Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book (2008)

Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book (2008)

Author: Capcom | Illustrator: Various | Page Count: 288

'As my evangelical work, I do record herein the various events to which I bore witness during my long travels with Ōkami Amaterasu.'

~Issun, Celestial Envoy.

Once upon a time it seemed like every cash-grabbing, whoring video game dev or publisher was producing special editions of their biggest titles that asked fans of 'Deluxe' to dig deep into their pockets to acquire.

Most included some kind of plastic figurine with little or no articulation, made for display purposes only; and that's fine as long as you know beforehand what you're getting and have the shelf space to display it.

The lazier developers didn't bother with any kind of plastic tat. They'd throw in an A5 art book with shiny paper and minimal content and figured it'd suffice.

The Ōkami Complete Works is kind of like that except it's on a bigger, grander and more beautiful scale, and the content is worth celebrating.

Another difference is that it wasn't part of an over-priced game bundle. It's an over-priced standalone release (measuring 210 x 294 x 24mm). But if ever a game was crying out for an art book, it was Clover's Ōkami (2006). It crosses the line from being a simple fan-pleasing tie-in book into a collection of genuine artwork that justifies itself by being worthy of gallery space.

Do folks who want to appear cultured when visitors call really position art books strategically on their coffee table for others to see? It makes me shudder, But if so, then the tome wouldn't look out of place atop one. (Please don't set a coffee cup near a book - that's asking for trouble.)

-The Japanese watercolour style that helped give the game its unique visuals is returned to its origins on (pretend) parchment paper.-

All the usual 'making of' stuff is included; i.e., character art, concept sketches, location designs and production notes from the artists and creators of the game.

Unusually, you also get piano arrangements at the back, so if you're able to read music. you can learn how to play the game's exquisite score. I suspect there may be some coffee table folks who could use that to their advantage too.

But fictitious status-hungry social climbers aside, if you're a fan of this kind of thing and are comfortable with paying the steep asking price, then in my experience it doesn't get much better than the Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book.