Okami is unfortunate. It is beautiful and fun. It is also annoying, slow, long-winded, and repetitive. But its worth it.
I had fun with Okami. I played it until around the Snow Temple near the end, and then lost interest.
This game is long, beautiful, and enjoyable. It has endearing, funny characters, a great combat system, and a huge Hyrulish world to explore. There's a lot to see and do. I imagine finding everything to take around 50 hours for a newbie, which is great.
The game is Zelda-ish, but I wasn't a fan of the dungeons. They are simplistic, dull, and just plain blech. The later dungeons are a lot better, but I still think Okami could have had more polish in what I consider to be the most important part of the game.
The world is great. I felt right at home exploring, and it had a welcoming, and yet spooky vibe at the same time. Its breathtaking. Think of a highly stylized Wind Waker with a proper world map.
At the same time, tasks get mundane. The pacing is poor, and I was forced to redo the same minigames several times. The brush is cool, but its a poor replacement for a proper inventory. There were times when I flat out got bored and wanted a break, but I could usually get back in pretty quickly and enjoy myself.
The narrative is funny, but its very long winded and it drags on and on. Its a shame because Sasuno is a GREAT character I loved his idiotic antics - yet what the heck, man? Can I at least not be tired by the rest of the stupid dialogue so I can actually enjoy the shining moments? When I read too much, I skip over the diamonds in that rough.
Okami's biggest flaw is its pacing. The pacing is very very bad. There was always action, but there were times when the primary objectives were annoying and fetch quest-ish. The minigames were boring, and the main meat of the game just felt scattered - like pieces of a prime rib steak that you get fed daily, instead of getting to sit down to a great full course blissful meal. Okami always left me wanting more.
Even so, you still have to play this game. It is a gem, and a must play despite its shortcomings.
A 7 out of 10.