Summary Play as the wolf incarnation of the Japanese sun god Amaterasu and channel your devine powers through the mighty celestial paintbrush to restore beauty and order to a bleak world overrun by evil.

Description With all of your Metal Gears, Bioshocks, and Rainbow Sixes plaguing the market today, it's a pleasant step back to a type of game that isn't completely driven on trying to look as realistic as possible. There is no denying that games like Gears of War and Black look fantastic, my inner-child insists on calling me whenever a new Super Smash Bros. or Ratchet & Clank game is released, or in this case, Okami. Okami was originally released on the Playstation 2 in 2006, but the developer, Clover Studios shut down right after it's release, so mass production ceased. I only saw the PS2 version in stores once, but turned it down because of a lack of knowledge of the game, and I always regretted that decision. Now, ReadyAtDawn Studios (God of War: Chains of Olympus and Daxter) takes its swing at porting Clover's masterpiece to this gen's high-rider, the Nintendo Wii. Story: "Long, long ago, a tiny hamlet known as Kamiki lay nestled in a grove of proud and beautiful cherry blossoms. Each and every tree around the quiet burg was honored as a god. However, the village was not without its dark secrets. To satiate the appetite of Orochi, a cave-dwelling beast, a young maiden was offered as a sacrifice at the annual festival. With a body like a mountain, and 8 twisting heads mounted on the necks the size of tree trunks, its blood-red eyes alone were said to curse anyone who gazed into them. No one dared disobey the horrific beast. When the night of the sacrifice drew near, a mysterious white wolf appeared outside the village. This wolf, its coat as brilliant as snow, was dubbed Shiranui. The wolf kept a watchful eye on anyone who ventured outside the village, and made a habit of patrolling the streets at night. People assumed the wolf to be a familiar of Orochi. One villager took it upon himself to face the fearsome Shiranui. The warrior Nagi attempted many times to to challenge the wolf, but his attempts were thwarted by Shiranui's swift movements. Before long, the night of the accursed festival had arrived. A white plumed arrow heralded the coming sacrifice. Piercing the sky, the arrow sunk its shaft squarely into the home home of Nami, the village's most beautiful maiden. Nagi, harboring a secret love for Nami, was enraged by this sign. Determined to put an end to Orochi, once and for all, Nagi traveled to the beast's cave in place of his beloved. The Moon Cave, a place as dark as evil itself,served as Orochi's home. As Nagi stood bravely before the entrance, a beast appeared, eyes glowing crimson upon 8 thrashing necks. Orochi stood tall before him anxious for another sacrifice. Nagi leapt with incredible grace, swinging his blade valiantly. On and on he sliced, well into the moonless night, but Orochi's hide was like steel. The blade left nary a scratch. At long last, Nagi, his energy spent from the intense battle, dropped to his knees, fatigued and gasping for breathe. He knew he was staring death in the face. It was then that a wolf appeared. As if to protect Nagi, it stood its ground before Orochi. In the darkness of the cave, the wolf's coat shone brilliantly. Alas, it was Shiranui, the wolf that dwelled outside the village. Baring its fearsome claws, Shiranui leapt toward Orochi. Orochi reared its terrifying heads, readying its fangs for battle. The two beasts struggled wildly, thrashing in the darkness. Mysterious and terrifying, the spectacle continued. Shiranui, used great magic to gain the upper hand, but Orochi was protected by a mystical power. Shiranui, covered in gashes, majestic coat dyed crimson, stood exhausted before the mighty Orochi. Orochi saw a chance to strike what would be a final blow, but Shiranui refused to give in. With its last ounce of strength, the majestic wolf gazed heavenward and unleashed a mighty howl. Suddenly, the black clouds overhead dissipated. The light from above glinted off Nagi's sword as a beacon of Hope. Guided by his sword, Nagi, who had been taking shelter in the shadows, stood proudly to face his adversary. Channeling all his strength into his scarred and battered arms, he leaped ferociously toward Orochi, his sword poised high. The golden sword danced in his hands like a puppet on a string. One by one, Orochi's fearsome heads separated from their owner. Orochi's broken body collapsed in a lake of its own blood. In that instant, the curse that had plagued the village was lifted. As the battle subsided, the sun shone once again in the sky. Shiranui had succumbed to Orochi's poison and struggled to breathe. Nagi swept the beast into his arms and returned to Kamiki. When they had reached the village, Shiranui was no longer moving. The village elder gently stroked the wolf's head. In response, Shiranui let out a hoarse and pitiful bark, then closed its eyes and drifted off as if into slumber. Peace had at last returned to Kamiki Village. In honor of Shiranui's heroic exploits, the village erected a shrine and placed a statue of the wolf within it. Nagi's sword was christened Tsukuyomi and place inside the Moon Cave. The village looked forward to an age of endless peace." However, this is not where the story ends... 100 years had passed since Nagi and Shiranui's heroic exploits. "This couldn't be Tsukuyomi. No. No, it's only a fairy tale" muttered a shadow cloaked figure in presence of the alter where the fearsome dragon had fallen. Pulling the sword in disbelief, the darkness that it had been imprisoning had erupted form the crack in the ground where the sword once lay. A terrible evil swept across Nippon, but there was one village that had escaped the darkness. The tiny settlement of Kamiki enjoyed the protection of a sacred tree. As darkness swirled in the sky, the Wood Sprite Sakuya appeared before the statue of Shiranui, and with the last of her power, reincarnated the stone monument into Okami Amaterasu, the sun goddess. "Banish the darkness and punish those who seek to