PixyJunket

Ouch.

slop101

Don't listen to Ralph - I'm about 25 hours into Okami (just a bit past the half-way point), and Okami is far, FAR less tedious than Wind Waker. There aren't that many dungeons - it's mostly the "overworld", and the fetch-quests aren't too bad. And there is nothing even close to WW's pointless sailing around in Okami. Okami has warp-points, and much cooler weapons and power-ups than WW. There also haven't been too many boss battles in Okami so far, but the few that there were, were pretty cool, if not kinda easy.

What's great at this point is how Okami's world opens up and pulls you in, from the different characters to the diverse locations, I really can't wait to see what's around the next corner.

Josh H

Dang, so I guess that the reviews that put it at 40 hours weren't exaggerating.

I guess that's a good thing. I was just hoping to finish it before Zelda and the Wii on Nov 19th, but at that length I doubt I will.

Guess I'll just have to decide then whether to shelve Okami for a while, or hold off on starting zelda until finishing it.

outer-edge

I think I'm about halfway as well and the game hasn't captured me like Wind Waker did, but the complaints others had with Wind Waker (sailing, tedious, etc.) never bothered me (only lack of dungeons bothered me). I do find Okami a bit tedious at times, especially early in the game, but not bad by any means.

HOWEVER, I am LOVING Okami. I wish there were more dungeons and bosses in Okami, and running the overworld can get dull at times (even with warps), but I have played every night since getting it and will give it a place of honor in my collection. The design (characters, world, art style, etc.) is just great and really makes the game stand out. No more or less than Wind Waker, in my opinion, but it is uniquely its own.

I disagree about weapons though, as the weapons just aren't very cool and the brush strokes just take place of items in other games. But, I do really enjoy the brush aspect of the game and am glad there is such as excellent balance between brush strokes and normal action in the game. It is rather too easy though and not only in battles. The game often hands you any answers on a silver platter, which kind of sucks if you want some challenge.

Overall, any tediousness, lack of dungeons, whatever, is easily balanced by the good stuff and the game just breezes by full of fun.

Outlaw

Cool, I can't wait to pick this up, still playing Rocket Slime, but I've had my eye on this for awhile. Nearly picked it up while at Target the other day.

musick

halfway point of the game here as well and lovin' it

played it hard and heavy when first released ....now I am pacing myself and going back in short spurts

Josh H

Put in another couple of hours last night, and got to a point where the game opened up somemore and let you explore.

I'm absolutely loving it, most fun I've had with a console game in quite a while. Looks great, and there is a ton you can do in the world (and I'm sure it expands even more) from healing trees, digging for stuff, feeding animals to get praise, etc.

Definitely very Zelda like, but with it's own unique flavor.

Supermallet

How long is this game meant to be? I'm already in the moon cave and it's only been 12 hours or so. I hope I haven't missed huge chunks of side quests.

outer-edge

You got more to do, don't worry. I hit that point too and worried.

slop101

The half-way point is around the time you're done with the moon cave - took me a little under 20 hours. So around 35 hours for the whole game, I assume.

Josh H

Man, I'm absolutely loving this game! Just logged a 5 1/2 hours session...I can't remember the last time I played a game that long.

It's just a blast exploring the world, using the brush etc. The musics is fantastic as well, took me a while to notice it as I was so enthralled with the graphics.

slop101

I'm at a little over 35 hours now, and I was at a boss that I thought was the final boss, because it was so hard - so I looked at a faq to see how to beat it, and saw that even after this boss I still had a L O N G way to go - by the time I'm done, this thing will be well over 50 hours - which is amazing for such a non-repetative action/adventure game.

Josh H

I a bit over 13 hours in. Just finished the second dungeon, and getting ready to head to the moon cave.

It's simply an amazing game. Spot on controls, great graphic design, great music. It's got me totally sucked in on all fronts.

Seems to be right up my alley as it involves a decent amount of exploration and thinking about where to go next, but you are rarely clueless as to what to do. The boss battles are Wind Waker-esque in that they take some effort to figure out what to do, but once you figure it out its fairly easy to pull off. That's how I prefer it compared to say the Metroid Prime games where it takes a while to figure out what to do, then takes a ton of practice and skill to pull it off without dying.

Looks like this game will be one that I can put a good 40-50 hours in without ever getting bored or frustrated, which is the absolute ideal game for they way I like to play.

slop101

Dude, slow down.

I wasn't exactly taking my time, and it took me about 18 hours to get to the Moon Cave. Do some exploring, side-quests and earn some money to buy moves and equipment.

Josh H

There may be more I have to do before going to the moon cave, I'm at the point where the girl just ran to the cave with the Sake--so I'm not sure if there is a ton of stuff to do before that (like finding all the dogs before getting into the 2nd dungeon).

I've been exploring, have bought all the moves in the DOJO that were available for purchase, bought gold dust and available weapons, upgraded my weapons, have been given every are an quick exploration for treasure, hidden clover etc.

Only side quest I've passed on was getting the monsters on the wanted list and there was one area I didn't get into in the 2nd village as I go tired of trying to hit the 4 weak points on the blockhead thing.

But to be fair, I am trying to get through the main quest before the Wii and Zelda come out on the 19th as the game will get put on the back burner then and I'll lose track of where I was. So I'd like to finish it up if possible and go back later and see if there are any side quests I want to finish up etc.

But in all honesty, I've never been super huge on trying to get 100% in games as I don't like searching every nook and cranny for hidden stuff, lame fetch quests to get items etc.

slop101

Neither am I - I guess I was just surprised that you got to that point sooner than me, since I didn't try to do "everything" either - you've pretty much done everything I did up to that point, but somehow I clocked almost 5 more hours than you. Maybe I just left it on pause while talking on the phone without remembering or something...

Josh H

Maybe. I haven't gotten lost any or anything though, so other than taking a bit of time it's been straight through for me without much wasted time trying to figure out what to do.

There was another poster a few posts back who said they were at the moon cave at about 12 hours though, so maybe you did have it on pause or something.

Josh H

Finished the moon cave. That was a fantastic boss battle. All of the 3 have been great so far, but that was the best yet.

Just wonderfully executed bosses IMO.

Josh H

Man this game is like crack. Sat down to play for an hour or two....turned into a 6 hours session.

Just under 21 hours in, just finished the sunken ship part.

This could well end up as my favorite game of this current/ending generation.

It just has that "magic" that I haven't gotten from a game since Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Supermallet

It's up there with the very best of this generation, no doubt about it.

slop101

Just wanted to point out that our own Todd Douglas has posted a very favorable, spot-on review of Okami, bequeathing it the status of "Collectors Series".

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/games/read.php?ID=498

I couldn't agree more.

devynal

Help me out here: When you come across those purple-sheened rocks, nothing seems to budge them -- what am I missing?

kaze0

I just can't get into Okami :/ I tried and tried but it's just not sucking me in. FF 12 on the other hand, has officially sucked me in. Maybe it's the music?

Lastblade

Same here, Okami just doesn't do anything for me. I much rather play Yakuza, Bully, FF12, Valkyrie Profile 2.

Josh H

Pulled another marathon session tonight--a bit over 7 hours. I think I've got 4 or 5 sessions of 5 hours or longer now. That's unheard of for me.

Just under 31 hours in, just finished Oni Island and made it to the next area (snowy north area) and saved.

Game continues to amaze me with the atmosphere, creative puzzles, never tiresome combat, fantastic bosses and loads of hidden stuff to look for.