PROS:  Lush, immersive graphics, unique and enjoyable gameplay, epic storyline, intriguing puzzles, massive feel-good factor.

CONS:  Some button mashing early on, digging mini-games frustratingly difficult (for me, anyway, but I never was any good at DigDug). 

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a fan of Japanese culture and folklore. Most of our favorite video games (Katamari Damacy, Chibi Robo, Cubivore) come out of Japan.  One of our favorite family movies is Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. We eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant whenever there is a special occasion. My kids and I took Japanese martial arts for years, though they took much longer than I did.  Last year, I even entertained the idea of having the seven virtues of Bushido tattooed down my spine. After deciding that will probably be too painful for squeamish me, I  redesigned and drew up a smaller Kenji tattoo (the symbol for ‘Read’) and I’ve sworn that as soon as I have someone to go with me and hold my hand, I’m THERE. After the past week, I am seriously rethinking my tattoo design AGAIN and have been eyeing the symbol for Okami. Yes, it is THAT GOOD.

More about Okami after the jump …

Amaterasu Omikami is an important figure in Japanese mythology. A beloved sun goddess, she was famous bringing great beauty and joy to the celestial plains. Part of her legend describes how she hid in a cave because of the embarrassment over the destructive and selfish acts of her brother, Susanoo, a storm deity.  This caused the Earth to be blanketed with a dark sadness. When she was tricked into finally emerging, she brought with her warmth and light, and this was the beginning of the country of Japan.

Okami, the long anticipated PS2 release from Capcom (Clover Studios has been working on this gem for two years), is an epic and involving video game that was well worth the wait. The main character, Amaterasu, a gleaming white wolf, is constantly referred to as “the origin of all that is good and mother to us all", an obvious salute to her sun goddess roots. Lest you think that the game is all respectful and stuffy, she is also called Puffball, Snowy, Furball, and a mangy mutt, along with several other choice names by those that have no idea who she is. Amaterasu, for her part, is a silent warrior, doggedly working (pun intended) to drive the forces of evil out of Nippon. 

This epic tale begins with the telling of the story of Orochi, an 8 headed serpent that terrorized the tiny, idyllic village of Kamiki, claiming the life of a maiden as sacrifice once a year in return for peace. The brave warrior Nagi, armed with a sword, plenty of sake, and accompanied by a white wolf Shiranui, took on Orochi to protect his beloved up-for-sacrifice Nami and defeated him. Enshrined in the Moon Cave, Orochi’s evil spirit lies in wait for a chance to be unleashed again, a chance that comes on the eve of the hundredth anniversary of his defeat as an unwitting passerby takes the sword. This causes all of Nippon to be enshrouded in the veil of his evil curse that chokes out the sun and causes the legendary Guardian Saplings to wither and die. Enter Amaterasu (finally!) in the form of the fallen Shiranui, a pure white wolf with bold red markings, full of attitude and eager to go, to once again bring warmth and light back to her beloved Nippon.

Though it got very little press during E3 ’06 (and yes, I was on the edge of my seat, salivating for every drop of info I could get), Okami had everyone at E3’05 buzzing. It was gushingly called the most anticipated game of the year by several outlets. Time is not a gentle mistress, though, and Okami dropped this past week with very little fanfare, overshadowed by verbal sparring about graphic support, franchise disappointments and price drops.

It is always the quiet ones that you have to watch out for though.  If you are not careful, Okami could easily become your favorite game of the year, perhaps of your gaming career. I am talking about a game that could remind you of why you became a gamer in the first place, something so transcendent that you can play for 8 hours and wonder where the time went. Do you remember those days? I do … and I have been living in them for the past week. 

The characters in Okami are unique, full of personality, though I found myself much more engaged by the creatures than by the humans. Amaterasu moves like a real wolf, leaping, digging, speaking only in barks and growls.  Her ‘sidekick’, a tiny, very vocal bug (that is Wandering Artist Issun to you!) is every bit as chatty as she is silent. He is like that guy in college that we all watched during parties, chatting up the girls, making lewd remarks, antagonizing big guys that want nothing more than to beat you up and getting you into situations you, under normal circumstances, would avoid. He calls the sun goddess ‘Ammy’ (and many other choice names when he is aggravated), but boasts to anyone that will listen that she is a goddess and will kick your butt in a heartbeat if you mess with her. 
 

Graphics 

The game starts out grey and gritty, something akin to the dark post-apocalyptic landscapes that we have been force fed for years now, except for the fact that everything looked as though it was hand-painted on rice paper. The cell-shaded animation flows across the screen, drawing heavily from traditional Japanese artwork. The fluid movement of both the characters and the landscape really shows off the talent and imagination of the designers, though. It is not until Amaterasu begins moving, rather when we begin controlling her, do we get a glimpse of what the world could look like.  Running causes flowers to bloom behind her and, as she runs faster and faster, the flowers spreading out into a wide swath of blooms until the whole screen seems alive. For the first time in a long time, I had the feeling that I was not only going through a level but also traveling across a living, breathing landscape.  Extremely nice touch: the trees "follow" your movement, turning toward you as you go by.

