History VideoGame / Okami

* AnAesop: ''Okami'' has the lesson that you shouldn't be selfish with your prayers and should take action on your own. While most games are content to ignore the tendency of [=NPCs=] to just give you fetch quests and not do anything themselves (or at least lampshade it), ''Okami'' turns it into part of the game's message, which is that you shouldn't wait around on mystical forces to solve all your problems. You need to take responsibility for your own life and do things yourself. Amaterasu avoids taking credit for everything not out of any sort of modesty, but to give these people the confidence it takes to start doing things on their own.

* GreenAesop: Being at one with nature means harmony for all.

** Sasa Sanctuary is a bathhouse run by sparrows, and during one quest there where you help a sparrow find his dog, the sparrow references another famous bathhouse by asking the dog Amaterasu finds if "that white wolf [[Anime/SpiritedAway spirited you away]] over here."

** The strongest weapons form a PowerTrio of sorts, and allow you become an elemental source (e.g. fire can be drawn from Ammy instead of needing a torch). The three include the [[PlayingWithFire Solar Flare]] Reflector, [[AnIcePerson Tundra]] Beads, and [[ShockAndAwe Thunder Edge]] Glaive.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Shinsh''uu'' or Shinsh''u''?
** The name of the Twin Demons is also uncertain. The US version has ''Lechku and Nechku'', the European version has ''Rechiku and Nechiku''; but [[BilingualBonus if you can read Japanese]], you can go to the artwork bonus section and see that their image writes them as ''Moshirechiku'' and ''Kotanechiku''. But again, since the Ainu language has no formal writing of its own, there can probably be several orthographs.

* CuteKitten: The game provides lots and lots of cats to feed in the game's strangely endearing "Animal Feeding" mini-quests. The game goes as far as to reinstate the Cat as a Chinese Zodiac constellation, and this Brush God gets along quite wel
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Amaterasu can do several moves in cutscenes that aren't possible in actual gameplay.l with Amaterasu despite the latter being a canine.

* {{Animorphism}}: The Oina tribe of [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Kamui]] are able to transform into wolf or dog forms and back.

* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: In addition to earning Praise with which she buys upgrades, Amaterasu becomes a full-fledged god again at the end of the game when [[spoiler: Issun convinces the entire world to pray for her]].

* ThePowerOfLove: [[spoiler:Amaterasu is able to defeat Yami, the God of Darkness, because many people she helped during the entire game pray to her and the collective power restores her to full godhood, taking on her Shiranui form.]]

* PreexistingEncounters: There are several of these. A lot of them introduce a new enemy, overlapping with MookDebutCutscene.

* PrimalFear: The Water Dragon. Not only does it eat you (but thankfully spits you out) as you escape from the Sunken Ship, but later as you ride on Ocra, it continues to try to do so, leading into some pretty horrifying chases, complete with terrifying music.

-->'''Issun:''' Hey, that demon guy's attack looked just like Mrs. Orange making cherry cakes! [[AndThatsTerrible That's crazy!]]

* StormOfBlades: Several Sword wielding bosses has an attack that summons a number of swords above their heads and sends them flying at you, one of the later enemies also has an attack that summons in lots of swords to converge at your position.

* TimeTravel: At one point, Amaterasu and Issun travel 100 years into the past, and relive [[spoiler:the legend of how Nagi slew {{Orochi}}. The way it's set up makes it seem like "The Legend of Nagi and Shiranui: The Abridged Series"]].

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: You'd think the people of modern Kamiki would worry more at the sight of a giant white wolf prowling around their village, like the people of Kamiki 100 years ago did. Then again, a good number of them think that Amaterasu's some kind of "dog". A dog which is allowed to carry money and go shopping on its own.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: The entire Oina tribe can transform into animal forms. The first one you meet, Oki, even does this during battle -- IAmNotLeftHanded indeed.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Three times, to the point that after [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon finally beating the very final boss]] you will probably suspect (and hope?) there is more. It's not that surprising at the first act's ending, as defeating its boss only gives you the first of five "Glaive" weapons, but by the second act you can have all but one brush technique and fight what definitely looks like a final boss. Considering you're looking at about 10 hours per act as a minimum first time, ''it can be exhausting to learn you've got another entire act to do.''

