Customer Reviews

Okami Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames))

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this day and age, a good strategy guide is actually pretty hard to find. Luckily there are still some good ones out there, and the Okami Official Strategy Guide by Bradygames is definitely a good one. If you're stuck on Okami and really need a leg up, then this guide is your ticket to doing so.

The guide begins with a prologue, that basically introduces you to the story of the game. It's about the same as the introduction to the game itself. So it's not really a spoiler. Afterwards it'll introduce you to the characters. There are several Nippon Folk throughout the game, and the guide will tell you just who you can find. With the exception of Amaterasu and Issun, there are no profiles really. Each character just has a quote below them, but you'll want to keep their face in mind for when you see them in the actual game. The guide waste no time here.

Afterwards we get into our basics. The brush techniques section gives an in depth description of each brush tecnhique and tips on how to use it. It's perfect and can really help you out if you're having trouble, as it gives some nifty tips on things like how to keep a straight line. The section dedicated to helping you control Ammy is also fairly detailed. Giving you a list of all the weapons, divine attributes, a shopping list and moves. These sections are also really detailed. The guide tells you how much praise you'll need to level up your ink pots, solar energy and more. They also detail all you'll need to know about shopping and how to unlock all the moves. there's no reason not be very knowledgable on the game after reading this section. It also details on all the secrets and bonuses here, none of which spoil the enjoyment of the game. This portion just gives you a run down of completion data and rewards for doing so as well as Issun's presents. Nothing spoiled here.

Now for the most important part of any strategy guide: The walkthrough. It's really detailed, for the most part. The sections are divided into Acts. Each Act begins with an introduction on what you need to do, and then goes on to explain the different locations. Each area begins with a list of objectives you need to complete. If you don't understand any of them, they're expertly written in the text of the walkthrough. The guide as a whole is very detailed, clear and concise. The screenshots are crystal clear as well.

The walkthrough also talks about each and every side quest you can do throughout the game. Whether it be digging up turnips before some crazy lady socks you, or simply feeding animals, the guide has it covered and it's very in depth.

Each area is also presented with maps. These maps are almost lifted directly from the game. They're easy to navigate, although I can't say they're extremely detailed. They point out treasure chests, but they don't tell you what's in them in an items list or anything. You'll be able to read about in the main text of the walkthrough, but it really would've helped if they'd simply given me an items list at the beginning of each section to go off of. They also neglect to point out pots and food and they don't always mention it in the main text itself. The good news is that the game itself is easy to navigate as it is, so the guide doesn't suffer too terribly there.

Another bad thing about the walkthrough is not always to the point. It often explains why you must do objectives, and sometimes these explanations contain spoilers. There are no major spoilers in the walkthrough, only minor ones. Still, it's rather annoying when the walkthrough won't get to the point, and it spends too much time explaining why you must do something when it could be telling me how to do it.

For the most part, however, the boss strategies are really good. You'll find that most bosses fall easily to these strategies, although it may be better to use your own at some parts. For the most part, however, the boss strategies serve their purpose.

After the walkthrough you'll find the section called the "Lupine Logbook" which details almost everything unrelated to the story. The wanted lists like Mika's monster notebook and such. It'll tell you the enemies you need to find and just where to find them. Here you'll also find a complete list of animals you can feed (along with their location) as well as a list of treasures you can sell. There's also a complete listing of stray beads. The stray bead portion of this section is divided by location rather than just a list. This makes this portion of the guide very easy to use.

Finally there's a bestiary for you to use when it comes to the various enemies throughout the land. It's not a terribly detailed bestiary but has some fairly good tips on how to down your enemies, so it's still pretty good on the whole. These battle tips can be used to defeat most of your enemies with ease.

Something about the guide as a whole however is that it clearly illustrates the game itself. In other words the guide actually has a very similar look and feel to the game itself, which can always help. It's very decorative, especially the artowrk. This makes the guide much more than just a guide, but also a collector's item for Okami fans.

Okami is an expansive game, no doubt. The only way you're going to be able to conquer everything is to invest in this guide. The walkthrough is solid, and the misc. features are also essential. If you're stuck on Okami, this is where you go for help.

