Lost in Translation?
The graphics are gorgeous and the Japanese watercolors perfect for this game There's times when I paused just to admire the fanciful Japanese masks or the bursting bloom of water lillies and flowers. The authors took texture maps, particle effects and 3D objects and made something that can only be called art. With the outstanding quality of visuals, I felt bad just looking away when I thought about how much work must have gone into making this game. Japanese folklore truly come alive in Okami.
The music forms an authentic canvas for the masterpiece that is Okami. It comes in perfectly timed and sets just the right mood for each scene and event.
Gameplay has its down moments (some of the non boss combat is a bit redundant) but overall the whole gameplay experience is innovative. The environments have an interactive level you rarely find in games any more. I'm not talking about "real world physics" , I'm talking about how the environment is usable. Water, fire, wind, even animals are part of the story and gameplay experience.
And Okami si gigantic. Just when you think you are finished, you are in fact barely scratching the surface of this game.
Speaking of animals, when is the last time you played a game where experience wasn't given out for fighting, but for healing plants and feeding animals? It sounds somewhat silly until you try it. It reinforces the "god" aspect of the game and is a nice change from XP grinding.
There are only a few things I would have done differently such as only getting a transition scene when you first feed the animals. Some of the dungeon design felt uninspired. And it's far too easy. I didn't die once and I usually die often in games. So why with all of this going for it can't I get above an 8.9?
For all of that is phenomenal about this game in its visual elements, it fails on dialogue. And we're not talking about just the occasional uncomfortable "Who writes this stuff" moment (Super Mario Galaxy for example). It's War and Peace length dialogue and it's almost all painfully, embarrassingly bad. You just hope your significant other doesn't walk in the room while you are playing this game because she'll make fun of you for weeks.
I think what's really happened is that this dialogue was crafted for a Japanese audience and that things that would have been humorous to Japanese players just don't work well without some more intensive rewrite. Where I think the Japanese audience would have felt something was "cute" I felt it was "annoying" or "cheesy".
I also think a lot was lost in translation. For instance the Japanese symbol title of this game is a pun on God and Wolf. Things like this don't cross cultures well.
Finally, the plot is acceptable for 2/3 of the game. But the last 1/3 really struck me as forced and poorly conceived. Thoughout the game I was hoping it would keep going but during the last 1/3 I was bored and ready for it to end.
Should you play it? Definitely.
Just make sure you do it alone in the dark and don't tell anyone about it afterwards.