Title Screen

Exposition.  Woman yells clover.  Someone paints a scene.  They talk in animal crossing-ese.  Kamiki: a village in Japan is protected a wolf.  Then a dragon comes to attack the village.  However, the wolf blocks the dragon with a tree.  Just believe me on this one because the next part is real cool.  The wolf runs around and plants grow behind its feet.  Don’t let that dog in the house though because I just cleaned the carpet and he always makes flowers grown on EVERYTHING.  Screen pulls back and it is “Ammy: California Adventure”

Push Start!

Select New Game.

A girl says OKAMI, OKAMI.  A paint brush draws a picture of a garden.  Kamiki is a hamlet. There are beautiful cherry blossoms and each tree was considered a god. However, the village had dark secrets.

Orochi: a fearsome cave-dwelling beast comes around and a young maiden was offered as a sacrifice at the annual festival.  With all the maiden sacrificing that festival was probably Lilith Fair.

The beast has a body like a mountain and six heads mounted on necks.  A wolf named Shiranui patrolled the streets at night.

A total jerk-weed named Nagi fights the dog.  Then hits something and a beast comes… This really is a lot of back story I may just summarize the rest up with bullet points.

- monster is big
- man fight the monster - looses
- wolf fights the moster – wins
- wolf dies
- shrine built

A girl with huge bangs shows up and says "wood sprite Sakuya" -  oh wait that is her name.  She calls out to another god named Okami.

Sakuya is the patron saint of forests, grass, flowers, and cleavage (both breast and butt).  She assigns you a small, glowing guide named Navi, I mean Issun.  He works blue and will probably say some snarky catch phrases that no one will laugh at.  She believes in us, would that make her an Okaminist?

Training Mission

Issun leads you through a training mission that explains such basics as Origin Mirrors, wall jumping, and breaking pots. There will be no house training in this phase. Keep progressing through this whole thing. Learn the controls and keep following the bridges higher and higher.

Towards the end of the training, you will encounter the brush technique. A huge constellation will appear and you will need to press R1. With the brush, make a dot at the end of the line - it may take several trials to get it pointed just right. You will make a big dragon that talks like hambone from animal crossing and has a huge piece of toilet paper stuck to its foot.

Yomigami, the god of rejuvenation, appears. He was stuck in the stars, but your techniques released him. Go back to the gap and press R1 and mash the brush all over the screen to create a stardust bridge to swim across.

On your way out, make sure to hit the treasure chest to get the Astral Pouch. Fill the pouch with food and it will revive you.

Follow the path up. You will be in a room that with a giant statute of Bob’s Big Boy but instead of a burger in his hand, he is holding a bowling trophy.

Cave of Nagi

A Kangaroo rat appears.  Its name is Tachigami and it gives you the power of slash - no you do not get the power shred out a version of “Sweet Child of Mine.” Instead, you get the ability to draw a straight line and have it hurt, which is far more useful in this game. 

You will enter into a new battle.  Use the slash power on these monkey enemies.  When you defeat them, it is explained that the sum power of Princes Skankuya is trapped within a giant peach.  Ammy must cut down said peach to release it.  Press R1 and slash at the giant peach to break it loose from the tree.

Cinematic: The peach falls and explodes like it was filled with an ice-nine variant that cascades out flowers instead – I am going to call it flower-nine.

The small bug mentions that he wants to spend time in her kimono, ugh.  Well with that over I am going to go rejuvenate myself a sandwich.

Town Rebirth

Because of your totally awesome brush powers, the town has been reborn.  Everything has been restored back to normal.  Kamiki Village has been isolated by the evil that is engulfing this land.  Continue down the path to investigate and find a solution.

Explore the nearby area, but when you first get to the village, everyone is totally stoned, not in a Seattle kinda way but cursed kinda way.  Run through the village until you get to a gigantic boulder.  When you try to talk to the man who is stuck in front of it, you will be directed up the hill. Follow the arrow.

