Ōkami

A few more hours in, the game's mechanics are much clearer. The game's director has made explicit mention of a Legend of Zelda influence in its design, and it shows; starts in a small town guarded by a divine spirit that sets you on your journey; leads to a mission to fight back a wave of evil overtaking the world; there's even a small fairy-like companion who gives you advice and guides you on your way. Most of the game is focused on adventuring, but there is also action in the form of simplistic combat sequences. Of course, if you want to make a good, engaging game, Zelda is hardly a bad place to draw inspiration.

One striking thing about Ōkami's design is that it more directly orients the player, at least in my experiences so far. There is still a sense of mystery in how you solve puzzles and otherwise drive the story - but Issun, your diminutive assistant, will always tell you where you should head next or if you're going into the wrong area. It's a 'free' enough design that figuring out your own way remains challenging, and yet it's also restrictive enough to prevent you from wasting time on wild goose chases.

The Celestial Brush is a really cool gameplay mechanic - but controlling it is still a pain. Drawing a straight line of considerable length is nearly impossible. I really feel like the location of the analog stick on the PS2 controller is at fault here, but in truth any joystick would be just as troublesome. It would be perfect for Wii pointing of course; shame that Clover isn't around to port it and rake in the dough.

The highly-stylized graphical look of the game is pretty disorienting at first, due to exaggerated shadows making some things hard to see. But in general it's really stunning and extremely cool. I have to mention though, that it is pushing the hardware a little further than it appears comfortable with - some detailed areas have a bit of slowdown, and a realtime cutscene I watched earlier, with blooming flowers and speedy camera pans, was actually so strenuous that the music was audibly cutting in and out. Again, shame it probably won't see a modern retouch.

Progress: About to enter Agata Forest