Comments on: Okami

By: Alisa Tran

Alisa Tran — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:45:13 +0000

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By: Narwhal

Narwhal — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:55:24 +0000

Boring? Bad graphics? Needs to be rated M?
All of those are incorrect. And realize that some of the best games of the nineties, mortal kombat, goldeneye 007, 007 everything or nothing, etc., weren't necessarily rated E. This game doesn't have blood except for VERY small amounts which I haven't seen, it does have some stuff about Japanese beliefs, but that's not what ESRB bases ratings on, it does have the inappropriate jokes, but I doubt they're bad, despite I haven't played this game, and it has that recurring alcoholic bevarage, I don't see all of that adding up to an M rating. Games are still good today, in fact. Oh, and say what you want, but this game has beautiful graphics imo.

By: Theophilus

Theophilus — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:08:46 +0000

I used to be an advocate of this game but the spirituality or whatever has just got to me (in a negative way). I guess I didn't think about it too much my first playthrough; I was amazed by how well the game was made. But really, if we are judged also by how we spend our free time (and mine is very short and precious) I'd rather not play a game focused on spreading a false religion, regardless of whether it takes place in the real world or in fantasy. I am really happy that I came to this conclusion, and it has helped me further my Christian faith.

By: Jared

Jared — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:45:09 +0000

Be careful. I have seen what Okami can do to people. It's almost as if there is a crowd of worshippers online who say things like "I love nothing more than Okami" "Long live Amaterasu." etc. I am only quoting these people to show you how far they have taken this. I don't know how serious they are, but this just shows that the game can be dangerous if you freely allow it's spiritual themes to blind you. Worshipping any other quote 'god' unquote is something that God hates. After all, he is the King of the Univese and our creator. I've played many video games in the past and have to admit that most of them do have pagan or violent elements. Okami is full of paganism. Be extremely careful, especially if you are new to the faith.

By: Freddy

Freddy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:37:31 +0000

@K-LOVER:

Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, and it had nothing to do with “love one another” sorry. That was the second most important.

It is VERY clear in the Bible that there is NO other way to be saved than ONLY through Jesus. “Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”

There is also a very good reason as to why this is the ONLY way we can be saved which Romans 3:27 shows us: To prevent us from boasting. No one can say that they saved themselves by being good (being 100% good is impossible as well, as I’m sure you know)

Trying to spot the “right” things in other religions is definitly not the way to go… there is not. If the basis is flawed, everything is flawed.

Sure most religions say “do good and good will happen to you” or something similar, you can read the “religious neutral” Proverbs and see the same thing.

Also speculating about the spiritual realm is dangerous.

That being said, I think the playing of this game falls under the “meat” rule. If it does not cause my internal alarm to go off (Holy Ghost) I can enjoy it, if however it causes me to have a bad conscience, or causes someone else to stumble, then no, I’m not touching it.

By: Theophilus

Theophilus — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:54:59 +0000

@Jordan:

I’m not offended by what you’re saying. I still disagree with some of it though. Here’s why (I hope I don’t offend anyone either).

1. “God is love.” I totally agree with you 100% on this. However I disagree with you if you’re saying that Okami is some elaborate scheme of the devil to twist what is really truth and love. Okami is a video game with a message of hope, love, faith and trust, etc. You fight evil where you must while redeeming certain fallen/corrupted things where possible. You don’t save evil simply because evil doesn’t want to be saved! Also, if it was a scheme of the devil this wouldn’t make sense cause you spend much of the game reversing evil actions in trying to spread a positive message. Again, it’s sort of similar to Zelda’s plotline of “good vs. evil” in that way.

2. God is one (but triune), omnipotent and omniscient. Obviously in Okami’s mythology this is NOT the case. I disagree with the game on this point then and I also see it as a reason why I would never believe in Shintoism. It is not the fullness of truth for sure, but I find it interesting and worth noting where it does converge with the truth in Christianity. Think of it this way: Clover may just be pointing out that maybe we have more in common with this ancient Japanese religion then we realize and maybe then we could work with this in mind to convert them to Christianity. Sure certain things would have to change for them (in terms of morality and in theology in general) but I think there’s also some common ground to take note of that might make it easier for them to understand what makes Christianity so great while we can appreciate certain expressions of the truths of our religion in their religion. This is what I was talking about when I made reference to Christian inculturation.

Make no mistake: I am very much a Christian and will be no matter how much I play this game. Willow700 is probably right though- it takes a mature understanding of our religion which sees what’s wrong and right in eastern spirituality in order to play this game in a proper Christian perspective. If you feel it conflicts with your spirituality and you don’t like it then by all means don’t play it. However I tend to appreciate how unusually positive this game is in terms of overall gameplay mechanics and the messages of the game. It’s not Christianity to be sure but then again (and oddly enough) most games aren’t even as close to the positive truths of Christianity as Okami is (in my opinion).