If you have a PS2 and don't play Okami, you're a bad person. It's
simply a fantastic game. The graphics are stunning - I don't care about
the GE Force 8800 or the new current generation of high definition
systems, Okami is the best looking game I've seen, thanks to the great
art style and amazing cel-shading technology that makes it look like a
living watercolor painting. This is an opinion of course, if you'd
rather look at super high-def ruins in Gears of War, that's just fine.
The game also has great music, although I can't say all the audio is
good. Okami's main flaw is the voice acting - it's text based, and
instead of silence or some beeps, you get garbled snippets of voice
(like Banjo-Kazooie) that's tolerable at first but gets very annoying
after long bouts of extended exposition.
It's not just great
because of its aesthetic qualities though, it IS a video game, and a
good one. I can say without doubt it is the best Zelda-style action
adventure that isn't actually a Zelda game I've played. It's easy, but
still fun, thanks to the Celestial Brush, which you use to draw your
special attacks and tools instead of having to sort through an
inventory. The different brush powers are all easy to learn and
remember, and they give Okami a unique flair to the traditional
exploring and combat. The dungeons are more focused on using your
powers to advance forward, the puzzles are less Zelda-style solving
something to open a door and more using your techniques and platforming
skills to reach that door. The combat is a little simple, but still
cool thanks to slick attacks, a variety of weapons, the use of the
brush techniques, and interesting enemy design.
The story should
also be mentioned, I wasn't expecting a lot, but it's actually quite
good. The character development is great and there are some cool twists
and turns, and it's all enriched by the Japanese mythology that
surrounds it. Overall, Okami is a cohesive, beautiful work of art and
it's a damn shame no one is playing it.
