Capcom brags up Okami's Wii controls, teases at follow-up

by Eric Caoili { Feb 11th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Christian Svensson, Capcom's VP of Strategic Planning and Business Development, recently answered a few questions fans had for the upcoming Wii release of Okami. According to his report, preview copies of the game are being sent to media outlets this week, so it won't be long before we hear hands-on impressions for the PS2-to-Wii port!

While Christian warns gamers not to expect any new content or a special edition release, he makes sure to remind us why we wanted the game brought to the the Wii in the first place: "It takes about 10 minutes to get used to using the Wii drawing, but once you do, it's effortless and fast as compared to the PS2 version. The act of physically drawing also has an amazing feel to it and really changes the pace/feel of the game."

As if that wasn't enough to sell the game to anxious fans of the ARPG, he went on to add, "We have reasonable but modest expectations for the title ... If it happens to "destroy" said expectations, I'd definitely think hard about new content." It's a difficult promise to keep considering the current status of developer Clover, but stranger things have happened!

[Via Nintendic]

Tags: arpg, capcom, clover, okami, port

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Cesaria @ Feb 11th 2008 7:15PM

I'm for it!

TD @ Feb 11th 2008 7:19PM

That's an odd way to word it. "New content" makes me think of downloadable content. Not a sequel. But I'd love to be wrong.

B @ Feb 11th 2008 7:39PM

Almsot home
:D :D :D

Croove55 @ Feb 11th 2008 9:01PM

Gonna get me this game, budget permitting (as of now, it doesn't).

NinKenDo @ Feb 11th 2008 9:41PM

Gonna get this game budget be damned... I'll work a little overtime if needed, but having never played the PS2 version this one is very high on my list.

Derf @ Feb 11th 2008 11:24PM

They're not exactly making it appealing to those who already own it on the PS2....

TriptychR @ Feb 11th 2008 11:42PM

I've been sold for a long time now.

By the way, kudos for using a DeviantART image and crediting the source!

Sarah @ Feb 11th 2008 11:47PM

I want this game very badly, I never had the PS2 version, so I will be buying it as soon as it comes out.

Tabion @ Feb 12th 2008 7:32AM

ARPG? As in Action Role Playing Game?

Okami is an action adventure game. Action, because you have to run around, jump and fight actively. Adventure because you explore, solve puzzles and find items.

For an RPG to be an RPG, you have to level up through menial tasks. In JRPGs, that means killing hundreds of random encounters. In WRPGs, that could mean finding some dude's lost chicken or bringing in some demon's head to a brroding widow.

The term RPG gets slapped on everything these days and it sickens me. The fact is, there really aren't that many REAL RPGs left. And since everyone thinks everything is an RPG, no one will notice the genre going extinct.

James @ Feb 12th 2008 11:11AM

I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who *doesn't* consider Zelda to be an Action RPG (perhaps *the* canonical ARPG), and since Okami is basically Zelda with a kick-ass godly wolf in place of a dude in tights, that's why they tagged it that way. You develop your character by buying new weapons (and armor? I forget) and abilities; you get upgrades that increase your life and magic capacities; you can go on side quests to discover additional magic powers. Does that sound like an RPG to you?

Does a game have to have a stat called "Experience Points" to be worthy of the moniker? If Okami is not an ARPG, then what is? Are you saying you don't like the name of the genre in the first place?

Chintz @ Feb 12th 2008 7:29PM

I haven't played Okamu much yet, but I don't consider Zelda to be an RPG either. The definition of an RPG seems to be getting more and more vague but generally it still involves a bunch of stats that gradually improve through combat or other activities, and some measure of character customization. I guess you could argue that Link's max HP (heart containers) count as a stat, but you can't really customize him as far as I remember.

Maybe the issue here is that 'action adventure' is also becoming more and more vague, now apparently encompassing platform games and other genres. Consequently Zelda-likes get shoved into the ARPG category, where they seem to fit in better by comparison. I suppose that's fine.

Tabion @ Feb 13th 2008 11:45AM

@James: Zelda, an action RPG? *sigh* Role playing games date back to the pen and paper format, as in the first installment of Dungeons and Dragons(there may have been others before, I don't know). Since then, it has changed quite a bit. Still, the Quintessential Elements of what makes an rpg an rpg are those that mirror that PnP format, ie stats that grow through experience. You can call it whatever you want but there needs to be a statistical improvement through the accumulation of points earned through combat/questing.

That is not present in either Okami or Zelda. In both of these games, you improve your abilities through the gathering of items. Items are scattered throughout the game world and you have to explore to find them. That's called an adventure game. Adventure games date back to old text-based games like Zork and less but still old point and click games like King's Quest. In these games, you had to explore the world to find items which would unlock paths further or allow you to eliminate enemies.

Heroes of Norrath would be an action RPG. Diablo is an ARPG. If you can't see the gaping differences between Diablo and Zelda... Well, you need to play more games and diversify your palette.