Okami came out a little while ago, hitting the Playstation 2 hard, as one of the only impressive adventure games to come out within years. It has done this again, only this time gracing the Nintendo Wii, taking advantage of the system's interactivity. Before Okami is even played, it becomes apparent within minutes of turning it on that the artwork is unparallel to anything before it. It incorporates an item known as the "celestial brush" which enables the main character, Amaterasu, to paint the world around him allowing him to progress through different areas. The battle sequences are visually stunning, incorporating basic fights with the celestial brush, giving generic battles an intense amount of perplexity every time.
Now as far as game play, Okami runs majestically through just as the generic adventure game would. The story isn't that complex, and its length is adequate for most games of the genre. Why Okami amazes even though it follows a bland formula for a game is its creative way of doing so. The tedious fights and puzzles are eliminated with Okami's interactive celestial brush. It can be a bit repetitive at times, but fortunately Amaterasu's continuing progress awards him with varieties of move sets. This remains pivotal in any adventure game to avoid the strenuous nature of repetition upon hours as Okami apparently knows.
Though the story doesn't change much throughout the game's duration, it does hold importance in ensuring this game's success. Though it is not as complicated as recent adventure titles have been, its simplicity is genius in allowing more emphasis on its game play. Okami also blends in Japanese mythology to further provide some depth into the story, giving main characters names of Gods; specifically the main character, Amaterasu, which is the Japanese sun God. This plays out well being as Amaterasu the player is constantly painting the world and emerging it in light. Little references and some concern over the subject matter always prove to be worth it in the end. Where most adventure games make up their entire subject matter from their origin, Okami's use of entwining this mythology obliterates other games' terrible stories by literally "painting a picture" from tales of ancient past.
Clover Studio and Capcom somehow resurrected the formula for a successful adventure game with Okami. It has been a while since there have been any decent ones to mention - granted that the gaming audience seems more awestruck with first-person shooters and sport simulators. While its foundation remains a tad bland, its art and use of the celestial brush set it apart from adventure games of the past. In its defense, Okami only plays as the generic adventure game because of the successes of generic adventure games! Using this as the canvas, Okami paints a beautiful picture for the Nintendo Wii, setting itself apart from the barrage of Nintendo titles.
