Before starting this review, I should note that aside from a brief few minutes at this years Wondercon, I have never played Okami. I am a very die hard "The Legend of Zelda" fan, which just makes missing out on this game even more odd. This does present a unique opportunity as I have no previous expectations of the title other then the massive love passed around for the game and like many of the game community at large, I am coming into this game fresh.
A lot of praise for the game has been its visuals and really this can not be stressed enough. Okami is one of the best looking games on any console, ever. The world is large and overflowing with creatures, foliage, and supported by a variety of effects such as wind twirling through the sky and little flowers that follow your every footstep. What is truly special about the visual aspect is that this is not a cel-shaded game simply to look cartoony, or for developers to get away with flat and undetailed textures. This is a game where the shading has a point and purpose and that is to draw you into its world as if being sucked into a painting. One of the few games to really succeed at sucking you into to its world like a dream, more so then any claims former spokespeople for XBOX 360 would have you believe could only be achieved on their hardware. This game absolutely destroys other cel-shaded heavyweights such as Wind Waker and rarely, if ever, does the game snap you out of its world with seaming, tearing, or graphical hiccups. The game looks even better now on Wii then on the PS2, as the colors are much more vibrant and lush and everything is cleaner. This could be do to the subdued "paper filter" that was more prominent on the PS2, however with progressive scan and added widescreen support this game really bursts to life on the Wii.
Musically, the game is also fantastic, with many memorable melodies that will seem to echo in the back of your head long after playing, The only real drawback is that it is all firmly established in the native Japanese instruments. No real surprise considering the whole game is based off Japanese folklore, but when playing for many hours on end, sometimes you might wish for something just a little different.
The main draw of the game is the use of its "brush" mechanics. In the game you play as the sun god, Amaterasu, a mythical white wolf set to purify the land of Nippon with your bug sized companion Issun and your Celestial Brush. At any moment in the game you can stop time and bring out the brush to draw across the screen on the game world. The brush will then cause a number of different things to happen, the most basic is to make flowers and trees grow. As you progress through the game you search for 13 other gods who will teach you a new technique with the brush. This is basically learning new skills, most revolved around either drawing a straight line to attack, a circle, or tracing one object to another. This is where the "Zelda" comparisons come in: instead of finding a new item, you learn a new brush skill such as climbing up walls or making bombs. You are limited in the times you can use the brush, as you have a set number of ink bottles, which basically replace your standard magic meter and will build up over time when not being used. The ink bottles refill quickly so this is not really much of a problem. For all the talk of Okami being a "Zelda" clone there are some pretty significant differences. In Okami, progression is not measured by dungeons completed, as there's only around four you might even call a dungeon. The game never really gives any clues how much is left to complete -- even when you think you have defeated the main villain, you come to realize that you only went through a third of the game. This can be a bit of a blessing and annoyance, as it's always great when a good game doesn't end to soon, but it does get a bit frustrating when you reach a climax only to find out that a new unmentioned evil has come out of nowhere to extend the game's length. It almost seems as if the development team finished early and decided to add more in to extend the length. Also unlike "Zelda," you are not greeted with a life extension after beating a boss: throughout the game, as you restore land, feed wandering animals, and play errand dog for the people of the world, you are rewarded with praise orbs. This is basically the game's experience points, as you use them in the "fan" menu to upgrade your life, ink bottles, buy extra lives, and expand your wallet limit. "Okami" is not a dungeon crawler, nor is it filled with puzzles. There are maybe two or three moments in the game that I would call a puzzle. The game is much closer in actuality to a platformer. Progression through dungeons and enemy strongholds usually requires some sort of combination of brush technique and jumping to reach a higher or further area. You can jump at any time in "Okami" and interestingly enough you cannot simply walk off a ledge, you must actually jump to fall off.
If there is really any weak spot in "Okami," it is in the battle system. As you wander through the world, you will come across floating scrolls with flames around them -- once they touch you, a circular barrier entraps you and then the real enemies spawn. First off, most the enemies in the game are based on a core set of around four different types, so besides bosses, most enemies are meant to be defeated in one of four or five ways. Once in a battle, the camera tends to pan back and stay in a slightly fixed perspective only shifting slightly to the right or left. The combat mechanics are a bit confusing, as there is no lock on feature of any kind. You basically attack the closest enemy. Basic attacks are mapped to swinging the remote; however, unlike "Twilight Princess" you can't just swing left and right and expect much to happen. Attacks have to be precisely timed otherwise Amaterasu will stand there like a bump on a log while you swing wildly in frustration. Unfortunately, it can be very hard to gauge when you should time your next swing when away from the camera, especially on a boss where the arena is much larger and Amaterasu is nothing more then a tiny white blob. The brush is also used in battle and quick time events. Now while some might complain that the Wii remote makes the game difficult, it is actually the game's fault. The painting is deadly accurate, so if you have trouble drawing a straight line, that is more the gamer's fault. However, the game can be needlessly fussy and anal about perfection. The basic brush attack can be hard to pull off as the game gets fussy over one tiny dent in a line. This problem could have been remedied given more time to make the game more forgiving. As it stands, Wii owners will have to learn to draw straight. This is not to say it is bad though; drawing is quick and easy on the Wii and while I am sure the PS2 version offers more precision I honestly can't imagine playing on a normal gamepad. For all its demands of perfect drawing, "Okami" feels completely natural on the Wii.
What Clover has created is nothing short of a gaming masterpiece, and while it doesn't come close to the upper pantheon of "The Legend of Zelda" titles, it certainly is in the same league as other "Zelda" titles, even better then some of them. For all its shortcomings in battles and a totally lame and anti-climatic final boss, "Okami" is a true gem that needs to be bought by Wii owners far and wide. Ready at Dawn really pulled together a fantastic port, and don't be mistaken on thinking this was a simple port job. While it is sad that there isn't anything new, learning what the team had to go through to make this happen is a real testament to the talent and love not only for Clover, but for Ready at Dawn to make it a reality on the Wii.
