April 25th, 2008 by AlmightyMax
Also available on:
PS2 Wii combat (cntd)
Apart from those two areas though, the game feels a lot like Zelda. The dungeons, for example, follow a unique theme and once you get halfway and are rewarded with a new brush technique, you start leaning on that technique to finish off the dungeon and reach the boss. The dungeons all offer some meaty puzzles but none are really what you call brain-busters; if you’re stuck you’ll often be shown the direction to take. Each dungeon finishes off with a larger-than-life boss which, also like in Zelda, must be defeated with one of your new brush techniques. The bosses are all massive and a lot of fun to take down, although they suffer from a severe lack of difficulty.
Actually, pretty much all the combat in Okami feels a bit too easy. You are quickly rewarded with newer, better weapons that outdate the old ones, and spell death for any enemy you encounter. While I do have to give praise to the freeform combat it also contributes to the lack of challenge. I love the ability to manipulate the environment to defeat your enemies, but it’s just another way for the game to overpower you.
Epic game
Okami is an absolutely epic game, and the main story should last most players around 30 hours, if they choose to ignore all the distractions that the game offers. The game puts a large emphasis on restoration and never forgets it; evident by the numerous dying plants you find and the hungry animals you encounter. You could spend hours upon hours just searching for things to bring back to life. This is, of course, not without its rewards; making the world better will accumulate ‘Praise’, which can be used to enhance your stats and your items. There are also quite a few minigames that are worth a look; fishing, for one, is an addictive albeit mindless way to earn extra cash, and the spring water minigame plays like a retro arcade puzzle game. To find everything Nippon has to offer, you need to invest about fifty hours of play time, ensuring every coin is well spent.
Okami was a game that felt from the start like the perfect fit for Wii. It was fantastic on the PS2 and the Wii controls make it just that much better. If you consider yourself a fan of epic adventures like Zelda, and you haven’t already played through it on the PS2, you owe it to yourself to pick up Okami. It’s easily the most creative and fresh, and possibly the straight-up best, adventure on the Wii.
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