Okami Coming To The Wii!

[Renzatic Gear]

It's a port. So what? Okami was one of the most underrated, underappreciated, most graceful, and overall, most excellent game ever released. And now it's coming to a system that can bring out the nuances of the game better than even the PS2 could.

Happy Link for Confirmation (http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/10/18/get-your-brush-ready-okamis-on-the-way/).

This time, lets hope more than 2 people buy the game, and it becomes the success it deserves to be.

[Gadfly2317]

This is one of those things that just makes so much sense. . . the Wii hadn't even released yet, but as soon as I played Okami I was like "this should have been a Wii game." The whole combat system screamed out for it.

Hopefully there's some extras, spiff up the graphics a little more, something. This is worth buying again; it's that good.

[Renzatic Gear]

Other than a resolution boost and a widescreen stretching, the graphics need to go completely and totally untouched. It's a game that I think we'll still find beautiful 20 years from now, even when we're all shooting crazy ass space aliens in photorealistic surroundings.

There better be so extras, though. And yeah, painting and fighting with the Wiimote instead of the analog pad will make an already excellent game that much better. It really is the one game that should've been made for the Wii right out the gate.

[Mochan]

I thought Clover went under already? Who's doing this port?

Me I didn't find the graphcis all that nice. I guess I just didn't like the strong lines. Or maybe it's because it was on the PS2. The Wii version should look better. You know what I think I will still find pretty in 20 years time? Odin's Sphere!

[silversparrow]

There better be so extras, though.

There won't be, according to Ready At Dawn (who's handling the port). Other than the motion controls it'll be an exact port of the PS2 version. It'll still be worth checking out though as I can see the combat now being much more fluid with the Wiimote.

[Gadfly2317]

Reports are that the game is coming along fine for the Wii, and its out next month!

I think I'm most excited that our buddy Trebor will finally get to play this timeless work of art. Anyone who loves a Zelda style adventure and has an appreciation for exotic characters and stunningly beautiful art has GOT to play this game. I mean seriously, this is one game where future technology will do nothing to render it obsolete. In the same way that Monet's Water Lillies is still beautiful to day, so will Okami be beautiful any number of years from now.

And it's just a damned great adventure game.

PLAY THIS GAME, TREBOR!!!! I can't wait to hear your feedback on it.

[trebor]

I have to admit that Okami with a wiimote seems like a perfect fit - no denying that I'm interested. Honestly though, my videogaming time has been cut rather dramatically and it's been hard to get through games on my current slate, let alone any new titles. Gaddy, you'll have to be patient with me on this one. I WILL play Okami, but it won't be for a while.

Right now I've been bouncing between SSBB and No More Heroes, with Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn patiently waiting unfinished next in line.

[Renzatic Gear]

. Gaddy, you'll have to be patient with me on this one. I WILL play Okami, but it won't be for a while.

Gaddy might be patient with you, but I sure as hell won't be. I'm saying you should drop everything you're doing and play some Okami posthaste forthwith like right now.

If you don't I'll punch you in the titties, guy. I swear it, straight up.

[trebor]

Gaddy might be patient with you, but I sure as hell won't be. I'm saying you should drop everything you're doing and play some Okami posthaste forthwith like right now.

If you don't I'll punch you in the titties, guy. I swear it, straight up.

The fire of youth explodes!


Or something like that.

[Gadfly2317]

Yeah, what Renz said!

I would be patient on most titles, and I know there's a new kid "eatin' up all the food" but still. . .Okami is one of those very rare special gaming experiences, and sadly hardly anyone played it on Ps2. Here's your chance to vote for the kind of game that hardly ever gets made.

[Glockstar]

I don't know guys... I don't recall slade saying much about it. And you (VGR regulars) know that that's a big deal. The fact that it's a Capcom game - and what's more was developed by the Clover Studio... his silence is deafening.

[Gadfly2317]

Right now I've been bouncing between SSBB and No More Heroes, with Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn patiently waiting unfinished next in line.

If it's a time issue, rather than a money issue, then seriously consider what Renz's said and push the other stuff aside for now. Make room for one of the best and most beautiful games ever made--one that Nintendo-only gamers have the surprising good fortune to actually be getting an opportunity to play--if it gets snubbed. . . . . Not to nag, you strike me as someone not easily swayed by peer pressure, but I have to try.

