Ōkami

About

Ōkami (Translated to "great god" or "wolf" in English) is a Japanese video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom in 2006. It is an action-adventure game directed by Hideki Kamiya, director of the Bayonetta and Devil May Cry series. The game is known for its tradition Japanese watercolor art style, its story based on Shintoism, and unique gameplay involving "celestial brush" techniques.

History

Okami was developed by Clover Studios.^[5] The game was originally conceived as a photorealistic game about nature, but shifted to a sumi-e style during development (prototype shown below, left). This switch also influenced the celestial brush gameplay mechanic. The game was announced at E3 2005 with a planned release for 2006 (first trailer shown below, right). It was released in Japan on April 20th, 2006, and released in North America on September 20th, 2006.

An HD rerelease of the game was announced by Capcom in June of 2012 and was released worldwide on October 30th, 2012 (trailer shown below, left). The rerelease of the game was released for modern consoles on December 12th, 2017 (trailer shown below, right)

Gameplay

Ōkami and its sequel Ōkamiden are loosely based on the Shinto religion. In Ōkami the player assumes control of the Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu, and explores the land of Nippon, a fictionalized version of Japan. Gameplay in Ōkami is a mixture of action, platforming, and puzzle solving which allows Amaterasu (or Chibiterasu in Ōkamiden) to travel to various regions in Nippon.

Celestial Brush

Ōkami's staple gameplay mechanic is its "Celestial Brush" Techniques, inspired by the traditional watercolor painting that was common in Japan throughout its history. When the player uses the Celestial Brush, the game pauses and allows the player to draw on the screen using their controller (the method of drawing was changed with each platform). This feature could be used for combat, puzzles, and general gameplay, allowing for a unique and versatile experience. Throughout the game, Amaterasu could learn new Brush techniques such as "Sunrise", "Power Slash", "Cherry Bomb", and "Catwalk". Each brush technique could be used for specific situations or general use.

Okamiden

On September of 2010 in Japan, Capcom published a direct sequel called Ōkamiden for the Nintendo DS. The game was released worldwide in March of 2011. Much like the first game, Ōkamiden has the player travel through Nippon, but, instead of playing as Amaterasu, the player would take control of her son Chibiterasu. Gameplay was similar to the original Ōkami with emphasis on the Celestial Brush mechanics to allow players to interact with the game world.

Reception

Ōkami was well-received by game reviewers and players. It received a Metacritic score of 93.^[1] Ōkamiden would receive positive reception as well, but received lower ratings than the original. The Metacritic score for Ōkamiden is 82.^[2]

Fandom

Ōkami and Ōkamiden share a passionate fandom, largely overlapping with other fandoms, such as Legend of Zelda. It has also gained a large following within the Furry fandom. On Reddit, the game's subreddit has over 2,700 followers.^[6] The game has over 183,000 likes on Facebook. ^[7]

Fanart

Searching "Okami" in DeviantArt provides over 235,000 results^[3] while searching "Okamiden" provides over 8,000 results (examples shown below).^[4]

Search Interest

External References