Okami on the Wii was confirmed by Capcom just a few days ago, along with the news that Daxter developer Ready at Dawn would get the game up-and-running on Nintendo's system. Men roared their approval and punched the air, women wept and howled with joy, and all was well with the world. As anybody who's played it will know, Okami is all kinds of awesome. But Okami with Wiimote-engineered brushstrokes? Finally, we could die happy.
But hold the hearse, because here's Ready At Dawn president Didier Malenfant on what else will be new in the Wii version: "The game on Wii is going to be an exact port of the PS2 version and I think that's what fans of the franchise want to see. This game has such a huge following throughout the world that people would probably send us death-threats if we messed it up by trying to add things that don't have their place in the Okami universe."
An "exact port," he says, and you know how we feel about those, so immediately there are important questions raised by this. Questions such as: if you've completed the PS2 game, will the promise of added Wiimote functionality alone lure you back? Is it ungrateful to expect a little more than "just" Wiimote brushstrokes (as excellent as that addition might be)? And did Didier really just put "Okami" and "huge following" in the same sentence?
[Via Siliconera]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-23-2007 @ 3:18PM
Drew said...
Personally, I haven't played it... So, yeah... I'll be picking it up for Wii.
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10-23-2007 @ 3:23PM
troy said...
Yeah, I haven't played it either. I could have appreciated slightly higher quality graphics. I mean I assume it will have widescreen support etc but you know what I'm sayin'.
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10-23-2007 @ 3:26PM
lu506 said...
Resident evil 4 being a port to the wii didn't stop anyone from buying it and I dont think it will stop them from buying this. If its a good game its going to be bought.
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10-23-2007 @ 3:39PM
vidGuy said...
If it's $29.99 like RE4 was, sure, though that had extra content past what Nintendo gamers got the first round. I'll take what I can get, I haven't played any PS2 games since my SECOND PS2 died last year. And I've heard good things about this game. If they try to release at $40 or $50, though, screw them.
But seriously, RaD, we aren't asking for you to change the storyline or the characters or anything, just add content and features. It wouldn't be a drastic change to the game.
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10-23-2007 @ 3:45PM
troy said...
Yeah, if this game is $30 like resi 4 then I will not mind them not having updated it.
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10-23-2007 @ 4:18PM
Chaunches said...
RE4 WII edition WII edition for its added features of control Okami will be a ps2 game running on wii nothing else and well yep making good use of those revolutionary controls welp im off to go play my grandma at some wii sports then its back home to play some real games on my xbox 360
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10-23-2007 @ 4:21PM
vidGuy said...
Maybe you should look for an English textbook.
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10-23-2007 @ 4:25PM
Mr Khan said...
lol chaunches
meh, it wasn't unexpected. My guess is that aside from actual laziness, they didn't want to possibly dick with what Clover did to make it so awesome, since they may or may not have Clover's exact expertise
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10-23-2007 @ 4:53PM
Nik said...
I'm with you guys. Fantastic game or no, straight up ports are inexcusable. RE4 added IR, waggle, new levels and new weapons for a $30 price tag. Can you really see this port costing less than $29.99?
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10-23-2007 @ 4:58PM
Rocketman said...
By "Huge Following", I guess he's referring to Okami being some sort of cult classic, which (if the hype is to be confirmed) it is.
I've never played it and expect to purchase it for at most $30 on the Wii.
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10-23-2007 @ 5:00PM
smart1979 said...
I think $40 is reasonable to be honest.
I hope the play control is like Zelda TP.
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10-23-2007 @ 5:15PM
James said...
I think Nik has the wrong end of the stick; IIRC RE4 Wii version had the exact same content as the PS2 version (which had some extras not included with the GC version), plus pointer aiming. I think that's exactly what they're talking about here -- porting the PS2 version and using the pointer. If they felt the need to add one or two little collectables, of course, I wouldn't complain...
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10-23-2007 @ 5:24PM
vidGuy said...
James, RE4:WE has more than the original Gamecube release. Levels, weapons, etc. Yes, it was in the PS2 version. But if you didn't have the PS2 version, as many Nintendo gamers did not, this was all new material. They then took that and added IR and motion (reloading, knife).
If they don't add anything to Okami, it will be exactly the same content as the original release, which is not the situation with RE4.
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10-23-2007 @ 5:37PM
samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) said...
"If they don't add anything to Okami, it will be exactly the same content as the original release, which is not the situation with RE4."
Yeah, but there's no other version of Okami to turn to in order to add more content. Just add the proper 16:9 and 480i support and nothing else and you've got a good deal, I say.
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10-23-2007 @ 6:32PM
Mr Khan said...
You mean 480p support
if it didn't support 480i, it would be LD...
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10-23-2007 @ 6:43PM
Yikester said...
I've played it and it is right up there with Twilight Princess in terms of quality and playability. One of the best adventure games ever. However, I agree with Samfish that widescreen and 480p support are a must!
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10-23-2007 @ 7:24PM
Blue_Falcon said...
I wouldn't want it any other way. Considering Clover is no longer around, I wouldn't anyone non-Clover related touching the game.
Touching up the game for optimal Wii usage is all that SHOULD be done.
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10-23-2007 @ 7:48PM
DonWii said...
Considering it isn't the same developer, I'm less concerned about what they could add while working with an unfamiliar code than the concern for the fact that it ends up exactly like the PS2 version. There are soo many reasons this version could be inferior, due in part to lack of knowledge with coding used.
No Complaints Here.
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10-24-2007 @ 12:34AM
Renzatic said...
A resolution bump, widescreen support, and a nice dash of 'mote waggling is all Okami needs to be a perfect game. PS2 origins or not, to me, the art style alone helps make the game look better than most PS3/360 games out now.
We might be oggling over the best and brightest photorealistic games out now. But by the time the PS4/720/Wii2 are out, they'll already start looking dated. Okami, on the other hand, will always look good, (though probably unbearably low res by that point).
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10-24-2007 @ 12:53PM
Gonzo said...
Considering that the wiimakes are probably the best games coming out for the Wii so far(like RE4 and Godfather), I'm not complaining. I love this game on the ps2 but it's going to be even more fun (and accessible to people who thought it was pretty but can't handle a ps2 controller)with the wiimote.
I'm all for more original games on the Wii but realistically, that's going to take another year or two before we get games that are fun/long enough to warrant a $50 price tag. Until then, I'm definitely going to be getting Okami, Bully, and whatever GTA R* decides to port if Table tennis, Manhunt and Bully sell well.
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10-24-2007 @ 1:25PM
comtar said...
That's fine by me, I never fully finished the original version anyway... Got distracted by Final Fantasy XII at the time and Hitman: Blood Money.
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10-26-2007 @ 4:50AM
Zan said...
LUCKILY, I haven't played it yet! YAHOO!
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10-29-2007 @ 1:25PM
SamusARAN333 said...
Haven't played it either. However, I did watch a buddy of mine play it on the P2. I'm definitely going to be picking it up, and I know that they already said, "exact port," but I really hope they give you an option to get rid of the annoying voices they give all the characters.
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