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It frequently happens when a game or a movie comes out that everyone seems to love yet nobody even bothers to go see it.
Sometimes they have the good sense to know when something is awful so they avoid but then on other occasions they don't support it enough even though the general attitude is how incredible it was. When Okami was coming out for the PS2, it became one of those anticipated titles thanks to its unique and utterly beautiful visual style but despite the acclaim and awards, it wasn't a success and the studio, Clover Studios, had to close down. But fans kept speculating that the unique gameplay involving the brush could work well on the Wii or DS and pretty soon a Wii-port was announced. With some enhances features, the game is just as good on any system.
Story: The people of Kamiki Village used to live in fear of the 8-headed demon Orochi, who demanded a sacrifice from one of the village maidens during their festival. But the swordsman Nagi, who secretly loved the maiden chosen, had enough and decided to fight him off but couldn't damage him in anyway until Shiranui, a mystical white wolf, appeared and together, they banished Orochi away but Shiranui succumbed to his injuries. 100 years later, Orochi seems to be resurrected so the wolf, reincarnated as Amaterasu, is brought forth to restore beauty and peace to the land.
Graphics: A lot of times sayings like "work of art" when it comes down to graphics is usually because of how shiny and sharp it is but when you say Okami is like a painting come to life, it's literally the case. Done in Japanese watercolor style, the game is filled with beautiful moments and rarely does the game ever get boring to look at. With the progressive scan on and the game running in 16:9, this is bound to be one of the more gorgeous games in your collection.
Sound/Music: Another successful feature of the game was its soundtrack which seems to marry traditional Japanese instruments and melodies with more grandiose arrangements and using synthesizers and it's one of the more memorable soundtracks on the PS2 and the Wii. Unfortunately, rather than using just text or voice acting for the dialogue, they opted for a more "Animal Crossing"-type vibe where it's gibberish which you can't turn off and while scenes can be skipped the story goes with it so you have to suffer through that chipmunk chatter in order to get the story and listen to the music.
Gameplay: It's hard not to compare Okami with the 3D installments of the Zelda series and indeed memories might flood in of playing as the wolf from Twilight Princess. But the game is so immersive that you don't even bother noticing. With puzzles to complete, sidequests, praise to get (do a good service and you can get points to level up certain attributes) and even animals to feed, there's lots to do and that's not even including the main quest. Only thing that might turn gamers off is that first initial hour or so which feels slightly sluggish but once you start beating bosses, exploring and restoring the land, it's very easy to get into.
What made Okami so unique was the idea of the "Celestial Brush" where the screen would turn into a canvas and drawing certain shapes could bring special events. Draw a circle during nighttime and it transforms instantly to day, do the same to a dead tree and it magically comes to life. Others such as drawing a straight line either to cut enemies and things in the environment or swirls to represent wind are just some of the special techniques you can do with the brush. Thanks to the Wii-controls, it's also more accurate and quicker and not sluggish like the PS2; however it's very easy to have a drawing fail and it actually took me a couple tries to draw a line through an enemy so even if it is more accurate, it can also be a bit picky.
The other slight nitpick people might have is during combat where instead of button presses, shaking the Wii-mote has you attack and it takes a bit of getting used to and timing tends to count for a lot this time. It's kind of a weird situation when the accuracy in the drawing is better in one version but the combat mechanics were better in the other. Go figure. Oh and also: slight nitpick though it's not as serious but there was a slight paper effect on the screen on the PS2 so that it really made it look like the game came to life on paper but here it's not as pronounced but the game looks incredible anyway so complaining about a paper effect seems kind of trivial.
While I really doubt Okami will have the success of Brawl or Twilight Princess, this game really should be in the hands of a lot more gamers than it'll probably get. Very recommended.
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Okami: A modern day classic for the Wii is an article about
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