An Analysis of "Okami's" Celestial Brush Mechanic

Okami, released by Capcom in 2006, is an adventure game that presents a unique twist on ancient Japanese mythology. The player takes control of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who has assumed the form of a white wolf, and roams the land of Nippon in an effort to defeat an army of demons. The game presents itself with a quirky art style that outlines everything with dramatic brush strokes, making the entire world look like it’s straight out of a painting. The gameplay blends puzzles with hack and slash combat, a combination characteristic of the Legend of Zelda series; it distinguishes itself, however, by implementing a mechanic known as the Celestial Brush. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this mechanic is one of the game’s most important characteristics; it plays a major role in progression and embodies the game’s story elements, art style, and base gameplay. The Celestial Brush is simply a great example of the influence a single mechanic can have on an entire game.

How the Celestial Brush Works

At any point in the game, players can hold down a button to pause time. While time is stopped, the player takes control of a brush with which he/she can draw symbols that affect the environment. Drawing a straight line, for example, slashes the air. To avoid abuse of this mechanic, the player is given a set number of inkpots that drain with each symbol drawn. Using a base Celestial Brush technique will only drain one inkpot while secret techniques may drain more. As the player progresses through the game, he/she learns new Celestial Brush techniques from other gods encountered along the way. These techniques have functions both in combat and in the overworld, giving players extended freedom in how they move through the world or approach enemies in combat.

 

The Celestial Brush in Combat

            As players progress through the game, enemies are introduced that may be weaker to certain brush techniques. I feel that this approach towards combat works extraordinarily well as it allows for variation in both common battles and boss fights. Take the Crow Tengu enemy type for example. When the player first encounters the Crow Tengu as a mini boss, he/she must rely on the Power Slash to chop off their wings and bring them down. The player later learns how to use Galestorm; when this technique is used against Crow Tengu, they’re blown across the field and remain stunned. Galestorm thus makes fighting these enemies much easier; to balance this out, Crow Tengu become increasingly common and attack alongside other enemy types.

            Boss battles often require the player to use brush techniques to put his/her enemy in a weakened state and attack from there. They function similarly to basic enemies and defeating them is simply a matter of looking at the boss’s design and deducing what technique would aid you best. To make things more interesting, the game eventually puts a twist on this process by pitting the player against Ninetails, a creature that can also use brush techniques. Throughout this fight, Ninetails draws its own symbols while the player uses the Celestial Brush, putting pressure on the player to finish his/her drawings before Ninetails can complete its own. This fight represents my favorite twist on the Celestial Brush mechanic as it is the only instance of an enemy using the mechanic against the player.

A similar twist on the mechanic does actually occur in a later boss fight. In this fight, Shiranui, Amaterasu’s past incarnation, fights alongside the player and draws his own techniques in conjunction with the player’s Celestial Brush. Shiranui’s techniques are essentially powered-up versions of Amaterasu’s, his brush distinguished by red markings. Though the battle is short-lived, it successfully utilizes the Celestial Brush mechanic as a story-telling tool that allows the player to experience Shiranui’s might firsthand.

This experience comes into play in the fight against the final boss, where Amaterasu realizes her full potential and dons Shiranui’s appearance. Amaterasu’s Celestial Brush similarly gains the red markings that distinguished Shiranui’s, giving the player an increased sense of power. The player ultimately defeats the final boss by using the Celestial Brush to summon the sun, which is Amaterasu’s personal technique. From beginning to end, the Celestial Brush mechanic composes the backbone of the game’s combat and provides information that greatly enhances the story.

The Celestial Brush in Puzzle-Solving

Okami has its fair share of puzzles that rely on the Celestial Brush techniques. Many techniques, though some are primarily used in combat, function as tools to solve puzzles and navigate the overworld. Catwalk can be used to raise the player up to greater heights along a cliff-face. Galestorm can be used to lift up giant scrolls that function as platforms. Veil of Mist can be used to slow down a platform that may be spinning too quickly. Brush techniques don’t lose their function outside of combat; they’re integrated into the game’s progression and tell the player where he/she can and can’t go.

Okami’s puzzles really just require the player to combine brush techniques in a logical way. For example, the player may need to use Water Lily to move across an expanse of water and use Vine to reach a greater height. The puzzles themselves are usually relatively easy and may just require the player to return to an area after learning a new technique. I found that combining the techniques together to reach new areas actually made wandering the overworld a lot more interesting. I felt more encouraged to backtrack and reach secret areas that were previously inaccessible to me, some of which even offered new brush techniques. I felt inclined to remember these areas because they would be marked by strange environmental objects, such as strange cat statues or floating flower bulbs. It was obvious to me that these objects had something to do with brush techniques; I simply couldn’t imagine what they would be at the time. The Celestial Brush techniques had a huge influence on the design of the overworld, further emphasizing the mechanic’s importance in the game.

