I think most everyone will agree: this cel-shaded sumi-e stuff is mad dope.  We all know the game's laurels rests on its beautiful graphics, but that's a major understatement; it's an aesthetics tour de force of the purest kind.  The framerate is also much improved over the previous demos, and it should really be crushed under the weight of all these crazy-delicious polygons, moving, swaying, flowing this way and that - but it's shockingly fluid and keeps consistent throughout.

As of now, I've liberated Hana Valley and the Shinshuu Plains.  The game so far is a fairly breezy, but thoroughly enjoyable romp.  The battles are a decent diversion, but the real pleasure lies in just walking and running about, interacting with this beautiful world and its colorful characters.  And using that awesome environment-altering celestial brush.

The quest apparently tops off at 30-40 hours; that's a lot of game for an action-adventure such as this.  I have a feeling I'm going to have that same sense of satisfaction as I did at the end of Resident Evil 4.

Sounds great; it's next on my Gamefly queue once when I finally finish up either N3, Saints Row, or (also start) Enchanted Arms.

I just wish Okami graphics would define "graphic whoring" instead the crappy realism trend nearly every developer is following with the start of 3D gaming till today. I hope this game gets some more sales in the West than the disappointing Japanese sales numbers.

Isn't the game just gorgeous? I played it for a few hours yesterday and enjoyed every second. The battles aren't all that compelling (and they're very easy) but the world is amazingly alive and the graphics are amazing. The music is effective as well.

I do wish the text would move faster in the major cutscenes but that's a small gripe.

I'm getting it tomorrow, so excited!!!!!

"Clover has given the world caviar in a time when it seems to want pork rinds."
                                                                                         - Dave Halverson, PLAY Magazine

In this time when Halo has become synonymous with video games instead of Mario, I believe that we've lost something.

"I just wish Okami graphics would define "graphic whoring" instead the crappy realism trend nearly every developer is following with the start of 3D gaming till today. I hope this game gets some more sales in the West than the disappointing Japanese sales numbers."

Word man, WORD.  I mean, I guess its to each his/her own, but between plain photorealism on the one hand, and different stylisation and abstraction on one side, I'm all for the latter.  The photorealism gets real old; especially since its not going to be TRULY photorealistic for years!

Did the game sell poorly in Japan?  Thats disturbing news.  I have to make sure to get my copy soon!

I love the game, but I really wish it was a GameCube game instead of a PS2 game.  The loading hiccups are really annoying.  I hear my PS2 (a slim one at that) struggling to keep up and there's TONS of pop-in.  Either Capcom didn't do a hot job of optimizing the code or the PS2 just can't handle what they're throwing at it.  I've had times in Kamiki Village where, if I run at full speed, the game will actually pause for a split second to catch up with the loading.

As for the game itself, I'm loving it so far, but I won't hide my massive disappointment with the battles.  What the hell is with the RPG like separate battle screens represented by the flags?  LAME.  If it wasn't for that, Okami really would be a perfect Zelda clone.

The battle system is very odd. Aside from getting money, there doesn't seem to be any motivation for getting into them and since you can skip them at will, what's the point?

My slimline hasn't had any problems with the game yet. I have heard that the game has been problematic with many PS2s (particularly slimlines).

I'm equally surprised. You'd think that the Japanese market would devour a game like this.

Oh, well. As soon as I get my ITG fix for this week, I'll look into getting it.

I've got both the older 30001 PS2 and the slimline model, and yes, about the only time I see any problems with load times or hic-up is that split second when hitting high-gear during sprinting - and that's only in Kamiki Village.  Other than that, I've yet to run into any more 'technical difficulties.'  I won't deny, though, that the slimline works particularly hard at running the game; you hear it with the constant whirring from the machine.

Battles apparently serve in a roundabout function.  Indeed, they are the best way to gain money, and that money is important for buying the goods necessary to feed animals.  And animals provide the much-needed Praise to upgrade your stats, which proves to be crucial for boss battles later on.  I nearly got creamed from the first two boss battles, because I didn't upgrade properly.

The battle results screen irked me a bit too, but they're instantly skippable.  Just press the circle button after it shows up.

Well, good to know I'm not the only one experiencing this.  I also noticed that because of the heavy workload the slimline goes through, the disc comes out HOT.  Hopefully it won't get warped after a long playthrough.  Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Not really sure why people give a damn about Twilight Princess after this game. It's not so much a Zelda clone as a Zelda killer.

My only initial complaints was that the camera was hard to control in the battle segments but I've gotten used to it.

The pop-in doesn't bother me but then again it's pretty standard for a lot of 360 games, so...

