Clover staff credits cut from Okami Wii, original director 'shocked'
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ May 1st 2008 at 1:00PM }
Kamiya explains that it's not simply the removal of his name and the staff names from the credits that upsets him. "Of course, we all have pride in our work; we all want to stand up and say 'I made this!' Yet more importantly, I find it extremely regrettable that the omoi that went into the staff roll is gone from the game as well." (A translator's note explains "omoi" is "best defined as a combination of thoughts, emotions, and messages.") Kamiya stresses the importance of this post-game omoi, specifically describing the relevance of Okami's original credits in relation to the epic length of the game. "It was a special staff roll for a special moment," writes Kamiya. "And now it is gone."
Jeez, after the watermark debacle, Wii's Okami seemed transformed into a "comedy of errors." Now it's just a true tragedy, huh?
[Via Kotaku]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vith @ May 2nd 2008 2:26PM
Ouch.
jorojoserojas @ May 1st 2008 1:04PM
Wow...if I were Clover, I'd definitely be upset about this.
Hashbrown Hunter @ May 1st 2008 5:43PM
If I were Clover I'd sue over this.
Saria the Cat @ May 1st 2008 6:53PM
Yeah, especially because, if you have any experience editing videos, there are a million solutions to the problem of a logo at the very end. This not having a "source file" crap is bullshit, too. What, they accidently only took every game file from Clover EXCEPT the credits?
fco. @ May 2nd 2008 9:38AM
forget about video editing. couldn't they just write down a few extra names on their own credits secuence?
Fernando Rocker @ May 1st 2008 1:04PM
Clover was one of my favorites developers from last gen. Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2 for the Gamecube was in my top ten of best games from last gen. The only game I didn't like was Red Hot Rumble.
Okami was excellent too, same with God Hand. This guys deserve a lot more.
Jody Anthony (cookingrebels.com) @ May 1st 2008 1:11PM
hey, sorry to go off topic here, but fernando, email me your wii code. then we can swap mario kart codes
jodyanthony at gmail dot com
BigD145 @ May 1st 2008 2:47PM
I agree with you on many of those points. Clover was a great studio and Okami/Clover deserve better than this.
riggs @ May 1st 2008 1:05PM
god hand was effin epic.
samfish @ May 1st 2008 1:15PM
God Hand is the greatest game ever made in the history of existence. I've had to replace two PS2 controllers from playing it.
Don't get me started on it. I can write paragraphs upon paragraphs about how great it is if you want.
OK, if you REALLY want me to, I will..!
nmezib @ May 1st 2008 2:44PM
oh yes, and the MAD MIDGET FIVE?!
"you can find me at the... CLUB!"
Oh god now I'm going to have to play it again
D_Average @ May 1st 2008 1:06PM
Well, if they couldn't remove the IGN watermark, it only makes sense they couldn't remove this either.
samfish @ May 1st 2008 1:10PM
YOU'RE MAKING IT REALLY HARD TO KEEP TELLING PEOPLE TO BUY OKAMI WII, CAPCOM!
My shilling skills DO have a breaking point, you know!
Emophia @ May 1st 2008 1:11PM
I hope Okami on the Wii fails, simply because I hate Capcom for doing this, I played all of Clovers games, and Okami and God Hand on the PS2 are some of my favorite games of all time.
jcd @ May 2nd 2008 12:30AM
I am sort of with ya man. On one hand, I guess the devs would want people to play their game regardless. But on the other, the only people making money off this are the ones that screwed them over...
I won't buy it now, but I was considering it. I have a copy of the PS2 version anyway
Courtney @ May 1st 2008 1:14PM
This seems a bit like a publisher removing an author's name when a book is translated into another language. You know, because the author wasn't directly involved in the translation.
Utter crap.
Savok @ May 1st 2008 1:14PM
Place your bets folks on the next Capcom fuckup this port is going to recieve. I'm giving 2:1 odds them actually putting the wrong game in the case.
Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! @ May 1st 2008 1:55PM
I suppose it's possible... I haven't actually opened my copy yet.
D_Average @ May 1st 2008 2:04PM
Haven't opened it yet, reallY? I'm dying to know if the controls are as bas as some of the reviewers say. I really wanted this game, but I can't stand finicky controls.
ThePremierAssassin @ May 1st 2008 1:17PM
Wow thats gotta hurt so much...I feel very bad for them.
Damn Capcome what the hell were you smoking during this games production?
Jfk Aok @ May 1st 2008 1:22PM
I'd sue the crap out of them. Literally...with a god &*!@ spoon.
Roto13 @ May 1st 2008 1:22PM
I'd be pretty pissed, too. A lot of effort obviously went into making this game. If it happened to me, I'd be furious.
Alex @ May 1st 2008 1:25PM
not very slick indeed.
gamers, developers, and publishers should be clamoring against this(maybe just a tad too extreme). but, it's like not citing your work: it could get you expelled from a college institution. it shouldn't be any different for some big shot company.
Lars @ May 1st 2008 1:29PM
Omoi = Emo, Got it.
baby sea tuna @ May 1st 2008 1:29PM
Boooooo!
umm....hello??? @ May 1st 2008 1:34PM
ummm.....does anyone even read any of the credits anyways other than to see the complete ending of a game and make sure there's no extra content that might enable a sequel to a game??
don't get me wrong, if I worked on something like a videogame/music/movie I'd want my name on it too--just wondering if anyone outside the development communities even pays attention to the credits other than maybe a particular director/programmer (ie- Mark Rein, etc)....
