This modern day classic is a beautiful and engaging adventure game that will keep you engaged for hours on end
Okami is undoubtedly a superb game, and should be picked up by anybody with an appreciation for Japanese game design and Zelda-style dungeon crawlers; however, the title is unique enough to have a wider appeal, and though it will not appeal to everybody, it is a game everybody should at least play. There are some caveats to these claims though; Okami has very few flaws but has flaws nonetheless. In many ways this excellently crafted adventure game is on par, and even rises above, games on 'next generation' consoles, though it does feel dated in some respects and with this feeling comes some of the problems. The most obvious issue with Okami is also its most forgivable one, no voice-acting but a lot of text. Okami is a long game that can easily clock in at about forty hours (and even more if you take some time to explore the breathtakingly beautiful surroundings and take a stab at the side missions available), and this length can be quite intimidating. It's a real commitment to play a game with a story mode of this length, and it is even more of a commitment when you have to read it all. This is a game with a lot of speech; you will have to read your way through long, dialogue-heavy cutscenes whilst your character just makes noises (much like a Zelda game or other old Nintendo titles). This definitely makes the game feel like it belongs to a past generation and can be quite annoying; Okami has a story to tell and a pretty good one, but it will turn off a lot of players that you have to spend so much time reading it. This is not a real issue because a dedicated player will get over it quickly; it just feels like a strange design choice. It is no longer acceptable for dialogue-heavy games to have no voice-acting, and this omission makes Okami leave a poor first impression. Before you can play the actual game, you have to sit through forty-five minutes of primarily text. It is text worth reading, but this should not have been the case.
It's easy to look upon Okami as a throwback title; its design is similar to the 3D Zelda formula for example. The similarities are quite numerous: a large overworld is filled with puzzle-heavy dungeons in which you gain new skills and fight bosses, on top of this, these skills and abilities will allow you to explore more of the world and thus progress further. Other similarities exist also, you have a seemingly Navi-like tiny glowing sidekick, who joins you on your journey and gives you hints (but thankfully never requests you to listen), and you must defeat a great evil that has fallen on the world. In order to save the world you must traverse some elementally themed dungeons, and even explore the insides of a beast, much like how Link navigates Lord Jabu Jabu. On the surface this all seems quite derivative and unoriginal, luckily Okami has more than enough of its own identity and is different enough to not only make it stand apart from its obvious Zelda inspiration, but surpass it in many respects.
One of the main differences between Okami and the games that inspired it comes about in its key gameplay mechanic, the celestial brush. The celestial brush allows you to pause the action and draw on the screen using the analogue stick. Certain symbols are recognised by the game and translate to certain in game actions, in this case godlike powers. For example, you can draw a circle in the sky to make the sun magically appear or draw a line across an enemy to powerfully cut it. A lot of the fun of Okami is in discovering these so called 'brush strokes' for yourself. On your journey to defeat evil you will discover 13 of them, and they are uniformly well designed and useful. This clever mechanic sets Okami apart from other games; brushstrokes can be used in combat but are also needed for solving puzzles. This once again makes Okami a bit different, solving puzzles in this unique way really makes it something special, and this is backed up by the great puzzle design throughout. The puzzles are not particularly challenging, but they do make you use the gameplay mechanics in imaginative and varied ways. This makes them fun to complete even when they don't tax your brain that much, thus keeping the gameplay satisfying and engaging. The diverse puzzle design will make you want to see all the creative ways in which your celestial brush can be utilised.
