I will be the first person to tell you that I am “technologically challenged” at times. Once I figure something out I’m fine, but in the beginning certain things are a wee bit challenging for me. Case in point, our copy of Black Swan is still in the Blu-ray player because I couldn’t figure out how to get the darn thing open. Sigh…
I really enjoy playing video games in the TV (Wii) or on the Nintendo DS. Some games I can figure out easily enough because they are pretty much self explanatory. Other games require a bit more thought.
It never fails to impress me that kids can figure out things like games quickly and easily without so much as reading the directions.
For the past few weeks the kids have been playing a game called Okamiden. My son mostly plays it but I have seen my daughter playing it too.
When we first received a copy of Okamiden to review I was a bit “iffy” about it. The cover reminded me of something straight out of Pokemon. I’m not really into Anime type cartoons. I don’t even like to watch them on TV.
Okamiden looks very much like an Anime cartoon based upon the cover art, shown above. I thought for sure I was going to dread playing this game. I was pleasantly surprised that despite my dislike for Anime, Okamiden was not so bad. Dare I say the animation was actually kind of cute. I’m referring to the main characters (the wolf/dog and the little boy – sorry I don’t know their names). The evil king is hideous looking! He reminds me of Jabba the Hut from Star Wars, but uglier!
The animation is different. There are a lot of heavy lines, as if the images were first painted with black ink then colored in. It’s different but it really works with this game.
I feel like there is a back story to this game that I am not really aware of. I just had to take my understanding of the story line and go with it. I was more interested in the game its self.
You use your stylus in the game as if its a magic paint brush. You need to use the paint brush to draw out shapes to cast spells. They shapes are easy enough to draw. Even a young child could do it.
One of my favorite things about using the stylus is that it acts like a sword where you can slash things in half. You can also use the stylus to make water move that can put out a fire as well as release fire too. The paint brush can also make trees bloom with beautiful flowers. If you swirl the brush around you can create wind too. I wish I had a brush like this in real life.
When the game first started there was a handy arrow that showed me which directions the characters should go. After a while the arrow disappeared and it was a free for all. I had no idea which way to go so I just went where ever. It would have been helpful for those of us who are “challenged” to have the ability to use the arrow or not.
As they are traveling through the country side the characters meet up with both good and evil characters. Some characters need help with simple tasks. Other characters are evil. Your character has to battle with the evil character. Personally I wanted to run in the other direction but I figured I’d have to play out a few battles to get a feel for it. You can just go explore every corner of the little world in this game but eventually you need to solve puzzles, fight demons and explore dungeons.
When you do good you and solve puzzles you get more ink in the ink bar which will help you continue with the game. Without the ink your character loses its special powers.
To be honest with you I believe there is much more to this entire story line with Okamiden. I’m not sure if you have to be into Anime to understand it. I was a bit lost with the story line, however I enjoyed playing the games (puzzles) and seeing what was waiting for the characters around every corner. Okamiden is a “different” game then what I am used to playing on the Nintendo DS. I play games like Hello Kitty and Nintendogs. This game is nothing like those games, not only when it comes to the animation but also with the games within the game.
My teen daughter thinks the game is “OK” (that is a direct quote – I couldn’t get her to say anything more about it). My ‘tween son said the game is fun. He likes the dog/wolf character. He said some of the bad characters are “cool” (I think they weird looking).
As a mom I am 100% OK with this game. There are battles but I wouldn’t say it’s a violent game. Its more so cute then it is violent. Yes, you can slash things in half with the magic paint brush (stylus) but you can also control the window and make pretty flowers appear on trees.
If you or your child likes fantasy type games, or are into Anime, then you will certainly enjoy this game. I tend to think its more a boys game then a girls game, but I can see how girls might like it too.
Okamiden is sold where ever Nintendo DS games are sold.
Kimberly
*I received a free copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.