** Waka (who speaks with a French accent) and Benkei are historical warriors from the late Heian Period (ca. 12th century). The former is short for Ushiwakamaru, which is the childhood name of said warrior.

* BodyHorror: The Greater Monster in the Sunken Ship is a grotesque sleeping seaweed face that summons large arms made of seaweed to pursue you.

* BreathWeapon: Each of Orochi's heads has a different one for each element.

* CuteKitten: The game provides lots and lots of cats to feed in the game's strangely endearing "Animal Feeding" mini-quests. The game goes as far as to reinstate the Cat as a Chinese Zodiac constellation, and this Brush God gets along quite well with Amaterasu despite the latter being a canine.

* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: Averted, in case you were wondering if Oina children (Lika and Otter Mask boy) already know how to shapeshift into their animal forms; they do (just cast Bloom and watch what happens). When Lika references "what kind of Oina" Oki wants her to become, this is meant spiritually, not physically.

* FishingMinigame: Kokari lost his hook and line while fishing. How do you help him land the big one? The Rejuvenation brush technique! Note that in the Wii version the timed button press to yank the fish out of water is replaced by a motion waggle.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Amaterasu can do several moves in cutscenes that aren't possible in actual gameplay.

* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: The game does this twice, but as Ammy gets stronger with praise, it makes sense for her to give in to the demands of the little people.

* GuiltBasedGaming: In the first play-through of the game, if you don't press any buttons on the controller, Amaterasu will first sit down, then yawn, & finally lie down & take a nap. Then, later on you get an item that, when equipped, restores your health during the idle animation, at the cost of some of your in-game currency.

* HalfHumanHybrids: Oki and the rest of the Oina tribe are part animal. This is never explained.

* TheHeartless: {{Subverted}} with Tobi, who just wants a good race. Actually, most of the monsters (the imps, at least) are just a bunch of goofy guys. They may be serving up poor Kushi, but to them, it's just how they live. And imp merchants are always happy to do battle... er, business... with Amaterasu.

** Yumigami is a [[MoonRabbit rabbit god]] who gives you the power of Crescent, allowing you to change day to night. [[NotCompletelyUseless It's rarely useful]]. Certain events can only happen at night, and one boss allows it to ''somehow'' be used as an attack.

* MagicMirror: The game uses magic mirrors both as {{Save Point}}s and teleportation nodes. As well as blunt instruments used to [[ImprobableWeaponUser violently beat demons to death]]. Considering one of the mythical Amaterasu's treasures is a mirror, this Ammy basically homages the myth.

In 2008, Creator/{{Capcom}} released a port of the game for the Wii which incorporated the Wii's motion controls for the Celestial Brush. Sadly, this version removed the credits sequence because it contained the original company's logo. In 2009, an improved version of the Wii port was released in Japan, which fixes most of the issues regarding the motion controls and the combat system, as well as including the removed credits sequence back in the game.

In 2012, Capcom released an HD version of the original game for the UsefulNotes/Playstation3 supporting Move controls. In 2017, Capcom released a newer HD version of the original game for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, Xbox One, and PC with 4K compatibility, releasing on December 12. In 2018, Capcom released a port for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch which incorporated both motion controls and touch controls.

* CatchPhrase: Issun says "You hear that, Ammy!?" a ''lot''. He also has some self-invoked ones, such as "Leap before you think!" and "There's no stopping me once I've made a decision!"

In 2010, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6L-Q6gVCtc Amaterasu]] joined the playable roster of ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''. Before that, in 2008, Yami showed up as the Final Boss of ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom''.

* {{Bishounen}}: Waka, the self-proclaimed "god's gift to man", is slender, elegant and depicted without caricatured features, even catching the appellation "pretty boy" from Issun. [[spoiler: Issun's also surprisingly handsome when seeing him up close.]]

