![]() Their journey begins by purging the evil from a small village but expands to encompass all corners of Japan, and beyond. Will history repeat itself, or is there an even more sinister plot at work here? At the beginning of the game, Amaterasu is joined by a pint-sized creature named Issun, a bold and smart-alecky little guy who does all the talking for the both of them. Apparently, it's all the doing of a massive eight-headed serpent that was killed 100 years ago and has been reborn. The story is simple: Amaterasu, reborn as a white wolf, has a mission to rid medieval Japan of a demonic curse that's swept across the nation. The story plays out like a modernized anime version of a myth, except with a far more original visual style than what most anime brings to bear. Though Okami's premise and characters are steeped in Japanese folklore, you don't need to be familiar with the source material to appreciate this game-you just need a bit of an open mind. Okami boasts an extraordinary visual style, but there's much more to it than all the pretty graphics.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's All the while, Okami's stunning good looks give it the appearance of a cross between a cartoon and a traditional Japanese ink-and-watercolor painting, and perhaps best of all, the game keeps going and going for much longer than most other games like it. Much like in those games, in Okami you'll traverse a vast countryside filled with intrigue, meet a variety of interesting characters, delve into dungeons chock-full of various traps and fearsome-looking creatures, and become more and more powerful as you go. It takes its cues from the Legend of Zelda series in particular and achieves similarly outstanding results. ![]() Despite its unusual premise and other unique qualities, Okami is in many ways a textbook action adventure game. A truly epic journey awaits this wolf, who wields divine power quite literally as an artist wields a brush. Okami is based on the Japanese legend of the sun god, Amaterasu, whom you control throughout the game in the form of a white wolf. These include leveling up your abilities, uncovering secret items and treasures, and gaining "praise" (which is like xp) from performing kindly tasks.It's only fitting that a game about a god should have an awe-inspiring presentation such as this. There are many different aspects to the game aside from the story's progression to keep you engrossed. So far (and I'm only about six hours in) Okami delivers a solid gameplay experience. ![]() Looking and sounding fantastic are huge hooks for a video game, and given my extended play time, it's looking like the play mechanics of the game are not going to let their side down either. The game's soundtrack and effects are equally impressive and capture a very traditional Japanese fable-style theme. Okami's visuals make it a work of living art. I am, however, a little disappointed that there is no native 16:9 aspect ratio or progressive scan mode, as these additions would have served to enhance the artistic style even further. It doesn't hurt matters that, for the most part, Okami runs at a smooth 60 frames per second, either. The use of color, cel-shading and brush-stroked artistry is second to none. The game is a thing of true beauty and easily ranks among the best-looking of PS2 games (in fact, it might just be the best). The most striking aspect of Okami still remains the watercolor-style visuals. Assuming the role of the sun god Amaterasu - who chooses to appear in the form of a snow-white wolf - it's your job to restore the balance of nature to Nippon and banish evil once more. But something evil stirs once again, and a cursed energy is begging to cover the lands once more. ![]() The story sees a mighty battle between demon, man and god end 100 years ago, finally restoring peace to the lands of Nippon.
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