This relative ease is both a plus and minus to the overall experience of Okami. In a game as long as this one, it's great that you are able to relax and just enjoy the experience; it's an easy game to get lost in and this makes Okami a joy to play. Many may wish for more challenge, however; the puzzles are satisfying enough even though they are not greatly challenging, but the combat is another matter. The combat in Okami is very simplistic; you are taken to a sealed off arena for every enemy encounter and then have to defeat your foes in order to exit. You fight by tapping one button for your main attack and one for your secondary (you can swap different pieces of equipment around for different kind of attacks, but it has little impact on combat) and of course by using the celestial brush. The problem is that every encounter is very easy; the only time you will find a challenge is when you face a foe for the first time, and here it is only a matter of time before you find the one attack technique or brush stroke that defeats them with ease. After each fight you are judged on your speed and damage taken, and it is very likely that a competent gamer will repeatedly get top scores with very little effort. This simple combat is fun, purely due to the fact it is interesting to try out your new brushstrokes on fresh foes, but later on it starts to be an inconvenience. There is a lot of enemy repetition, and when you know how to dispatch every enemy quickly and efficiently, it isn't worth the time it takes to complete these exchanges. Boss battles are somewhat different; though they are uniformly easy, they are all very fun. This is due to great design; the bosses act as all good bosses should do- as a creative puzzle that cleverly utilises the core mechanics. It's fun to work out how to take down these impressively large beasts and some later bosses take great advantage of Okami's unique features to make for a truly memorable battle. It's a shame these fights are so easy, but they are never a chore to defeat, a bit more challenge would be preferable though they still stand out as highpoints in the game.
Despite its lack of difficulty, Okami can still be a frustrating game in some respects. This is because of it lacking some structure in places. On several occasions it is a bit too uncooperative in showing you what to do next and it's easy to get into the position of being able to tackle any of the game's puzzles, enemies or bosses without breaking a sweat but having no idea where to go. You may feel like you are stumped more by poor design than real challenge. However, saying this, it is nice to find a game that doesn't constantly hand-hold the player and this will be a plus point to many. This considered though there are still cases where the game does hold your hand too much and explain to you a solution you could easily work out by yourself, this inconsistency between over explanation and a lack of explanation does lead to frustration, and Clover would have been better off finding a balance between the two.
Another problem with the structure is how the story is laid out. Okami tells a decent tale, you are the sun God Amaterasu who has taken on the form of a white wolf in order to fight back the evil presence in order to save the land. You being a god is the explanation for the aforementioned 'godlike' powers, and it's an interesting conceit that perhaps somewhat explains why things are easy for you. The overall story is very simple, but the story-telling is well done and there are some quite emotional moments littered throughout. Though many characters may seem like caricatures, or just plain annoying at first, almost all of them turn out to be well thought out and well written. Even the potentially annoying Navi-style sidekick turns out to be an excellent character that you will care about, the same could not be said for Navi no matter how much you listened. Despite how well written Okami can be, there still is a problem with the story, and that is its lack of focus. There is a very barebones overarching narrative that doesn't quite do enough to keep the story constantly compelling, and there are several points in Okami where the game could easily just end (everything seems to be tied up and your quest complete) but then something else happens that means another ten or so hours is required. This is a good thing for the gameplay; the game is so fun to play and the experience as a whole is so great that you won't want it to end, but in story terms it's a definite issue. It's hard to know what your actual goal is, apart from defeat the darkness, and you are never quite sure at several points whether you are just about to complete that ambiguous goal or not.
In spite of this Okami still manages to be superb, and one of the greatest things about it is its presentation. The games visuals are astounding, though it is technically limited by PS2 hardware, the gorgeous art design makes Okami one of finest games ever made. Every frame looks like a beautiful Japanese painting and the colourful and vibrant environments bring life to the world. The visuals are the first thing you will notice, and are a big part of the charm of Okami. It's a world so beautiful, and one so well designed, that you cannot help but lose yourself in it. It's a rare experience when everything comes together so perfectly, and apart from a few minor missteps Okami completely delivers. The soundtrack deserves a mention also; the music captures the feel of the areas and the tone of the situations amazingly and is the ideal accompaniment to a fantastic game such as Okami. The level of design talent behind this game is very obvious in the final product. Clover Studios are well respected for good reason, and it is quite the compliment to say that Okami is on the same level (if not higher than) game director Hideki Kamiya's previous titles, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe.
Simply put, Okami provides a unique experience that should not be missed. If you were thinking of putting your PS2 away in favour of new hardware, think again; this modern-day masterpiece from Clover Studios is the perfect reminder that it is not technology which makes a game great but imagination and creativity. This Japanese adventure game is a beautiful synthesis of excellent gameplay, visuals, sound and, in most respects, writing. It's rare to find such a complete package that delivers on almost all fronts, Okami is not without its flaws, and many of these stem from odd design choices, but this doesn't stop it from being a potential classic. Okami is a truly superb title and a must buy.