Hardly.  Okami is very nice, no doubt about it.  But it doesn't reach the highs of quality Zelda is known for.  Twilight Princess will be out in less than two months and then we'll know for sure which is the better experience.

Unless things have changed significantly since the demo from TGS last year, I highly doubt I will agree with this.  Based on the things people are complaining about, though, my guess is that it hasn't.

Well, I've liberated my first few areas... and wow. I'm a sucker for the "restore things back to life" game (ala Soulblazer) so this is up my alley. I also love how vibrant the areas look after you've liberated them. The transformation scenes look gorgeous.

The music does wonders for the atmosphere. The town theme in particular is lovely.

(The first boss slaughtered me. That was very...sad)

I wasn't convinced with the E3 demo last year, because there was a LOT of slowdown. It's progressed nicely though, and runs smoothly 98% of the time.

I honestly don't see why Zelda is held is such high esteem. Okami has pretty much Zelda ever did, excepted executed much better and with more style too boot. Then again I'm someone who would much rather take Jak or Ratchet (or heck, even Sly) over Mario.

I'm not even sure what the real complaints regarding the game *are*. Outside of the aforementioned camera issues and the fact that the game doesn't always recognize your brush strokes (usually with the rejuvuniation technique), I can't really think of anything wrong with it in the five hours or so I've played. It's paced wonderfully, the battles are fun, there's a *crapload* of stuff to see and do, the characters are distinct and amusing without being annoying, the music is awesome, every single corner of the game is immensely gorgeous, and just running around and playing the game is a total joy. As far as I'm concerned, it has a lot more going for it than Twilight Princess, which is just Zelda Yet Again except for maybe the ability to mimic sword motions if you're into that sort of thing.

Pretty much beats the pants off of everything released so far this year, and it's going to pretty hard to top.

Truth-bringer, you are.  The further I'm progressing in the game, the more enamored I'm becoming with it.  It's fast pushing its way to my undisputed Game of the Year.

I hesitate to level it against Twilight Princess just yet, but I will say that Okami's giving me an experience far more magical and satisfying than any of the 3D Zeldas before it.

Well, I can't argue the style part since Okami definitely beats Zelda there, but it's far less polished and this lack of polish hurts the experience.  I haven't played far enough to see any great level design or puzzle solving yet, so I'll make that comparison after I play more.  It has the makings of a great game, and I've been talking it up myself since I first played it back at whatever show that was.  On the other hand, I was seriously disturbed when the game told me to create multiple save files in case I got stuck and had to go back.  WTF is that supposed to mean?  Did they not bug test properly?

That part made me crack up...especially if you've been following the Dead Rising save game fiasco. Even though it's completely unintentional.

The puzzles so far have been nothing special but I'll take vine slinging over pushing mirrors any day.

It's to my understanding that multiple saves at least comes in handy toward the end of the game.  There's apparently a "point of no return" where you'll be unable to go back and do any of the side quests you may have yet to finish.  Still, if that were the only case, it'd seem logical to give you a warning just before that happens. 

At any rate, I always keep at least two saves on file - and alternate between them as I progress.

... and that just sold the game for me. Graci.

I haven't put too much tick in, but I'm certainly enjoying this more than Wind Waker. 

But sayin' this is a Zelda Killer isn't too realistic.  And how/why are we comparing it to a game that hasn't even been released yet!?

Though it'll be fun to compare once TP is released...

It's all in the eye - or in this case, the thumbs - of the beholder, I'd say. I always got a kick out of calling something a game-killer. Back when Halo was initially huge and people were hyping other FPS games as the "Halo Killer", I'd always say that everyone was wrong and that the real Halo killer was already out and released back in 1996. Goldeneye, baby. That always got a rise out of people.

But, about Wind Waker, I'd say that save for the dungeons (which were incredibly enjoyable) that game's high point was when I turned the game off mid-Triforce quest to go wrap my mouth around my Camry's exhaust pipe because I just couldn't handle it anymore. The awesome-to-suck ratio of that game was staggering for me.

Haha! Word.

Time for some good old Wind Sleeper bashing; man, all that travelling from one pathetic piece of land in the middle of noman's sea to another pile of floating mud...who ever created that concept? Everytime Link stepped into that boatweirdo I thought to myself: 'should I just go downstairs and make a sandwich in the meanwhile or should I keep sitting and watch the boat sail along and just sing a song (and secretly hoping that perhaps somewhere down the sea an awesome enemy would show up...)

My personal favorite part is where you can anger the big bad pig and let little green Link suffer major damage. Sort of mad GTA fun, but then the other way around.

