Games

Oh, I'm absolutely enjoying it, it just doesn't feel "special" to me, outside of the art style.

cell-shading

I played JetSet Radio Future as a kid (never played the original), which also has cell shaded graphics, and it felt really good to play and it came out ~5 years prior to Okami. I haven't gone back to try it again, so maybe nostalgia is kicking in, but I remember also being blown away by the graphics and general feel of the game. I absolutely love cell shaded graphics, which is probably why I like this game's graphics.

But when I compare Okami to other games from around that time, it doesn't feel as impactful. Here are a few I played somewhat recently (within the just 3-ish years) that I really enjoyed:

• Gurumin - 2004 - combat felt really good, and it's packed with charm
• Ys Origin - 2006 - everything is fantastic, probably one of my top games; I also loved Ys 1&2, which are a lot older (Ys 1 is my favorite from the series, and definitely top 10 of all time esp due to the unique combat)
• Recettear - 2007 - combat and the sales mechanic felt good and nicely balanced, and the whole feel was quite unique
• Costume Quest - 2010 - combat is simple, but still pretty fun; the best part is the setting, who else makes a trick-or-treat game?
• Morrowind - 2002 - graphics still hold up imo (art style seems very effective); I played it as a kid, so lots of nostalgia; I love it for side quests and immersion, combat kinda sucks, main story was average, and RPG mechanics in general aren't my thing (but are really well done)

I enjoyed each of those way more than I'm currently enjoying Okami, and so far, they're way more memorable.

I'm not saying it's bad (again, I'm enjoying myself), it just seems it's riding hard on the art style (which is unique and very well done), but the rest seems to be pretty average. Some specific downsides:

• lots of uninteresting text, and I love text-heavy games; I also can't consistently skip/speed through it (I've tried, and it works about half the time)
• lots of "handholding" - make it partway through an area, and it shows you where to go next by taking control; I never had that in any of the above (except JSRF, if memory serves)
• weird cuts when picking up items, yet I still don't know what the point of those items are (I think I've healed once, and that ended up not being necessary)

So I'm staying for the art and atmosphere, but everything else is pretty mediocre and forgettable, with a little frustration thrown in. I'm not really interested in a sequel or remake unless they drastically change the gameplay and narration. Maybe give me a completely different game instead with the same art style.

If someone asks for a game with interesting graphics and atmosphere, I'll recommend Okami, otherwise I'll probably never mention it when discussing games.