[PS2] Okami

Okami has been on my wish list ever since I saw the TGS 2004 trailer on Cinamatech (of all places). It's been a long wait, but like so many other masterpieces in videogame history, it is well worth it. I've been playing through the Japanese version, and I really can't think of a single bad thing to say about it. Even the wierd character voices that some have complained about don't really bother me, and though Issun did kind of annoy me at first, I actually like him now.

Spoiler:

I think it's cute that when he and Amaterasu first meet they don't really like each other. Issun questions Amaterasu's divinity and her ability with the celestial brush, and Amaterasu obviously doesn't like being mocked by a bug (or whatever Issun is). But as they travel together, Issun begins to respect Amaterasu and she in turn protects him. The intro to the she-spider boss was particularly funny/cute. Amaterasu saves Issun from the arachnid by carrying him in her mouth, but Issun thinks that she's trying to eat him again, the way she did when they first met. I could imagine what Amaterasu was thinking at that moment: "You're an annoying loudmouth, but I kind of like having you around..."

I know I don't have to talk about how utterly gorgeous this game looks, but I will say this: as pretty as the screenshots at the official website are, the environments look even better in motion. Leaves flutter down from the trees, wisps of wind curve through the air in the distance, and reviving the dead trees across the land creates a swirl of color that explodes into a tidal wave of greenery. I'd have to say that this is probably the most unique looking game I've ever owned, with practically nothing borrowed from other titles visual-wise. When I think about how this game was originally supposed to have "photo-realistic" graphics, I'm grateful that they couldn't get it to work. There's a lot of time honored tradition and appreciation of that tradition apparent in the game as it stands now, and I think that had Clover Studio achieved what they were originally going for, all of this would have been lost.

As for the gameplay, it's fun and easy to pick up. All of the expected platform/adventure controls (running, jumping, combat, camera, etc) work well, and I'm particularly impressed by how easy it is to use the Celestial Brush. When I first heard about the concept, I was worried about how it would control with the analog sticks, but it actually works quite well. As for what you actually do in the game, a lot of it involves simply exploring the environments, reviving the land and undoing the damage caused by Orochi, an eight-headed dragon. Each area also has people who need your help, and while some can be ignored others are essential to progessing through the game. There are a fair amount of minigames (radish digging, fishing, whack-a-mole, racing, etc.) and sidequests are also in abundance--you can hunt special youkai (demons), feed the various wildlife you find in each area, and apparently there are special brush strokes you can get that aren't a part of the main storyline.

Now on to the music (my speciality ^_^). Everyone needs to download the torrent Hantei mentioned. Now. The music is, in one word, extraordinary. Traditional instruments--like the shamisen, koto, Japanese flute, and taiko drum--abound in this huge, 200+ track rip, and there is a noticeable nod to the traditional music and theater (in particular Noh) of Japan--that is, if you know what to look for. Most of the music features Western rhythms and chord progressions, though, so those who aren't fans of Japanese traditional music won't find themselves in completely new territory. Instruments aside, the music is beautiful, and even though there are some tracks I don't care for, there are also a ton of tracks I love to death. For example, the theme from the TGS 2004 trailer that I mentioned earlier is included in the game, and Issun's theme is turning out to be one of my favorites. I absolutely can't wait until the soundtrack is released at the end of the month. It's a "must buy" in my book.

Oh, and if the torrent is going too slow for anyone (it doesn't have a lot of peers at the moment, according to Isohunt), I can upload the rar file Shylph provided earlier this month (it's the same rip as the torrent) to someplace like File Factory or any other file sharing site that allows uploads in excess of 400 MB.

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Sure thing, SouthJag. Here is a Megashares link. I've never used this site before so let me know if you have any problems downloading the file. By the way, the rar file itself is password protected, and the password is "rpgmm" (minus the quotation marks, of course ). Enjoy!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by SouthJag

The only annoyance I have is that some of the songs are broken up into two songs, including and most notably the Shinshu Field song. I wish they would've left it as one whole, long song. :/

Yeah, I also found that annoying. CD players can lead the first track of a particular pair into the second without any interruption, but mp3s unfortunately can't, so we get a little bit of a break between the two halves. Frankly, I think they should have just included the two versions of these tracks seperately, each with their own fade out, but failing that, I agree with you that it ought to be just one long track. To that end, I've spliced each of the two-part songs together into single tracks, so they'll sound just like they would if you were playing them on a CD player. I've uploaded all of them in a rar file to SendSpace, and I also included some exclusive artwork from the Japanese website as a bonus. Enjoy!

How ya doing, buddy?