Thing is, SSBB is a pick up and play game that you'll be playing for years, so that's not an issue. No More Heroes, frankly, for all its quirkiness and many cool things is really a pretty bad game. Early hyped reviews aside, that's starting to become the general consensus, and was certainly my experience (and I loved Killer 7.) If you're enjoying it, then more power to you, but don't feel compelled to finish a bad game. . .you can always trade it in while you can get more for it. As to Fire Emblem, I'm not going to knock it, but it hasn't really done anything you haven't experienced before. I love my turn-based games too, but if its waiting in line already, just make it wait a little longer.

Because. . . aside from it being nice if Okami could pick up some sales momentum by having a strong release month, you NEED to play this game. Let's put it this way, as far as game experiences, I rate this right there on par, if not better, than Zelda Twilight Princess, and I'm a HUGE Zelda fan, just like you.

Okami takes a lot from the Zelda playbook, which is good. But the innovations in the game are more than just a gimmick, its a real breath of fresh air. You already know about the gameplay, so I'm not going to go on about it.

But the experience is gripping, the mythology richer and moodier and more mature (intellectually) than Zelda.

I find that when, like you, I don't have time for games, sure, I may be time-constrained, but I'm also probably not being that gripped by the games I'm playing. But there are games that I don't mind losing an hour of sleep to play because the game makes me make time. Okami will grip you; I can't imagine the stuff you listed on your plate gripping you the way Okami would.

Okami is that rare kind of game that my wife actually would bug me to play it so she could watch and listen. She was doing an art-project at the time, and found that Okami playing in the background while she was working on it was inspiring.

It's that gorgeous and serene, and its a deep Zelda-esque adventure game, and a true classic in its own right. But nothing in gaming has been more saddening to me in recent years than the sales failure of Okami, and the disbanding of Clover Studios, who brought us the ass-kicking Viewtiful Joe.

Even if you don't play it immediately, at least pick it up asap. If enough people do that, maybe we can get more games of this calibur, and less shovelware and mini-game collections on the Wii.

Either way, it's cool, because it will be fun to watch Renz punch you in the titties if you don't get this game and report back on it asap.

[Gadfly2317]

Got Okami via Gamespy today for Wii. Putting it in and going through the intro, I truly remembered all over again why I rate this game so highly. I may talk about the Wii version more later, but the thing that was itching my curiousity was to see how the game controlled on the Wii, because by all reports, the game is as good as the Ps2 version, but there's been some control complaints.

It is NOT more difficult to "paint" with the Wiimote. In fact, I find it quicker in one respect in that you can quickly get your cursor/brush where you wish to start your paint stroke, it is better than moving the curser around with a thumbstick.

The problem is, the Wii version is much more particular and unforgiving in how well you execute the stroke. For instance, the "slash"; on the Ps2, it knows you are trying to create the "slash" stroke to cut an object or enemy in half, even if you create a sort of wiggly and angled line. On the Wii, the recognition of what you've drawn is picky as hell: your slash line needs to be even, and very horizontal or it won't recognize the stroke. To make it work, you just need to execute the stroke a little more slowly.

I will see if later on in the game this becomes an issue. I drew the "bomb" easily with the Wii, but I'm not to that part of the game, so I don't know if my self-perceived "well drawn bomb" would be recognized as such by the game. In sections like the River/Canoe scene where you need to be able to quickly create vines (that's not really a spoiler) I wonder if the touchiness of the symbol recognition will make the game frustrating.

But so far, this is simply a beautiful game, a classic, and seems to hold up well against the Ps2 version. For those who won't own a Sony product and haven't had a chance to play this game, its still a must-play, even if the controls require you be a little more precise (the only plus being that its at least easier to be precise with the Wiimote than the thumbstick.)

[Aku]

I'm definitely putting this one high up on my list of next games to get for the Wii.

[Gadfly2317]

Aku, spring for the $99 for a Ps2, and $19 dollars for the game, rather than $49 for the Wii version.

It pains me to say it, but it pains me even more that its the facts: Okami Wii controls aren't just "a little more difficult to master" as PLAY magazine put it, and was said by other mainstream reviewers who gave the game high scores (not as high as the Ps2 version scores, but not off by that much.)

