the drawing menu with the R1 button, hold it as you draw. Tilt the camera so you could focus on the sky, and draw a circle with the left Analog stick. Release the R1 button. Walah! Its daylight!

Now that's not all you could do of course; that was an example. Many different “godly” powers through the brush itself can be made possible once you advance through the game (a total of 13). The gameplay is third person, and the camera angles are easy to navigate through. Your character runs fairly fast (as it is a wolf) and makes many different animations to suit the atmosphere.

The controls are easy to get used to, but of course the drawing might be a little difficult for starters. As you use the brush more often, you will notice that the drawing doesn't matter; it's symbolic where you need not artistic abilities in reality to attain those godly mentioned powers (or to be able to use them either).

What makes the gameplay incredible powerful and stunning is the credibility of the brush and how useful it gets in battlefields. Yes, you do have enemies of course; this isn't an art game on its own. In fact, you use the brush mainly to attack and defend from enemies, if you use it right. Enemies usually appear in their own dimensions, where you see weird floating objects on the field. As you approach them, you are brought into their world (in an enclosed realm) where they attack you. They can also appear outside and attack you there (but in an enclosed area).

You can learn new techniques in a dojo (where it costs you some money) to defend yourself or equip yourself with more powerful attacks and abilities. Also, your unique strength and statistics are all based on your Praise. Praise can be defined (in the game) as points gained through anything you do that helps others or mainly nature itself. For an example, say you help a tree bloom by using your brush's powers and help it from wilting. This will give you a Praise point, depending on what you do. Usually the difficult the task, the better the reward and Praise.

So, what good is Praise? Once you gained these points, you can use them to level up your character's motives or statistics. Say, you have 100 Praise. You need 50 Praise points to raise your character's life bar so it becomes longer. You go to the menu and fill those points in to the aspect you wish to upgrade. This is not easy however, because to gain points, you need a lot of work. Some of the things that award you with Praise include feeding animals, helping trees or flowers bloom, rid of areas with curses and fulfilling others' requests (this usually is done to progress through the game – some are optional).

Also, the dialogues are not in English. There are subtitles that perform the translation for you. You'll see (another unqiue positive addition to the game that shines).

Now you're a little clear on what makes Okami so great and different. Just wait until you see the sceneries and the b-e-a-utiful graphics and surroundings in the game.

Graphics [10/10]

Marvelous, simply amazing, with art in a video game at its best. Other than the gameplay, the graphics will mesmerize. It is captivating and attractive and I'm saying it visually now. Nippon, the world around Okami, consists of beautiful landscapes and landmarks. It is originally peaceful and full of grace with people living at harmony. Although the game starts as darkness reigns the continent, you will not miss many amazing sceneries. I even stop sometimes just to gaze at the atmosphere. Even at night, you can almost feel the breeze and the air around you.

Like many times I have said, the game revolves around Japanese art. Although not really art entirely, the graphics look like a painting, with a movements crafted together. It is like the water-painted poster you made when you were small, but perfected greatly of course. And that makes the game visually unique.

I can't say it enough times, nothing much you need to complain with the graphics. It isn't Resident Evil's standard, it isn't Final Fantasies' but it is original and artistic. That's all I got to say. And it deserves a good 10.

Sound Effects [9/10]

Yes, yes it is great! The traditional music that plays with each motion moves with the story and the events that occur. And when silence comes into notion, Okami delivers it perfectly. You can feel the atmosphere, and the wind and the sun. You can hear bird's chipping and people around. It is inscrutable. You have to witness these events yourself to believe them. I might be exaggerating but not too much, you can believe that.

Overall [10/10]

A superb finished project, and I must say, a worthwhile experience. Get to know what the game can offer you, or if you love art or not it doesn't matter. I don't really favor art that much, but I still fall for this game. The different atmosphere it gets you to will bring a different experience for anyone.

The brushwork, the visual, the story and the even your character is totally new! It is a new experience for me, and I have never loved art this much! Many different things in this game will present themselves and surprise you as you advance.

A must buy. Really really.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/06