Tonight I finally finished Okami! I didn't get all the extra stuff (like all of the stray beads, the Bloody Gate, all of the praise, etc. etc.) but my running around netted me about 2000+ more praise, some completed sidequests and some more moves from the dojo.

The final series of boss battles weren't that bad. I used a bunch of exorcism slips on Ninetails, so that helped things go a lot faster. (Also finally figured out how to kill Blight faster than whatever I did last time.) The final boss battle was time-consuming, but honestly, I suffered worse injuries fighting the canine warriors. |D

I totally teared up at the end of the game, when all of Ammy's friends were praying for her because of all the good things she'd done for them, and it grants her the power to raise the sun again. Also, just the whole bit of Issun spreading his drawings out to all so that they can believe in her. So much BAWWWWW. (And I'm correct in thinking that Issun was the narrator all along?)

Overall, the game was so much fun to play, absolutely beautiful to watch and listen to, and the ending was satisfying. I think the gaming world needs more like Okami: not just for a different kind of play style, but also because it wasn't afraid to be a positive game, with no dark-gray-morality-grizzled-antihero sort of business. Your job is to save the world, and you do it by feeding animals and planting flowers AND kicking ass, and it's fun! It was just a great feel-good game that was also just challenging enough. I'd recommend it to all. :D


Slightly related, I have a question to my flist and others, although sadly I cannot create polls with this account so I just have to ask without a poll. Question is: who got you into gaming in the first place? (And when?) Was it family members, such as parents/siblings, or friends? Been discussing the gaming industry as a whole with dudes, so I'm curious. As for myself, I never had consoles growing up because my parents didn't like video games, so basically I got into it because of friends.

Drawing: Assignments and sketches

Writing: Nuttin'