do us harm" instructed Sakuya. Gameplay: Okami's gameplay mechanic fits the Wii's technology like a glove. Reviewers of Game Informer complained about how the Wiimote and Nunchuck layout was imprecise when compared to the PS2's Dualshock controller. I think that they were just looking for a reason to rob this game of the much coveted 10 rating (which Okami definitely deserves). My guess is because it wasn't a super-hyped FPS game like Bioshock. But that aside; I thought that the Wii's motion sensing technology was dead-on, and little reason to dog and moan over it. Sure, there were a few times when it didn't register something as simple as drawing a bridge in less than 4 minutes. In fact, there was a point when I was in a room trying to figure out the puzzle, when to advance, was as simple as cutting down a door. It's not like I didn't try cutting it down 3 times before, but the game just didn't register it the way it should have. Other than that, and 2 or 3 other instances, I thought it was damn near to being as good as it could have been. The games dungeons are something I have a bit of a problem with. While following in the footsteps of the Legend of Zelda, Okami tries to break up exploration segments with, what I would say, a pathetic attempt at dungeons. While these dungeons aren't incredibly numerous, they are unfathomably simple. Most of these can be beaten in maybe 15-30 minutes, so don't expect anything as in-depth as Ocarina of Time's water temple. The boss fights, however, range from being incredibly easy to battles of epic proportions. Overall though, Okami is relatively easy. That is to say, until you reach the 70% mark (give or take), and the game kicks it into mid-high gear. From this point, the challenge is boosted, but nothing that will make you cry out, "That's so unfair" like you would while playing Ninja Gaiden. Throughout the course of Okami, you will be granted special Brush-Techniques which are casted by drawing different patterns on what I like to call the Celestial Canvas. By holding the B button to ready the Celestial Brush, then holding A while moving the Wiimote , you are able to draw patterns which can be used for different godly powers when obtained from certain gods. Example - by drawing a horizontal line over doors, enemies, etc, Amaterasu will will be able to cut whatever it is she drew the line over. When you draw a circle over something, then drawing a line to make the symbol look like an upside down Q, Amaterasu will drop a Cherry bomb which can be use to blow down doors. Also, swinging the Wiimote back and forth is your main means of attacking enemies. Sure, you can use all of your Brush-Techniques in combat, but because you only have limited ink, you can't rely on that all of the time. While FPS constantly follow the same routine (shoot enemy until dead with gun until dead, repeat) and RPGs are like clockwork (press X to pick attack, press X again to initiate the attack on selected foe), Okami does an incredible job at mixing things up with something that will most likely never be seen outside of this game. Graphics: Incredible. I really can't put it any better than that. Based heavily on the feudal Japanese watercolor art style, featuring thick black lines, Okami does an excellent job of defying the gaming trend these days of looking as 3 dimensional as possible. I applaud Clover Studios for their excellent work on their games. First was the cell-shaded Viewtiful Joe, and now this. It's hard to believe a company that can produce games of this quality could ever go under. Sound: This game is filled with Tenchu-esque classic Japanese ballads. Like any good game, the music ranges from tranquil, to dramatic, to intense. In a whole, I think Okami has a very nice soundtrack. Something, even, you might want to download or buy the CD. The in-game sound effects are, to say the least, OK. You don't have any voice acting, something else they borrowed from Zelda, so you're bombarded with the same annoying squeaks and groans that you would find in Star Fox Command (Nintendo DS). Soundtrack = Great. Sound Effects = "Where is the mute button?" With the exception of a handful of games, for the most part, I don't eagerly anticipate games I trade for to come in the mail. Okami was one of those exceptions, and I truly had the right to be excited. With all of your Halos, Bioshocks, and Gears of Wars focused on being the big, tough, manly, serious games, Okami is a comical adventure that's some of the most fun 30+ hours you'll ever spend with your Wii. I must say, Okami is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the crap I've been playing recently *cough* Halo 2 *cough*. If you own a Wii - well, let's put it this way. I'm a huge Super Smash Bros. Brawl fan, and that being said, I would recommend Okami even more than Brawl. If you don't own a Wii, try to track down a PS2 copy. If you're someone who doesn't own PS2, what cave have you been in for the past decade? Did You Know? Okami was originally planned to be of a more photorealistic design, but because of the limitations of the PS2 hardware and the development teams realization that a watercolor effect would better emphasize Amaterasu's association with nature and it's restoration, the design of Okami was altered from fully rendered CG style to 2D. On the American box cover, there is a watermark of the IGN logo next to Amaterasu's mouth. Capcom was so embarrassed about this that they offered 3 different replacement covers for free to anyone who wanted one. Being heavily based on a Japanese style, 12 of the 13 gods are based on the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The cat (god of walls) is the only brush power that isn't one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac Other Scores Okami Received Game Informer - 9.25 (out of 10) IGN - 9.0 (out of 10) X-Play - 5 (out of 5) GameSpot - 9 (out of 10) 1up.com - A (A+ being the highest) Nintendo Power - 7.5 (out of 10) Play - 9.5 (out of 10) as the box cover never lets us forget. Gold Star Game Review Page Hits: 2 today (69 in the last 30 days) Create Your Own Review or