Okami

While its slower adventure game style pacing and low difficulty may throw off a certain crowd, Okami’s charming world with its nice fairy tale story, great gameplay, and incredible graphics will give most an experience likely to be remembered for decades. Okami is truly a remarkable experience. [JPN Import]

10 / 10 / 10 / 9 - 39 platinum

Okami is gorgeous but it is also an epic game that sucks you in so completely that hours pass unnoticed as you roam the massive landscape. [JPN Import]

A joy to play. Whether you're restoring nature, battling enemies or exploring the Japanese countryside, Okami is perhaps the most beautiful game on PS2. [JPN Import; July 2006, p.94]

Simply stunning... It's touching and near impossible to resist. Your heart will melt, your eyes will do little wheelies and your brain will send you yummy jolts of happiness as thanks. [JPN Import; July 2006, p.78] A compelling, beautiful game that's one of the most enjoyble adventures in years. [Feb 2007, p.70]

There’s something oddly noble about Okami. Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke brought the deep forest theme of Japan’s ancient mythology to life in anime movie form, and Atsushi Inaba’s Okami does the same thing in a videogame context...The bottom line: this is a game you can really care about. [July 2006, p.110]

The perfect marriage of style and substance, a lively, inventive and satisfying game wrapped up in the most impressive and striking visual style of any game on the PS2. There's nothing else quite like this out there. [Issue 150, p.80]

Okami developer Clover obviously put a lot of love into its creation and, as you travel the countryside, painting barren landscapes into bloom, that love radiates from the screen. [Sept. 2006, p.100]

This is a game that's revolutionary in so much more than its art style. [Sept 2006, p.72]

Bold, ambitious, quirky, and ultimately in genious. [Oct 2006, p.74]

Okami shames them simply by being the genuine article: A stunningly gorgeous and unique masterpiece that effortlessly blends art and storytelling with puzzles and amusement. Miss this landmark effort at your peril. [Oct. 2006, p.78]

a game that any self-respecting PlayStation 2 owner should pick up simply because you've never played anything like it before.

The core mission of any game is to create a world that the players want to get lost in, and Okami delivers on this in every way--with the gameplay, with the graphics, and with the story. [Oct. 2006, p.96]

It's one of the best-looking, most creative 3D action adventures in recent memory, and every PS2 owner out there owes it to themselves to snap up a copy to enjoy immediately. Truly magical stuff.

Okami's stunning good looks give it the appearance of a cross between a cartoon and a traditional Japanese ink-and-watercolor painting, and perhaps best of all, the game keeps going and going for much longer than most other games like it.

You're getting a long quest packed with life-giving missions and a presentation that's unlike anything you've ever played. If you consider yourself a gamer in any way, buy this right now. You will not be disappointed.

The entire production is treated with reverence and class, and this goes to show that you definitely do not always need the latest and greatest hardware for great gaming experiences. What you need is a dedicated development team, a distinct sense of style independent of processing power, and polished execution and interpretations of proven ideas.

The visuals are absolutely astounding, like a fine painting brought to life, and the gameplay has touches of sheer genius, including the introduction of the "celestial brush" and an efficient, if simple, combat engine. Okami is one of the best games of the year.

This game is so visually striking, so original and so well done that most other game designers should look at it and then hang their heads in shame. It is proof that the important thing in game design is not the graphical processing power of the game console but the power of the designer’s imagination.

The fighting is so nuanced and altogether joyous it never gets old for a second, and the bosses are simply stunning. Like I said, Zelda only better. [Oct. 2006, p.50]

The game manages to achieve near perfection on every level, from technical to story to gameplay, and presents the player with an enticing world that is impossible to ignore. Even after completing the adventure, you'll be drawn back if only to take in the world.

I can’t say enough about the graphics. This is true art - yet it doesn’t look stodgy. It’s almost what you would expect an ancient cartoon to look like. Even though each frame looks like a watercolor painting, the colors are vibrant and not washed out.

Every moment is heightened by breathtaking beauty. At times you’ll forget that this game was designed for a current-gen console.

Cribbing the best of Zelda and mashing it with a killer aesthetic that’s both justified and gorgeous, yields a lengthy, legendary quest.

While it may not be perfect, its few flaws are, for the most part, covered up by its sheer immersion factor; I have never before been this drawn into a game's environment; I am literally happy just spending an hour wandering through the world of Okami, checking out the sights and doing various menial tasks - I'm ashamed to admit how much time I have spent running around in circles while barking repeatedly.

What Okami ultimately offers is a satisfying adventure with memorable characters, intuitive play mechanics, and an astonishing visual presentation. Simply, it’s a ton of fun to play.

Okami effortlessly perfectly captures each and every facet that it sets out to accomplish, while giving the player a fantastic fairy tale experience - there simply isn’t any other way to describe it than amazing.

Hands-down one of the best games every released. Not just on the PS2, but ANY system. Yes, it's that good.

Upon completing Okami, you may feel like you have just taken in a classic Miyazaki film. The visual/aural presentation and sprawling narrative combine to present the game as an extended vision of an anime epic – equal parts The Legend of the Dog Warriors: The Hakkenden and Princess Mononoke, with a dash of Ranma ½ for kicks.

A singluar game that proves videogames can be artistic. It must be played.

Simply one of the best games to come out.

But this one offers more than eastern art for the sake of pleasing those who prefer it. It's a compelling, unique experience that can be appreciated by just about anyone.

The game's music is enchanting, combat is simple but a blast, and it all comes with a full cast of endearingly kooky characters.