At the top of the hill, pull out the Ocarina, I mean celestial brush and draw circle in the sky.  The circle becomes a sun.  This sun is significant to the Japanese iconography.  Japan translates to “Sun’s Origin”, the country is also nicknamed "land of the rising sun."  Even the dot of the Japanese flag represents the sun.  So this sun we drew is a little wink to the game players that this is a Japanese story.  If this were a game about America you would draw a giant star in the sky.  Of course, after you draw that star, old glory would appear while the Battle Hymn Republic slowly swelled.  Then a red, a white and finally a blue painted B1 bomber would fly by to the din of a 21 Patriot Missile Salute.   

It turns out that Amastura is the name of the sun god who also happens to be you.  Issun will start calling you “Ammi” because if you were to make a nickname out of Okami you would get “Commie” and then everyone in red state America would totally flip out.  So I have to write the rest of this guide with Ammy. It is a female in Japanese Mythology by the way.  Check the Mythology Guide written by ahoujed, it is so well researched that I assume it must have been written for a school book report.

You run into a Man bouncing a fruit on his head who is named Mr. Orange.  All of a sudden some monkies with Chinese menus stapled to their faces appear and challenge you to a fight. Attack them by using the square button on the controller.  The monkeys really are not that hard to defeat. When you are finished, a screen comes up that tells you how much gold you earned during this fight.  This is a tax statement you will need to keep track of this when it comes time to fill out your 1040s.

After beating the monkeys a lake appears.  It turns out that those demon monkeys were preventing this water feature.  In return for my water creation I get Praise.  Praise it turns out is a currency in this game, however I think that praise should be a more common collectable.  Ammy throughout this game will become a little too praise hungry.  Based on all the random deeds she will be doing in the name of “praise” it almost feel like she is running for political office.

The praise is used to buy upgrades for Ammy.  In the first part of this game, I recommend upgrading your hearts I mean solar cells to at least 4 or 5.  Then buy a single ink upgrade.  The money pouch should not be upgraded until mid game – right around the 10 or 15 hour mark.  The rest of the upgrades are up to you.

In addition to praise Ammy receives a feedbag of seeds.  The seed bag is used to feed the nearby birds.  Press the circle button then select the seeds.  

Cinematic: the bird eats and I watch. This cinematic looks like that scene in every romantic comedy where the two stars run into each other in a park and then kiss for the first time.  But don’t worry.  The dog and bird do not kiss.  You can press start or just watch them rotate.  

Continue down the path again back into the town.  The following missions play out like an episode of Petty Coat Junction.  You help out the village drunk, help repair farm equipment, dig up turnips with the village kid.  Oh and did I mention that everyone has their own theme music.  

Go back to the large rock that is located at the far edge of the village.  The man trapped there explains how he has no idea why the boulder is stuck there.  

A Baboon boss appears but this time he plays a giant base.  Like most bassists he slaps his ass and is easy to beat up.  Attack him when you get the chance and if he turns a pale color use your celestial brush to slash him for massive damage.  Since everyone hates bassists, you get praise when you defeat him.

The man by the rock tells me that only the town warrior Susano can remove this rock.  Go get Susano, his house is located just to the west and it is probably not a coincidence that it resembles a samurai helmet. Inside his house is a large blue pot. Smash it and drop down the hatch under it.  The wacky music sounds like the “sorry you lost” music for any game show.  Susano is asleep but a head butt will wake him.  He claims that it is his “Meditation” room but I wonder if that is because he is really “meditating” about that sake lady.  Talk to him and you will end up carrying him out of there. Take him to the huge rock so that he can break it.

 

 

Susano says he will do it but will have to return to his house to train.  When you go back to check on him, he has fallen asleep behind his hut.  His strength comes from Sake.  You need to get him some.  The mark of a truly great god is one that will encourage a drunk to drink more.  Not only do you (as a god) encourage his consumption, but you go on the Sake run for him.  You think this is strange, in a few more levels you go to a frat party and do keg stands.  

