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Gamasutra's Quantum Leap Awards: Most Important Games, 2006 4. Capcom's Okami (PlayStation 2)
I suppose it is my nature to cheer for an "underdog" title (pun intended, as you will see!) but I find myself turning to a last-generation game for a dead platform as a source of inspiration for the game industry. Clover Studios' Okami is a game that bared its teeth at commercialism and next-gen photorealism and taught the "old dog" PS2 new graphical and input tricks. As I ran through the gorgeous lansdcapes caught between Japanese silk painting and Dali-esque surrealism, I couldn't help but imagine the scream of a thousand frustrated art directors exclaiming "THAT's what I was seeing in my head!" Okami is an "apex game," one that is the tip of a pyramid composed of the incremental development of the JRPG, the adventure game and even the "collection" games so unique to Asian design. The audacity of the design and aesthetics of Okami gives the lie to the next-gen credo that bleeding-edge technology and gritty photorealism are the inevitable path designers and publishers must tread. In Okami I find a love for all things that other mediums can never deliver: the emotional impact of being liberated from anything remotely resembling the mundane world and the thrill of participating in the act of raw human creativity; not exiled as an outside observer, but wielding the brush in my own hand and participating, to some degree, in the act of creation. Michael Eilers, University of Advancing Technology
Clover Studios' Okami demonstrated that you don't need a different controller, or next-generation hardware, to make an innovative, fun game that still retains the epic feel we commonly associate with games like Zelda. Using the brush to build missing structures, create bombs, manipulate the elements or slash through enemies is a gameplay mechanic that is both easily accessible and lasting in its appeal. And lasts it does, as the game never feels like it's too long, even though it takes dozens of hours to complete the main quest. Personally, I took 117 hours to beat the whole game with every single corner uncovered and conquered, and I'm someone that has found a hard time playing long games the last couple of years, with a demanding school schedule and living with my better half. Okami is also an example of developers' desire to create new and exciting ways to entertain gamers, hardcore or otherwise. I fear that Clover Studios' recent demise will send a negative message to the industry about the risks of developing towards innovation, as I'd love to have an effort like Okami come out more often than on a yearly basis. As corny as it sounds, Okami is one of those games that reminds me in big, bold letters why I want to design and make games. I want players to have as much fun, and feel the way I felt when I was playing this game. Carlos Mijares, Full Sail |
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