Okami review

Now we have a Wii port, but due to Clover's unfortunate demise, the porting duties fall to ReadyAtDawn studios. Bizarrely, they saw fit to not even give Clover any recognition whatsoever, even removing their logo from the opening credits. Still, it would take a disaster the size of Jupiter to make this anything less than fantastic.Its not hard to see the similarities between this and Zelda, and its not just because they both fall into the adventure category. The character of Issun is basically Navi but with a personality; theres a sailing section which brings back memories of Wind Waker; and you use the ability you gain in each dungeon to beat the final boss. What it does better than Zelda, though, is provide a surprisingly in depth story and a graphical style that launches it well above other Wii titles in the visuals department.Aside from the unique graphics, the gameplay feature that puts this above other adventures is the painting. The whole game resembles an artistic drawing and, by holding the B button, you can actually paint on the game screen in order to pull off a variety of moves. Early on you learn how to slash opponents by drawing across the screen, but once you progress through the game youll soon be able to create water towers, cause gusts of wind and even slow down time - all of which are used to either beat enemies or solve the many puzzles you encounter in the dungeons. The puzzles are particularly clever, from simply having you melting the ice by drawing a line of fire, to the more clever creating a gust of wind to get rid of the flames blocking your way. Each power is gained through a star constellation which you have to fill in using your magic brush, which then creates a rather unique cut scene moment. The paintwork was originally done with the analogue sticks on the PS2 original and the Wii naturally makes use of the pointer controls. Unfortunately some strokes are harder to perform if you dont have a steady hand. The game is especially harsh on what constitutes a circle, and its quite annoying when it takes three goes to get it right.Attacks are also now given motion control support. A quick shake of the Wii remote causes Amaterasu to dash or strike with whatever divine instrument you have equipped. However there is another problem: some divine instruments (a fancy word for weapon) are combo-based, requiring you to flow from move to move. These are impossible because, if you wave too fast, the game doesnt even register it. Doing it too slow will also lead to the same thing. It's amazing when this is the only thing ReadyAtDawn Studios needed to alter and they managed to get it wrong.But, as mentioned, it would take a monumental mishap to really ruin this title, and despite some effort to do just that, it is still fantastic. The music in the game is outstanding and the characters you meet on your adventure are full of charm; none more so than your main character Ametarusu (Ammy for short). Despite not saying a line of dialogue through the entire game (she is a wolf, after all) the facial expressions purvey more emotion than most realistic 3D characters. It got to a point where we didnt really want it end, particularly when there is zero chance of it getting the sequel it deserves. Okami creates more magic in the first couple of hours than the entirety of Zelda: Twilight Princess.Its also a delight to play a game that isnt drenched in grey and brown. When you first enter each new area, only a portion of it will be lovely green grass, with the rest covered in a dark evil mist that saps your life energy as soon you set foot on it. This is where your brush power comes to work again. By finding a guardian tree, just draw a circle around it to make it bloom. This washes away the darkness, giving way to beautiful blue skies, lovely green grass and a variety of animals wandering the countryside. If only all games let you do this.Okami is one of those rare games that makes us feel all fuzzy and warm inside whenever we think about it. Its classic title that will hopefully find a far bigger audience on the Wii than it ever did on PS2. A must buy.