First Impressions:

Okami is the most undersold game this year, and it is also one of the best. That's fine because it might make it more valuable someday. Capcom closed Clover Studios prematurely and did not give this game the chance to prove itself. So many times the good ones are "the best game that no one ever played." That is the story with Okami.

It starts out with about an hour of expositional story. This makes it unsuitable for most kids, and most male gamers. Unless a person has an attention span, a desire to learn something cultural, and appreciates eye candy then they won't enjoy this title. Put the game in when you aren't in any rush, get your favorite beverage and sit back and enjoy the story.

The game is brilliant and it is truly unlike any other game you have played. From the ground breaking drop dead gorgeous funkadelic graphics, to the unusual artist's brush gameplay, to the unique female characters, the game is astonishing. Okami is a game that I promise you will love.

One of the best things about the game is that is about a Goddess. She incarnates on earth as a white wolf. There is much to be learned here about culture. The translations from Japanese to English are a bit rough. There aren't really good words in English to translate Shinto animistic concepts into. Words like 'Gods' or 'prayers' are used which aren't exact translations. Shinto animism is more similar to modern neo-paganism and the Goddess based earth religions which would translate those concepts more subtly. The energies that Okami uses to transform the environment such as rejuvenation and sunshine and the "Gods" of calligraphy are more like our western concepts of Diva's, earth spirits or faeries.

Then there is the name thing which is confusing. Okami is short (?) for Ameratsu the sacred Goddess of the sun and creator of the world. Don't be confused when she is called Shiranui, Fur-ball, and Snow-ball too.

Graphics:

The graphics in Okami at times defy description. It is gorgeous, stunning, refreshing and so much more than I can even tell you. The 2D art work is transformed magically into a world that can look either menacing or pretty. One thing that I discovered that is an exclusive tip at WomenGamers is the 3D graphics. I had gone to see Nightmare Before Christmas 3D, and I kept lifting up the 3D glasses to see how they did it. When I was watching some of the cut-scenes in Okami the effects are 3D and have a similar depth of field to a 3D movie. So I put the new polarized 3D glasses on, and what do you know, it was even more amazing! Try it if you have those big black 3D glasses.

Okami takes game graphics to a place that it has never been before. It shows what can be done with art that is essentially derived from water colors. This was attempted in a similar way in the Mark of Kri franchise, only Okami is better. The graphics look 100 times better than Samurai Champaloo and Full Metal Alchemist, these developers should take a lesson from Okami and Clover Studios. There are too many anime games out there that just plain suck and look half finished and rushed.

Sound/Music:

The music in the game is lovely and it suits the subject matter. There are harps and what sounds like koto. The music is very much the conveyance of the mood in the game. It changes to get the pulse racing during the fighting sequences. It evokes serenity and peace when Okami is returning the earth to its former beauty.

I only have one criticism of the the game. When you are reading the many, many text screens they are accompanied by a weird mumbling voice. It is cute at first. But it becomes annoying right away. I would have preferred actual Japanese language instead. Then it would make sense to have the subtitles. The same goes for the flea that follows Okami throughout the game and provides exposition. It could be a common facet of mythology to have a little flea along with a wolf or dog in a story, but it reminded me of Inuyasha where a flea also provides back story and it is done with a normal voice actor.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is unusual to say the least. It isn't particularly about killing things. There are plenty of enemies to dispatch. Some of the most fun parts of the game come from little things like making the old woman smile when you replace her clothes line, or when you feed the birds and they fly around your head thanking you with billowing hearts. That is a good thing. We have been complaining for a long time that we wanted innovation and new things to do. This game provides just that. You begin learning how to opperate the odd ball tools that Okami uses to fight with, and restore her energy. The learning process takes about 90 minutes and it is well done.

One of the main features in the game is the ability to use a calligraphy brush. At first I thought that it would be difficult to try and draw with a controller from a console. It was easy to do though. You are given 13 various tasks that can be performed with the brush and these unlock as you progress thorough the game.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

Okami may be the most important game this year as an example of a failure to market to women. The game itself is designed exactly for what women gamers would enjoy. It is too bad that the publishers had no clue what they had in their hands. They should have taken out large ads on all the women's game portal websites and in womens magazines. It is a lost opportunity. Once again they could have benefited by coming to us for advice.

Okami gets my best female character in a game this year. Okami is exactly what we have been asking for. She doesn't have wardrobe malfunctions, there is no T&A, she is a powerful and heroic female lead character in a game.

Okami demonstrates the type of game that women love, with a deep engaging story. There is fighting as well as more things to do besides warfare in it. There are many NPC's that are little girls and old people. It is balanced. It isn't pink, there isn't any stereo-typical nonsense. Thanks game developers, the best female character I have seen in 2006 is a dog.