Not to hijack the thread any further, but that always annoyed the hell outta me.  I know people who would swear by Halo as if it was the single greatest FPS, no... GAME, ever.  And I agree (as would any other sane individual) that Halo wasn't even in Goldeneye's league...  Nor PD or Turok 1 & 2 for that matter.

*sigh*  Talk about a missed opportunity...

Grabbing the 8 Triforce shards out of (at the very least) 8 mini-dungeons would've been really kick-ass.  But instead we gotta fish them out of the ocean -- LAME.

But besides the lack of land, the challenge is what really pissed me off.  I never died, and I had that same fairy in my first battle from the beginning to the very end of the game without ever having to use her and that's wack.

Anyways, back to Okami.

I didn't like Wind Waker because it was boring. Even before getting to the boat. After that only compounded the boredom more. Seven hours in, I couldn't bring myself to boot it up again. I hope Twilight Princess learns from WW's mistakes.

I have Okami down as a sleeper hit to try out, since I don't do too many straight-up adventure games like this anymore (time and backlog-related). Still, it sounds like it has what it takes to surprise (or at least invoke spells of curiosity) and there's no denying the game's distinct style and direction.

Still, Sony might be wise to hype it as a Zelda-killer, considering what Twilight Princess is going to do the PS3's bottom line this holiday...

I think the PS3's bottomline is going to be hurt more from Sony's incompetence than Zelda's performance.

400,000 PS3s 11/17 vs 1,000,000 Wiis 11/19

That's not counting the fact that 80% of those PS3s are the more expensive, feature-loaded one that most PS3 fans will be scrounging for.  And that's also not subtracting whatever percentage of those that will be defective.

I just meant Twilight Princess was a great launch title to showcase and many people will buy it with the Wii (or for GC). Sony would be wise to push a game like Okami as a Zelda killer, because the PS3 line-up is going to be abysmal and it'll be a much more expensive ordeal, compared to $300 for a Wii with two games. If they get something like Okami positioned as a Zelda-killer (even if it's just media hype), it's a good chance for them to hurt Nintendo and help themselves (not to mention boost Okami's status from something of a sleeper to a more mainstream title).

As for the other factors...No disagreements from my end. Variant models are an awful idea for game consoles. Glad I'm not pulling retail duty this launch season.

Meh...I'm just playing marketing what-ifs...Not everyday a potential Zelda killer falls into a company's lap.

1997, actually, but still the best FPS ever made.

I can understand why people don't like Wind Waker.  I certainly didn't think I was going to like it after I read about all the ocean traveling.  In fact, I delayed playing the game for around 1.5 years after it came out because of it.  However, I ended up really liking it because it was so different, yet still Zelda.  My only complaints with the game are that it was too easy and that there weren't enough dungeons.  The ocean traveling didn't end up bothering me at all.  It was charming, fun, and unique.

Thanks for the warning.  I usually keep multiple save files in games that allow me to, but I rarely need them and it was pretty jarring to have the game actually recommend that.

Yuppers.  My two beefs as well (as summed up in post #25).

Also, I just couldn't let this pass by without it being appreciated:

That is fuckin' hilarious...!

I stopped playing Wind Waker halfway through because of the boring ocean treasure hunt. Thankfully, I picked it up later and sludged through. I'm glad I did because the final sequences were amazing. The game definitely could have used more dungeons though.

My bad. I remember reading somewhere that the 10th anniversary was coming up and apparently I did the math wrong. Still, Proximity Mines + Facility = best multiplayer ever.

I'm always torn on Goldeneye vs. Perfect Dark, actually... Goldeneye was quite polarizing with a lot of my friends... some of us were REALLY good at it and some weren't at all, so often nobody wanted to play if they'd just lose.  Perfect Dark, while having issues of its own, offered bots, which allowed for all of us to play together without worrying too much about the skill difference.  I can't believe not even Halo 2 had bots... for that reason alone I can't give those games that much credit.  Timesplitters is much more my style and I'm dying to try the actual Perfect Dark sequel once I have a 360.

As for Wind Waker, yeah, I'm not going to defend its faults - the sailing bits were really bad.  There were a number of design decisions in the latter parts of the game that were just atrocious.  Still, I found it really well polished and a lot of fun to play, and the dungeon design was pretty cool.  Graphically it was stunning as well, but in a different way than Okami.  In the end, though, it's definitely solidified as the worst of the three 3D Zelda games to come so far (my opinion of it has slowly gotten worse over time while Majora's Mask gets better the more I reflect on it, if that makes sense).  I have hope for Twilight Princess, as it seems that they're quite aware of Wind Waker's problems and are actively looking to rectify them.

Uhh... back to thread topic... Okami... uh yeah.  Umm... sure wish my copy would arrive already.