Okami HD - Now I Can Explore Nippon on the Switch while I Explore Nippon

The game's slow pacing and general lack of difficulty is why I've decided to pass on this. It does look beautiful, and it's one of those adventures that's more about taking in the sights and the sounds, but I'd rather my brain didn't feel like it was rotting while I was doing so...

That feels awfully harsh.  I'd say its difficulty level was on par with the 3D Zeldas of its generation, until BotW in fact: no it's not hard, but the gameplay's still good enough to keep you playing despite that.  The slow pacing cedes after the first hour, until you meet Orochi for the third time anyway.

shanks wrote:

I'm (very) slowly getting the hang of what I'm meant to do

How are you finding it Shanks?  What if anything are you finding unclear?

I don't think I'm alone playing this any more, so: bumpytimes! How are people (e.g. Drunka) getting on with it this time around?

I've just beaten the big boss fella. What a fight! Not hard, but epic. Would have been a cracking fight if...

Spoiler:

My physical copy arrived at the same time as Katamari but I haven't started it yet. Too big a commitment at the moment I'm afraid!

I understand that, it's a weighty old game. I will say that it felt much less weighty on Switch, what with being able to quicksave anywhere. I've found, weirdly, that it's perfect for the odd five-minute burst - not something I ever thought I'd say about Okami. Go figure.

I'm three or four hours in and loving it . . . While Shen has played like twelve while I've been at work.

I'm surprised by how much bayo DNA I can feel in the combat. I'm actually enjoying picking fights! On the other hand, I'm also amazed how much it holds my hand, at least early on.

Hang on: is this your first time ever playing it? If so I'll be a little more wary of spoilers! You're in for a treat though, and arguably had the best of it by not playing it on Wii with waggle. My opinion of the combat will be forever coloured...

Pretty much, yeah. I played like an hour on Wii.

I'm more than a bit jealous.

Are you jealous because I get to play it for the first time now, or because my first time I don't have to use Wii controls?

Both. Even with Wii controls, Okami is an absolutely magical experience; and without, well it ought to be challenging for my top ten of all time. However, I've found myself happy to drop it for other games (Baba now, FFIX before that) solely because I've seen it all before. The sense of wonder is diminished, and I don't know how much of that is me and how much is Okami's charms being best enjoyed on the first run-through, and losing something on the return. The beautiful art style, for example, I now take for granted; same with the epic boss fight I just finished.

So, yep. Jealous.

I managed to get properly engrossed in it on my second playthrough, a lot of time had passed so that probably helped. It probably wasn't until the point Balla mentioned he was at earlier in the thread that I doubled down on it, the game feels so much more exciting after that point and it isn't exactly bad before that point either.