A beautifully rendered game that will keep you immersed.
Good Stuff
- Art Style & Unique Graphics
- Great Original Soundtrack
- Awesome Story.
- Combat style and puzzle mechanics are both very well done.
- Bosses are great fun and range from small to huge.
- Lots of extras and secrets.
- Very remember-able.
Okami is one of the greatest games of all time. It's set in a fantasy world of interesting characters and lore. You play as Okami Amaterasu, a sun-god wolf that allows you to manipulate various things. The main feature of the game's combat and puzzles is of the Celestial Brush. This one-of-a-kind artifact has many different abilities that you unlock as you progress through the game. In order to use these skills, you simply press R1 and make strokes with ink as a medium, like drawing on a canvas. This in-turn makes something occur, such as one straight (horizontal) line will cause a cut, while drawing a circle on water will create a lily-pad.
Because of this unique play-style, there must be a unique type of graphics. Of course, this means a painted look for the game, which looks and works magnificently. When you add a soundtrack, you get something that makes you feel like you are actual in the game itself. It corresponds well with the environments and battles to create seamless feelings of every emotion (that's coming from a composer and experienced musician).
Going back to the Celestial Brush, you can expect to use it for puzzles and during boss battles. Just like any other action-adventure game, there will be times where you may be confused on what to do next; but, there's no need to fret considering your exploration will lead you to various secrets and unlockables within the game. One of the longest lasting parts of finding secrets and secret locations is the 100 Stray Beads. These you can find hidden throughout the game world in order to unlock something useful: Invincibility.
However, without it, bosses could be a fun challenge. There are a good amount for the game, as well as the amount of interesting creatures to fight, so the game doesn't overflow you with too much. I did say that the Brush would be used in both bosses and normal monster-slaying but of course there are normal attacks like using a sword or mystical item that you sheath on your back. Despite, the battles play-out like Zelda games, so there's a puzzle in bosses to complete so you can hit their weak spot along with about half of the regular creatures.
Did I mention the game was remember-able? I'm just now reviewing this game and I haven't played it in years.
If you're still confused on the main story-points in the game, then this paragraph should clarify. Once again, you are a sun-god that is a wolf, but some things I didn't mention is that the world is turning over to darkness and you must purge the lands of evil and the demon threats. You are accompanied by a very small (About 5 or 6 inches tall) boy named Issun. He is an aspiring artist, following you on your adventures (simply by using you as a ride). Together, you both overcome challenges and meet a lot of varied characters along the way. There's a good amount more of story to the game, but I don't want to ruin anything (or ruin anything else if I said too much).
Overall, the game has very high quality and will continue on to be one of the greatest games of all time. There are many things to be said about games whether good or bad, but this one game just seems perfectly mastered into a grand experience full of many things that will make you feel every emotion.