Of all the PlayStation 2 gamesin need of the beautifying HD treatment, Clover Studio’s calligraphic action-RPG Okami is possibly the most deserving. And, thanks to those lovely folks at Capcom, it’s finally upon us. Okami HD has been announced as a PlayStation 3 exclusive with Move compatibility. It seems like the obvious choice and was surely only a matter of time before it was announced. Yet even a sense of inevitability couldn’t dampen the utter joy this announcement brings. High definition Okami, in our very own reality, a dream come true.
Okami was released back in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and was subsequently ported to Nintendo Wii in 2008 where it got motion control thanks to Nintendo’s innovative Wii controller. Okami and motion control were perhaps born for each other thanks to Okami’s excellent “celestial brush” mechanic. Okami puts the player in the role of Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, who has taken the form of a wolf and given the power of the “celestial brush”. This is where calligraphy and motion control come together and threaten to give this RPG a serious charm-brainfreeze. Using the celestial brush Amaterasu can pause at any moment and draw patterns onto the game world to produce certain effects, such as creating bombs or vines. This can be used both in combat and to solve puzzles throughout the game – unlocking new areas and so on.
The re-release of the game onto the PS3 will hopefully make suitable use of the console’s graphical capability over the Wii as well as the system’s motion controller. The HD visuals are looking good so far, but it has not been made clear yet whether the release will contain any further content other than Move compatibility.
The re-release could fuel partially insane hopes for a home console sequel after last year’s Nintendo DS sequel Okamiden but it’s not a major concern here at Critical Gamer (though a sequel would no doubt lead to a few exploded heads) as the original game is possibly the perfect example of a self-contained epic. It’s a stunning game and hopefully this remaster will only lead to even more praise being aimed at one of the last decade’s greatest games.
Okami HD has been announced for a release this autumn 2012 and will be a Playstation 3 exclusive (with no rumour as yet of an XBLA release) available for £15.99 on PSN.
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