Day 48: Okami

By now we all know that The Legend of Zelda Series is the pinnacle of the action/adventure genre. But for me, there's one action/adventure game that's better than that entire franchise. So, hear me out for a sec: What if we took the Legend of Zelda, base it around Japanese Mythology, and for good measure you make the main protagonist a doggo/sun goddess. The result is the pure majesty that is Okami.

Chuggaaconroy, thank you so much, because if it wasn't for your let's play I would've never experienced this game.

The story of Okami takes place one hundred years after Nagi and Shiranui, the past incarnation of our main character Amaterasu, defeated Orochi and sealed him away inside the Moon Cave. Come the following century, and Susano, Nagi's descendant, accidently frees Orochi, and now he threatens the land of Nippon. Amaterasu, the current incarnation of the sun goddess, now must travel the land of Nippon to put Orochi in his place once and for all…and then she goes on to fight an evil kitsune…and then some mechanical owls that can control time…and then the embodiment of pure darkness itself…and then the game ends.

One thing I like about Okami's story, aside from deriving from Japanese myth and folk tales, is how it makes you think it'll end once Orochi is defeated, it's what the first third of the game builds up to anyway. But no, it continues from there as we follow Amaterasu and Issun, this game's equivalent to someone like Navi, as they seek to make Nippon a better place free of monsters.

The gameplay is one of the most interesting I've seen of this genre. Since this is a game inspired by Zelda, you can explore the big open world of Nippon and do multiple side quests as well as feed animals to get collectibles like Stray Beads and Praise, the latter of which can be used to upgrade your Ink Pots, this game's equivalent to the Magic Meter, your unit of solar energy, this game's equivalent to the heart container, your wallet size, and your astral pouch, this game's equivalent to 1-Ups.

You also get three types of divine instruments to assist you: Reflectors, Rosaries, and Glaives. Use these instruments to decimate any enemy that dares to mess with you. Some of these instruments also grant Amaterasu the ability to use Ink Bullets, just use your Celestial Brush to poke dots on some enemies and watch the bullets work their magic. The instruments can also be used as sub-weapons. Rosaries turn into a solid ranged attack, Reflectors act as a shield and a great way to counterattack any enemies that engage you physically, and Glaives can perform dive attacks and upward slashes.

You can also visit the Onigiri Sensei to learn new moves like double jumps, increase your digging capabilities, increase your skills in combat, and even use your piss and shit as weapons, the former of which giving you Demon Fangs to spend on more useful tools. Demon Fangs, which you get after performing floral finisher on enemies or giving them a golden shower, can be used to buy stuff that'll help Amaterasu walk across water or lava, help refuel her ink pots faster, have yen come to her after defeating enemies, and a few more useful items.

But the meat of the gameplay comes with the Celestial Brush Techniques. As the game progresses, you'll gain access to countless abilities that'll help you on your journey. You star with your own ability as a sun goddess, and you can summon the sun, but then you get abilities to restore destroyed pieces of land, the ability to cut through stone, steel, and diamonds, the ability to create bombs, the ability to slow down time, the ability to climb up walls with assistance from certain statues, the ability to use nature to open up certain containers, make lily pads to walk on water, and use vines as a sort of hookshot, and even the ability to control elements like water, fire, wind, electricity, and ice.

The best part of these abilities is that, unlike items from Zelda games, they are used constantly throughout the entire game. It's not like one brush technique is used in the dungeon its introduced in, and then it pretty much becomes situational, no! They're used to solve a plethora of puzzles, expose an enemy's weakness, or get Demon Fangs from the aforementioned floral finishers.

The characters in this game are all really likeable and each of them have their own struggles that they have to overcome, usually with the assistance of Amaterasu. The best examples I can think of would be Susano, Oki, and Issun himself. Susano has to struggle with living up to his ancestor's name, Oki wants to be stronger so he can protect his village, and Issun has to become a Celestial Envoy like his grandfather, Celestial Envoys are basically messengers of the Gods who spread the good word of the Gods. All of these struggles they go through lead up to a very satisfying conclusion that makes you feel for them.

The boss fights in this game are really fun, they test your abilities with your brush techniques, and they are climatic and cinematic as hell. My favorites would have to be Orochi (Only the first fight against him though), Ninetails, Lechku and Nechku, and Yami for all of the build-up that they have going for them.

And I can't talk about Okami without mentioning the gorgeous graphic and sound presentation. This game's art style and cell shaded graphics are similar to that of a Japanese ink painting with very colorful and well detailed landscapes all put over what I can only describe as a sort of filter that gives the game more of a papery look. This graphical aesthetic looks all the more beautiful in the HD versions of this game.

And the soundtrack, oh my God, the soundtrack! While I do stand by the fact that Metal Gear Rising still has my favorite soundtrack, Okami's is easily in the Top 5. Every piece of Japanese styled music fit the tone of each level and boss battle perfectly. I love every boss battle theme in this game as well as the overworld themes of Shinshu Fields, Ryoshima Coast, and Kamui. And I can't forget both versions of this game's main theme of Hikari Shirou's reset. The 'Thank You' version plays during Amaterasu's darkest hour and she needs that one final push to beat Yami once and for all, and the vocal version plays during the credits (At least for the PS2 version) when the world is saved, Amaterasu has made it to the Celestial Plain, and we get a clip show of various moments throughout this game.

I know I think most games are a masterpiece, but Okami especially deserves to be called such a thing thanks to this game's beautiful story, characters, and sound and graphical presentation, and excellent gameplay and boss battles.

This game is pretty much the video game equivalent of the film The Iron Giant, something that despite vast amounts of critical acclaim went by unnoticed with a lot of people not having had the fortune of experiencing it upon release, so word is spread resulting in a huge cult following. If for whatever reason you have not played this game, do yourself a favor and do so right now! This is a fantastic journey from beginning to end and I promise you won't regret it.

Arigato Amaterasu, and Arigato Capcom.