Okami is the best adventure title on the Wii to date
Okami is one of the games of our generation that will be remembered ten years from now as a groundbreaking title that really revolutionized what we think of as a game. Okami melds original gameplay with artistic style and the end result is something unforgettable. It's a game that's fun and easy for anyone to get into, and as a result should not be missed by any gamer out there.
As an adventure game, Okami succeeds in so many areas and ultimately robs such games as Twilight Princess from their position on top of a pedestal. It's an unassuming game where you'll take control of a goddess-turned-wolf and attempt to save Nippon ("Japan") from an encroaching evil. It's your typically epic plot but at the same time, Okami manages to offer up a fresher take on what we have come to expect from games like Zelda. Okami deftly deals with the topic of humor in video games in a surprisingly subtle way, and often you won't even realize just how funny this game is.
Funny it may be, but "epic" is the best word to describe Okami. Not just in terms of plot: everything about this game makes it feel like a full-blown, all-stops-pulled quest and it manages to completely immerse the player in the beautiful world of Nippon. From the charming, atmospheric music to the massive world that you'll be exploring, everything feels real. That's an admirable accomplishment, particularly in an era when games are all about putting you in the role of the main character. Okami succeeds brilliantly at that, and this immersion is a large part of what makes the title so memorable.
As a game, Okami is equally admirable -- after all, two years after it was released on the PS2, it's now on the Wii and as good as ever. The gameplay has held up wonderfully and as long as you didn't play Okami on the PS2, this game promises to be one of the most original adventures on the Wii. The biggest draw of this title is a tool called the Celestial Brush, which lets Amaterasu (the wolf and main character -- also incidentally the Japanese sun god) manipulate the environment and solve a plethora of cleverly designed puzzles.
But what makes Okami such an enduring work of genius is the fantastic art direction. Okami deals with graphics in a way that few games have done before: it's not about polygon count or pixels. Rather, it's about the style a game takes on and how well that style can be blended with the rest of the game. Okami is one of those rare gems in which the artful management is combined effortlessly with the gameplay mechanic and really becomes part of the game. In so many different little ways, the game shows the player just how much a part art is of Okami. Battles take place on pieces of parchment. When you first encounter an enemy, you see a colored sketch of them before a battle. Bottles of ink for drawing is a potential upgrade. And the Celestial Brush is used for painting right onto the gameplay field -- certainly one of the most unique puzzle-solving elements gamers have seen in quite a while.
Okami, simply put, is a game that everybody needs to play. And while it's an unforgettable game experience thanks to the combination of art and gameplay, part of what makes Okami such a must-have is the fact that it's such an accessible title. Okami is the game for all those people out there that wanted to love Zelda but found it too hard, repetitive, or tedious. It's for people who want to play adventure games, who want to get caught up in the epic sensation of a large-scale quest, but don't want to deal with convoluted dungeons or counter-intuitive, over-the-top puzzles. Okami invites everybody to play, have fun, and revel in the originality and beauty of the game.
Okami is full of both puzzle-solving and combat, but they're both handled in a way that is easy to get a grip of. Combat is unique in that you're allowed to do what you want: you'll acquire quite a variety of weapons and are encouraged to put them to use as primary and secondary weapons and work out a duo that works best for you. Puzzles can be fairly challenging, but they never reach the level of obscurity that many adventure games resort to. Some logical thinking and a touch of cleverness can get you unstuck no matter what problem you're dealing with. Veterans of adventure titles will appreciate what new content Okami brings to the table, while at the same time this is a game that could be enjoyed and appreciated by a child.
Like many truly great games, there's so much to love in Okami just by experiencing it. Checking out screenshots or watching gameplay movies is not enough; there's nothing quite like jumping from island to island in a small, beautiful pond, overshadowed by lush, beautiful foliage. Or watching the sun slowly set atop one of the game's beautifully drawn distant mountains. This is the game's art style at work, and this is where it's most appreciated: not in the epic boss battles or originally designed enemies, but in the everyday passage of time that occurs in the game and how it effects your surroundings.
And grand as it is, Okami has none of the intimidation that many players (in some ways, myself included) feel when embarking on a challenging adventure game. It may not be challenging, though it's certainly no cakewalk, but above all it remains fun. Many games, in their task to deliver the player an epic, challenging experience, accidentally factor fun out of the equation. But fortunately, Clover kept that genuine, pure, and unadultered sense while at the same time giving us an adventure game that even the most hardcore should enjoy.
Few games achieve the perfect balance that Okami nails. Accessible yet not dumbed-down. Beautiful but with an equal focus on quality gameplay. A masterful story mixed with a unique brand of humor. In so many ways, Okami is incredibly impressive. And while it does have a few minor shortcomings (control of the Celestial Brush isn't always perfect with the Wii; some parts of the game feel a bit repetitive or fetch-quest-y), they're ultimately problems that are easy to overlook. Why? Because at the end of the day, you're not going to remember the battle mechanic or the stat upgrades or even some of the very loveable supporting characters. When you walk away from Okami, there are different things that will stay with you: the atmosphere. The immersion. The sense of discovery as you enter a dark cavern or ancient ruin. It's the experience, not just the game itself, that ensures Okami "classic" status years from now.
Okami is a game that everybody can play and nobody should miss.