This is the last straw with the gaming media--they are whores, advertising shills, nitwits or something. You had multiple big outlets giving Lair stuff like a FOUR out of ten, complaining about the controls, especially the little flick you give to do a 180 back flip. I will tell you, any imbecile after 30 minutes practice could execute that back flip 8-9 times out of 10. AND, besides, the games been patched for the whiners, you can now play it with oldschool controls.

Onto Okami on the Wii. Many of us thought that Okami Wii COULD, if done right, be THE best version of this game. And it could have been. I can execute the circles that bring trees to life, or illuminate the sun in the sky with a quick easy spin of the Wii-mote, and it works even if my circle is a little sloppy.

But the first move in your aresenal, the power slash, it just doesn't work right. And unlike Lair and Ps3, you won't be seeing a patch for it, or an update allowing you to use your Wavebird. Problem is, this is the pickiest, most touchy irritating thing ever. Sometimes I can try to pull off the slash 4-5 times before it will finally work, using up my ink, and my patience.

One of many things you can do with this move is chop down a patch of grass, revealing hidden items and food, not unlike how link slashes grass and finds a heart or a rupee. Imagine how you'd feel if you tried four or five times in a row,and the your move just didn't work.

I put the Ps2 version back in today for some back-to-back comparisons, and to see if I misremembered how it worked. On Wii, I can honestly pull off some of the brush strokes like the circle and the bomb much easier, and it works and recognizes what I've drawn, and the appropriate magic ensues.

But not with the slash. On Ps2, it can be a little crooked, and you can slash things at an angle which makes sense. But not on Wii, it has to be a near perfect horizontal line, or it probably won't work, although occasionally for no reason, it will. Its stupid and frustrating, and its a core move, your first move, a move you use all throughout the game. On Ps2, I can pull it off 99.9% of the time on first try. On Wii, after 3 hours, I'm still finding it a problem, so its not me. It's the game.

Which is a damned damned shame, since the more complex gestures work better on Wii. And the colors are a little more vibrant on the Wii, and Vibrant colors are this games calling card.

Dissapointing. Shameful. Inexcusable.

Trebor, if you are that stubborn about picking up either a Ps2 or Ps3, I'll send you my Ps2 and copy of Okami UPS. I trust you'd send it back, so seriously, when you are ready to clear some time for Okami let me know.

Or, if you do the logical thing and pick up a Ps3 since you have an HDTV and need a movie player (and as a gamer you kill 2 birds with one stone) I'd still loan you my copy of the game. Seriously, I want you to play the game that bad.

And that's gonna be my last word on it, no more pestering. I know I said that once before, but getting Okami Wii for myself opened up the whole pandora's box, because I knew the reviews, despite being in the 80-90 range, mentioned the control was not as good as the Ps2 version, NO WHERE did I see anyone say the game was just plain broken worse than Lair, and do the right thing and score it accordingly, regardless if the game is worshipped cultishly. In fact, its for that reason it should have been judged more harshly; this developer has just sh!t on one of gamings most beautiful works of art.

[Gadfly2317]

After a couple more hours, and some experimentation with the power slash, I am willing to mellow a little on saying the game is "broken."

I discovered that though you can slash in either direction, its natural for me to slash from left to right, but that if you slash from right to left, the game is WAY more likely to recognize what you are doing and slice your enemy in half, cut the grass, or whatever.

Still, the slash fails to execute more often than the backflip in Lair with motion control, so I still say the world of gaming journalism has got something to answer for here with its hypocritical standards in more or less letting Okami ride with a point knocked off and an understated "controls are a little harder to master." You can't master them, it's not a skill thing, the slash recognition is just flawed.

[Aku]

This whole business reminds me a lot of the awkward spell painting system in Black and White for the pc. Sometimes I would lose my patience trying to do the motion just right with the mouse to cast the spell. Plus it didn't help that the came sucked.

[Gadfly2317]

This whole business reminds me a lot of the awkward spell painting system in Black and White for the pc. Sometimes I would lose my patience trying to do the motion just right with the mouse to cast the spell. Plus it didn't help that the came sucked.

