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Ōkami

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Masem (talk | contribs) at 12:50, 30 September 2006 (→Story: - First shot at adding story post the start of the game (it gets really long and sidetracks a bit so I've just put in the basic details as I recall them)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 12:50, 30 September 2006 by Masem (talk | contribs) (→Story: - First shot at adding story post the start of the game (it gets really long and sidetracks a bit so I've just put in the basic details as I recall them))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 2006 video game
Ōkami
File:Okamibox.jpg
Developer(s)Clover Studio
Publisher(s)Capcom
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
ReleaseJapan April 20, 2006
United States of America September 19, 2006
PAL February 2007
Genre(s)Action/Adventure
Mode(s)Single player
For the subspecies of gray wolf, see Japanese Wolf.

Template:Nihongo title is a cel-shaded video game developed by Clover Studio for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was released on April 20, 2006 in Japan and September 19, 2006 in the United States. It is scheduled for release in Europe during February 2007. Ōkami's main character is the Shinto sun goddess named Amaterasu, who has taken the form of a white wolf. The title of the game is a pun; the word ōkami (狼) in Japanese means "wolf", however the kanji characters used as the title of this game (大神), also pronounced as Ōkami, mean "great deity", so the main character is a great wolf deity. The same characters (大神) are also used to write the full name of the goddess Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami.

A demo of the game is featured in Issue 103 of the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Story

Template:Spoiler The quiet village of Kamiki, filled with beautiful cherry trees, had a price to pay in order to maintain their peace. Each and every year a festival is held, at which a sacrifice must be made to the eight-headed serpent, Orochi. A flaming arrow would land above the door of the village elder's home the night before the ritual, attached to a slip of paper which read the next sacrifice's name. As the time for the sacrifice drew near, a pure white wolf the village dubbed "Shiranui" would appear and stalk the village's streets at night. A swordsman in the village, Nagi (known as Izanagi in mythology), detested the wolf, believing him to be one of Orochi's agents, and repeatedly tried to drive the wolf away. When the night of the festival finally arrived, Nagi's beloved, Nami (known as Izanami in mythology) was chosen. Determined to put an end to the village's burden, Nagi goes to Orochi's lair to slay the beast. Alas, he was defeated and about to be killed when Shiranui stepped in and took over the battle. Using strange skills, the wolf battled valiantly against Orochi, but still could not defeat the serpent.

Battered and beaten, Shiranui used the last of his power to summon a sword from the skies. Drawn to the sword, Nagi struggled to his feet and took up the sword, leaping onto Orochi and defeating the creature. Shiranui, filled with poison and fur stained with blood, was carried back to the village by Nagi where he was praised - and then died. Years passed and a shrine was built in the image and honor of Shiranui, and the sword was offered to the "Moon Cave". A man disturbs the sword at the "Moon Cave", unleashing Orochi, who is not quite as dead as it appeared. In response, Sakuya, the guardian of the village, goes to the shrine dedicated to Shiranui and brings the statue to life. Amaterasu, the Ōkami, reincarnation of Shiranui and sun goddess reincarnated in wolf form.

Ameterasu must search Nippon for the 13 brush spirits to gain the power to defeat Orochi and heal the land. In fact, it is shortly discovered that the 100th anniversary of the original defeat of Orichi, celebrated now by a festival held at Kamiki villiage, is quickly approaching while Amaterasu is in the process of removing the curse from other parts of the land. Returning just in time for the night of the festival, events begin to unfold exactly as they did 100 years ago: Orichi summons an arror to indicate the chosen sacrifice: Kushi, the sake maker in Kamiki and romantic interest of Susano, a descendant of the great warrior Nagi. As it was 100 years ago, both Amaterasu and Susano return to the Moon Cave to defeat Orichi again and rescue Kamiki; as Orichi finally dies, a black evil spirit is seen to rise from the body and drift northword, but not unnoticed by Amaterasu. Later, after returning to the elated Kamiki village, it is discovered that Susano himself was the one that disturbed the sword to begin with, as he despised as not being able to live up to reputation of being the descendant of Nagi, and was trying to get that sword to prove it to himself that he could live up to that claim.

After leaving Kamiki again, Amaterasu continues to search for more brush techniques and to investiage that mysterious spirit that left Orichi's body. Along the way, he encounters two more similar spirit foes - Blight, which had taken residence inside the Emperor and caused him to breath out a strange mist that was slowly killing the people and lands nearby, and Ninetails (a kitsune), who was continuing to send evil spirits out from a mysterious island in order to try to take over the land. After both are defeated by Amaterasu, the same type of black spirit leaves the bodies and drifts northward. Amaterasu, demended to stop this once and for all, heads to the snow-covered parts of the land.

