Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this is a unique game with stunningly beautiful scenery and original gameplay. While this action game has lots of fighting, the presentation isn't bloody. Some enemies get chopped in half, but most are turned into flowers when they die. The game is cartoonish in appearance, but has some crude humor involving urination, references to breasts, and sexual innuendo. Some characters are depicted smoking, and sake drinking both figures into the story and provides powers to the main character. The story includes themes of duty and modesty, although it also depicts some selfish and lazy characters.
Families can talk about creativity in game design and the use of the celestial brush. Why do so few games stand out from the pack? Why are so many games similar to one another? Families may also want to discuss some of the themes found in this game, such as: Should people try to take credit for good deeds or let them speak for themselves?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Chris Jozefowicz
OKAMI is a magical, intoxicating adventure that beautifully captures the essence of fairy tales in game form. It is gorgeous, creative, and surprising -- and one of the best games available for the Playstation 2.
Okami tells the tale of a mystical white wolf that protects the people of Nippon (a fantasy version of Japan) from evil. At its core, the game is a solid third-person adventure, with dozens of characters to meet, treasures to find, vast landscapes to explore, and plenty of baddies to fight. Yet Okami has much more to offer than many adventure games.
The graphics are the most immediately striking feature: the game is like a Japanese print come to life. The characters and environments create a three-dimensional world, but the bold colors and sharp outlines look like a drawing. Players will even notice a texture that makes the game appear to be composed of sheets of paper.
But the graphics are more than window dressing in Okami. As players roam the game's magical landscape, they learn "brush techniques" that give them god-like powers. Activating these powers freezes the game and causes a giant ink brush to descend over the scene. Players can then paint and change the game world. Night can be turned to day by drawing a sun in the sky, or walls can be destroyed by painting a firework bomb over them.
The beautiful marriage of graphics and gameplay is enhanced by the game's setting. The well-worn outline of the story -- a lone hero who must rid the land of evil -- is filled with such fantastic enemies (monkeys strapped to kites, sword-wielding birds) and set in such a beautifully imagined land (cherry blossoms blow in the wind, constellations take the form of dragons) that new surprises stretch out all through this epic, 30+-hour game.
Yet, like many magical tales, the bright exterior hides some mature themes. Although enemies turn into flowers when killed, brush techniques can chop them in half. Some players may also be surprised to find humor about bodily functions, sexual innuendo, and story elements about powers that derive from drinking alcoholic sake.
Fans of Japanese fantasy movies like Spirited Away will find a lot to like in Okami. As will fans of games like The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker. Playstation 2 owners looking for an epic adventure for a slightly younger audience might want to try Kingdom Hearts 2.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentSome partial nudity obscured by the art style. Fair amount of innuendo about busty women and talk of spending "time in her kimono." |
 |
|
 |
|
ViolenceLots of fighting. Players can slice enemies in half or bomb them with fireworks, and some blood will be shown. |
 |
|
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social BehaviorThe story includes themes of duty and honor, and discusses bragging about deeds versus being modest. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Commercialism |
 |
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSome characters smoke pipes. Characters drink sake, and players can receive power-ups from drinking sake. |
|
|
|
|
Educational Value |
|
|
|
|
