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Although the upcoming HD port of Okami uses the Move controller, it’s not a direct adaptation of the controls from the Wii version. The Wii version, rather infamously, had you shake the Wii remote to attack, but this HD version has mapped it to the “Move” button in the center of the Move controller, making it rather easy to stay in the air attacking with Amaterasu’s solar disk and keep your wrist happy.
While the main weapon is pretty easy to access with the move controller, jump and your subweapon are slightly more awkward if you’re not used to the Move controller. Jump is mapped to X and the subweapon to triangle, which are to the bottom left and upper right of the Move button respectively. However, after a bit of adjustment, the game clicked for me.
Considering I haven’t touched the original game in years, I had quite a bit of fun with the combat in Okami HD. Initiated by running into one of the scrolls floating around, entering combat will wall Amaterasu in with a number of enemies… or perhaps it walls them in with her.
Even though what I played gave me an un-upgraded Ammy, she was still fast and more than capable of eliminating the minor demons that I fought against. I had two weapons in my arsenal, a “reflector,” which was essentially a mirror that Amaterasu could hit things with, and a rosary that did less damage, but hit more times. I decided to make the reflector my main weapon and set my rosary to be a subweapon, which turned the individual beads into rapid projectiles.
Okami’s physics seem to be built around letting Amaterasu dish out as much damage as possible. For instance, if you leap above an enemy, you can pretty much hang in the air and dish out a ton of damage before you hit the ground, either with the beads or the reflector. That said, there’s something satisfying about how your last hit on an enemy will send them into the air in slow motion for you to cut in half with a single slice of the Celestial Brush for some extra loot or cash.
Due to the rather open nature of Okami, I spent the majority of my time running across the land looking for enemies to fight, but in the process, I found a number of opportunities to use the Celestial Brush. I brought plants back to life, sliced up enemies, and created lily pads to cross small bodies of water (even though Amaterasu is a wolf, she takes to water like a cat). To activate the Celestial Brush, I held the trigger on the back of the Move controller and pressed the Move button to put the brush to the screen.
While I expected that brushwork would involve me pointing the Move controller at the screen, it seemed to all be motion-based. However, this method was very accurate, and I was able to draw things quickly and accurately.
Outside of that, Okami HD was… Okami, but even prettier.
Food for Thought:
1. While the Fleetfoot dodge wasn’t unlocked in the demo I played, according to the little printout at the demo unit, it’s performed by shaking the move controller.
2. Yes, Okami HD can also be played with a regular PlayStation 3 controller.
