Game On: Okami
Over a year ago, Okami was a game I loved to hate: IGN had picked it over Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as their game of the year. At first I wasn’t quit sure what to make of this: a cell shaded game that every reviewer says is basically Zelda without Zelda picked as GOTY over a true Zelda game that gave everyone what they wanted after all the hate on Windwaker. But after bringing the game home and getting lost in it for several hours, I can see that they knew what they were talking about.
Okami is an epic game, both in design and story. Heck the story is so big, you may even be tricked into thinking your done with the game at one point, only to realize there is much more to go. The artwork, while still heavily cell-shaded, takes inspiration from traditional Japanese artwork just as the story takes parts of ancient Japanese folklore and mixes elements together to form it’s own story.
I will say, however, there are a few complaints. It is very easy to get lost - which is both good and bad; I don’t mind the sense of finding where you need to go, but having absolutely no idea what needs to be done next gets a bit frustrating- and the brush strokes, god the brush strokes. For those not in the know, one of the key game components of Okami is the Celestial Brush, the ability to use your god-like powers through drawing certain shapes on the screen. When it works, it works great. But when it doesn’t register after several tries, especially during critical moments, it gets maddening.
But those few complaints aside, Okami so far is like No More Heroes was a few months ago: a great game that makes you want to keep playing and brings that feeling of “old school” games back; that feeling of excitement for what’s next and the sense of accomplishment for finally getting to the next level or area. It’s a shame more games these days can’t do that, but thankfully games like Okami are around to fill the void.