The Good

+Detailed walkthrough, complete with sidequests, maps, boss strategies and everything a guide neads
+Good boss strategies
+Every side quest revealed
+Crystal clear screenshots
+Excellent in helping you adjust to the game's mechanics
+All the secrets revealed
+Neat tips for defeating even your normal enemies

The Bad

-The walkthrough is sometimes sluggish in some areas
-The maps, while good looking, are not terribly detailed... they lack things like telling you what's in jars or in treasure chest, or where you can find food for your pouch

With the prices of games ever rising, it's become a question for me whether or not to dish out the extra money to purchase a strategy guide that I may not even need or might not tell me much of anything.

I played Okami a total of three days and racked up about 24 hours of game play. From my experience thus far, the strategy guide has been very helpful. In itself, the book is filled with beautiful artwork. The first twenty pages or so are occupied with descriptions of the characters accompanied with gorgeous water-colored pictures of the characters.
The walkthrough itself is in an orderly fashion (as opposed to some of the chapters in the Kingdom Hearts 2 guide which were kind of mixed up). Each time a new area is described, the book provides you with a map of that area, along with the locations of all the chests and clovers spread across it (whether you can obtain them at that time or not). Each chapter tells you what the current situation is and what you need to do. It tells you what you need to do or where to go (although you don't necessarily need to go in the order the book uses), gives you good advice on how to defeat bosses, and good tips that are helpful in particular parts of the game.

The book provides you with a list of all the weapons you can obtain or buy throughout the game along with a brief description of it. I did not always find this useful, because it does not go into too many details about the weapons. For example, one weapon was stated to have ink bullet power, which I had no idea what it was, and the weapons list didn't tell me. Eventually though the book will tell you what stuff is once it will be beneficial to you to use it. The book also gives you lists of what you can trade demon fangs (another form of currency) with. What I found to be most important, was that it told you the several ways you can obtain demon fangs, which I probably would not have figured out on my own had the guide not told me. There was also an items list and a list of the extra bonuses you can unlock upon beating the game.

At the end of the walkthrough, there are some pages that give you a list of all the treasures you can find through the game and how much money you can get by selling them (you have no other use for them); the different fish you can catch and how much money you can get fore them as well as locations; the different hungry animals you can feed, how many there are in the world, what type of food to feed them, and their locations (these locations are not exact and that I found that to be a bit frustrating); the locations of all 100 sacred beads and any special abilities you need to obtain them. Finally, the last pages are filled with a bestiary of all the enemies you encounter.

I hope this review was helpful!

I'm still waiting on my copy of the game. It shipped late (not from Amazon), and I'll get it sometime next week. In the meantime, though, I got this book dropped off on my doorstep, and it is actually doing an amazing job of tiding me over. I like to buy guides for the art, but too many recent ones have been cheap affairs - Drakengard 2's Prima guide was a far cry from the lush one its predecessor enjoyed, consisting entirely of low-res screenshots and dull text in a repetitive, cookie-cutter format. I was optimistic that a game as lovely as Okami would make for a more satisfying guide, and happily, I guessed right. Of course, the game already looks astonishing, as anyone who's sampled the demo knows, so a parade of screenshots would almost be good enough. Thankfully, though, Brady decided not to fall into this trap, and instead they thoroughly outdid themselves, taking full advantage of their medium to produce a stunning visual treat.

The Okami guide absolutely leaps off the page at you. The page numbers are hung off of the left corner of each left-facing page, from what looks like a birdhouse. Magnificent depictions of Amaterasu, all different, fill the first few pages before you get to the introductory text. Each major character in the story is profiled with a large piece of hand-drawn art along with an appropriate quote. Not until page 24, after the Spirits of the Brush have been covered, are there any screenshots, and they remain infrequent through the walkthrough. The bestiary which follows the walkthrough is similar to the profile section in style, and double-page art divides each section, as well as ending the book. I wish there was a poster!

The only letdown is that some elements, namely the maps and a couple of the enemy creatures, are represented with sprites that have been rather crudely lifted from the game. Don't look too close at these, because they're pixelated and grainy and detract from the otherwise sky-high quality of the book, though they still mesh with its visual style.

