[quote name='Z-Saber']Not sure how this game warrants a "Zelda clone" badge. Yes, it treads in the same water, but similarity does not a clone make.[/QUOTE]
Well ... I'm reluctant to do this, since I'm always afraid that well-meaning criticism will show up somewhere as fodder for "This game sucks" posts somewhere along the line, so let me just reiterate: Okami = in the top ten games this gen, no doubt.
But ... I think that some of the "It's better than Zelda!" posts may have missed that a lot of its quality is because it pretty much IS a Zelda game. It's very well done, but it's not exactly reinventing the wheel.
So ... yes, it's an "adventure game" like Zelda, which means it will have some things in common, like a similar balance of exploration and puzzles and combat. Okay, no prob: can't blame fighting games for all having health bars, right?
But there are some other areas where they tread the same ground: the mechanics of solving puzzles by changing night into day, the past and the future, the seasons, whatever. And there's the damn fixation on fishing minigames. Okay, still.
Then there are the similarities of presentation. All the characters speak in gibberish with subtitles, with the important words appearing in color, so you have a clue as to your next step. Hrm. There's the start screen scroll, which tells the story of the main character as an ancient legend, as watercolor for Okami and stained-glass etc. for Zelda.
Even some of the smaller touches are closer than they really need to be. There are chests surrounded by rings of fire, until you solve a small puzzle. Yes, Ameratsu has a jump button ... but also auto-jumps at times. Sakuya looks (and acts) an awful lot like a Great Fairy (not the hideous ones -- the others). Heck, the voiceless main character even has a little glowing ball of light for a sidekick, who points out things you need to inspect.
See what I'm getting at here?
Are there differences? Sure. Are some of the similarities more than simple coincidence? Mmm ... yeah. It's not like they NEEDED to have a quest where you have to find a way to stop a frantic delivery person who's running laps around the first main field you come to.
Also? Great sig you've got there, Z-Saber.
Well ... I'm reluctant to do this, since I'm always afraid that well-meaning criticism will show up somewhere as fodder for "This game sucks" posts somewhere along the line, so let me just reiterate: Okami = in the top ten games this gen, no doubt.
But ... I think that some of the "It's better than Zelda!" posts may have missed that a lot of its quality is because it pretty much IS a Zelda game. It's very well done, but it's not exactly reinventing the wheel.
So ... yes, it's an "adventure game" like Zelda, which means it will have some things in common, like a similar balance of exploration and puzzles and combat. Okay, no prob: can't blame fighting games for all having health bars, right?
But there are some other areas where they tread the same ground: the mechanics of solving puzzles by changing night into day, the past and the future, the seasons, whatever. And there's the damn fixation on fishing minigames. Okay, still.
Then there are the similarities of presentation. All the characters speak in gibberish with subtitles, with the important words appearing in color, so you have a clue as to your next step. Hrm. There's the start screen scroll, which tells the story of the main character as an ancient legend, as watercolor for Okami and stained-glass etc. for Zelda.
Even some of the smaller touches are closer than they really need to be. There are chests surrounded by rings of fire, until you solve a small puzzle. Yes, Ameratsu has a jump button ... but also auto-jumps at times. Sakuya looks (and acts) an awful lot like a Great Fairy (not the hideous ones -- the others). Heck, the voiceless main character even has a little glowing ball of light for a sidekick, who points out things you need to inspect.
See what I'm getting at here?
Are there differences? Sure. Are some of the similarities more than simple coincidence? Mmm ... yeah. It's not like they NEEDED to have a quest where you have to find a way to stop a frantic delivery person who's running laps around the first main field you come to.
Also? Great sig you've got there, Z-Saber.