Ōkami (大 神?) Is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom in 2006 on PlayStation 2. The adaptation on the Wii console , developed by Ready at Dawn, was released on June 12, 2008. A suite on Nintendo DS called Ōkamiden was released in early 2011. A portage in HD developed by HexaDrive on PS3 compatible PS Move was released on October 30, 2012 in North America and the October 31 in Europe only on the PlayStation Network, in Japan the game comes out November 1, 2012 in physical and digital version, it was free for PlayStation Plus subscribers until May 31, 2013. This HD version will undergo a facelift 5 years later still by HexaDrive on Playstation 4, Xbox One and Windows on December 12, 2017. This is the first time the game comes out on PC and on a Microsoft
History
The origins of Amaterasu are quite dark and we have only a few details about his life before his resurrection. All we know is that she was once the guardian of the Celestial Plain, she protected the Celestials and played with them. The only shadow on the board was the rivalry between the Celestials and the Lunar people. These were reputed to be a cursed people. This people was annihilated for obscure reasons, one of the few survivors being Ushiwaka, a man who decided to seek refuge on the Celestial Plain aboard Yamato's Ark. The ark remained on the plain for a long time until the day when the terrible eight-headed dragon Yamata-no-Orochi crossed the sea of stars to attack the Celestial Plain. The fight was tough, the dragon seemed invincible. Ushiwaka then had a vision, a hero coming from the Earth would be able to beat the yokai. Amaterasu decided to believe the boy of the Moon, she dragged Orochi with her to earth while the Celestials and Ushiwaka fled through the ark.
Alas, the ship in its long years had been infested by the yokai who killed all the Celestials, the only survivor being Ushiwaka. Orochi, arriving in Nippon, decided to take up residence in the Cave of the Moon, immediately taking control of the Kamiki Village, terrorizing the inhabitants.
The dragon decided to claim each year the sacrifice of a girl he would have chosen otherwise he would kill the whole village. The villagers, terrorized, executed for over a hundred years. Amaterasu waited patiently for the man of the prophecy to be born, wandering around the village every year as a white wolf to look after Kamiki as best he could. Alas, the inhabitants, discovering the white wolf along with the dragon, thought that the goddess was a servant of Orochi, in charge of spotting the future sacrifice. Driven and feared by the village, she was renamed Shiranui.
Finally, the warrior of prophecy was born, Izanagi, a man who like the rest of the village hated Shiranui. He trained hard every day, facing the wolf as soon as possible without ever succeeding in defeating him. Finally, the year of the hundredth festival, when Izanami, the elect of the heart of Izanagi was designated as a sacrifice, the mad warrior of anger decided to take the place of the young woman to challenge the yokai.
Assisted by Shiranui, they managed to defeat the demon. Alas, Shiranui, exhausted eventually succumbs to his injuries. Izanagi brought him back to the village where he was finally honored as the savior of the village. Amaterasu, exhausted from his fight, plunged into a deep sleep. Her powers dwindled, dispersing into thirteen deities in nature, and she was gradually forgotten by men.
Shinto mythology
Amaterasu, the goddess of the Sun, is one of the main deities of the Shinto religion.
Izanagi, back on Earth after escaping his wife Izanami in hell, purified his face in the water. Different gods and goddesses were born of his body. One of them is Amaterasu, who comes from his left eye. Inazagi then told her that she will reign on the High Sky Plain.
He gave him the magatama of Yasakani, sovereign symbol. Susanoo, god of the storm and brother of Amaterasu was jealous of it. He defied her but lost against her. Refusing to admit his defeat, he violated her. Amaterasu then fled to the Iwayado cave from which she refused to leave. The whole world was plunged into darkness in the absence of the sun. The gods tried in vain to bring it out. It was then that the dawn goddess Ame-No-Uzume began a sacred erotic dance after placing Yata's mirror in front of the cave. The other gods are exhilarated. From the cave, Amaterasu hears the infatuation and praise for Ame-No-Uzume. She takes a look asking what is happening and why are they happy in the absence of the star of the day.
It is answered that the gods have found a more beautiful than her. She leaves the cave and misunderstands her rival with her own reflection of the mirror. While she remains stunned, the gods block the entrance to the cave. She was forced to resume her place in heaven. Susanoo was punished and exiled to the Land of mortals. He will try to be reconciled with her by offering him the sword of Kusanagi.
Appearance & Okami Personality in Game
Amaterasu comes in two forms in the game. The first one we lead during most of the game, is that of a white wolf whose shoulders, wrists and hind legs are surmounted by a tuft of curly hairs. His tail is also curly.
