8 Video Games Fans Didn't Deserve
4. Okami
Okami released on the PlayStation 2 and then Wii to unimpressive sales, despite critical acclaim. Gamers either didn't know what to make of the "Zelda knockoff", or didn't yet have a gateway to appreciate the game's roots in classical/mythological Japan.
Protagonist Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess in wolf form, uses brush strokes to revitalize environments, solves puzzles and defeat enemies. Another game from 2006 overshadowed Okami though - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, in which the player spends significant portions of the game as... a wolf.
Therefore, playing as a wolf with the staples of a Zelda game was already in a Zelda game itself. Also, Okami's cel-shaded style had already been implemented in ANOTHER Zelda game - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which received fan backlash at launch for being "too cartoonish".
However, in hindsight, Okami has been recognized as an artistic game, particularly because Amaterasu is a literal artist of nature.
She brings life and balance to her realm with slashes and swirls controlled by the player. (Oh, and the 2017 remaster made perfect use of the PS4's rarely implemented touch pad, allowing players to use their own fingertips to paint alongside Amaterasu.)