![]() ![]() ![]() While the gameplay may be solid-yet-unremarkable, it’s still a pleasure to experience the marvelous art direction, music, and a fantastic story featuring a litany of memorable characters and interesting locations. It’s the best version of a fantastic game that has managed to age gracefully - something most 3D games struggle to achieve. It may be a Zelda clone, but it’s probably the best Zelda clone ever.Īll in all, this latest (perhaps final?) iteration of Okami is exactly what it should be. However, neither the inaccurate painting nor the combat are are deal-breakers in this expertly-crafted adventure full of interesting puzzles to solve and excellent dungeons to maneuver through. Hit a guy three times, slash him with the brush, wash, rinse, and repeat for 50 hours. It’s serviceable, but a tad basic and doesn’t require much strategy outside of the inventive boss fights. Okami has always had this problem, and it’s a shame it hasn’t been improved.Īnother thing that could’ve been improved in this version is the combat. It’s a cool mechanic, but the drawing has never been accurate enough, as I feel around 30% of my drawing attempts end with nothing happening. This translates to puzzles and combat as well - Amaterasu can draw a bomb to open up new areas or blow up bad guys, as just one example. Okami‘s big gameplay hook is its ‘painting’ mechanic that allows Amaterasu to superimpose a canvas on the screen and paint in missing aspects, such as drawing a bridge over a river or restoring the flora on a tree. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. There are towns to interact with, puzzles to solve, dungeons that culminate in boss fights, power-ups to acquire, and a glowing fairy that guides the player and serves as a mouthpiece for our mute protagonist. With that said, for players without upgraded consoles and/or fancy TVs, this new version is essentially identical to Okami HD on PS3, which means it’s essentially the PS2 version of Okami, which means it’s still awesome.įor those who haven’t played it yet, Okami is essentially a Zelda game where the player is a dog that happens to be better than that time Link was a dog in an actual Zelda game. While not as crisp as other 4K games, Okami will nonetheless serve as an excellent showpiece for anyone with a fancy new console and TV - impressive, considering this title is over eleven years old at this point. Heavenly canine (and protagonist) Amaterasu bringing back the beauty of a once-cursed area remains one of the most visually stunning things in the history of the medium, and it looks better than ever now. The real stunner here is the HDR, as the colorful world is absolutely beaming with life. However, due to the art style of Okami, the resolution bump isn’t as impressive as one may think since the water-colored, intentionally blurry design doesn’t benefit from added fidelity. ![]() No, the real news is the ability to play in full 4K resolution with HDR capabilities on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. They serve as a novel little distraction, but with loading less of a problem these days, they don’t add a lot. This latest version only features two enhancements, the less notable being the optional return of the PS2 loading screen minigames that were later removed. Luckily, a rabid cult following was enough to get Okami a re-release on Wii a couple of years later, followed by another release on PS3, and now it has once again returned to grace modern devices. The game jumped onto the scene in 2006 with high critical praise and a resounding thud on the sales charts, immediately contributing to the unfortunate shuttering of the talent-laden studio, who had a knack for releasing wonderful games that sold about as well as month-old cabbage. I suppose if buying a game three separate times, beating it twice, then happily agreeing to review it again upon its fourth release makes me a fan of Okami, then I guess I am - there’s maybe a handful of games I’ve played in my life as charming or as aesthetically pleasing as Clover’s beautiful ode to Japan’s artistic heritage. LOW The implementation of the brush mechanics is still a little finicky. HIGH This version is best possible way to play an absolute classic. ![]()
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