 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: |   |
Just as you do outside of combat, you initiate a technique by squeezing the B trigger, then holding down A and moving around the on-screen cursor using the IR pointer and sensor bar. For the most part, these Wii additions work okay: I had a little trouble getting combos to link-up properly, a number of the brush techniques are very similar (meaning I may be trying to cause a tree to bloom, but I’m instead filling the lake with several lilly pads), but none of those niggles even compare to the Nunchuk. While the buttons commands – C to dig and special attack, Z to interact or use your sub-weapon – the game’s dodge technique, which is supposed to occur with a quick thrust in the desired direction, almost never works the way you intended. While it isn’t a game killer (as you likely won’t use it much, and when you do, you will still move in some direction), it is another example of Wii motion controls being needlessly and ineffectually shoehorned into yet another port.
Speaking of Wii changes, Okami looks a bit different now that it’s been placed in the capable hands at Ready at Dawn (the developers of PSP games Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus). On the one hand, the game now runs at 480p (the Wii’s highest supported resolution) and in widescreen, which is an excellent little plus for those who can take advantage of it. Unfortunately, no matter your setup, everyone will be looking at Okami in a way that was far from originally intended. As you probably know, there was a lot of talk about a reduced paper filter on the Wii version, and having seen the two versions compared, I can confirm that. While the game still captures a lot of the sumi-e style that the now-defunct Clover (the original developer) was going for, the game’s colors are much more vibrant, making the game seem more Saturday morning cartoon than Hokusai. Of course, no matter how you look at it, it is still a beautiful game, and there’s a lot to be appreciated, from the character design to the little touches, like the way plants spring up wherever Amaterasu’s feet touch.
Equally beautiful is Okami’s soundtrack, which is, of course, styled after traditional Japanese music. Even if that isn’t your sort of thing, I imagine it’ll be hard to keep from stopping and just soaking in the total atmosphere of the game (which wouldn’t have had the same effect with the originally intended photo-realistic visuals, if you ask me). In yet another comparison to The Legend of Zelda series, there is no voice acting in Okami. However, there is a big difference between not having voice acting and instead replacing it with annoying little beeps where it should instead be. That’s the route this game takes, and it may have you muting the TV, especially with the length of some of the cutscenes. To be honest though, that’s really when the game could have used some sort of narration, especially something in the vein of Mako (Conan the Barbarian) or Victor Wong (Big Trouble in Little China), though others will surely disagree.
Differences in taste will also determine how long the game lasts. As I mentioned before, Okami has a lot of extras, from techniques to learn, treasures to collect, praise to earn and even a fishing mini-game (which seems to be a prerequisite for appearing on the Wii, whether it’s a sports title or first-person shooter). So, if you’re a collection-obsessed gamer like myself, you could easily rack-up well over 30 hours in the game. However, even without it, I imagine Okami is still at least a good 15-hour experience or so. Unfortunately, even though the game does teeter on the edge of being open-world, it still has a very linear story and that coupled with the lack of multiplayer (not that it really fits a game like this) means that the replay value is fairly low. Still for as long as it lasts – and, no matter your playing style, that will be a long time – Okami is a fantastic experience.
Bottom Line:
Whether it’s on the PlayStation 2 or Nintendo Wii, Okami is a game that everyone should at least try. The trade-off for each is pretty clear: on the original console, you get to see and play the game as it was meant to be, but here you’ll get improved brush control and more modern graphical tweaks, at the expense of a couple of poorly implemented motion controls and a slightly more animated look. No matter what version you pick-up though, you’ll still get a story to rival that of even The Legend of Zelda, graphics and music that recapture the long-forgotten ways of the world and so many things to occupy your time with that Okami can suck away hours of your life just as easily as any sandbox game.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
|
| 8.5 |
Posted: 2008-05-17 11:10:59 PST