OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON PS3
OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON SERIES
OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON PS2

My first attempt at Twilight Princess on the Wii (my first Zelda game) didn't go well I got stuck midway through the first dungeon and dropped the game in irritation. Playing Okami on the Wii was, essentially, my doorway into the Zelda franchise. Okami's art and story steeped in Japanese folklore gave Clover's game a very beautiful and distinct flavour which not only disguised how much it was riffing on Nintendo's formula, but also made it feel 'fresher' than the Zelda games of the era. In a sense, Twilight Princess represented Nintendo going 'back to the well' after the 3D revolution of the N64 era and the then-shocking style of Celda: The Wind Waker. Beyond the fact that director and designer Hideki Kamiya loves the Zelda series, the launch of Twilight Princess at the end of 2006, and the prominence of Link's lupine form in that game, brought the design similarities between the two into sharp focus for all but the least observant gamers a decade and a half ago. Maybe Okami is the perfect clone a 'copy' in form and function so polished that no-one cares - it's simply A Great Game™.ĭrawing this comparison is hardly a novel idea. The word feels pejorative, as if originality is the be-all-and-end-all of game design when, in fact, all great artists learn by copying the masters. Perhaps there's an implied slap-dashery or lessening of quality in the term 'clone' that simply isn't present here. That's not to take away from Okami's individuality or uniqueness it's certainly no Zelda 'clone'.

OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON PS2

The PS2 had an incredible library, and now it had a 'Zelda', too.

OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON PS3

PS2 gamers were hardly stuck for quality games but, with the PS3 just around the corner, Okami felt like a fantastic parting gift. The gentle puzzling, the touching story elements and so much more combined to capture the spirit and beauty of a franchise that will almost certainly never appear on Sony hardware, at least not in any official capacity (hey, have you seen what fans are making in Dreams?!). The similarities run far deeper than heading out on a terrific adventure with some sacred instrument of the gods, though you've got the oddball, loveable cast of NPCs, the encroaching evil poisoning the land, the expansive-yet-handily compartmentalised environments with rivers, caves, forests, valleys, plains and more - and you'll visit them all with a faithful companion: Issun, the inch-tall artist who travels with you as celestial envoy, acting as your 'Navi' for the duration (although with a little more comic banter than Link's fairy). Okami is up there with Wind Waker in the 'timeless' art style stakes - it still looks incredible. Amaterasu and Issun's quest to save the land of Nippon from destruction is every bit as epic as Link's sweeping adventures in Hyrule. I've written before about how Capcom studio Flagship showed that the 2D formula had been perfected beyond the walls of Nintendo's Kyoto HQ, but mastering Nintendo's design language in the third dimension is another matter entirely. Attempts have been made before and since to make a game in the same vein, but Okami arguably represented the first time a company that wasn't Nintendo had created a fully 3D Zelda-style adventure - one that followed the same enchanting formula of exploration and discovery - which was absolutely up to Nintendo's exacting standards in every respect.

In fact, Clover Studio's Okami was so good that I remember thinking it felt like a warning shot for the Zelda franchise a wake up call that the competition had finally caught up. However, today it's the 15th anniversary of another fine action-adventure - a game which may not have the name 'Zelda' in the title, but one that's every bit as magical and transporting as the best in Nintendo's series.

OKAMI HD FILTER COMPARISON SERIES

Ever since the The Legend of Zelda turned 35 back in February, we've been looking back over the mainline games with a series of features celebrating and examining each one from a personal perspective.

Okami hd filter comparison