Sake, since most of my readers are probably 12 (only losers drink under age), is a Japanese alcohol made of fermented Rice.  Don’t feel like you are missing out, because the stuff tastes like someone poured you a glass of water that was run through a Brita filter made of dish rags, dust bunnies, and flowers.

Go west to a small rice field and talk to the sake lady.  She would love to give you the Sake but first she has to polish the rice.  Use the restore brush stroke to complete the broken water wheel.  It is easiest to go across the river to get a view of the wheel.  It will take a couple tries to get the game to recognize your drawing.

She will give you "Vista of the Gods" Sake.  Press the bite button to pick it up (more games need a bite button).  Take it over to Susano.  Not since Christ turned water to wine have we had such heavenly sent spirits.

Susano is ready for his training.  After each of his sword swings, use the celestial brush to slash the targets because Susano can’t even break training dummies.  Some gods use their powers to move the heavens or to end oppression, but Ammy is the type of god that uses her powers to erase inadequacies.  When complete, Susano lifts the sword up like he is Bob’s Big boy.  Wasn’t there a statue just like that?

Back at the large boulder, Susano approaches thinking that he can destroy it.  You have to help him once again.  The boulder breaks and the path is clear.

Note: Pay close attention to the next scene because you will see a tooter.

Skankuya appears looking even skankier than last time. Did you see it?  Notice the extra boob jiggle animation.  She can’t muster a reward because She doesn’t have the strength to make a flower bloom – is this an innuendo?

She explains the Guardian Saplings: trees that collect praise and adoration to give her strength.  So she is a praise junkie as much as Ammy. There are several other saplings that feed off the main one.  She has actually set praise franchises around Nippon - much like a Starbucks.  

My mission is to clear out the saplings in order to get her praise.  This is actually a lot like ghost writing - I do all the work but she gets all the praise.  

Shinshu Adventure

Venture down the newly de-bouldered path.  Stop at the shop to buy five each of seeds, meat, herbs, but not fish. There are many animals ahead and you should feed them to feed your own praise ego.  Always buy gold dust when you see it for sale.  Apply it to your favorite weapons to strengthen it because as Liberace demonstrated, anything is better if it is covered in gold.

Issun talks "This place is definitely cursed from the looks of it" - yah no doubt it looks like a Trent Reznor video when you go in there.  Issun then says “This is a cursed zone” - just like Wriggly Field... BOOM!

We will need to revive some more of praise sucking Guardian Saplings for princes Skankuya.  In fact, there is a tree right there in the middle of Shinshu field.  Examine it.  Issun says “we need something that will help it bloom.”  Ammy can not do anything with it at this time so head towards the house on the west side of the field.  Enter the adjacent cave.  The destination is Hana Valley because apparently it has a crystal ball that makes plants grow. Enter that Big white vortex that looks like an Iris.  

 

Hana Valley

Break the chest to get a talisman that increases godhood up a level.  Open your inventory and use it.  Godhood is a shield that you get as you chain your combos.  The icon in the bottom left corner of the screen is your godhood indicator.  You loose all Godhood when hit.

There are several monsters having a wash party around fire.  They are drinking out of a gold bowl and look to be minding their own business and having a pretty good time.  Ammy, needs to kill them because I guess they don’t worship her?

Get to a big moving burning tree.   Issun explains how to deflect the projectile buds right back at the tree.  Once they are knocked out leave it alone – you can’t do anything with it now.

Camera focuses on a red symbol thus proclaiming its importance.

Battle against a drum playing monkey.  The drumming monkey’s key technique is to hide underground thus wasting valuable killing time.  When it is above ground, use the brush and scribble on it to temporarily blind him.  The monkey will not go underground while blinded so use this time to beat on him.  When he returns to his normal color, paint him again to keep him above ground.

