8 essential Okami tips you need to know before you play

For a game centred around a god that manifests itself in the form of a wolf, you’ve sure got a lot to learn. As Okami Amaterasu you’re a sun god that has to save Nippon from the encroaching darkness, but to get to the point where you knock down demons with a whip of your snow-white tail you’ll have to get familiar with the Celestial Brush and the world you’re adventuring through. Luckily I’ve gone through the beautifully-painted Japanese world and found the most helpful Okami Nintendo Switch tips to aid you in growing from a confused canine to a majestic mutt.

1. Slash is your most powerful attack to start off with

Right at the beginning of Okami you’ll learn how to use the Celestial Slash, an attack that imbues your paintbrush with the power of a very sharp sword indeed. To start off with, this attack will be the best way to annihilate the green imps that will dog your every step (pun intended). A single slash will take down 90% of their health, meaning you can finish them off with a single blow from your reflector.

2. Keep fights as short as possible and avoid taking damage

Your fights will be measured both on the time it takes you to complete them, and the amount of damage you take. A blooming cherry blossom tree is the highest indicator of how well you’ve done, with a sprouting seed being the lowest. So keep your fights as short as possible and avoid taking as much damage, which will double the amount of yen you get from each scuffle. Every item in Okami costs quite a bit of cash, so these bonuses will add up quick.

3. Demon scrolls will chase you at night

During night-time those green, blue, and red demon scrolls that float around will become a lot more aggressive. Run past them when that moon is high in the sky and you’ll hear a deep sound as they attempt to chase you. The good news is that they give up pretty quickly (they’re not likely to follow you across the entire map), but you’ll want to give them a wide berth as they’ll quickly catch up to you if you sway too close to them. To escape any that inadvertently catch you just attack the bright green spot on the edges until it turns red, at which point you can jump through the borders and escape the fight unscathed (hopefully).

4. Look out for glowing spots in the earth at night

But the night-time isn’t all bad. In fact, keep those eyes peeled and you’ll spot glowing white spots in the ground which indicate that a chest is hiding just below the surface. Dig in those spots and you’ll find treasures hidden underground. But during the day some of these bonus bits and bobs are still visible - simply scan the ground for a small golden crescent-moon shape emerging from the dirt, and you’ll find a buried chest.

5. Sprint quicker by pressing Y and keep going forward

Okami introduces fast travel fairly late on into the game, so until you unlock mermaid coins that allow you to travel between different whirlpools you’ll want to get from point A to B as quickly as possible. So tap the Y button to dash, then keep the left analog stick pointed forwards to start sprinting immediately. In any other situation you’d have to start off with a gentle run before working your way up to sprinting after about five seconds, so using the dash button to skip that beginning section saves you valuable seconds.

6. Rosary beads should be your weapon of choice

When it comes to Divine Instruments, the range of weapons that Amaterasu can use in the game, while Reflectors (the shields you wear on your back) and the Swords might deal more damage per hit, the Rosary Beads attack far quicker, like a submachine gun. Stringing up the combos means that you can take down enemies far quicker by using Rosary Beads than with any other weapon. So if you want to get as much yen as possible by making your fights short and sweet, use the Rosary Beads and ditch the Reflectors and Glaives. No matter how shiny they look.

7. Start hoarding demon fangs early on

Demon fangs are a special type of currency that gets you one-off enchanted objects that do anything from drawing coins towards you to warding off demon scrolls. In other words, they are very useful indeed. In order to get them you can do one of two things. Either wait until you’ve killed an enemy and slash them with your Celestial Brush when they go into slow-mo in mid-air, which works with most enemies (except for bosses) and will net you one to two demon fangs per opponent. Or you can learn Golden Fury from the Dojo for 100,000 yen which teaches you to - no joke - pee on your demonic enemies and cause them to shed a couple of demon fangs each.

8. Level up your favourite weapons with gold dust as soon as possible

Gold dust is sold by most merchants and it might be expensive, but it’s definitely worth it. Each dose of gold dust powers up your weapon of choice permanently, although it can only be used once. Applying them to your favourite weapon can improve its damage by up to roughly 30%, making it well worth the price when it comes to killing those pesky demons as quickly as possible.

Hankering for more canine godly goodness? Take a look at our Okami review, or have a read about why it’s worth playing in the first place.