Okami review (PlayStation 2)

Okami is one of those games that makes you smile, for the very minute you slap in the disk, it's evident you’ve been caught with your trousers down. Indeed, just as things seem to be stuck in an irreparable stagnation of cash-ins, movie-tie is and sequels, up pops something that actually makes you think about what you’re letting yourself in for. Something that challenges takes a bold step and pokes about in uncharted territory, and then realises there’s room to set up home.

Enter Okami, swan song from Capcom subsidiary Clover Studios, which sadly announced plans to close its doors for good. A game that for some unknown reason sank into obscurity little more than a few weeks after its release, but one that the discerning gamer could detect was worth the time and energy.

A Wolf's Tale

Where to begin? Well, in typical (and perhaps predictable) fashion, your job is to rid the land of a nefarious evil known as Orochi, a recently resurrected, eight-headed dragon monstrosity who has covered the land in darkness.

Playing as a reincarnated wolf hero spoken of in legend, you and your little impish friend, Innus, travel about the region laying waste to imps and other demonic life forms as you conquer dungeons and restore god’s power across the land. Sound vaguely familiar? Indeed, you may be right in thinking this sounds like your run-of-the-mill adventure romp, but it’s Okami’s rich presentation and unique gameplay challenges that sets it apart from the Zeldas out there.

Draw Me The Path

In terms of core gameplay, Okami centres on using the powers of what is known as the “celestial brush”, an ancient tool used to manipulate the world around you. Armed with this handy device, rudimentary tasks such as combat and puzzle solving are injected with a new lease of life, becoming much more intuitive and enjoyable. There are 13 techniques to master in all, each proving to be immensely useful in both combat and regular puzzle solving antics.

For instance, one technique will let you turn night into day (handy for when you are waiting for a key character to wake up), another lets you fill in broken bits of scenery, while others allow you to blow up enemies and key areas of the environment allowing you to progress further. The game may be structured in a linear fashion, as you are pretty much pointed in one direction to the other, but in all honestly it doesn’t break the immersion factor in the slightest.

There’s simply too much to see and do, and the anticipation of stumbling on another secret stash of goodies or plot piece is as captivating as it was in Zelda or indeed any other game of equal measure. Adventure veterans will feel right at home with Okami’s majestic landscapes and dingy dungeons, which waste no time in pitting you against various riddles and the usual array of boss creatures to do battle with.

Again, you’ll need your thinking cap on and your brush in hand to tackle most of these situations, and, without spoiling anything, there plenty of instances where you will realise the folks at Clover haven’t been shamelessly copying and pasting bits and pieces in from other titles. Admittedly, there are a few problems using the brush, which can at times feel a little clunky. A couple of techniques place you under a lot more scrutiny than one may perceive is necessary, though once you realise what you can get away with its not too much of a problem.

Paw To Paw

As mentioned, you’ll come across an abundance of evildoers to do battle with and, again, the celestial brush shows its importance in combat as much as anything else. Your fury friend has his basic manoeuvres when battling his foes, but employing the use of your brush spices ups the action up a notch or two to say the least.

From your basic horizontal sword stab to blowing up your foes with a cherry bomb, there are plenty of actions to incorporate and supplement each fight with. Eventually, the bad guys get bigger and bosses get smarter and can only be dispatched by exposing their weak points, most of which can only be targeted by using your magical brush.

Another interesting take on combat is your standard weapons; each one can be equipped as either a main or sub-weapon, with each tool offering new functionality depending on how they are equipped. For example, your standard attack has a secondary function as a shield if equipped as a sub-weapon. Needless to say, this handy equipment manager offers plenty of opportunity to toy around with things and see what works best for you.

Ironically, while some creatures, such as bosses, require you to mix and match these different tactics, some of the games enemies are simply too easy to defeat, simply requiring you to mash at the buttons until your adversary bites the dust. Not to say Okami doesn’t offer a challenging combat system, but rather sometimes things are overall simple in places. It’s a double-edged sword – some are insanely tough, some you’ll walk over.

Thick Skinned

Okami also allows you to level up your character by collecting praise points, which accommodates another path to take in the game. Aside from the main quest, where you’ll be rewarded these points at various intervals, the majority of them come from doing good deeds dotted around the landscape. This can include things such as feeding animals, blooming flowers and trees and defeating various enemy patches scattered throughout each location. Again, the majority of these require the use of your funky magical brush.

Accumulate enough points and you will be able to increase your life and ink meters, in addition to various other attributes. Aside from this, there are plenty of side quests to indulge in, such as helping out the locals in various tasks or collecting hidden treasures, which you can then sell to local merchants. Indeed, Okami has all the makings of the quintessential adventure romp, so don’t be surprised if it has you clocking up 20-30 hours first time through if you are to extricate all there is to offer.

And now we come, inexorably, to the aesthetic side of things. If there’s one thing that the average punter is going to bat an eyelid at, it’s Okami’s striking visuals. Using some gorgeous cel-shaded visuals, the game possesses an ancient, richly detailed eastern feel it like no other. Indeed, the art direction here is second to none. It also allows the near-geriatric PS2 emotion engine to churn out what is quite possible the best looking game in its seven-year history.

Words are already beginning to fail me as I try to describe just how good this game looks, but its fair bet that, after viewing some of the infamous ‘rejuvenation’ sequences (regenerate one of the magical saplings to full bloom and you’ll see what I mean) you’ll not need anymore said on the matter. It’s not just the environments that look great either; all the characters in the game have their own, unique feel and are just as gorgeously animated as the world around you.

The game's score, meanwhile, is the perfect accomplice to the package, with an evocative soundtrack playing throughout, supplemented by some interesting sound effects, including the games dialogue, which is spoken in an incomprehensible dialect so fitting to the games theme. To top it all off, the narrative flows at a brisk pace and keeps you wanting more at every turn, and is also pretty humorous in places – nothing pretentious here at all.

Stroke Of Genius

At the end of the day, Okami is something of a breath of fresh air. It may take the fundamentals of any decent Zelda game out there, but it combines them with its own unique brand, making for a truly captivating outing. Its inventive, thrilling and above all, quite possibly one of the most immersive game out there. Sure, it’s a tad on the easy side, but so refined that you’ll be coming back for more. Whether there will be another game like this remains to be seen, but one thing is clear; Clover, you will be missed. Now, excuse me, as I must “brush” away the tears.