I cannot gush enough about the graphics. Trust me … one look and you will find you are hooked. While most other developers are killing themselves to design ultra-realistic worlds, Clover went out of their way to create an entirely new world, one that is so fantastic that you will find yourself reluctant to leave it.
 

Gameplay & Controls

At first, I have to admit, I was under-whelmed. While the graphics were stunning, there really was not much to do. The mechanics were so simple: run and jump across a flat landscape, break a jar with a head butt to gather food or coins. Then it came time for me to make dots in the sky to complete a constellation with a Celestial Brush and that, my friends, is where it gets interesting. The first brush technique is a supposedly simple left to right Power Slash move. Who knew that controlling a brush with the d-pad would be such a challenge? 

As I got into the game, I found the battle system was an interesting change from most. Dotting the landscape are floating, smoking, innocuous looking scrolls, which you can either avoid or step into. The first time I got near one, I had the distinct feeling of being swallowed, creepy roar and all. I found myself in a circular arena facing imps with musical instruments. It only took a moment to realize that, when in an arena, the head butt button becomes the attack button and the dig button becomes the block … of course, you can also call up the Celestial Brush.

As the game goes on, the foes get harder and your arsenal of attacks gets deeper but the controls remain intuitive and easy to learn. Many people have complained that the battles are just button mashers and, while that CAN be true and you CAN beat most smaller enemies just by hitting the square button, it doesn’t have to be that way. What keeps this game interesting is the challenge of figuring out how to beat your foes more effectively. With the stroke of a brush, you can slash them in half, blow out their flames, melt their ice, even leave a cherry bomb as a little gift. Speaking of gifts, one special trick that gets you extra goodies is the Golden Insult, where hitting the right button at the right time makes Ammy lift her leg and … well, you get the idea. 

Eventually, your arsenal of brush strokes outnumbers your weapons and your boss battles will challenge you to think quickly and switch from weapon to weapon in a split second.  The challenge of these many battles is VERY satisfying, occasionally frustrating, but as a payoff, you get a generous reward of yen, items and lots of praise.

The major boss battles are set up so that they are long and satisfying; there is no way you can just step into the ring, mash a few buttons and its over. There is plenty of creativity required to beat some of these foes, from lopping off egg sacs to making sake flow into a moving, open mouth to slowing down time so you can get a few licks in on a particularly fast moving foe. It is a most amazing feeling to stop time, draw on your enemy and then let them feel your wrath as your attacks unfold. 

I mentioned praise earlier. Yes, you earn praise … as Ammy does good things for the earth (feeding animals, bringing trees back to life, reviving the landscape), the earth and all its inhabitants rewards her with praise. Like any good God(dess), the more praise she gets, the stronger she gets, and the stronger she gets, the better equipped she is to fight evil.

Filled with soft, lilting traditional Japanese instruments, the music is subtle, complimentary and very suitable for the game. You are not just in a world filled with music, though. This world breathes.  Ammy’s bark is breathy like a real wolf (and yes, I make her run around and bark just because I can), her footsteps pad through the grass, the wind rushes past as she runs faster and faster. As you travel through Nippon, you hear water splashing, birds chirping, leaves rustling in the trees. Music swells to a heart-lifting crescendo when you clear an area of evil and life flows through. More than once, I found myself sitting back to let the joyous music wash over me.

Dialogue is handled with garble-speak (subtitled), which I do not mind at all. I would rather have that then bad voice acting.
 

Replay Value

I am not even at the point of thinking about replay yet … 42+ hours into the game and I still have quite a way to go. The funny thing is, the first major boss battle I came up against was 30 hours in and I was sure the game was over, only to find out I was only a third of the way through the story.  I also have many, MANY treasures and goodies that I have to get so I will be roaming around the now gorgeous Nippon, gathering pearls, beads and pottery, finishing all the side-quests that I skipped the first time through, and making sure I feed every last animal. Excellent value for the buck, IMHO. 
 

Conclusion

I was so afraid that, after 17 months of anticipation, I would feel a massive let down when I finally got my hands on this game. My patience paid off, in a big way. I love this game. It is not like the other addictive timewasters that I fall in and out of love with … this is easily my favorite game in a LONG time, since Katamari Damacy, and that’s saying something. It is the perfect combination of folklore and action with a dollop of cheeky humor and a dash (a slash?) of innovative gameplay.  Massive KUDOS to both Clover Studios and to Capcom for developing something new and different, something so breathtakingly beautiful, you wish it were real.   

Okami gets a blooming 9.5 out of 10.