Okami

[Kane99]

Anyone here remember Okami? It was a beautiful game, that I don't understand doesn't get more praise these days. It came out on the PS2 and I think the Gamecube maybe? I forget, but either way, the game was stunning visually and got rave reviews because of it. 

I sadly only played it for about a weekend, as my friend brought it over one time and we played it all throughout the weekend. 

With that being said, I wish we had more games like this, that utilize art as a tool. 

[Jaicee]

I definitely remember Okami! In addition to it's PlayStation 2 release, it was released a couple years later with (somewhat questionable) motion controls for the Wii because the game was theoretically an ideal candidate for motion control functionality. A superior HD version was later released for the PlayStation 3 giving players the option to use either the old PS2 type stick controls or vastly improved motion controls with the Move. More recently, it's be released for home computers on Windows, the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Switch, the latter making it available in handheld form for the first time. It's today available on lots of platforms, in other words. I have the PS2, Wii, PS3, and Switch versions myself.

Anyway, you play as the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu incarnated as a white wolf and your ultimate goal is essentially to restore the faith of a world that's falling apart for lack thereof. It plays similarly to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but has a much more distinctive aesthetic. In action, it looks like a classical Japanese painting that's fully animated and interactive. There's also a very cool hook in that Amaterasu fights mainly by painting her foes out of existence with strokes from a celestial brush controlled by the player (perhaps using motion controls) and can also use the brush to do things like paint a sun in the sky to change night into day instantly, paint a bridge into existence to cross chasms with, stuff like that. There's also a system of experience points that you can use to level up Amaterasu, but the vibe of the game is kept more adventur-y than RPGish by the fact that you gain those experience points not through combat, but by doing good for people in side quests and such. That gives you a real reason to do a lot of the game's side quests rather than incentivizing ceaseless involvement in battles with enemies. Also, being a sun goddess, Amaterasu's mere steps cause grass and flowers to grow instantly in her wake.

Since Okami was an original title that wasn't widely promoted contemporaneously (or since), it was easily overshadowed in its window of release by another game in the same genre you might have heard of before called The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I would argue that, between the two though, Okami was the more genuinely distinctive and enjoyable title. I say this as an atheist myself. I don't actually agree with the game's core message about humanity's need for religious faith myself, but there's just something so beautiful and sincere about the way it conveys that message that I still absolutely love it anyway.

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Jaicee

[Empire]

I havn't even heard about the game of Okami till now 😛 Seems intersting. 

[Tsalagi_Dragon]

I finally played it for the first time last year. I bought it for the Switch. It was definitely a beautiful and fun game.

[Reality vs Adventure]

I have it on ps2 and played act 1. I've been thinking about it and want to give it a try again on ps4. Anyone play the HD version? Much of a difference? A game like that doesn't really outdate graphically. So should I bust out the ps2 or push my memory storage in the ps4 up the wuubong to play in HD? I've got that sudden urge to play it again. It was very pretty on the ps2. 

[killamch89]

It was a pretty unique game and its art style was somewhat cell shaded yet spectacular - the graphics were ahead of its time. The unique combat style with the paintbrush also made it a very underrated game.

[skyfire]

I feel like I heard of it. I am going to check youtube for the okami. Maybe see if I can get it through the emulator too. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

Is $10 worth it for ps4? 

[killamch89]

That's a pretty fair price - it's a pretty underrated game to be fair. Unique in many ways, you won't find another game quite like it all.

[Reality vs Adventure]

34 minutes ago, killamch89 said:

That's a pretty fair price - it's a pretty underrated game to be fair. Unique in many ways, you won't find another game quite like it all.

Yeah I'm probably gonna get. I've got that urge to play it; you know like that feeling when you want a little something special at the grocery store. 

[killamch89]

16 hours ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

Yeah I'm probably gonna get. I've got that urge to play it; you know like that feeling when you want a little something special at the grocery store. 

The only thing I'd wish for is them to make a sequel to this game - It was so ahead of its time.

[Heatman]

Generally, Okami is a very good action adventure video game with great arts and music for an immersing experience. But the only thing that I didn't like about the game was that combat was a bit too easy.