The red symbols blows up.  Susano is here he is all pissy - he has to train.

Go towards the painting and stand on the stone circle.  Press the examine button to and it is strongly hinted that something is missing from the painting.  Since you only know three brush strokes it must be one of them.  I suggest a circular one. Then, for no logical reason, your completing the Painting destroys the stone blocking the doorway. Follow Susano, double jump up that wall.

Cinematic: Another sapling but this one makes a blooping sound when it moves.  Pan to a blue puddle.  This means that I am going to have to do something with that sapling then, do something with the blue puddle.  Examine it and Issun says “there is a faint scent like Sakuya's coming from this sapling".  Why does everything that is said about Sakuya sound dirty?

Examine the pond then run down stairs and slash thought the gate.  There is Susano and a big drunk bear with a leaf attached to its head.  It is standing on a ball that looks like the one from Men In Black that contains the universe.

Susano must be getting his Sake hangover now because his head throbs as he explains why he must destroy the bear.  Follow Susano around and use the brush slash.  Susano mentions that he was using his new “technique” – which must be “attacking sleeping animals.”  The bear falls down and Susano runs off again.

Go over to the ball and examine it.  Issun gives another not so subtle hint about what to do next.  Really, I don’t know why I am writing this FAQ.  Just do whatever Issun says I am going to make another sandwich.  

Push the ball up to the altar and then draw sun in the sky above it.  Watch the cinematic and draw another constellation.  A monkey wearing a fez and holding a World Series trophy appears.  Its name is Sakigami of the Hanagami.  You get the BLOOM ability.  

Draw a circle on the plant.  An animation plays that actually looks like flowers are desperately running away as if someone dropped a bucket of Roundup weed killer.

Issun reminds you of the dead tree in Shinshu Field.  You are done with Hana Valley at this point so return to the field.  On your way back there is a chest containing scroll about digging.  The scroll recommends pressing the triangle button to dig where you see a light shinning on the ground.  This will reveal a clover which will bring you much praise.  Handy, considering the studio that made this is named Clover.  By the way, Clover Studio was just shut down by Sony.  Notice, that across the bank is one of those lights.  Dig with triangle to unearth the clover.  Draw a circle on it to bring it to life.

Back at Shinshu Field, walk over to the guy who is just wandering around.  I love the question mark above his head.  That is exactly what should appear over everyone’s heads when they get that “what the f?” look.  You know what I am talking about if you have seen the movie “Night Watch.”  I just rented it last night.  In it, vampires fight over earth and there is a stuffed owl that turns into a woman and a CEO who performs surgery on his desk and then straps a belt around his head to look inside another guy’s soul.  I highly recommend.

Return to the centrally located sapling that you examined before.  Use the bloom stroke around the dead tree. Bloom cinematic.  All of a sudden it is like the Japanese version of The Sound of Music.  

Cinematic; Suyana’s tree grows and apparently she gets aroused when this happens.

Explore Shinshu Field

Ever on a public relations campaign, Ammy decides to tour the key landmarks of Nippon.  As such, you will be required to visit three locations around Shinshu Field.  If you hold L2 a map will indicate the 3 places (circled in red).  Visit each as follows.

      -- Bomb Shop --      

The Bomb Shop visit must be done at night.  If it is day time, go to the other two stops and return here when it is night time. Get there by traveling along the path that is north east of the bridge.  

The sign outside says “Super Pyrotechnist Tama's House.”  I like the idea of putting “super” in front of my name.  Try it: “Super Technical Writer Christopher.”   

 

I have a theory that combining three things that are totally incongruous will make the sum total of them scary.  Take for instance The Chainsaw Massacre: Business Suit + Chainsaw + leather = Leatherface. Or try Pins + Blue Skin + Moby = Hell Raiser’s Pinhead.  For this reason the next monster you fight totally freaks me out.  Butterfly + fish + straight jacket = the dead fish.  When you fight it, clip his wings by slashing him with the brush.  Then, bomb him while he is on the ground.  When he is near death he may try to grab and strangle you – just slash him with thdee brush if it happens. He is not hard to kill but boy does he give me the heebie-jeebies.

