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.  Okami, 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.

Be first to comment this article

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.”  Okami 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.  

Be first to comment this article

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.  I don’t like the name Ammi so I am going to continue to call her Okami.  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.  Okami 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 Okami.  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 Okami 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.

Be first to comment this article

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.  Okami 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.

Be first to comment this article