Okami

Okami (Wii)

Strengths: (1) An absolute masterpiece of creativity (2) Epic and captivating game (3) Great art style

Weakness: (1) Sapling restoration cutscenes are prerendered movies from the PS2 version - there is a somewhat noticeable drop in quality in these infrequent cutscenes (2) Wii controls take some getting used to

Okami is absolutely beautiful in its presentation and creativity. It is inspired by the adventure style gameplay of Nintendo's Zelda series - I think specifically of Ocarina of Time, of which Okami is able to compare favorably to. The creative art direction and gameplay elements (made possible by the Celestial Brush innovation) will wow anyone who is a fan of the adventure series. In many ways,...
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Okami is absolutely beautiful in its presentation and creativity. It is inspired by the adventure style gameplay of Nintendo's Zelda series - I think specifically of Ocarina of Time, of which Okami is able to compare favorably to. The creative art direction and gameplay elements (made possible by the Celestial Brush innovation) will wow anyone who is a fan of the adventure series. In many ways, Okami is able to present the same freshness and suprise that many experienced with The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time - something that even the recent Zelda entries have not quite repeated. The added Wii brush controls make the game more intuitive and immersive. I wish I had known earlier that the "Z" button can be held down to help you draw straight lines; it is very difficult to do so without this trick. This game is a well-done port of the original PS2 game and has been enhanced with widescreen support and 480 progressive scan which makes it look better than the PS2 version but it still looks a bit fuzzy at times. This is one game that would look absolutely dazzling at a higher resolution, to be sure. It is a long and beefy adventure with plenty of mission-critical and optional interesting things to do. The game world is huge and full of personable characters. The brush powers are integrated in the most clever of ways in puzzles and combat. This is a long game that will keep the adventure fan engrossed and addictive for a long and satisfying time.

By cotebryan - Aug 28, 2008

One of the best games- on any system

Strengths: Unique world, fantastic graphics, great controls and story

Weakness: learning curve for drawing can be frustrating

Hold down the z button to draw a straight line! I cannot stress this enough. I don't recall if this is in the instruction manual, but it is key to enjoying the game. As for other tips, fiddling with the wiimote sensitivity helps, as does practice. There are times when drawing bloom doesn't register, but it doesn't break the game. As for Okami itself, the graphics look fantastic and are of a style...
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Hold down the z button to draw a straight line! I cannot stress this enough. I don't recall if this is in the instruction manual, but it is key to enjoying the game. As for other tips, fiddling with the wiimote sensitivity helps, as does practice. There are times when drawing bloom doesn't register, but it doesn't break the game.
As for Okami itself, the graphics look fantastic and are of a style that ages very well. The wiimote controls make it a more engaging experience than on the ps2 and the world is sprawling. Okami is a great character and the game easily clocks in over 40 hours without feeling repetitive or boring. The rpg elements enhance the game and there are a ton of items to collect and secrets to find.
This game is highly recommended, as close to a masterpiece as gaming has yet to achieve.

By vherub - Jul 18, 2008

The most beautiful Wii game to date

Strengths: Artistic illustration, compelling storyline. Easy learning curve (minus brush controls).

Weakness: Poor motion controls for the brush. Fishing is particularly annoying

This is a must own for an Action / RPG fan. It has a feel similar to a Zelda game with a fresh storyline. It's hard to put down once you get going. It does require many many hours to complete though and is hard to remember where you left off after not playing for a week; so not for the casual gamer.

By ebaymarcaro - Jul 7, 2008

A beautiful game that 3D Zelda fans should love

Strengths: -Gorgeous cel-shaded graphics, humorous and interesting dialog -Innovative, new game mechanic with the brush forms -Plenty of side quests/mini games to keep the game interesting

Weakness: -Combat is clumsy at times (jiggling the wii remote to attack leads to unexpected or unresponsive attacks) -No real voices. All characters in the game murmur/mumble like Charlie Brown's teacher

If you liked the 3D Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, Okami should be right up your alley. Much like those games, you start out with a very limited set of moves but you gain additional brush strokes as you progress through the game. These brush strokes allow you to add to the landscape of the game (ex. create bridges), cut trees/rocks/enemies, and many other things that I...
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If you liked the 3D Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, Okami should be right up your alley. Much like those games, you start out with a very limited set of moves but you gain additional brush strokes as you progress through the game. These brush strokes allow you to add to the landscape of the game (ex. create bridges), cut trees/rocks/enemies, and many other things that I won't list here so as to not spoil the game.

The cel-shaded graphics lend themselves to the painting theme of the game. It's difficult for me to overstate how wonderful I think the appearances of the game is and how much the graphics add to an immersive experience. Okami is an excellent example of how innovative game mechanics, creative art design, and a story crafted around those two can synergize to make a better game than the ultra-realistic approach many developers are using today.

If not for the occasional control difficulties, I would have given this game 5 stars.

By xmasagain - Jun 22, 2008

Okami (Wii)

Strengths: Utilizes the Wii-Remote in a new and creative way. Beautiful and lush colors with excellent music throughout

Weakness: Control seemed to lag or not respond properly on a few occassions

Originally this game came out on the PS2 and I found the port to the Wii version to be better due to the emmersion felt when using the Wii controller. My kids (13 & 10) were quickly drawn to the neat way to play and interaction with characters on the screen. I found myself exploring things more and more just to see what the paintbrush (remote) would uncover next

By codan0304 - Jun 18, 2008