The Celestial Brush Reflected by Artwork

In order to maintain a proper theme, a mechanic should make sense within the game’s world and present itself as an extension of the protagonist. With this methodology in mind, the Celestial Brush complements Okami’s world in a very ideal way. The game goes through great lengths to maintain its “ancient Japanese painting” aesthetic; minimalistic mountains compose the skybox, human characters have oddly-shaped heads, and some scenes are even presented with artwork similar to that of Japanese woodblock prints. Using a Celestial Brush to add elements into the world only adds to the idea that the game takes place within a painting. The interface of the mechanic even resembles a blank scroll. Moreover, Amaterasu’s tail actually resembles a brush, showing the player that the brush is indeed an important part of the divine protagonist. The artistic designers clearly wanted the Celestial Brush to be emphasized within the game’s visuals. I’d say they succeeded.

Visual information is also a major factor when using the Celestial Brush in gameplay. In order to use the mechanic properly in combat, players must be able to look at an enemy design and figure out what the enemy could be weak to. The game usually conveys these weaknesses well, the design of the Crimson Helm being a great example. This boss is presented as a fiery demon covered entirely in armor. At this point in the game, the player has recently learned Galestorm, which summons a gust of wind that can eliminate fire. It thus makes sense to use this technique right away, but the player will note that the using Galestorm does nothing. The next logical step, therefore, would be to destroy the enemy’s armor by dealing normal damage. Slashing away at the Crimson Helm eventually causes its armor to fall off, revealing a horse-like creature covered in flames. Using Galestorm at this point blows away the flames and stuns him, leaving him open for attack.

The design of the Crimson Helm thus tells the player what techniques he/she needs to use against it without words; other bosses, as well as basic enemies throughout the game, have the same effect. Using the Celestial Brush to take advantage of enemy weaknesses is an essential part of Okami’s combat, making this type of visual information especially important to get across. It’s also equally important that the overworld informs the player on where to go next.

Puzzles in Okami can be frustrating at time. There are points in the game where the player may understand what technique he/she needs to use to carry on, but he/she may not understand exactly where to use it. One water puzzle in particular was pretty difficult for me to figure out. It involved regulating water levels between two bodies of water, which in turn affected a platform that could rise or fall. I knew I needed to use Watersprout to change the water levels, but figuring out the balance of water necessary to raise the platform high enough was infuriating. Certain environmental objects are also difficult to spot at times. The player can use Vine to bring Amaterasu towards a floating flower bulb, but these small bulbs could sometimes be difficult to spot. The overworld does do a good job of making the player understand what technique should be used, but the matter of “how to use it” can be difficult at times.

A Mechanic’s Influence on Future Games

            Some later games for the Wii actually took inspiration from the Celestial Brush mechanic, a notable example being Epic Mickey on the Wii. Epic Mickey actually revolves around the idea of Mickey Mouse wielding a paint brush that can create or destroy objects at will. The brush is used in all attacks and represents the game’s main mechanic. Wonderful 101 for the Wii U is another game that borrows from the Celestial Brush. In this game, players control a horde of heroes that can change positions by drawing shapes on the Wii U gamepad. This is a key aspect of gameplay that allows for different strategies on the player’s part. A lesser known title inspired by the mechanic is the game Darklings for mobile devices. The player’s character remains stationary in the middle of the screen while waves of monsters with symbols on their heads attack; players must frantically draw the symbols on their heads to defeat them in an effort to survive as long as possible.

The consoles listed above actually make the process of drawing symbols much more intuitive. While it’s true that Okami was ported to the Wii, it originally came out for the PS2 and was remastered on the PS3. Games like Epic Mickey are actually built with the Wii in mind and have the potential to provide new, unique experiences. Moreover, the intuitiveness of these consoles’ controllers allows the painting mechanic to have a greater role in gameplay. Every game listed above focuses more on the painting mechanic than Okami does, and though I wouldn’t say that this increased focus makes them better games, I admire that companies are trying to change the Celestial Brush mechanic into something new and unique.

Conclusion

The Celestial Brush mechanic definitely makes Okami stand out against other games within the genre, and the effect it’s had on other game teams is outstanding. Though the act of painting is a smoother experience in newer games, I still believe that the designers of Okami did a great job in ensuring that the Celestial Brush mechanic worked well and always stayed at the heart of the game. Few games place the same level of importance on their main mechanics, but Okami succeeds in integrating its brush into combat, puzzle-solving, art direction, and story.