May the fresh scent of flowers protect you always!

Okami
Playstation 2 (also available for Wii)
Release Date: September 19, 2006

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Control: 9/10
Replay Value: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Okami is an instant classic! Brimming with Japanese folklore, Okami follows the story of the wolf Amaterasu, the Sun God and descendant of Shiranui. 100 years ago, Shiranui aided the warrior Nagi in the defeat of the dreaded eight-headed beast, Orochi. The defeated Orochi was sealed away with Nagi's sword and enshrined with a statue of Shiranui. 100 years after Orochi's defeat, a shadowy figure steals Nagi's sword from the shrine, releasing Orochi's spirit to once again wreak havoc upon the land of Nippon. Amaterasu is then summoned from the statue of Shiranui to defeat Orochi's spirit and once again rid the land of evil.

The graphics are what makes this game unforgettable. Okami uses a beautiful cel-shading technique to give this game it's very own unique style. The colorful landscapes are breathtaking, and the characters are cute and rather distinctive. Flowers bloom all over the screen, and the sky looks like a canvas to be painted upon (and in fact, you can paint upon it!). It's like a work of art in video game form. The graphics alone make this game well worth playing.


But more than being a work of art, the game is also very fun and challenging. It plays sort of like a Zelda game, a series which Okami took a lot of influence from. You travel across the land to rescue beautiful women, collect weapons, and battle fierce opponents, only instead of playing as a young man, you play as a wolf with the powers of the gods (and I must say, I very much enjoyed playing as a wolf). Amaterasu is the Sun God, and she has the power to control the Celestial Brush. Throughout the game, you'll learn different Celestial Brush techniques which you use by drawing on the screen with a brush to summon different abilities, such as creating gusts of wind or causing trees to bloom. This technique was somewhat simple to use with the Playstation 2 controller, but I imagine it would be a lot more fun to do with a Wiimote. There is quite a lot to do in Okami, such as returning the land to its natural beauty, feeding animals, collecting beads and other items, defeating enemies and ridding the land of evil, saving people and helping them with favors. If you're trying to complete the game 100%, you'll have plenty of things to keep you busy, not to mention some tasks which are borderline impossible (I tried so many different methods to defeat Blockhead Grande... dry erase markers, post-it notes, video cameras... it was quite stressful). There are also loads of minigames to play if you feel you haven't had enough, including a Whack-a-Mole type game, fishing, racing through the forest, a digging game and more. Regardless of how you decide to play the game, whether you collect all of the items, explore all of the maps, or just play straight through to the end, you're guaranteed to have fun.

The sound here was pretty solid, although nothing too memorable. The soundtrack consisted mainly of peaceful, relaxing music that seemed to fit well with the game's overall style. The characters' voices were rather interesting and kind of reminded me of Animal Crossing voices, where they're more making sounds than saying words. Nothing really spectacular or overly annoying here.

The controls were pretty smooth, and Amaterasu was very easy to maneuver. I liked that she had a great jumping distance and was able to run very quickly if you held down the controls long enough. Battles were fairly easy to get a hang of, but usually required little skill (you mostly just hit the attack button as much as you can) until you have to start using Celestial Brush techniques to defeat enemies, then it gets much more interesting. I also found that the menus were a little difficult to navigate at first, but once you figure out what you're looking at and where to find certain information it becomes much easier.


Okami is overall a very unique, entertaining and perfectly executed game. The graphics are beautiful and the game is often very relaxing, creating a rather Zen gaming experience. The game is full of beauty, humor, drama and awesomeness. I dare to say that it has surpassed its main influence, The Legend of Zelda, a feat which seemed unimaginable. Okami is not a game you will soon be forgetting.