# ITT: I bitch about Okami. FOR THE WIIII!



## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 8, 2008)

I'll start off by saying I love this game, I really do. She's engaging and very pretty but a bitch to get a handle of. This game and I have been dating for the last week. Before I go to work and after I come home from work we meet up for an hour to a couple of hours and have our time together. Things usually go fine, but she always seems to want to hit my pet peeves and she does so frequently. I'd also like to point out that this is the first time I have played this game, I never owned a playstation 2. lol.

My familiarity with Ready At Dawn studios is slim other than they're a fairly new company. I know that as they were starting on the Okami project they distinctly announced that "WE WILL NOT BE UTILIZING THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE WII REMOTE". Unlucky for us they did not hold on to that promise. Now, I'm no enemy (I laud it often) to using the motion sensing controls for attacking and using the sensor for drawing but I have serious problems when these mechanisms are not properly utilized.

Attacking in battle and it's not a rosary is definitely one of the biggest pains in the ass this game has to offer. It's not that swinging the remote to attack is a bad idea but it's that, unlike other adventure games, the motion sensors seem to trip over themselves. Many errors have occurred as follows: as I swung in one direction to lay a hit, which worked then I quickly switched the other direction and the game didn't respond. This problem happens way too often and considering now that I'm using another swinging the Wiimote sort of weapon that charges, it's assuming that my initial swing and my change in direction are all one command and it now charges the weapon rather than unleashes a second attack chaining attack. What exacerbates this problem is that if the chain isn't properly execute the weapon returns to Amaterasu's back and won't return for use again until the Wiimote has stopped moving and swung again. When I have practiced the five hit combo, the game is forcing the player into this really odd window of attacking which is starting with the initial attack, then a really really quick pause for allowing the attack to finish, then swinging again to make sure that the combo (max 4 attacks at one time at this point) continues.  In my opinion this is a horribly inefficient use of the motion sensors, Ready at Dawn should feel bad.

Brushing. You'd think that having the freedom of the Wiimote technology drawing a line to slash an opponent on the screen wouldn't be a problem. Somehow, it fucking is. Circles are fine, unless you're trying to draw wind. The problem that I'm finding with the brush mechanic is that the strokes that shouldn't be precise are very precise and the same problem follows when trying to use the strokes upon a target. The divine slash always comes to mind. I don't know how many straight lines I have to draw before the game actually registers what I did as a slash. There are points where I drew straight lines over the intended target that didn't materializes into slashes on the target but on the object behind the target. I've talked with people who have played the PS2 version before playing this one and many have confirmed that the brush is actually worse on the Wii. Severely disappointing in my opinion. 

However, I still really like this game and it's definitely falling on my list of games that I will play... more than once.


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## Quaidis (May 8, 2008)

While I only grazed your thread, most of your problem appears to be with the wii, itself, and not the game.  For example, if the cursor jerks to the other side of the screen or doesn't respond kindly, it's a second light source behind the motion visor that's attracting the wiimote.  If the cursor moves too fast or is hard to control, there is an option on the wii menu to make the cursor move more slowly.

Check this list:

Is there any sunlight or windows behind or near the television or motion detector/visor?  Close the curtains or play during the night to fix this.  If a light is doing it, turn off the light.  

Are there any cellphones, watches, batteries, keys, or other magnetic/electrical/reflective object near the visor bar?  If so, move them away.  

How close are you to the television?  Go to the wii settings menu and go into the sensitivity option.  There should be a 1 to 5 number choice.  Select the one that gives the right amount of lights and test out the wiimote.  I found that the farther you are away from the tele, the higher the number should be.  At the same time - and forgive me if this is in a different settings option - I find that some numbers will make moving and targeting the wiimote slower and easier to handle.  






Now don't get me wrong, I don't own Okami for the wii yet (have it for the ps2, some of the controls, like the rock pushing up the hill, drove me insane and made me want to break something).  I heard making the symbols takes some getting use to.  Don't rip the wiimote from one direction to the next or the visor bar will loose track of you.  Be subtle and gentle and try out different methods until you find what works for you.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 8, 2008)

Sir, I understand what you're communicating, but it's not the hardware itself that's causing these issues. It's the translation of the movements from the hardware by the game. 

And yes, I'm ranting specifically about controls for Okami for the Wii only, I have not played the PS2 version.


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## Quaidis (May 8, 2008)

If my post upset you in any way, I do apologize.


