Okami

Okami

Systems:

• PlayStation 2
• PlayStation 3
• Releases:
  • Original Release: 2006
  • Wii Release: 2009
  • PS3 Relese: 2013

Publisher:

• Capcom

Developer:

• Clover Studio (PS2)
• Ready at Dawn (Wii)
• HexaDrive (PS3)

ESRB Rating:

• Teen (T)
• Reasoning:
  • Blood and Gore
  • Crude Humor
  • Fantasy Violence
  • Suggestive Themes
  • Use of Alcohol and Tobacco

Okami is an action or action-RPG game. The story follows Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and ruler of the pantheon, as she journeys through the land of Nippon to reclaim the powers she lost ages ago while vanquishing many of the great evils that grew to power while she slumbered. And she is a wolf. Amaterasu is aided in her quest by Issun, a raunchy and faithful friend who is somewhere between one and two inches in height. Many story arcs and some smaller quest-lines borrow heavily from Japanese folkloric traditions, and, in some cases, are more or less direct re-tellings of the myths.

General Comments

The game is very stylistic. Everything is rendered in an artistic style similar to Japanese paintings. Thus, things like fire, water, insects, etc. are not realistically rendered, though they often move realistically.

Alcohol

The player uses sake (a traditional Japanese rice wine) as a power-up.

Sake is also used by Non Player Characters as a power-up, and is used as a tool to defeat the boss Orochi.

Animal Abuse

The Player Character is a wolf and can be harmed/die in-game.

There are multiple Non Player Characters that are animals that get harmed during the game.

Animal Death

The Player Character is a wolf and can be killed in-game.

There are Non Player Characters that die during the course of the game. Their deaths are part of the plot and thus unavoidable.

Avians

Birds appear throughout. However, they do not attack Amaterasu.

Blood

The game mentions blood in cutscenes, though no blood or bleeding is shown.

Bones

Bones can be found throughout the world map, particularly in cursed zones. They are random and unavoidable.

After the player partially defeats Crimson Helm, it is revealed that Crimson Helm is a skeleton in armor.

Canines

The Player Character is a wolf.

There are dogs throughout the game that can be fed for Happiness points. The dogs are not aggressive.

One quest has the Player Character set out to find the Canine Warriors, a group of pseudo-magical dogs. The Player Character must find and fight all of these dogs to progress.

Cannibalism

Mr. & Mrs. Cutter are enemies that talk about and attempt to eat the Player Character and other intelligent beings.

Death of Family/Friends

The Ocean Dragon dies peacefully on-screen.

Rau is revealed to be dead, though it is off-screen.

The Empress dies soon after the player discovers the Imperial Orb.

When the player goes back in time, Shiranui dies.

Depiction of Disaster

The evil spirits in the game, most notably Orochi, cause disasters that resemble earthquakes and storms. This is particularly notable in the opening cinematic and shortly thereafter.

Disease

The Cursed Zones are considered diseased.

The Sei'an City is under a disease curse when you first enter it.

The player must go into the diseased body of the Emperor to save him from the enemy Blight, an embodiment of disease.

Dolls

A number of doll-like figurines appear as items or as background elements that can be interacted with.

The Spider Queen and Bandit Spider bosses have doll or mask like faces.

In the Sunken Ship has a number of ghostly dolls and a doll-like ghost jump scare (See Jump Scare, below).

Drowning

There are multiple times throughout the game where the Player Character can fall into water and drown. The Player Character cannot be in water long without dying. This can be countered by drawing lily-pads on the water to stand on or by equipping an Artifact that lets Ameterasu walk on water.

There is a level that takes place completely underwater, though the Player Character is safe from harm.

Electrocution

The Player Character gains an electricity power late in the game. The power must be used to progress and must be used to defeat certain enemies and bosses.

Electricity can be used to harm the Player Character.

Explosions

The Player Character has a cherry bomb attack power that must be used to progress in certain areas. The explosion is a firework and does not make a loud explosion sound.

To progress, the player must blow up a bridge. No one is standing on the bridge and no one is harmed during the explosion.

Felines

There are a number of friendly cats that can be fed. Two of the brush gods resemble felines, Kabegami, who resembles a housecat and grants the ability to scale vertical walls, and Gekigami, who resembles a tiger and grants the ability to manipulate lightning and electricity.

Fire

The Player Character has a fire attack power and later in the game can summon fire. There are multiple enemies that use fire to attack and that are on fire.

Some chests in the world map and in dungeons are on fire that the player must put out.

