10 reasons why Okami is a mad masterpiece

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We're practically begging you to play it

1) It lets you control time

One of the most visually-appealing and useful abilities is being able to control the time of day by drawing either a sun or a moon in the sky. Draw a moon and the bright sky will be slowly consumed by bleeding black ink, bringing with it nightfall. Draw a sun and a gorgeous spinning orb of heavenly glory makes it sparkle and scares off tougher enemies. This becomes more and more useful later in the game when certain missions only become available at a certain time of day. At night, pubs and bars will be full of people who may have vital clues for you, but during the day they’re empty, which is a good example of where the ability comes in handy.

2) You can shrink yourself

Amaterasu’s sidekick Issun is a Poncle - tiny men who ride on the backs of gods. When Amaterasu shrinks, Issun, now a “full-sized” man, is riding on her back. The pair sneak through a garden in the emperor’s castle, dodging enormous feet, spiders and brooms. Later they climb down the emperor’s throat and into his stomach to fight an evil monster. To escape, Issun tickles the emperor’s tonsils until he sneezes the duo out.

3) The insane dojo master

At first glance this old codger looks pretty pathetic for an all-knowing, all-powerful dojo master, but give him enough yen and he transforms, Viewtiful Joe-style, into a flame-licked martial arts genius. He forces Amaterasu to attack a wooden dummy, getting peeved when you mess it up. As you traverse Nippon he appears in different locations, like Resident Evil 4 ’s merchant, offering bizarre, expensive fighting moves.

4) Marking your territory

Buy the “golden fury” technique from the dojo at Ryoshima Coast and, amazingly, Amaterasu can lift her leg and spray the enemy with a hot jet of tinkle juice. Not only is this the ultimate insult to the marauding demons, but it makes them so mad that their teeth fall out, which can be traded in for rare treasures. Later, there’s a technique that lets you curl out turds that explode when your foes wander near.