gamingeek said:

angry_beaver said:

Edge, you said:

"Okami is definitely better on Wii"

In what ways?

Edge and GG, I definitely concede that when we compare TP and Okami, Zelda is better with keeping the player going. The only momentary exception is the beginning of TP, which is torturously slow. As to length, segmentation, and stuff like that, if I hadn't already watched the GS review of Okami, I would have been under the impression that it ends after the Orochi fight.

I haven't played the PS2 version, from what I've seen and heard the visuals are clearer and more vibrant, obviously the brushwork is faster and more intuitive and natural. But also, you can skip those annoying cutscenes. I'm on my first playthrough and have skipped a few overlong BS bits of chit chat. I don't think there is that much difference though but EDGE will proabably know more than me. Okami is weird that it does feel segmented, it's not like you finish a chapter and move on towards the end of the book. It feels like you end the book and go on the epilogue. Just weird.  

The game is supposed to look like old Japanese art--it wasn't supposed to look like the Wii version, with its vibrant graphics. I don't know about it being more clear, but I think I have heard that the draw distance was increased for the Wii version, which is good, but it's not something I really care about. Neither is lack of widescreen support or whatever for the original version, since I only have an SDTV.

The brushwork might be faster and more intuitive (I get along just fine with analog), but at the cost of other controls. Rolling and attacking are more hassling and difficult in the Wii version. So I think the original version wins out here, as there's nothing wrong with its controls at all.

You can skip at least some cutscenes in the PS2 version. Not sure if you have to beat the game first, though.

But in addition to the control and graphical aspects, which are superior and more fitting in the PS2 version, respectively, there's also the issue of the game's ending, which I've also mentioned before: the entire ending was cut, aside from the bit right after the final boss. The credit sequence is gone, as is the epilogue or whatever one wants to call it. When you finish the game, you should look for a video of the ending on YouTube.

The Wii version just seems seriously gimped to me. Even Nintendo Power recommended the original over the Wii version.

steelattack said:

iga_bobovic said:

So nice.

I just saw Hard Gay's yahoo episode!

Awesome, but Steel did you see the Triagle choke defense?

ravenprose said:

Yeah, Matt and Bozon acts like a couple of ignorant fanboys when they do their podcasts, and often say stupid crap that gets them in trouble down the road (i.e. Kid Icarus at E3!). I don't bother to listen to them anymore.

Yes, especialy Matt is proven wrong mutliple times. His newest one, motionplus is nintendo admitting wii-motion sensing was broken and motionplus is the fix. And than saying the Wii should have launched with a gyro.

If these sorry excuses of journalist would do some research they would have found out that the technology was not available at that time, from two independendt sources. But they did not, Idiots.

ravenprose said:

iga_bobovic said:

Yes, especialy Matt is proven wrong mutliple times. His newest one, motionplus is nintendo admitting wii-motion sensing was broken and motionplus is the fix. And than saying the Wii should have launched with a gyro.

If these sorry excuses of journalist would do some research they would have found out that the technology was not available at that time, from two independendt sources. But they did not, Idiots.

Matt's definately the worst of the bunch; I honestly think he's become jaded. I recently read a statement that EA made where they were surprised that Nintendo could even do gyro now because of high costs involved.  Like you said, if Matt bothered to do any research, then he'd know why Nintendo didn't start out with gyros.

Nah, I just think he is stupid!

Suck my balls.

God Beaver, now you've got me into pedantic gamespot forumer mode. This is not insert coin. I'm going to have to watch 10 hard gay videos to get over this.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=137861

This whole business of using the Celestial Brush is much improved, as everybody knew it would be, by Wii remote controls. The ink-painting process is so much quicker and smoother this way. As before, you'll occasionally make a mistake by not drawing an acceptably straight line or drawing circles too large, but it's much easier now to try again without breaking the flow of the game. It actually improves Okami's pacing significantly - painting with a PS2 pad was a fairly laborious process, meaning that it often wasn't worth the hassle in combat, but now it's possible to switch so quickly between using the brush and ordinary gameplay that taking enemies out with a final slash is more convenient, and looks more stylish. It also feels more intuitive - which, considering that the Wii opens this game up to an audience that might never have seen anything like it before, is definitely a good thing.

The Wii also makes Okami a little prettier, displaying it in proper widescreen in 480p. Were this any other game in the entire world, I'd be struggling to even pretend to care, but because Okami is such a visual game, it really makes a difference. On a large telly, the PS2 version's colours all ran together a bit - on the Wii, things are that bit sharper and more impressive, and it still retains all the charm of the ink-on-paper watercolour style that makes it so striking.

