advertisement

Once upon a time there was a terrible creature that rules over the land of Nippon. His wrath knew no bounds and none were immune to his whims. Especially a small town called Kamiki Village. From that village, the terrible demon Orochi would choose a sacrifice to appease him.

When a young woman is selected to be the next sacrifice, her champion rises up to take on the beast. But he is no match for Orochi and soon it is clear that he will loose. Hope waning, he is saved by a white wolf who had the ability to control the powers of nature. Together they battled Orochi and managed to seal him away within the moon cave, and thus the tale begins.

It’s an interesting and basic enough beginning for Okami. It’s 100 years later and some reckless civilian has broken the seal on Orochi’s slumber and causes Orochi to rise again. The land is covered in darkness and cursed zones. That’s where the dog, er, wolf, comes in.

Amaterasu is revived through the power of the wood sprite Sakuya in the body of the dog that once helped defend Kamiki from orochi. But Amaterasu is but a shell of her former self and it’s up to you, the player, to guide Amaterasu on his way to collect the power of the celestial brushes, dispel Orochi’s curse, and restore the world to it’s natural color and beauty.

Controls are the basic run and gun. You attack with the simple mashing of the buttons, but the real battle begins with the stroke of the brush.

Because you have the power to control things like wind, water, fire, and a number of other elements, you have to know how to use the celestial brush. The controls for this are simple and easy to remember, which is good, because things do tend to get hectic.

With the a push of the R1 button the entire screen will turn into a canvas that will allow you to do your artwork. Each brush stroke has a different power, and timing as well as planning is crucial. Reckless painting can land you in hot water fairly quickly. The game does require some thought.

Graphics are breathtaking with a unique style of cell-shaded animation not seen since the days of Jet Set Radio. It’s colorful and flows like water. Characters are unique and memorable. There’s Issun, the traveling artist and Amaterasu’s traveling companion; Susano, the untalented descendent of Nagi; Mr. Orange, chief of Kamiki, and a passel of characters who tend to be completely oblivious to the fact that Amaterasu has the power and skills of a God.

There are over twenty-four hours of game play and a ton of extra side missions. Because these extra missions provide praise, it is actually necessary to complete these sometimes meaningless tasks, like carrying passengers around on you lily pad, finding lost pottery, fighting lonely moles, and feeding the animals. And who can object to animal love?

Praise and admiration come in the form of points which are needed to update skills and overall stats. So the more good deeds that Amaterasu does, the stronger she will become. This is a unique method of leveling since normal level advancement through normal battle doesn’t apply to this game.

There are some touchy camera moments which only seem to reveal itself when Amaterasu is small claustrophobic areas. The characters don’t talk, but rather make squeaking noises, much like the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoons. While this is amusing at first, it does become quite irritating after long periods, because you will find yourself entrapped by the game for long periods at a time.

Okami succeeded in creating the essence of a feudal Japanese world. Much of the story and characters, like the gods, come from Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. While many gamers may not care about the cultural aspects of Okami, Capcom provide a short guide in the back of the game manual for the few curious souls.

JIVE Magazine Rating: Okami Paints a 5 out of 5