(The title is to the tune of “Hey Baby!” by DJ Otzi, so that hopefully makes sense)

Okami HD brings Okami back to a whole new generation of consoles and allows a whole new host of people to experience one of the greatest games from the Playstation 2. At least, that’s my opinion. With a unique art direction that works both with the theme as well as the gameplay, Okami is an adventure game filled with colour in every area you could imagine. From great and fun characters to fun and interesting mechanics, Okami is a delightful game and even holds up to this day.

Okami was made by, the now defunct, Clover Studios way back in 2006 and 2007 and was very well received. Despite it’s positive response, it didn’t quite sell well enough to save the sadly departed Clover Studios (who many members have now gone on to become Platinum Games) and part of this was down to Okami coming out alongside Twilight Princess. This sparked quite the argument in my childhood between a friend and I. He swore that Twilight Princess was the better game, I protested that this obscure Playstation 2 game he’d barely heard of was better. Perhaps I was a massive hipster even at the age of 13. We even made Powerpoint presentations at each other because we were giant nerds. Despite all this, Okami could be called an outstanding Legend of Zelda game and way better than Twilight Princess, so take that, Callum.

Anyway, Okami. In the mythical land of Japan, or Nippon, you are the god, and mother to us all, Amaterasu. You may not be as omnipotent as that may suggest, as instead you’ll find yourself in the body of a white wolf with vaguely divine powers. The fate of the world, however, rests in your paws because ancient evils and various demons are on the rise and despite your hundred year sleep you’ll have to embark on a long journey to hopefully locate the source of this evil taint, as well as the way to stop it. Being a wolf, however, you are very limited in the area of vocal chords as, despite being the actual head of all Shinto gods, you are still a wolf so you’re mostly limited to barking and growling. This is where your wise cracking tiny friend comes in, Issun. Your tiny, bug like companion mostly hangs around with you to try and steal your godly knowledge in the arts, but ends up acting more or less as your negotiator or agent in all your godly proceedings, even though most assume you some basic white wolf.

Issun’s sly discussion tactics really come alive when you meet the other characters populating the world. Everyone seems ever so slightly unhinged, such as the mother who will defend her turnip patch to point of engaging in deadly combat with a dog, more or less, or the self-proclaimed hero, Susano, who is mostly seen drinking, sleeping or laughing like a mad man. All these characters are so fun and wild that it keeps things constantly fresh and they all generally seem remarkably unphased by a large wolf coming up to them and trying to engage in conversation, or even becoming the biggest capitalist in the land, and still being a wolf. Even some of the most po-faced characters still have their moments of enjoyment from having to deal with the various wacky events that seem to constantly take place in Okami, or just Amaterasu’s own general lack of care as she’s once again fallen asleep during someone’s monologue.

It’s all too easy to rapidly list off wonderful and quirky scene after scene in Okami, as there are just so many to witness. Almost every small quest has something slightly odd about it that’ll bring a smile to your face and somehow they’re all connected to the main story in some way or another so you’ll even find yourself getting involved in many of them. Whether you’re helping a sparrow mafia find their lost daughter or helping a fashion designer come up with new ideas by spying on a little girl drawing, there’s a whole bunch to get on with in Okami and so much of it entails using your magical godlike brush techniques, which isn’t a euphemism, to solve them.

These artistic sweeps from on high are actually the Celestial Brush techniques that allow you to change the world around you through your own divine intervention. These brush techniques vary quite wildly from cutting down trees or your foes, restoring things that may already be broken, such as a washing pole or waterwheel, or even harnessing the power of fire to burn your foes in a horrific death that they’ll never recover from, like all death. They’re the nuts and bolts of any and all puzzle solving you’ll be rolling around in, because you are still a wolf, and, if you remember back to me saying it’s a Legend of Zelda game, are like the items in any Legend of Zelda game, except Breath of the Wild because that didn’t have items.

If they say the pen is mightier than the sword then I guess the calligraphy brush is mightier than the katana as in Okami your mighty sweeps of godlike ink can be used while you tussle with the various demons who try and disrupt your travels. While combat can be as simple as smashing an imp in the face with a giant mirror or sword until it flies off into the sky screaming, some monsters require a little more finesse, such as having to melt their iced outer shell so you can attack their gooey core and you achieve this through the manipulation of reality itself via the brush and ink of your heavenly will. With each new enemy you come across you’ll have to wrangle your mind around what their weakness may be or how to stop them from flying around your head like so many angry and enraged birds, or you can keep drawing the symbol that makes bombs appear and hope you can just explode your woes away (you can’t).

So much of what makes Okami enjoyable comes from it’s overwhelmingly charming presentation. The fun characters, the unique cell shaded art style and the world teaming with colour and theme. There’s adventure to be had in spades as Okami takes you on this epic quest across far flung regions with epic stories and a great representation of Japanese folk tales and mythology that’ll keep you eagerly pressing on for more of the game. It’s art and animations provide wonderful moments of splendor and beauty that with the new re-HDified version managed to take my breath away all over again. Okami has so many twists and turns in its story that it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat as you delve further and further into the world and come across so many mystical moments that still stick with me to this day, and I barely remember what day it is anymore.

Okami’s rerelease onto modern platforms means there’s a wonderful chance to dive into this outstanding adventure game once again, or even for a first time, with deliciously precise high definition graphics you’ll be able to watch your hot wolf body run through the fields like you’ve never been able to before. Sadly the slight limitations of the Playstation 2 do shine through, even in the newest versions of the game, as the draw distance is very limited and can lead to large objects suddenly popping into existence, such as massive trees. That said, Okami is still this wonderful adventure game that takes you on a long and epic journey filled with colourful characters and enjoyable moments and I still definitely recommend it feverishly to anyone and everyone, it’s why people don’t approach me in the street.