In all, this is a great surprise. The book is such a gem that I could still recommend it to people who were not even considering the game, just for its aesthetic appeal and artistic merit alone. I own artbooks that don't hold a candle to it. Fantastic.

My son (12yrs) loves the game and the guide made it fun and easy to play. He loves the pictures in the guide and has hours of fun playing the game. It was a great buy and reasonably priced. I recieved it fast.

Without really knowing much or reading anything regarding the game I dove in and started playing and what an experience!! A truly epic beautiful game that just made me want more in the end. So after completing the game the first time I had plenty of questions regarding some items, some side missions and what the heck the stray beads were all about. Well the book does an excellent job of clearing up my questions and gave me a whole new reason to play the game again. The stray bead quest is really an intereting and diverse scavanger hunt, where some are easy to locate and some will take you over an hour to complete the necessary task to get just one bead. If you enjoyed this game or wish to play it and want a bigger challenge then just the standard fun adventure, get this book and follow all the sub quests and bead collection to make it a truly unforgettable experience.

In the twilight hours of the PS2, the late clover studios gives us a game that rivals zelda in scope and execution. This game could easily be defined as a classic. This game is so unique and beautiful that it should be required playing for all serious gamers. THe guide to this game is no exception. It is well written and informative. An easy to follow way to maximize the adventure that is Okami...

The Good

+Detailed walkthrough, complete with sidequests, maps, boss strategies and everything a guide neads
+Good boss strategies
+Every side quest revealed
+Crystal clear screenshots
+Excellent in helping you adjust to the game's mechanics
+All the secrets revealed
+Neat tips for defeating even your normal enemies

Okami is such a unique game with a style all it's own it's easy to get lost and not know what to do next, not to mention all the secret stuff hidden in the game, so this is a good guild line book. Don't expect a step by step on who to beat the big boss, but it'll put you back on track.

On the whole, this is a great guide. It is beautifully printed, chock full of all kinds of extra tidbits, and it will help you get through the game with all the stray beads and stuff you need to get all of the end of game extras. However, when it comes to the many creatures you will fight, no extra information is really given beyond boss fight strategies. It was useless for me to use the guide when trying to figure out how to deal with tougher regular monsters (like those hideous clay samurai), and I had to turn to the Internet for answers. The guide is also not very well organized. I missed most of the stray beads until the point of no return because many aren't mentioned during the main walkthrough, but only in a quick list at the back of the book. It only vaguely mentions where to find most of the feedable animals (and many are only mentioned in a useless list in the back).

Also, be warned that like many Brady guides, this one is absolutely horrible about spoiling every last moment of the story except for the ending. It describes every scene and every event without warning and the way it is laid out it is almost impossible to avoid missing them.

I wrote a separate review for the game where I recommended buying this guide as well. Our own copy of the guide has now plenty of dog-ears, the corners are faded, the pages are worn... all because it is so useful. I stopped playing the game early on because I couldnt figure out what all the fuss was about. I mean, the wolf was a goddess, ok and she had special powers and had a mission to fight evil, fine so far. But when I open up the weapons screen I was overwhelmed with the various options it presented. Not being too patient with such complications (Resident Evil 4 Weapons Screen was easy to figure out=) I stopped playing and ordered the guide.

Unfortunately for me, my own elementary school daughter took an interest in the game and pored over the pages of the guide. she reads this anytime she has the chance which is good since she's reading anyway. she managed to finish the game 4 times with the guide's help.

The guide itself is a veritable art collection! Not just the text but the art of the game itself. It is chuck full of information, tips and strategies that in some places the text had to be written in small characters just to fit the data. This is perhaps the only "con" of the guide for me. Still, the amount of information it contains would take a while to figure out if you played it on your own. I believe, we would miss many things in the game without the guide. To give you a perspective, Resident Evil 4 was difficult play but very easy to figure out what to do or where to go, for example. In Okami, you can spend a lot of time roaming around fighting enemies without advancing into the mission, although you will gain treasures defeating enemies.

In Thankfully, everything is illustrated with art straight from the game itself.

Highly recommended!