The Wii controls are not, disappointingly, as well-integrated in combat as they are for the Celestial Brush. Attacks are executed with a sharp flick of the wrist, but must be timed quite precisely in order to perform a combo - waving the remote back and forth just doesn't work, and, though it's good in a way that you can't just flail your way arbitrarily through combat, the attack timing for some of the weapons (the Tsumugari in particular) is a bit finicky, and the game is occasionally picky about recognising your gestures. It works, but it's awkward until you figure out the timing.

Thankfully this is nothing game-breaking. Combat was never the salient element of Okami, and because fights are never particularly difficult, these minor control issues never cause unnecessary death or any genuine frustration. Overall, Okami benefits far more from the Celestial Brush control and considerable visual improvement that the Wii affords it than it suffers from slightly worsened combat. The game may not be the Wii's own, but Okami benefits greatly from the visual and control improvements that Ready at Dawn has made, and hopefully, this re-release will give it a second chance to reach the audience that it deserves.

(I find it easy to work combos with the beads and the combat is so easy it's not really a problem for me)

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/865/865958p1.html

It has arrived, we're happy to announce, mostly intact, with only a couple of minor shortcomings, and with several major improvements. Okami for Wii is, as far as we're concerned, the best version of an outstanding game

ON THE DODGE MOVE

There's a definite deficiency to the new Wii controls, but thankfully it relates to an unnecessary maneuver which can be purchased as you advance through the game. Truly, honesty, you don't need the move, which is why this shortcoming is a little easier to forgive.

ON THE BRUSH

Frankly, the Wii controls are so good that they change the whole pace of the game -- a process that was previously slow and meticulous is suddenly very quick; so speedy, in fact, that you will find yourself using the brush whenever possible, at any opportunity, and so much more than you ever would have with an analog stick.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3167381&p=44

Whereas drawing lines, symbols, and circles with the PS2's analog stick was a slower, more meticulous process, it very rarely failed. Now, too many of those same actions take more tries than they should; drawing simple horizontal lines can cause headaches if you don't have a perfectly steady hand. It gets easier over time, but the occasional failure never ceases to annoy. Early in the game, when tasked with a long-term side quest to hunt various rare creatures, you'll slash their names off a list as you defeat them. That first simple swipe held me up for an extra frustrating few minutes -- I cursed the imprecision and longed for the simplicity of the original. Admittedly, the problems that interrupt the experience are spaced far enough apart that they don't amount to anything too serious...but in such an immersive affair, they break the illusion just often enough to frustrate

(This is just a case of bad journalism as you can hold the Z button rather than A to do perfectly straight horizontal lines. Also it's another case of a reviewer blaming their own poor control on wii controls- see the destructoid review below. If you never complete your circle, it's not a circle. In fact looking at the reviews where they criticise the celestial brush technique it's all the same crap. Bad reviewing I'm afraid but isn't a new phenomena when looking at wii reviews and controls)

ON THE VISUALS

The gorgeous sumi-e Japanese watercolor world thankfully makes the translation intact, though. It looks more brilliant than ever in 480p and true 16:9 widescreen, which makes the rolling vistas all the more beautiful. The papery-looking graphical filter is toned down to accommodate the Wii hardware, but it wasn't something I noticed until I was told about it (and even then, it wasn't a big deal).

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=5678

The Wii controls aren’t perfect for celestial paintbrush techniques, but they certainly don’t detract from the overall experience. With widescreen support, and improved visual fidelity, you’ll find very little to complain about.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=190901

The other technical issue is related to the look of the game. If you want to compare the Wii version with the original, the graphics are much sharper and brighter on the newer console.

On the other hand, the PS2 game has a lovely parchment effect, which shows through the graphics and adds to the hand-drawn look.

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/okami/review.html?sid=6189305

Age isn't kind to many games, but with the addition of motion controls for the celestial brush and support for widescreen and progressive scan displays, Okami has been updated enough to make it even more relevant today than it was in 2006.

http://www.gamedaily.com/games/okami/wii/game-reviews/review/6807/2010/

The good news is the Wii version holds up just as admirably as the PS2 edition. The fact that the game supports progressive scan makes it even more incredible, if you have the HDTV necessary to utilize it. The loading is pretty efficient too, not taking any more than about 10 seconds to get started. You can also skip past the story sequences if you prefer, but they're glorious to watch.

http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-review-okami-wii--82445.phtml

On the PS2, the lack of immersion that comes from the "brush play" side of Okami is a larger issue due to the way the brush is controlled. While the PS2 controls are precise, they inadvertently ruin the real purpose of the celestial brush; to provide the player with the sense that they are a god sitting in their home, viewing a real world on their television where they can create miracles with the wave of a hand. Instead, the DualShock controls only provide the player with the sense that they are playing a video game where the action stops every few seconds, forcing you to leave the game world and instead use your thumb to move a brush around the screen. Okami on the PS2 is still incredible, but it takes hours to adjust to this inherent control flaw and the way it kicks you out of the game.