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## Stratelier (May 9, 2008)

I disagree about the use of Wii Remote motion for attacking.  I learned quickly from Twilight Princess that a simple flick of the wrist is all it takes.  Timing successive hits is a little trickier, but nothing that can't be dealt with.

I love Okami as well, and have my own share of gripes.  No point-and-click support for the menu screens, certain text is harder to read because of the reduced paper-texture effect.

The problem with certain brush strokes not being recognized isn't strictly with the Wii Remote.  It's with the algorithm the game uses to determine what shape it is:  The game is *inherently* more forgiving about recognizing a circle than a straight line (this is a port from PS2, after all).  Again, this is something fairly easy to work around:  Quick motions produce straighter lines.

It's also been mentioned by various publications that the fishing mini-game could have seriously benefitted from having motion/tilt support (like how the Manta racing in Super Mario Galaxy worked).


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 9, 2008)

Oh I learned the concept of minimal flick while playing Twilight Princess too, but the issue of not executing a second attack as soon as the first had finished was very infrequent. My issue hasn't been how much force I've had to use, it's that commands I'm giving the hardware aren't being met as I demand it. Not that I haven't figured it out after a while, but that what should come easy (attacking) now has an unnecessary learning curve to it.

Ya learn something new about the brush though.


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## Fou-lu (May 10, 2008)

Am I the only one who doesn't have any problems with attacking and the brush? It took me about 5 minutes to adjust and I rarely have problems with any of the commands, except for the whirlwind command (3 horizontal lines) for some reason.
If you have trouble with the slash, try using the Z-button to draw.

The only thing that is absolutely broken is dodging with the nunchuck. I swear, you have absolutely no control over what direction you dodge in, it's random.


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## Stratelier (May 10, 2008)

Nunchuk dodging is based on which direction you flick the Nunchuk (forward/back, right/left), relative to the screen.  Even so, I would've preferred a generic flick + analog stick direction.  Mainly because the PS2 used button + analog stick.

But to me, the biggest gameplay difference I've noticed, and I really do not like it, is that when you equip the first set of rosaries as a sub, it doesn't seem to be capable of rapid-fire anymore.  This makes a HUGE difference in its usefulness as a sub-weapon and I can't think of any explanation, any at all, about why it should be any different than it was on the PS2.


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## Fou-lu (May 10, 2008)

Stratadrake said:


> Nunchuk dodging is based on which direction you flick the Nunchuk (forward/back, right/left), relative to the screen.  Even so, I would've preferred a generic flick + analog stick direction.  Mainly because the PS2 used button + analog stick.



I know, but 9 out of 10 times it does not go where I want it to go.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 12, 2008)

I had forgotten about the dodging because I rarely use it myself. That too is absolutely pitiful.


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## Dragoneer (May 12, 2008)

Bowtoid_Obelisk said:


> It's not that swinging the remote to attack is a bad idea but it's that, unlike other adventure games, the motion sensors seem to trip over themselves. Many errors have occurred as follows: as I swung in one direction to lay a hit, which worked then I quickly switched the other direction and the game didn't respond.


This was my major complaint about the Wii. For as accurate as it could be it still wasn't perfect. I never felt that the Wiimote was a natural extension, but a wand I had to compensate for a lot. Hence when I tried to do things in the games I tried, it worked most of the time, but not all of the time. Or it was fairly accurate, but never truly accurate.

It was a lot like drawing on a Wacom. Generally awesome, but not always.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 19, 2008)

I just finished Okami, but I'm horridly drunk. Such a beautiful game... ruined by poor Wii translation.


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## Istanbul (May 20, 2008)

If you own the PS2 version of Okami (and you should), then there's no reason to buy the Wii version. Sorry you spent money on it.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 20, 2008)

Istanbul said:


> If you own the PS2 version of Okami (and you should), then there's no reason to buy the Wii version. Sorry you spent money on it.



Maybe you should read the part where I wrote I don't have a Playstation 2. Also the part where I say I still really like the game.


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## Magica (May 20, 2008)

There was a few annoyances with the brushtroke using the Wii remote. When I first started I was having trouble getting the first few, and having to deal with Issun's talking everytime. It's easy once I got the hang of it.