 

 

Go inside and talk to Tama.  It looks like the bombs are not the only things that are smoking.  And by smoking I am talking about buddha.  He introduces himself as Flaming Pyrotechnist Tama.  He needs help firing his rockets.  The camera shifts to an overhead view of a giant table.  Draw a circle with a line coming out of it, like indicated.

Cinematic: Ammy runs outside and jumps at the fireworks.  Stop and watch this because it is the cutest cinematic I have seen in a long time. I want to have that animation ready any time I feel a little crappy.  

Draw the constellation and see a giant bore walking around on a bomb.  You get the Cherry Bomb.  You can test this new ability out on the wall just outside the bomb shop.

      -- Dojo --

Head up the hill to the dojo.  It is located along the Western side of the field.  The head of the Dojo does a big dance and brings fire.  The drumming is very intense.  He offers to teach you some techniques.  Buy every one that you can afford.  When he teaches the technique he takes you back into a room filled with bamboo and tatami mats - it looks like the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki room.  Practice the moves and then leave.  Return here regularly to learn new techniques for the weapons you will eventually collect.

      -- Moon Shrine --

Head to the Moon Shrine.  It is the Eastern Red Circle.  You descend into a path with a series of golden gates.  There is a small shrine with a sign informing you that purpose of it is to purify visitors before heading to the moon cave.  You would think a cave would be dirty and you would not need to be clean for it, but not this one.

Enter and meet Mika.  He tells you that Lake Harami is Nippon’s largest lake.  The cave disappeared when a sword that kept demos at bay was taken.  Waka guarded the cave.

Mika gives you “Mika’s Monster Notebook” which is a list of monsters you should kill.  This is the same way that Richard Nixon got his enemies list.

Leave the Moon Shrine and Toya of the Short Temper appears.  Toya is pretty easy to beat, nothing special, just attack him.  This will be the first monster you have defeated on the list.  

Continue further down the path towards the lake.  Instead of a big cave, there is a big mountain.  Ascend the mountain and note how much the path looks like Disney’s Haunted Mansion.  At the gate to the mountain there is a large red force field here.  Cant do anything to it.

Visit Mr. Orange

Ammy finishes her PR tour of the outer lands and returns to her old bread and butter, Kamiki Village to perform more good deeds.  I think Ammy returns to the town because she is aware that some form of a bible will be written about her miracles.  This trip is probably just to cover all her bases and ensure that someone sees what she is doing.

From Shinshu Field, go northwest to Kamiki Village.  If you talk to Kushi the sake lady and she will tell you to find Mr Orange on the observation deck.  Go there by heading up the hill northwest of town.  

Mr. Orange is waiting at the wooden platform.  Last weekend, I went to a wedding and I swear that there was an old man dancing just like Mr. Orange.  The game designers really did a number on the motion capture, well done.

Mr Orange lectures you about disturbing the villagers (Dramatic Irony).  He starts dancing again but luckily there is a skip button this time.  He asks if Ammy has witnessed the figure of Konohana?   She has been withered and leafless - is he trying to imply she is barren?  Shame on him.  But, he claims to have revived her.  He begs Ammy to watch him dance again.  Follow along and draw circles around each cherry bud.  Mr. Orange is proud of what he has done.  So why does Ammy keep making these people feel like they are doing something?  Is she trying to make the losers feel better, like they are actually contributing?  Maybe she really is a Commie.