Fire is used in some dungeons as an obstacle that the player must go through. Generally it is solved by putting the fire out.

The boss Crimson Helm uses fire to fight and also sets himself on fire during the fight.

Forced Implantation

Blight, a spirit of disease, resides inside of the Emperor's body, causing the Emperor to fall dangerously ill and exude a horrid miasma.

Ghosts

The player encounters the ghosts of several Non Player Characters throughout the game. These ghosts move the plot along and cannot be avoided. These ghosts are never malicious or aggressive.

HOWEVER, in the Sunken Ship level there are malicious ghosts that will attack you.

The boss Blight appears as a possessed suit of armor.

Heights

There are multiple platforming sections where the Player Character must jump form platform to platform at extreme heights. It is possible to fall.

On the world map there are discoverable holes that have various extra things. The holes when you jump into them appear bottomless.

There is a Cat Tower level where the player climbs up a huge tower. The tower is tall enough to pass through the cloudline. It is possible to look down through the tower and it is possible to fall off during your ascent.

The final level is a battle in the sky. You cannot fall off of the battle platform, nor can you look down.

Insects

Issun, the sidekick, first appears as a small bug, though he is actually humanoid.

There is a level in Sei'an City where the character shrinks. There are insects used as decoration that look large, though they are not detailed.

Jump Scares

In the Ghost Ship level, the player can see a floating, disembodied head. When approached, the head will suddenly animate and fly towards the screen.

Kidnapping

As part of the plot, a maiden is chosen by Orochi to be dressed in ceremonial robes and devoured by him. The plot involves the Player Character rescuing said maiden.

A young bird girl is kidnapped by Mr. & Mrs. Cutter. The plot involves the Player Character rescuing said girl.

Mind Control

After the fight with Blight, the Player Character controls the Emperor in his sleep to release a wrongly imprisoned girl.

Murder

There are multiple human Non Player Characters that are murdered throughout the game.

The murder of the Empress is on-screen during a cutscene.

The player technically murders the Water Dragon by purifying his body.

Nudity

Kushi can be found bathing in a lake. When she stands, you see her butt.

There are multiple female Non Player Characters that have partially exposed breasts and partially exposed butts.

Rats/Rodents

One of the brush gods is a white rat.

Sexual Harassment

Issun, the sidekick, often makes unwanted sexual comments and advances towards women. This is a character trait and comes up every time Issun sees an adult woman. The comments are often to the effect of "Look how attractive/sexy/etc. that woman is/was!"

As part of the plot the Player Character must steal a woman's clothing to disguise another character.

Sexualization/Objectification

Issun, the sidekick, often makes sexual comments towards and about women. This is a character trait and comes up every time Issun sees or references an adult woman. "Look how attractive/sexy/etc. that woman is/was!"

Snakes

Orochi is a snake/dragon demon. He looks like a giant, multi-headed snake. The player must fight him a total of three times.

One of the brush gods is a snake and one is a snake-like dragon.

Spiders

The boss of the first dungeon is a giant lady-spider hybrid, the Spider Queen.

Throughout the game, there are holes that can be discovered where you repeat the Spider Queen boss battle. These unlock certain optional fights, resulting in extra health. These fights are optional. The battle spiders can be found:

1: On Ryoshima Coast, there is a digging spot in an alcove to the left of the Sapling Cave that can be accessed after the area has been purified.

2: In North Ryoshima Coast there is an island to the west of the map, in the middle of two others.

3: Below the path to Wep'keer, there is a frozen waterfall with a Cherry Bomb destructible area.

When the Player Character shrinks down in Sei'An City, the ensuing dungeon involves platforming around giant swinging spiders and riding on platforms on spiders. These platform spiders also exist in Wawku Shrine. This is completely unavoidable. These spiders are the most realistically rendered spiders in the game.

In the Ghost Ship level, the player can see the floating, disembodied head of the spider queen.

To unlock the final boss the player must fight and defeat the Spider Queen a second time.

Supernatural Evil

All enemies and bosses are considered supernatural. They appear supernatural and demonic.

Transphobia

After traveling back in time, the Player Character must disguise a male warrior in a female traditional costume. The male character is visibly distressed by this and tears the costume off to fight.

Undead/Zombies

After the player partially defeats Crimson Helm, it is revealed that Crimson Helm is a skeleton in armor.

Weapons

Most human Non-player Characters use weapons. In particular, Susanoo often uses a sword. Weapons are used by enemies against the Player Character. There are cannons in the game that make a loud sound.

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