Sometimes you have instances where it doesn't work properly, such as getting wind instead of the bloom brushstroke. I've read somewhere that this happens when you being the brushstroke a certain way. I occasionally have trouble getting the Inferno 2 and Lightning brushstrokes to work properly, but they're not needed as much as the main ones. I don't use the nunchuck dodge much, mainly because Ammy would dodge the opposite of where I flick the nunchuck. I didn't use the glaives at first because flicking the Wiimote Ammy would still stand in one spot charging up the glaive, and she would end up being hit by an opponent. This also took getting the hang of, and sometimes she stands in one spot but it takes either letting her get hit or waving the wiimote around to get her to move.

I try not to let controls get in the way of gameplay unless it's absolutely needed in some spots. Some say they'd had trouble with the Charcoal/Kimo quest, when instead I had trouble during the Clock Tower quest to get the Lightning brushtroke and trying to get the thunderbolt line on the contraption.  They're not important unless you want to get the stray beads to get a few feature after beating the game.

I love the game, including it's gameplay and it's music. I've unlocked the Ark of Yamato, but I'm going around doing Stray Bead and other side quests before I head in.

What does annoy me is that I found out the ending theme with Reset was cut from the Wii version due to legal issues.


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## Ty Vulpine (May 20, 2008)

I loved the PS2 version (though I had to use a Gameshark to get past some of the hard parts). Biggest "mistake" in the game is the "Golden Rain" attack. I thought she was female, yet acts like a male during that "attack"...


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 20, 2008)

Yeah I thought that was weird too but sometime my female dog pees like that and I have no idea why or how.


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## Stratelier (May 20, 2008)

I've heard it's an 'alpha' thing....



> I didn't use the glaives at first because flicking the Wiimote Ammy would still stand in one spot charging up the glaive, and she would end up being hit by an opponent.


I haven't gotten to that point yet, but are you saying the Wii version won't let you charge up a glaive on the run?  That would be a second significant gameplay difference with no easy scapegoat explanation.... (first being the beads' lack of rapid-fire.  Yes, the nunchuk dodging is also different but _that_ is easily explained)


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 21, 2008)

No you can charge and run, it's attacking that's wonky. The game has a difficult time distinguishing between charging the glaive and attacking with it because pulling up the remote charges the attack but swinging performs the attack so there are horrible pauses between attacks.


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## Magica (May 21, 2008)

Pretty much what Bowtoid said. I'll use the Glaive but I prefer to use the Rosary beads.

I finally got the 99 stray beads. Last night I did the Kamui devil gate cave and it's a wonder why my arm isn't aching from shaking the wiimote so much with the Rosary beads. I barely survived it as it is save for having enough Golden Peaches to keep me going.


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## Stratelier (May 21, 2008)

Don't forget the Vengeance Slips too -- temporary invincibility, plus you can buy them for cash.


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## Magica (May 22, 2008)

Stratadrake said:


> Don't forget the Vengeance Slips too -- temporary invincibility, plus you can buy them for cash.



True. I realized close to the end that I didn't have enough. I think I had 10 when I first went in.

Anyways, I did beat the game. It was a lengthy but pretty fun battle. Started New Game+. I have the invisibility (Stray beads) item, all the Karmics and the weapons except for the last three. 

I had a weird glitch while in Kamiki during NG+.  When I was doing the praise quests, one for the kid where you take him the red turnip, and the other where to make a drying stick for the old lady, both ended up having different dialogue than their own.  When I gave the red turnip to the kid he started talking with Susano's dialogue; the same happened with the old lady. It was weird.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 22, 2008)

EVERYONE TALKS LIKE SUSANO!

And I just finished the Kamui gate too. I didn't realize I had vengeance slips and steel fist sake until the end. What a horrible string of fights, I wouldn't be as angry if they weren't dodge happy and flying fire swords spammy.


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## Magica (May 22, 2008)

Bowtoid_Obelisk said:


> EVERYONE TALKS LIKE SUSANO!
> 
> And I just finished the Kamui gate too. I didn't realized I had vengeance slips and steel fist sake until the end. What a horrible string of fights, I wouldn't be as angry if they weren't dodge happy and flying fire swords spammy.



Oh I know. After fighting the Rao/Waka fights I was hoping that was the end (and desparately looking for that Golden Peach you get), then I moaned when I found I still had one more left and it was with Nagi.

Nagi was hell. Talk about massive gang up. Luckily I had about 11 or so peaches when I first went in.


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## Stratelier (May 23, 2008)

> ...and the weapons except for the last three


Indeed, the elemental weapons do not carry over to a New Game +.


