SHANNON Grippando
When I think of epic games, I think of titles such as “Zelda” and “Final Fantasy”. I’ll be adding another name to that list with Capcom’s release of Okami the Playstation 2. Few games get so many aspects right on their debut title.
One of the most creative and enjoyable parts of Okami is your ability to use the Celestial Brush. With the click of a button, the screen freezes and you can paint freely. Depending on the strokes you make, the effect differs. For instance, if you draw a straight line through an enemy, it’s cut in two. If you draw a “Q,” you’ll create a bomb. Just look up at the sky and draw a circle, and voila, it’s daytime. There are 13 basic brush powers in all, but the uses for these powers far outnumbers this. Furthermore, the responses to your strokes are excellent. If the effect you intended doesn’t occur, it’s probably because you screwed up the brush stroke.
“Okami” is a game that does everything in its power to draw you in and immerse you in its world. The graphics of the game are simply breathtaking, resembling something like a Japanese wall scroll. In this sense, you’re not only drawing paintings in the game but are in one as well. Complimenting this is a score that seems to perfectly fit the environment you encounter.
Perhaps it’s just me, but I found Okami to have a great sense of humor as well. There were times when I was literally laughing out loud, both from the dialogue and the antics. Maybe it’s just my warped, shallow sense of humor, but that was an aspect that stuck out to me because I find few games can pull off comedy well.
What are the game’s flaws? Well they’re few and far between . Honestly, my biggest complaint is the “voice-overs,” if you can call them that. The best way to describe them is gerbils on helium. It seems like such a shame for an epic game like “Okami” to have cheap voice-overs. Other than that, there are some long cut-scenes you have to scroll through, and your partner Issun can be quite annoying at times, reminding you every chance he gets of the smallest details (think Navi from “Zelda”: “Ocarina of Time” but 10 times worse).
So, if you’re looking for a “Zeldaesque” adventure game that has fresh game play mechanics, and even some humor, do yourself a favor and pick up “Okami”. With 30 plus hours of core gamplay and tons of side-quests, this game will keep you entertained for the rest of the semester. Besides, with a $40 MSRP it’s hard to pass up.
SIMOS Farrell
Alright, I have to admit – I’m not bowled over by “Okami.” Call it a case of foiled expectations. It’s a game I knew I wanted to like; the graphics are beautiful, the presentation is reminiscent of “Samurai Jack” at more than a few points, the animation is fluid, and while the music isn’t very memorable, it has a distinctive Japanese flair and fits the action well.
It’s even a little bit reminiscent of some real genre-bending classics like “Soul Blazer” and “Actraiser,” both SNES games where the god-like main figure had to obtain powers by journeying and helping others. Because, you see, not only will you be searching through dungeons to obtain brush skills, but interacting with townspeople and to accumulate “Praise,” what stands in for experience points and lets you upgrade basic stats.
In a way, “Okami” is what “Black ‘ White” would be if it were an action RPG. A variety of subquests, which range from fetch quests and digging up turnips (!), to redrawing parts of the landscape, give you the opportunity to take a break from the main quest as you try to prove you’re not just some mutt. The battle system is interesting, as you do button-mashing battle to weaken and confuse your enemies before you pause the action to unleash your brush skills. Since you only control one character, battle is simple but very fun.
But there are some problems. Like so many modern games, “Okami” doesn’t exactly begin in the middle of things – you have to wait through a 20 minute introduction and play through a tutorial. While this helps set the ambiance, it could’ve been paced better. Another issue is map design. “Okami” flawlessly recreates the feeling of a painting, but some of the maps are vague and could lead you in circles.
Then there’s the sound – save us from garbled sound effects masquerading as speech! The wolf’s facial expressions and gestures are way more expressive than the “gerbils on helium,” and we could have done without them. The characters are interesting, though, and the game has a good sense of humor. Witness a demon slapping its butt in challenge or your characters deciding that the descendant of the legendary hero is needed NOW – and dragging him away, under protest..
Sadly, “Okami” isn’t perfect. But it does so many things right that if you can overlook those nagging flaws, you find a real gem: an instant classic that combines good technicals like sound and graphics with its own original style.