Released in late 2006 in North America and early 2007 locally, Okami for the PlayStation 2 is one of those titles that everybody likes to hold up as "the best game you've never played", and it's usually a favourite example of the "games as art" crowd, too. Despite this, a plot inspired heavily by Japanese mythology and a unique visual style did not inspire the majority of gamers to put down their cash for the game, and thus Okami, despite being a very high quality adventure title, was lost in the sea of shooting games that dominated the industry about that time. There were sentiments amongst some critics that Okami would have been better positioned on the Wii or Nintendo DS, due in large to those audiences being more receptive to uniquely-styled video games, not to mention that the Celestial Brush mechanic would be more at home on those control systems. Continued pressure from fans resulted in Capcom contracting Ready at Dawn to produce a Wii version of the game.

One thing that needs to be emphasised from the start is that Okami for the Wii is very much a direct port of the PlayStation 2 game. Fans of the previous version will be disappointed to know that there is nothing in the way of extra content. The only things that set the Wii version apart are new control mechanics such as using the Wii Remote for the Celestial Brush and attacks, and a few notable visual changes, including the addition of a widescreen mode.

The story of Okami begins with a description of how, 100 years earlier, the legendary swordsman Nagi and the white wolf Shiranui battled the eight-headed demon Orochi to save the village of Kamiki and Nagi's lover, Nami. Unable to defeat the demon, Nagi and Shiranui managed to seal Orochi away instead. In true video game style, the seal has now been broken, and thus Orochi is free again. Sakuya, a wood sprite and the guardian of Kamiki village, calls on Amaterasu, sun god and reincarnation of Shiranui, to remove the curse on the land. Together with the wandering artist Issun, Amaterasu must travel across Nippon to reunite the 13 Celestial Gods that will help restore power to her Celestial Brush, which will ensure the final defeat of Orochi.

Okami's greatest asset is its profound visual style, which is heavily influenced by Japanese watercolour and woodblock prints. The landscapes are picturesque, drawn with bold outlines and subdued colour, and provide a kind of atmosphere unmatched in this area of entertainment. Every area in the game has its own character; Kamiki Village is bright, with sparkling water crashing down the rocks and pink cherry blossoms littering the clear blue sky, the fields surrounding the village are full of lush green grass, and the caves are dank and damp, with grey hues and a certain chilling evil hanging over your shoulder when you enter a cursed zone. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and animate beautifully. One cannot help but love the way Amaterasu actually acts like a wolf, often trying to eat Issun, turning her head when looking at something curious, or how she sits on her hind legs when paying attention. The way Amaterasu crafts a path of freshly grown flowers and grass wherever she walks gives you a true sense of her divine power. The Wii version is sharper and brighter than its PS2 predecessor and packs a widescreen display mode, but some small details like the canvas-like filter effect have been watered down in the transition. The soundtrack is fantastic, perfectly matching the environment or situation that you are in – a great compliment to the game's visuals and gameplay.

Many people have drawn similarities between Okami and the more recent titles in The Legend of Zelda series, going so far as to say that Okami is "Capcom's Zelda" (though, funnily enough, Capcom studio Flagship has produced four Zelda games to date). The comparisons are fair however, as Okami does adopt a similar gameplay mould. Amaterasu and Issun will arrive in a new town, someone will cry woe, and the pair will have to go off to a cave or dungeon, find the Celestial God, get the new power, defeat whatever demon lurks and restore peace and tranquillity. There are all sorts of side quests, mini-games and other activities that you can do along the way. These earn Praise for Amaterasu which can be used to upgrade her divine powers.

Okami plays host to one of the most unique gameplay mechanics ever – the Celestial Brush. By pressing a button, you essentially turn the screen into a canvas; using the Wii Remote to direct your brush, you can dab and stroke ink across the screen, which will then affect the world. It's really impressive what you can accomplish with the brush – restoring dead trees, slicing enemies in half, changing night into day, and creating bombs are just a few of the things you get to do. As you find the other Celestial Gods, your powers with the brush will expand. Using the brush with the Wii Remote is much more intuitive than it was with the PlayStation 2's analogue stick, but it can take a little while to become accustomed to it – early on, you'll find that your circles and slashes may be too large or not quick enough to register with the game. It's a frustrating little niggle, but it doesn't take long to go away.

Being an action/adventure title means that Okami has a great deal of combat. It's arguably the game's weakest area, and this is only amplified in the Wii version of the game. When Amaterasu faces off against an enemy, a protective ring emerges and a few additional enemies spawn. Players are rated on the time it takes to defeat their adversaries, the damage dealt and the damage received, and rewarded accordingly. On the PlayStation 2 version of the game, combat was handled by the face buttons – perfectly functional, if not a little easy. Conversely, the Wii version's combat is based on motion, which can make it needlessly difficult to string combos together. Worse still is that dodging is bound to the movement of the nunchuck, which is notoriously unreliable for motion based commands. It's arguably the biggest detraction of the Wii version of the game – they've turned something simple into something rigid and unresponsive. There are no options for changing the control, so adapt or perish.

The game's other major shortcoming is length. Normally you'd be pretty happy when you find out that an action/adventure takes a long time to beat, but Okami is another story. It seems like Clover knew that they'd only have one shot at this game, so they've crammed three games' worth of content into one. The problem is that the formula essentially repeats itself three times over, introducing very little in the way of new content and forcing players through slow scrolling text and boss gauntlets to draw the experience out. You're looking at about 30 hours if you stick to the main path, and upward of 50 if you stray off to do side-quests and fully upgrade Amaterasu's abilities.

In its original incarnation, Okami was a fine piece of work which suffered from a few minor niggles, namely easy combat and a drawn out adventure. The Wii version of the game improves on some areas of the game by adding the remote based Celestial Brush and including widescreen support. However, it introduces new problems which didn't affect the original game – particularly the motion based combat systems. As it stands, the PlayStation 2 version of Okami is the best, but the Wii version comes highly recommended – regardless your system of choice, you should check it out immediately.