This brings us to the Wii port of Okami. The difference between this build of the game and the PS2 original is enormous. While the PS2 brush controls were sluggish and distancing, they were incredibly easy to perform. Drawing a perfect line in Okami with the analog stick was a simple as pressing the stick in the desired direction. In this way, Okami's PS2 controls were the equivalent to the auto-aiming found in Resident Evil 2; dummy-proof, but stagnant, with no capacity to provide a sense of mastery or skill building. On the Wii, you will screw up your brush techniques for the first few hours you play because (gasp) the game actually requires some skill. This isn't due to the controls being poorly implemented. It's because painting a straight line in real life is quite hard. That's why man created rulers.

Once you develop the skill (and the muscle memory) to effectively make a straight line in the Wii edition of Okami, it becomes second nature. This actually causes the game to move much faster on the Wii than on the PS2. The brush on the PS2 build of the game would only move at a specific, predetermined speed. On the Wii build, the brush moves as fast as your hand moves. Those with skills will be whipping out brush techniques with lightning speed, far faster than possible on the PS2. Actually, the slower your brush strokes in Okami on the Wii, the more likely you are to mess up with a shaky, squiggly line. Again, just like in real-life painting or drawing.

In the end, though, a game's controls are not about how easy they are or fast they are, but about how well they immerse and engage the player. That is why this Wii port of Okami was necessary. Creating brush strokes with your arm and seeing the 1:1 results on-screen builds a real feeling of connection between the existence of the player on one side of the screen, and the game world on the other. Where Okami's controls on the PS2 only worked to build a wall between players and the game, the Wii controls actually break the wall down.

Also worth a quick mention are how the motion controls work in Okami's more basic functions, like melee combat. Again, the PS2 build of the game's controls are decidedly easier. Button mashing yields huge, skill-free combos on the PS2's Okami, where the Wii build's motion controlled attacks require strict timing to perform. The trade-off is again between ease and depth, with the more mindless but simple controls to be found on the PS2, and the more skill-intensive but difficult controls on the Wii.

That being said, if you loved the way Okami played on the PS2, you will likely find the motion controls on the Wii port to be initially jarring at best, frustratingly difficult at worst. If Ready at Dawn and Capcom really wanted to create the ultimate version of Okami, they would have allowed for classic controller and/or GameCube controller support. This "classic" or "easy" mode would have made Okami on the Wii the inarguably perfect version of the game. But as it stands, the Wii port is still the superior cut, with its more accurate and responsive controls, widescreen support, and slightly enhanced visuals (whites are whiter, brights are brighter), not to mention the $40 price tag.

http://gamernode.com/reviews/6567-okami/index.html

The definitive version of Okami despite its combat flaws. The improved Celestial Brush is enough to warrant a purchase.

Umm, Official Nintendo magazine gave this game 95 out of a 100. So how is this gimped? Was it a nintendo power writer?

Oh yeah it was, they gave it a 75 and said:

Okami is a work of genius, but you should play the original game instead of the Wii version if you can. [May 2008, p.88]

Whereas Official nintendo magazine gave it a 95 and said:

The story is delightful and has plenty of subtle humour all the way through it.

Even the shitty gamesradar US review praised the visual clean-up

http://www.gamesradar.com/wii/okami/review/okami/a-2008041194226777028/g-200710231050878040

Graphics aren't everything, but in Okami's case, they help define a universe. It’s hard to imagine Okami’s visuals getting any better than what wowed us back in 2006 on the PS2, but that’s exactly what the Wii hardware has done. From the cherry blossom trees to the sprawling fields, everything is that much crisper and that much more vibrant. Whether you're searching for lost warrior dogs or scouring a labyrinth for an eyeball-shaped key, you'll never once discover some glaring visual flaw that yanks you out of the mood.

The dungeons, people and environment are pieced together in such a beautiful, artistic way that they don't even look like graphics - they look like another, existing realm that we've been lucky enough to witness. Even your character, the revived wolf-goddess Amaterasu, radiates with divine energy.

ravenprose said:

I haven't fully upgraded my house in the GC version yet, but I believe there's only three rooms: 1st floor, 2nd floor, and Basement. The 1st floor starts out very small and gets much bigger as you pay Nook for improvements. The basement and 2nd floor comes next. The DS version was much better in that regard.

Oh so the rooms in the GC version just got bigger? You didn't get additional rooms?

I think the DS version is topped out at 4 rooms on the ground level and a second floor room, discounting the attic. I got to get a better bully sig.

^^You two sound like housewifes.

P.S. GoTY 2008 will be Little King's Story, Believe it

Buy Eden!!

*Runs back to play*

Hmm, that Gametrailers Soul Calibur IV Review link sends me to Gamekyo. . .

Here's the correct link: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/37778.html