 Review By: Andrew Joy |
Developer: | Ready At Dawn |
| Publisher: | Capcom | |
| Genre: | Adventure | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Nunchuk, HDTV 480p, 16:9 widescreen | |
| Buy Now: |   |
For a world built on expectations, the consequences for failing to meet them are surprisingly diverse. For example, if a movie flops in theaters, there’s always the video release to try and recoup losses. But, if it’s a game...well, there’s supposedly a landfill of E.T. cartridges in New Mexico that speaks volumes more about those consequences than I ever could. Until recently, there really were no second chances in this industry. If a game underperformed, for whatever reason, the vision, franchise and all the rest could be cast aside and forgotten. But now, things are starting to change – what was once swept under the rug can now be given new life via digital distribution (ala Psychonauts, which since going out of print has been made available through both GameTap and Xbox Live) or, more coalesced to this review, ported to the Nintendo Wii. Such is the case with Okami, a 2006 action-adventure title for the PlayStation 2 that never achieved commercial success, despite all the critical praise heaped upon it. It’d be hard to say for sure why the game’s sales suffered, but I’m tempted to say it has more to do with Capcom’s apparent inability to properly promote its titles (see Zack & Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros Treasure for another relatively unknown diamond in the rough) than the game simply not finding an audience. However, whatever the reason, the game has finally made its way to a system that, in the end, it seems so perfectly suited for.
Okami’s plot actually has two main parts. Even though you won’t play it, the backstory takes place a century before the events of this game, when the brave warrior Nagi ventured into the mountains to kill the dragon Orochi, rather than see the woman he loved offered to the vile beast as a sacrifice. Unable to defeat it himself, a white wolf comes to his aid and together the two are able to seal the evil away. As the battle’s 100-year anniversary is about to occur, however, someone frees Orochi and the darkness swallows the world...all of it except for the village of Kamiki. Having already protected the villagers, a tree sprite uses the last of her powers to resurrect the wolf god from so long ago to save them from evil once again. Together with the artist Issun and (in a sense of the word) the warrior Susano, descendant of Nagi, Amaterasu ventures out to reclaim all of the Celestial Brush techniques, stop Orochi and bring peace to the land once again. Story-wise, Okami isn’t the sort of game you play looking for the twist (though if you do like them there is at least one big one...even if you will see it coming a mile away), but it has a very straightforward good-versus-evil plot, like Nintendo’s hallowed The Legend of Zelda series. And I can’t think of a higher compliment to give than that!
Being so Zelda-like in nature, the gameplay is pretty much equal parts exploration and combat, both aspects of which make large use of the Wii Remote. As you progress through the game, restoring your godly abilities, you’ll gain more and more Celestial Brush techniques, which can help you reach new areas in the game. For example, just as Link will, say, eventually get his bomb bag, allowing him to blow away rocks and open crags, Amaterasu early-on learns to paint a symbol that allows similar advancement. Of course, beyond just getting to the next stage, Okami has a level of side quests to rival even Animal Crossing or Grand Theft Auto. When you aren’t hunting down the next skill or taking down a boss, you can while away the hours doing everything from finishing-off all the monsters on a monk’s hit list (of sorts) to tracking down the game’s hidden treasures.
For the most part, these quests are purely optional (though you’ll complete many just by making your way through the story), but some you’ll probably want to look into regardless. For example, about 10 hours into the game I faced my first defeat, and I didn’t advance past that point until I enhanced my Divine Attributes. In order to improve categories like your max health and ink, you’ll have to "spend" praise, which you’ll earn not just by completing missions, but by feeding groups of animals (deer, rabbits, etc.) scattered throughout the game, making it something I found myself double-checking levels for. While this all may seem a little tedious, the sheer diversity of all these menial tasks actually saves what would otherwise be a pretty repetitive game.
While I wouldn’t necessarily say it is bad, it is really the combat that tends to drag Okami down. Typically something you’d see with the bosses in most games, almost every enemy has a weakness to exploit, some of which you’ll almost have to in order to get through the skirmish with any sort of ease or – as you’ll no doubt quickly become obsessed with – plan to get the bonuses (for taking little damage and finishing it up quickly). In battle, you most basic attack is Amaterasu’s tackle, which you perform by giving the Wii Remote a quick waggle. Basic though it is, it can be much improved by both going to the dojo and learning new moves and combos or by equipping new weapons, including some which allow multiple hits with one strike. But, as you increase your stable of brush techniques, you’ll likely just turn to them more and more.
Posted: 2008-05-17 11:10:59 PST