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## Magica (May 23, 2008)

Back at Orochi's place. Drew another mask for Ammy (NSFW)


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## Stratelier (May 23, 2008)

I swear Ammy's mask this time is going to be a big, bold "?", hehe.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 24, 2008)

What's funny is that despite the horrible flaws, we're perfectly ready to play through what could be another 20 hours of game. Or at least I am. Lol, I'm such a tool.


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## Stratelier (May 25, 2008)

Twenty?  Man, take some time to stop and smell the side-quests.  I spent at least fifty.

As for me, I still can't stand how the Devout beads don't have rapid-fire anymore as a sub-weapon, but I did find a way to cope:  Tap the A button lightly to hop in place, this allows you to fire the next shot more quickly.

Beaten Crimson Helm at the Gale Temple now... I messed up (twice) when Susano jumped in.  It was hilarious to see how he reacted to the failed hit (as well as him subsequently taking down the beast with half his clothes burned off).

And man, the Life Beads are still among my favorite bead subweapons.  Especially at point-blank range, the full salvo does like double or triple as much as a full salvo of Devout Beads (even with gold dust) can.

Drawing the Gale mark with the Remote is surprisingly easy, I haven't messed up once.  And the vertical stroke used to activate Power Springs is somehow a lot easier than the horizontal line required for a Power Slash.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (May 25, 2008)

Stratadrake said:


> Twenty?  Man, take some time to stop and smell the side-quests.  I spent at least fifty.
> 
> As for me, I still can't stand how the Devout beads don't have rapid-fire anymore as a sub-weapon, but I did find a way to cope:  Tap the A button lightly to hop in place, this allows you to fire the next shot more quickly.
> 
> ...



Woa, I say twenty because now that I have the stray beads and know what I want from certain portions of the game and have much more powerful weapons. I'll be going from point A to point B with little or no fuss. I've always typically reduced the amount of time it takes me to beat a game by half. At this point, having gathered everything it took me 47 hours.

I have issues with the power springs simply because of the camera. The game does get easier to deal with with time. But I still hate it when the game wants you to paint an exact way and my unsteady hands with the awkward Wii-Sensor placement screws that up.


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## Stratelier (May 26, 2008)

> But I still hate it when the game wants you to paint an exact way and my unsteady hands with the awkward Wii-Sensor placement screws that up.


Crossing out names on monster wanted-lists comes to mind . . . one of them took me at least a dozen tries to do properly.

I've reached Moon Cave territory by now . . . and I just realized that the black tip of Ammy's tail doesn't have that inky-smear effect that it did on the PS2.  Such a subtle detail . . . gone....

But, damn the difference in color quality.  I still can't get over how those mountains reflecting off of Lake Harami are so absolutely crystal-clear on the Wii.  I fired up the PS2 version for comparison, sky and lake mostly gray with a very faint blue tint, but on Wii . . . BAM!  Technicolor.


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## dietrc70 (May 26, 2008)

I've got the PS2 and the Wii version, and I agree that the motion controls for the Wii are screwy.

The cut scenes where you have to draw circles or even make slashes in sequence were especially awful. Some of those took dozens of tries...the sun would rise instead of triggering Bloom, and it game couldn't seem to recognize a straight line!

It's better now, since I seem to have figured out what the game is looking for, but the motion controls should have been refined more in the development. I never had as much trouble with the PS2 version. I do like playing the Wii version more because of the widescreen, but I wish a bit more effort had been put into the port.

(BTW, I agree, Alpha female wolves (and dogs) will cock their legs when performing the golden rain attack  )


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## Stratelier (May 26, 2008)

STOP BLAMING POWER SLASH ON WII MOTION CONTROLS.

Sheesh.


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## Lonely (Jun 2, 2008)

All I have to say is that with as many problems I've had with the PS2's drawing, I can only imagine for the Wii.  Though mine come from being left handed.  I naturally draw a circle in the opposite direction, and that damn cherry bomb took a good 20 minutes to figure out.  Wind too.  Showing how to do it would have been nice, not just a picture, but I digress.

I didn't look, but did anyone else mention how Clover's staff roll is completely omitted from the credits of the Wii version?  Apparently Capcom said it was due to "legal issues" since it was a pre rendered cutscene and had Clover's name on it.  Wouldn't have been easier to _ask_ Clover for it?


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## Stratelier (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm left-handed too, but as I mouse with my right hand anyway I've had virtually no problems with Bloom, Cherry Bomb or Wind.  (Whereas Wind gave me a lot of trouble on the PS2).


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