Game Language

Explanation

Okami has been released in four different languages.

Speedrunning

All languages are generally legal and acceptable for speedrunning. Japanese is generally believed to be the fastest language for speedrunning, as it has the fewest characters on average. Okami does not adjust text scrolling speed based on language. Compared to English, Japanese saves generally between 20 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the category being run.

In general, there is little need to speak or understand the language one is speedrunning in, as most menus in the game include icons that can be read. The only major exception is striking out names on the monster Wanted Lists. In most categories, a single wanted monster is fought after talking to Mika, because the tutorial causes an automatic transition to night. This is used to more quickly obtain Cherry Bomb or open the Whirlpool to the Dragon Palace.

List of Available Languages

• English
• French (Français)
• German (Deutsch)
• Japanese (日本語 Nihongo)

List of Notable Omitted Languages

These languages have no known official release of Okami.

• Spanish (Español)
• Italian (Italiano)
• Dutch (Nederlands)
• Portuguese (Português)
• Russian (Русский Rússky)
• Chinese (Traditional and Simplified 漢語 and 汉语 Hànyǔ)
• Korean (한국어 Hanguk-eo)

Trivia

• Several of the game's icons were changed from the original Japanese versions in other languages. Mostly, these were to replace icons that relied on Kanji to convey meaning with pictographic icons.
  • The game's main currency is denoted with the Kanji [両] ("Ryou" or "Ryō"), referring to the oblong gold coins used as currency in Japan from 1609 to 1871, when it was replaced with Yen. In English and German, the currency is just called "Yen", while in French it is translated as "ryo".
  • The end-of-battle results screen indicates your performance using stamp icons with various Kanji depending on the grade. In all other versions, these icons are replaces with icons of a cherry blossom in various states. At the highest score, a blossoming pink tree is shown, then a plain green tree, then a wilted tree without leaves, and then a seed at the worst.
  • Godhood is indicated in-battle with red, yellow, and green ink blots in the bottom left of the screen during battle. In Japanese, these have Kanji over them, but in other versions the Kanji is replaced with a silhouette of Ammy in a crouching pose. For negative godhood (gotten after drowning or succumbing to a Cursed Zone), the icon is an x with the Kanji 罰 ("batsu" or "bachi", meaning "punishment", "penalty", or "curse") in Japanese, replaced with a skull in other versions.
  • Notably, the icon for praise is not changed in any version. It uses the Kanji 幸 ("sachi" meaning "happiness", "blessing", "fortune", etc.).