Guessed by @drbunnig
Ah... Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all...
...Where to even begin with Ōkami?
This was for many years my #1 game on here, and in my heart it still kinda is, because the other one almost feels like cheating, heh. Seriously though, this is a total masterpiece. One I couldn't fully appreciate at first, because my first two playthroughs of it were on the Wii version, and yeah, it made a big difference when I played the amazing Switch port. The improved motion controls, the 1080p, the HD rumble of all things (I know!), and especially, having a proper ending with actual end credits and post-credits scene (even if still missing the original credits song), it all made for a much improved experience and led to this becoming my favorite game of all-time back in 2018.
As is usual for these games near the top of my list, Ōkami made me cry. A lot, of course. I think this may be one of those games where I couldn't fully grasp how impactful it was until it hits you with this insanely heartfelt cutscene right at the end. That moment will forever live on as possibly the greatest moment in a videogame for me. Sometimes I go on Youtube just to watch that moment again, to feel a feeling, shed some tears, and smile. And that moment brings the entire game together in a way that makes you realize how meaningful the entire journey was.
Ōkami is the kind of game that toys with your feelings almost like someone lifting "laugh!" signs at a crowd. Seriously, some conversations with NPCs in this game will go from full laughter to strangely heartfelt or even tragic themes in the blink of an eye, even the music changes dramatically and suddenly, it should feel forced but can you really say it's forced if it works every single time? Because well, at least for me it does work. Maybe it's the stellar writing. But that stuff made me care for just about every character in the game, which is so important in a game about making the world a better place.
I think that's the most beautiful thing about Ōkami, really: it's always about making the world a better place. It's about making people's lives better, bringing life back to the wildlife, making dead trees blossom again. Amaterasu herself makes flowers blossom wherever she runs, and how elegantly she runs. For a game entirely based on mythology and folklore, Ōkami really does make you feel like a god playing your part in a legendary tale.
I can't say I ever expected that it'd be getting a sequel, but that's a long time away, so let's just keep our hopes up that it can be anywhere near as legendary as this.
Essay Pro