Okami

     Once upon a time I wandered into a Gamestop and saw a PS2 game on the shelf. Back when PS3 hadn't come out yet and these games were still displayed on the walls. Anyway. I spied the game pictured above and decided to get it. Why? Because I saw you can be a wolf, and if there's one thing that attracts me to games it's being an animal character. lol Before that joyous day, I'd never even heard of this game. But holy fudge nuggets, I am so glad I got it.
     First of all, I have to mention the graphics. Beautiful. The art is in the style of watercolor, which matches your in-game ability to "paint" certain things into the world. If you've played this game, you know how tedious it is at first to "draw" with the analog stick of a PS2 controller. But no complaints here, after about an hour I felt like I could paint the Mona Lisa with my controller.
So, as I mentioned, you play as a wolf. More specifically, a goddess in the form of a wolf. Amaterasu is her name and she is the goddess of the sun. BUT, no humans in the game can tell, to them, you are just a normal white wolf but to animals and other gods, you are covered in red markings and the Reflector on your back is clearly visible. The game is lore based and includes gods of other kinds which altogether form the zodiac signs.
     The storyline is beautiful; I can't count how many times I cried during this game. I won't give any spoilers because I think everyone needs to play this themselves, but the premise is that Amaterasu (controlled by you) is summoned by Sakuya (the spirit that lives in the great cherry blossom tree) to stop the evil encroaching the land. But instead of coming in your god form, you inhabit the statue of Shiranui the white wolf who saved the town from Orochi (the 8-headed serpent who demanded sacfrifices). You might think, "Isn't that godmodding to be a goddess?" I thought so too, but you quickly learn that your powers are next to gone because the belief in gods of the people is waning.

     Along the way you meet all different kinds of characters. One of my favorite side characters is Oki (the purple wolf above) from the tribe of shapeshifting people who have a human form and a canine form. (Oki and Ammy make such a cute couple lol). You also have some epic boss battles as well. Since there's no leveling system, you must rely on your skills and strategize each battle.

     Yes. They made an HD version for the PS3, and yes, they sadly made a sequel. I was excited for the sequel until I heard Clover Studios shut down and wouldn't be working on it. The sequel is Okamiden, a sad excuse for a sequel. Way too easy and it lost all it's charm that the first one had. The rating had a lot to do with it I think. Okami was rated T for Teen due to references to alcohol , hilarious crude humor, and violence. Okamiden practically took all that out to make it a child friendly rated E 10+ game. Lame. Not gonna lie, it sucked. If you played Okamiden without playing Okami, you're definitely missing out. That and the sequel has so many references to the first I'm surprised more new players don't get lost and confused.
   
     So in a nutshell, Okami is one of my favorite games of all time. I've played through it about 4 times and I still cry at the sad parts. The gripping storyline and beautiful graphics make this game amazing. I highly recommend you play Okami. Preferably for PS2 because the Wii version has motion problems. lol