Okami's still a beaut and adds a new way to paint on the Wii.
The good news is the Wii version holds up just as admirably as the PS2 edition. It utilizes the same free-flowing art style, with the lead character, a spiritual wolf named Amaterasu, breaking out in fluid white and orange colors. Each of the levels contains a hand-drawn shading style that's absolutely unique and awesome to watch. Ready At Dawn has done its homework, closely studying and nailing down Clover Studios' eclectic style. The fact that the game supports progressive scan makes it even more incredible, if you have the HDTV necessary to utilize it. The loading is pretty efficient too, not taking any more than about 10 seconds to get started. You can also skip past the story sequences if you prefer, but they're glorious to watch. Even standing still, the game looks superb.
What's equally impressive is the audio. Okami has a fantastic mythical soundtrack that flows along with the on-screen action, complete with pounding drums and soothing flute melodies. The sound effects are solid, if somewhat sparse, and the dialogue is spoken in fascinating gibberish. You haven't lived until you've heard your annoying little companion, Issun, chew you out in a language you can't understand. (Fortunately, everything's translated on-screen, so you don't have to rely on confusing verbal dialect.)
As for the controls, Ready At Dawn has done a mostly efficient job translating them over to the Nunchuk and the Wii remote. You move around Amaterasu with the analog stick on the Nunchuk, while controlling the camera by pressing down on the D-pad and switching to a more aerial view with a press of the 1 button. Attacking is simple – you merely swipe the Wii remote, whether you're on the ground or in the air. It works moderately well, although sometimes swipes aren't so clearly read during combat. As a result, you won't be able to chain combos together as smoothly as you can on the PS2 version. No matter, as this provides a more concentrated style of play, so enemies aren't so much of a pushover this time around.
Now we come to the big addition in the game, the ability to maneuver the celestial brush directly with the Wii remote. The brush serves two purposes. The first lets you interact with items so they work to your advantage. For instance, you see a statue with a broken sword, unable to get assistance from it. So what do you do? Draw it a new sword, of course. The second purpose comes with combat, in which you draw swipe marks across enemies or objects to strike them down. This interface works very well, for the most part. It does take some practice, however. The canvas is presented in a diagonal setting and you're pointing your remote directly at the TV. As a result, you'll need to mildly adjust, and put up with Issun's complaints at the same time. Overall, though, it works wonderfully.
Sadly, you won't find any new content in this version of Okami. For the most part, this is a straight-up port of the PS2 game, with all of its levels, hidden clovers and other goodies intact.
Bottom line, you need to play Okami on the Wii. It is a breathtaking gaming experience, even to those who have already beaten the PS2 edition. The visuals are imaginative and bold, the audio is easy on the ears, the controls, for the most part, work and the quest is long and rewarding. Okami is a work of art that you'll have no problem admiring.