She wears red marks at various places in her body: a circle on the top of her skull, two features that frame each of her eyes, spirals on either side of her withers. On his back stands his divine weapon (sword, mirror or rosary).
- Sword
- Mirror
- Rosary
Its original appearance, which humans call Shiranui, is somewhat different. Its red / pink marks are more provided. In the past, tentacles of white hair were coming out of his back. When one exhausts the ink pots of Amaterasu, which represent its reserve of power, it temporarily loses its red marks and its loops making it.
The marks are visible only to those who believe in the deity of the wolf. Those who take it for an ordinary wolf only see it that way. She can change her appearance using the reincarnations available after finishing the game a first time.
Amaterasu behaves most of the time like an ordinary wolf. However, she sometimes behaves like a dog: she wags her tail when she is happy, celebrates people (she jumps on them, wagging her tail and wanting to lick their faces) etc ... When Amaterasu is angry, she lets him know. She then puts herself in combat position by letting out aggressive grunts.
It is easy to notice that Amaterasu is asexual in the game. Even if all Kamis and other magical entities feminize her by naming her "our Mother of all", or simply "Goddess" and Ushikawa calls her " My dear, this dear wolf will not hesitate to drool in front of Tsuzurao's chest. However, Amaterasu is predominantly feminized. Although she is a Kami, Amaterasu does not stop eating everything she finds in her way: vegetables that have just been unearthed, all kinds of food given by strangers, good cakes from Mamie Mandarine, restaurants, even sneaking into the rooms of the Auberge Sasabe and eating the food.
- Skills
As a deity, she has many talents. She masters on the one hand the 15 techniques of the brush, and on the other hand various techniques that she learns during the game in dojos.
-Renaissance (repairs broken objects or reveals missing objects)
-Light Blade (allows to slice all kinds of objects)
-Divine Sun (to make the sun appear)
-Flowering (flowering plants or trees)
-Flaming Bomb (creates a bomb that explodes after a short delay or in contact with an enemy)
-Water lily (creates a water lily passable on the surface of the water)
-Magic Liana (allows to connect Amaterasu to certain flowers and to move it until this one)
-Majestic stream (creates a geyser from some water points)
-Clair de Lune (change the day in the night)
-Glorious Wind (creates a gust of wind)
-Burning Wrath (from a fire source, can ignite different elements or enemies)
-Occult Haze (slows down time)
-Cat Dance (allows you to climb vertically from cat statues)
-Souverain Lightning (creates a lightning from an electrical source)
-Eternal Snow (ice objects or enemies from a frozen source)
-Other secret techniques can also be found, including mastering various elemental spells.
When she runs, she leaves a trail of vegetation behind her. Depending on the speed at which the goddess runs, the trail is of different color and shape. When she jumps she shows green leaves and when she makes the double jump she shows red autumn leaves.
She sucks the spheres of happiness from living beings to reinforce her divine powers.
She has up to four mystical stomachs that allow her to resurrect so many times. She provides herself with protections by increasing her level of divinity. She wins by winning a fight or using an amulet.
- Reactions
The official magazine of the PlayStation 2 awards him a 20/20, something happened only once before since the existence of the magazine with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The French magazine Joypad attributes the perfect note to the game: "Okami is certainly the biggest success of Clover, both visually and in the interest of its gameplay. He sublimates all adventure games seen to this day and spreads a unique charisma that will remain engraved in the annals.
On the site Jeuxvideo.com, he receives a rating of 20/20 graphics, which had been awarded since 1999 for the game Wipeout 3 on PlayStation.
The Gamekult website comments: "Okami appears as a tribute to traditional Japan, to its myths and legends, to its timeless art. Its particular aesthetic gives the game an incredible, poetic and haunting atmosphere. The title of Capcom is enriched, moreover, a gameplay that evokes a lot of Zelda and promises a rich and exciting adventure oscillating between drama and lightness. The sources of inspiration seem many, but they do not prevent an instant Okami to distinguish itself as an outstanding production that impresses with its consistency and accuracy.
Ōkami has also received numerous awards including the 2006 Game Developers Choice Awards for character design and innovation, the IGN Award for Best Adventure Game of the Year 2006, the title of Best Game of the Year 2006 by the well-known Associated Press group and the 2007 BAFTA Games Awards of artistic direction and original music.
Currently it is still rated at 19/20! This is a game I finished on PS2 and I recommend!