There, a legend of a mysterious "Ark of Yamoto" is discovered. The Ark seems to have fallen from the heavens 200 years ago and crashed into a frozen lake, and open up to reveal hordes of evil demons that immediately becan to spread across the land. Some of these demons would go on to become Orichi, Blight, and Ninetails, and thus the black forms seen heading northward after their defeat would be these demons returning to their point of origin. Further discovery indicates that before the Ark crashed, a race called Celestial Beings had found the Ark and thought it would usable for transporting around the Celestial Plains, but it was found out too late that the Ark already had residents, and was effectively a prison ship for the evil demons. All but one of the Celestial Beings were killed before the Ark crashed, the last one fleeing the destruction. Amaterasu, with the help of many others, is able to defeat all the remaining demon foes, including those he previously fought before but have returned here.

Gameplay

Ōkami has the player controlling the main character, Amaterasu, in a cel-shaded environment. The gameplay style is very similar as a mix of action, platform, and puzzle.

Players can bring the game to a pause and call up a canvas, where the player can draw onto the screen using the left analog stick to control the Celestial Brush. This is used in combat, puzzles, and as general gameplay. For example, the player can create strong wind by drawing a loop, cut enemies by drawing a line through them, or create bridges by painting one amongst many other abilities. However, in traditional gaming fashion, not all of the abilities are possessed from the beginning of the game and must be collected.

Not all abilities in the game are earned as you linearly progress through the game however. Some of the higher grade abilities of certain elements must be collected through side-quests, such as buying new techniques from the dojo.

Weapons

The Imperial Regalia of Japan are used as weapons in the game:

  • The reflector (or mirror) is used as an attacking disc, stored on Amaterasu's back (main weapon form). It can also be used as a counter attacking shield on physical contact based attacks (secondary weapon form), whereby Amaterasu will intercept the enemy attack and bring them into the air before slamming them into the ground. There are five mirror based weapons in total in the game.
  • The rosaries (or beads) are introduced as long-ranged weapons, spat out of Amaterasu's mouth (secondary weapon form). They can also be linked together to form a whip (main weapon form), dealing high damage through high number count combos. There are five Jewel based weapons in total in the game.
  • The glaive (or sword) is somehow controlled by Amaterasu to be wielded in midair and used to perform a number of slashing moves. There are five sword-based weapons in total in the game.
  • In the game, the different weapons can be combined to create different attacks. (ex. The mirror and the jewels)

Screenshots

Awards

  • 1UP called Ōkami Best PS2 Game, third best Action Game and second best Game of the Show in its review of E3 2005.
  • Ōkami received first in Billy's Top 10 Favorite Games of E3 on GameInformer.
  • GameSpy awarded Ōkami 5th place in its review of E3 2005 and later a 5 out of 5 and the Editor's Choice Award.
  • G4TV's X-play nominated Ōkami for most original game of E3 2005.
  • IGN awarded Ōkami Best PS2 Game of Show, runner-up for Best of Show and runner-up for Most Innovative Design (getting first for both of these in the PS2 section) in its review of E³ 2005. In the final review, it was awarded a 9.1 out of 10 and the Editor's Choice Award.
  • Famitsu gave Ōkami the score of 10/10/10/9, garnering a total of 39/40.
  • Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Ōkami scores of 9.0, 9.5, and 9.0 in their September 2006 issue, earning the game both Gold and Game of the Month awards.
  • PSM gave Ōkami a 9.5 out of 10 in their October issue.
  • Gamernode gave Ōkami a 9.4 out of 10.
  • GamePro gave Ōkami a 5 out of 5 in their October issue.
  • GameInformer gave Ōkami a 9.5 out of 10 and Game of the Month accolades in their October issue.
  • GameSpot gave Ōkami a 9.0 out of 10 and the Editor's Choice Award.
  • Game-Revolution gave Ōkami a rare "A".
  • Hardcore Gamer Magazine gave Ōkami a '5 out of 5 in their October issue.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items.

Trivia

  • An NPC aptly named "Animal Lover" lost his rabbit named "Inaba." Inaba is the last name of Okami's head producer, Atsushi Inaba.

The game includes many references to previous Capcom titles:

  • One of the characters, an old trainer named Onigiri Sensei, goes through a transformation stage upon paying to learn a skill from him. The animation, and effects are taken from Viewtiful Joe's transformation(or Henshin) sequence.
  • A young female character makes a statement quoting Viewtiful Joe's famous catch phrase "Henshin a go go" after drawing a V on a kimono during the length of a sidequest.
  • The conversation before the first battle with Waka ends with Waka saying to the player, "Let's rock, baby!", which is the same phrase used by Dante in the pre-title sequence of Devil May Cry 3. Waka's style of speaking also seem to be a parody of Dante.
  • The conversation before the second battle with Waka ends with Waka telling the player to "Just go for it!", which is the same that a narrator states at the start of each level in Viewtiful Joe
  • When Mrs. Orange prepares her cake, she does a Shun Goku Satsu, which is a nod to the powerful super move found in most Capcom fighting games.

Reference

  1. http://www.capcom.com/release_dates.xpml Capcom Release Date Info

External links

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