Ōkami

In Ōkami, the legendary monster Orochi has come back to life and turned the world into a wasteland. To restore the earth's natural order and beauty, players assume the role of wolf-embodied sun god Amaterasu and participate in numerous action packed battles against the ominous beings they encounter. However, conquering these impending enemies is no small feat. Amaterasu will travel through different regions of the world to regain her 'Celestial Brush' powers, all the while revitalizing everything in her path. Using an innovative control scheme, gamers can slash away at enemies, use various brush strokes to solve puzzles, create pathways, chop down trees or turn night into day. The real-time fighting system not only involves assorted brush techniques, but also myriad of specials attacks typically not associated with the physical prowess of a normal wolf.

Featuring a visually stunning art style, Ōkami comes alive through beautiful scenic 3D levels that have the appearance and texture of paper scrolls brushed with watercolor-like calligraphy art. Throughout the vibrant and distinctive surroundings, players must also interact with a dynamic cast of characters, building their faith to uncover clues and hints. The blend of stylized graphics and unique gameplay will result in a rich and dynamic experience never seen before.

# 2006 - official description

retelling — Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Susanoo slaying Orochi, and likely others. There's also plenty of elements borrowed from other classic tales without explicitly retelling them, such as Issun-bōshi.

Sanguine # 2009-05-15 18:55:57

Note: the game effectively pauses when drawing, and the only limit you have then is how large your ink pot (magic pool) is. Ink is restored quite fast when not drawing, so there's very little reason to upgrade it (unless some later puzzles require more). Of course, being brush heavy in the fighting will make you want to upgrade it. This is also works great for defending yourself when you otherwise feel like you can't (grow trees between the attackers and you, slash at the enemies or the stuff they throw at you, etc.)

Feeding animals gives 1-5 points of praise/adoration (xp) per animal, though single feeding affects the whole herd, flock, or whatever.

Sanguine # 2009-05-12 20:24:52

Other languages are only present on the game box and manual (in-game voices/text still in English), at least in European releases.

The Japanese title 大神 actually reads "great deity" rather than "wolf", but the pronunciation (and transliteration) is the same as with 狼 which stands for "wolf". So, in effect, it's a pun for "great wolf deity".

Sanguine # 2009-05-11 13:43:36

In Okami, the player takes the role of the mythical sun goddess Amaterasu, in the form of a wolf. Her task is to restore color (or 'life') to the world by destroying the monsters who have stolen it. Since Amaterasu is a deity, there are naturally people who worship her and people who don't. The more people who worship her (as a result of her restoring color and doing other good deeds for them), the more powerful she becomes.

# 2007-04-11 20:45:48

great art style

(gimura) - # 2006

software: CriWare,

hardware: Dolby Pro Logic II,

display: cell shading, textured polygons

ported to
Ōkami HD (PS3)
Ōkami (Wii)

prequel of
Ōkamiden (Nintendo DS)