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A BonusBoss in the game is a match against the "The Kusa Five," who are the Canine Warriors remaining at Princess Fuse's side. Despite the name, you actually fight all ''eight'' Canine Warriors. When Issun mentions this, Fuse says it's because even when they are separated, they fight as one. ''Then'' Issun says something to the effect of, "Then how come they didn't help us fight that Crimson Helm guy?" Fuse can't come up with anything to explain this save "Um..." before quickly moving to another topic, as the game's way of giving a HandWave to their presence as an extra boss.

* MiniBoss: In order of appearance: Waka, the Satomi Canine Warriors, the Tube Foxes, [[spoiler:Evil Rao]], Oki, and [[spoiler:Nagi]]. A [[BonusBoss Bandit Spider]], almost a replica of the first boss, can also be fought three times (one in each of the Devil Gate grottos that house the very difficult MultiMookMelee matches). Lastly, judging from the tense music, the three big fish creatures that are captured at different points (Whopper, Cutlass Sword and Marlin) are minibosses as well.

** Rao has heavy eye makeup, a beauty mark, alluring PeekABangs, and is well endowed with large breasts that are shown off by her outfit and never go unremarked upon. Her theme music also includes sultry woman's sighs. [[spoiler:The real Rao wasn't much of a slouch, either, since she was still as buxom and her outfit accentuated it the same way, despite Rao lacking a beauty mark and leaving both eyes uncovered.]]

* PeekABangs: Rao. Justified because [[spoiler:she's Ninetails in disguise, and the hair hides Ninetails' missing eye. The real Rao has both eyes showing.]]

* ButThouMust: "No" options are provided when Ammy is asked to do something, but the characters responded to will beg you to reconsider until you say "yes".

* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready: Justified with the Celestial Brush techniques. You need to find the correct god and release/rejuvenate it before you can use its technique. (Which means if you start a NewGamePlus, you have to redo all of those subquests again.) It's also pointed out in-game: At the beginning of the game in Kamiki Village, if you try to [[spoiler:use Sunrise without exploring the village, [[DevelopersForesight Issun will wonder what you're trying to do, "raise the sun or something? That's impossible!"]]]]

* WhipItGood: Amaterasu can equip a rosary as her primary weapon and use it in a whip-like fashion.

In 2008, Capcom released a port of the game for the Wii which incorporated the Wii's motion controls for the Celestial Brush. Sadly, this version removed the credits sequence because it contained the original company's logo. In 2009, an improved version of the Wii port was released in Japan, which fixes most of the issues regarding the motion controls and the combat system, as well as including the removed credits sequence back in the game.

** Earth is Ammy's [[DishingOutDirt initial element]], with unlockable minor control over others coming later.

* PatrickStewartSpeech: In what is possibly a subtle parody of the concept, the {{Sidekick}} Issun will comment that "Humanity sure was smart coming up with something like this" if you examine one of many [[TheThingThatGoesDoink things that go doink]].

* TheThingThatGoesDoink: Found mostly in Sasa Sanctuary and used in puzzles involving the Waterspout technique. In a bit of DevelopersForesight, international versions of the game added dialogue of Issun telling the player how they work to make the puzzles involving them easier.

* AnAesop: ''Okami'' has the lesson that you shouldn't be selfish with your prayers and take action on your own. While most games are content to ignore the tendency of [=NPCs=] to just give you fetch quests and not do anything themselves (or at least lampshade it), ''Okami'' turns it into part of the game's message, which is that you shouldn't wait around on mystical forces to solve all your problems. You need to take responsibility for your own life and do things yourself. Amaterasu avoids taking credit for everything not out of any sort of modesty, but to give these people the confidence it takes to start doing things on their own.

* BleakLevel: Sei-an City under Blight, the sunken ship, Yoshpet Forest, and most of the dungeons are dreary, oppressive places.