Restore the trees

Ammy gets sucked into working on a city beautification campaign.  Using the bloom technique re-grow the dead trees that line the village.  Starting from the observation deck, draw a circle around each black tree that is wrapped with a bow.  The dead trees are all along the path that leads to the village and even in the village itself. There are 15 of them total and if you talk to Komuso (he wears a bucket, which I think is worn to stop the notes from seeping out of his head – it is not working) he will tell you how many trees are left to bloom.  The ironic thing is that making a dead tree bloom is quite a miraculous feat yet it yields only 1 praise point.  Feeding birds, which even old people can do, earns you up to 9 points. (This inconsistency would be situational irony by the way)

When every tree has been brought back, return Mr. Orange. His sitting makes me feel kinda strange.  He does the dance of the Konohana tree and holds up the "sake of Valor" - which has the face of Satin on it.  He drinks it then gets totally wasted.  His “orange” grows quite large.  Maybe it wasn’t “Sake of Valor” but actually “Sake of Viagra.” Remember this game is rated T for Teen.

Skankuya appears and somehow manages to wear even less clothing than the last time we saw her.  She thanks the old man; not Ammy mind you.  She has been re-energized. She then says something that I swear was once a slogan for Glade Pug-ins: "May the fresh scent of flowers protects you always!"

Cinematic: It is dark and starts raining pedals.  There is a new constellation that represents a monkey with a top hat.  I get the power of the Water Lillies?  Wow, what a crappy new ability.  Ammy is battling the forces of evil in hand to hand combat and the most appropriate miracle she is granted is water lily?

And also, is this the third miracle that involves drawing a circle.  It is four if you count the bomb as one.  Couldn’t the designers have worked in a figure eight or at least an X?

Have Water Lily, Will Travel

Continue through Kamiki Village to Shinshu field.  Press L2 and proceed to the red spot indicated on the map. 

The dock here leads to Agat Forest.  Ammy must have both the lily and cherry bomb power to proceed.  Jump in the water and swim through the cave.  When the swirl icon above Ammy's head starts to shrink, draw a circle around her and she will miraculously be standing on a lily pad.  Swim some more and draw another lily when you are low on energy.  At the end of the cave is a cracked wall, draw a bomb on it. 

Agata Forest is totally filled with curse smoke.  Keep close to the path and wind your way around to the caves underneath.

Cinematic: There is a house in the cave. 

Go in to the house and talk to Madame Fawn.  Listen to her speech.  If you pay her for a fortune you just get a tip for where to go next. Ammy must clear out the smoke by blooming another sapling.  Head out from the fortune teller and run along a very narrow path that is hidden just next to the curse smoke.  At the end of the path is a cave containing the sapling.  Draw a circle around it and see the plant growing cinematic again which is what happens every time you use Fabreeze.  Open the nearby chest, there are "Devout Beads" inside.

Leave the cave and notice how the curse smoke has been transformed into the set of Fern Gully.  A kid named Waka appears and introduces himself.  He has a mullet but instead of party in the back, business in the front, it is party in the back, eagle skull in the front.  He is French because he punctuates big statements with clichéd French words like Bonjour, Oui, and Maurice Chevalier.  He is also a Taoist.  Waka reminds me of that kid in school that no one liked because he carried that stench of trying too hard.  That kid also got in a lot of fights.  This is funny, because our next boss battle is against Waka.

 BATTLE AGAINST WAKA AND PILLOW TALK

- Stay on land because if you get in water you can’t avoid his attacks.

- If you have the beads equipped as your secondary weapon, shoot him.

- Avoid his very slow bullets by jumping out of the way.

- Go in for short melee attacks then jump back to avoid his counter-attacks.

- When he falls over and turns a mud color, use the bomb and slash miracles. 

Post Waka cinematic:  Waka says "Quite some time since I’ve tasted your power" - that must be the pillow talking.  He gives more back story about swords, curses, prophecies - standard spiritual babble.  Waka can also see the future (of course) and prophesizes that I will see "a log and big thrills". That to me means Splash Mountain. 

He then gives us the hang ten because besides being a flue playing French  Taoist with visions of the future he is also eXtreeme!  I bet he listens to a lot of Nickleback. Waka runs off which means we will unfortunately see him again.