The game's main hook -- using a brush to interact with the world -- lends itself nicely to the game's traditional Japanese visual style, which fuses calligraphy and beautiful watercolor-esque art.

Okami achieves what so many games strive for but most fail to deliver upon by providing an experience that feels lovingly crafted in each of its elements without sacrificing length or originality.

It's an epic quest of rejuvenation, elemental and ornate, in the context of an extended action/RPG/platformer. It’s built from artwork that upstages anything you've seen on a next-gen console. Not since Shadow of the Colossus has a game world been presented so lovingly and evocatively.

Okami is a game that demands to be experienced. Amaterasu would wish it so.

Chock full of character, life and just plain old fun. It's got enough stuff to keep you busy for hours upon hours, and the ride is rarely slow or drags it's feet.

Simply one of the best games of the generation and I’d even wager to put it up with some of the best of all time.

This game has it all; it’s got a wonderful story, wonderfully memorable characters, fast-paced and fluid combat with a wide variety of demonic foes, hours of dungeon exploration, puzzle solving, various item collecting, a few lengthy sidequests, a slew of people and animals to help, and even a mildly annoying sidekick to point you in the right direction.

I have to say, in terms of presentation, Okami by far is the bet game I’ve ever seen...However, games are meant to be played. And honestly, between the humor that falls flat at times, the worst plot twist I’ve seen in a game since college, and the sheer lack of challenge in the game, Okami falls well short of greatness.

Okami doesn’t just successfully follow Zelda’s structural template and tone – a rare feat – it makes it its own, toeing that line with grace, ingenuity and a strongly individual style. That’s not only rare, it’s unique. [Dec 2006, p.78]

Okami has elements of many genres—platforming, adventure, RPG and action all apply. But there's more to it than that. There's something so ... joyous about it, in Amaterasu's happy barks, in her running, her jumping, her digging of holes. I found myself ignoring the game for stretches, just doing these things. I don't know if it's the way the controls handle, or the graphics, or what, but it's there. Okami is the video game version of Professor Dumbledore, managing somehow to be both gleeful and august.

Okami is a thing of beauty, and although it treads one or two too many familiar paths, it never fails to follow its own as well.

Finally the PS2 gets a worthy Zelda-esque game, with jaw dropping cel-shaded goodness -- even if it's a bit on the easy side.

Okami’s single player campaign is one of the most ambitious we’ve ever seen, and with its score of collectible items, trees to save and animals to feed as well as characters you like and a story you’ll want to revisit, this is a game you could easily wind up playing twice or thrice.

A true epic. It's a dog-eat-dog world in the games industry, and Okami buries the opposition like a load of old bones. [Jan 2007, p.82]

Although it is not quite up to par with Zelda, it certainly is in a category of its own. It has a true sense of art and unique style, will captivate many players, and will make a sequel a must.

Quite brilliant, with substance enough to live up to its stunning visuals. High concept gaming, you say? Nah, mate. Just good gaming. [Feb 2007, p.68]

In the end, Okami is a truly great game, and one people have rightfully anticipated for a long time.

The world is so lush, visually stunning and complete within itself that you just want to lose yourself in it.

Right from the start it conjures an atmosphere of being something special, but to keep that level of quality up consistently over 60 hours ensures that this will be a game that will be talked about for years to come...A work of art, you might say.

For all the style and attention to detail that's been put into this game, it's a pity the bulk of your time is spent fannying around completing boring and what feel like irrelevant side-quests.

It’s not the hardest game in the world, and it doesn’t quite match Zelda in depth when it comes to puzzles and combat, but it’s a beautiful game, it’s lengthy, it’s packed full with fresh ideas and, most of all, it’s an unforgettable experience that should be experienced by as many people as possible.

It's a game that embraces the rich history of Japanese mythology with such ease and accomplishment, wrapping it up in one of the most entertaining and substantial videogames since Nolan Bushnell first put a virtual bat and ball onscreen.

The game is epic in scale and length, but its fascinating plot, characters and dialogue (impeccably translated from Japanese) ensures players will devour every second.

All in all, after playing this game I'm speechless. You've got to hand it to the good old PS2; just as the PS3 is coming out, the PS2 is producing some of the finest games ever seen.

Okami is nothing short of an artistically inspired gaming masterpiece.

A beautiful experience and a real must-have title. Possibly the last great game on PS2. [Mar 2007, p.66]

A glorious and epic adventure in mystic aquarelle Japan. Everything works beautifully except for the overly easy combat. Top recommendations, nevertheless. [Mar 2007]

The replay value for this game is immense as the storyline, sidequesting, and searches for those really rare items just never gets old.

Despite its easiness, Okami is absolute fun to play, and its length and depth, as well as its superb gameplay and high replayability value, will ensure many an afternoon of total engrossment, trying to help Ammy and Issun fight the evil of all evils. It is indeed the best non-adventure, and one of the best overall games I’ve played in 2006.

It’s a sad state of affairs when games as majestic and perfectly constructed as Okami are ignored and world-class development studios such as Clover find themselves closed down after poor sales of their critically acclaimed titles simply because their games don’t feature enough guns or licensed music.

All in all Okami is an important treat for the senses. I urge you to... indulge.

While the graphics will definitely pull you into the game at first, but the Japanese inspired world, the unique gameplay elements, the fun story with some roots in mythology and the excellent music will keep you there.

Its inventive, thrilling and above all, quite possibly one of the most immersive game out there.

This game is just absolutely beautiful, and I can’t wait to see what types of things this will inspire over the next generation.