The plus here is that the game is so great, and that everything else works so well. The problem with the power slash will not prevent you from getting through the game. It wasn't like the Ps2 didn't have problems sometimes recoginizing what you'd drawn, like the bomb for instance, or the vine-creating gesture. That stuff seems to work fine on the Wii. But the powerslash is such a commonly used, basic move, and it executes nearly 100 percent of the time on Ps2, whereas on Wii, when I finally figured out it works better if you slash from right to left, I think I'm getting it about 75% of the time now, as opposed to the 25% of the time I was getting before.

So, if you have no Ps2 or Ps3, I'd still recommend the game, I just wish they could patch this one problem.

[Aku]

Family got me Mario Galaxy over the weekend so I'll be playing that for awhile. No complaints here (I've already cleared a couple of galaxies), but I still want to get Okami next, followed by Bully and No More Heroes.

[Gadfly2317]

Trebor, you're playing Okami now, right? I was curious to hear your impressions so far.

Thanks

[trebor]

You want my honest opinion? Well, it's charming, pretty to look at and a complete ripoff of Zelda. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing to rip off Zelda, but I feel like I'm playing a Zelda game right down to the little illuminated speck that follows you around helping out. Comparing my feeling playing this to Twilight Princess is no comparison - TP wins out in beauty, scope and grandeur.

It's not bad though - I'm not feeling like I would want to stop playing or anything. However, whoever did the porting really did a terrible job with the Wiimote controls. It's difficult at best and horrible at worst to have any accuracy with the paint brush. Well, more specifically, it's impossible to have accuracy with the straight line slash that you have to use for a million different puzzles. Painting circles is somewhat okay.

[Gadfly2317]

Yeah, it's weird that almost every control with the paint brush on the Wii is easier (circles, bombs, etc). . the only one that is harder is the slash--but that's the one you use the most. I figured out a little trick though. Seems it works better slashing with the stroke starting on the right, and then slash left. Also it's best to move it slowly, leaving a thick line. I finally got it to work on the Wi pretty consistently; if you don't, that alone will probably ruin the game for you. I was determined to learn how to make it work on the Wii, and it took me about 3 hours. Since you don't have a Ps2, hopefully you can get the power slash to work.

Isn't that interesting that the Wii port got a 90% score though? Remember how Lair got trashed because some reviewers had trouble with the motion control (specifically, pulling off the back flip)? And Lair got patched for christs sake, but it is forever tarnished. Okami Wii's power slash is harder to pull off by far than the motion control back-flip in Lair (I made sure to say this more than once when talking about Okami.) I still believe Okami is such an incredible and beautiful journey to take that even the hiccup in the Wii controls is worth learning how to overcome.

There's a zillion first person shooters out there that share only minor differences, so for me, ripping off the underlying game structure of Zelda to build on was something that I was really pleased with. . .there's not enough of that kind of gameplay out there. Okami's sum is greater than the whole of the parts. . . sound, art design, atmosphere, really cool japanese mythology-based story, memorable characters, intense boss battles, and the paint-brush was in some ways a take-off of the Ocarina for OoT. And the world just becomes more beautiful the further you go. Even the little odd touches like feeding the animals really added to the total experience.

I give an edge to twilight princess, too. It was a perfect Zelda game. But in a world of realism based war games where Zelda is a once a generation thing, Okami was a really rare treat, and Zelda tends to go really light on the story, something Okami delivered on big time. The one plus to me, is that regardless of how awesome a Zelda game is, it still feels like I've been there one too many times, and gameplay similarities aside, the world,sounds, creatures, characters, art style and story in Okami, at the time, made me fall in love with gaming all over again.

[trebor]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disrespecting Okami by saying it's so similar to Zelda. I was just taken aback when I started playing it at first because it was so Zelda-ish. As I said, there is tons of charm and lush visuals. It's games like Okami that cement my belief that HD graphics will always come second to top notch art direction.

I am really disappointed in the controls though. This is where the Wii version should just have nailed it, but alas.

[Gadfly2317]

I always believe the simple fact of whether or not something is HD will always come in second to art direction. There are plenty of ugly, unimaginitive HD games. But there are plenty of simple, artsy games that could be done on any system of the last 10 years that definitely look better in HD.

In otherwords, top art design + HD tops art design alone. And again, next-gen is so much more than the visuals, and I'm also finding most of the interesting art design, both simple and complex are happening other places since Nintendo focuses most of its own resources on Mii-level imagery.