Vidikron (FU) @ May 1st 2008 1:34PM
This is pretty much a dick move by Capcom, but has anyone else here wondered about credits in entertainment in general? What I mean is, why do movies, TV shows, games, etc... have a huge list of credits? Do you look for a big list of credits on the side of a cereal box? Most consumer items don't have them, yet many have dozens, if not hundreds, of people that contributed to their existence. So why do people care so much about them in the entertainment industry, but nowhere else?
Courtney @ May 1st 2008 1:53PM
This is kind of a two-fold answer:
1) Unions. For TV and movies, I'm pretty sure that inclusion in the credits is part of the union contracts.
2) It's the difference between creative works and advertising/contract work. You don't necessarily get credit when you do a creative work for hire, particularly in advertising (which is basically what the art/stuff on a box of cereal is). While some games and movies may be works for hire, there is still a history of giving credit. Although, part of gaming lore is that the original easter egg came about because Atari refused to give credit to its game designers.
Vidikron (FU) @ May 1st 2008 1:59PM
About your second point... I'm not even talking about the artwork on the box, I'm talking about the actual cereal in the box. A lot of people went into creating that. Everyone from the farmers that grew the grains, to the food scientists that created the recipe, to the line workers at the factory, to the lab technicians at a lab somewhere that tested the lot to ensure it was safe to eat, to the shipping guys that got it to your local store. None of their names are on the box, yet in movie credits you often see the names of caterers and such that didn't even contribute directly to the movie.
Phranctoast @ May 1st 2008 2:10PM
food for thought...yeah i like puns
John McPoop @ May 1st 2008 2:26PM
I know if you make a movie in the USA it has to have credits at the start ... Thats why you usually see a montage related to the film with the credits ... The only reason i know this is because George Lucas did not want credits at the start of one of the original Star Wars movies and the various guilds wouldn't allow it. As a result he could not get Steven Speilberg to direct the movie (I think they had just done Indiana Jones) and had to film it over seas.
Its all about the union and the guilds.
Silvershotzero @ May 1st 2008 1:52PM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MyMz7Lka5EA&feature=related
Yeah that sucks for clover...but they'll get over it. In the meantime...lets dance! :)
John McPoop @ May 1st 2008 2:13PM
*chest bumps silvershotzero*
ewww ewww ewww I love you
Yes you know its true girl
ewww ewww ewww I love you
*hangs head in shame*
Mikey @ May 1st 2008 1:40PM
Somewhere, a weaboo has read this and is now heading to his local Gamestop to use the word "omoi" at least 11 times in his rants to anyone who makes eye contact.
LiK @ May 1st 2008 1:44PM
It's really fucking sad that Capcom did that to them. THEY made the friggin game in the first place and the ending credits was absolutely important to the overall experience of the game. It's a beautiful ending.
PS2 ver > Wii ver. Confirmed.
Robobagins @ May 1st 2008 1:46PM
While I don't watch most credits, the Okami one kept me riveted. It rounded off the experience nicely and didn't feel out of place.
ComicShaman @ May 1st 2008 1:55PM
What a slap in the face, and a miserable excuse for doing it by Capcom. The idea that they "didn't have the right" to use Clover's logo in the credits is a sad joke. If you've played the game, you'll notice that Clover's logo basically appears throughout the entire thing in the form of collectible magical clovers.
A classless, garbage move by Capcom that comes across as incredibly petty.
{peshue @ May 1st 2008 2:00PM
I had totally forgot about the credits sequence. It's one of the few that I actually wanted to sit and watch, it's a really beautiful way to end the game. Sucks that people with the Wii version will miss out on it.
ZenGaijin @ May 1st 2008 2:03PM
Man, this is making me love my PS2 copy all the more now.
I love Okami
Heres hoping for a sequel. *crosses fingers*
Go Amaterasu!
BPM [SSBB: 5026 4120 1186] @ May 1st 2008 8:50PM
No sequel unless the game makes money. Which is why, despite some of the weird faults of the Wii version, people should really buy it.
It says to Capcom, "Yes, we like Okami a lot!" Which Capcom will reply, "Hmm... maybe we'll make another. Someone get Platinum Games on the phone!"
... At least, I'd hope it'd play out like that.
jaredgood1 @ May 1st 2008 2:06PM
Out of curiosity, why is everyone blaming Capcom? Shouldn't an equal portion of the blame go to Ready at Dawn? I even remember an interview with Didier stating that since Clover was shut down finding all the game assets was proving to be a struggle.
John McPoop @ May 1st 2008 2:21PM
I guess I blame Capcom for breaking up Clover more than anything. They have completely botched this Okami port which had more promise than any other Wii port. This is because in theory the moves in the game translates perfectly to the motion of the wii mote. I blame Capcom for being petty and cutting the credits because it had the Clover logo. I blame Capcom for ripping off an IGN watermarked photograph instead of using an original asset.
I blame Capcom for acting like a fucking child.
I hold Capcom to the highest standards because they have made some of the best video games in the history of console gaming.
Capcom screwed up big time here. If it were just one thing it would be forgivable but now it seems like one thing after another with Okami.
I blame Okami because there is no one else here to blame.
John McPoop @ May 1st 2008 2:21PM
*Capcom not Okami*
Jon @ May 1st 2008 2:22PM
The decision to remove the credit is Capcom's, not RAD. RAD probably could have remade the credit, but I am guessing time was not on their side considering how quick the port was made. I also heard that many of the original assets were wiped out when Clover got dissolved, which partly explains why their box artist had to source IGN for art!
John McPoop @ May 1st 2008 2:10PM
Well when you take into consideration these epic blunders with the cluky controls on the Wii this port seems to be a huge let down. I love Okami and I was poised to repurchase it on the Wii until these issues arose.
Off topic
My favorite Capcom series of all time has to be Onimusha. I want a return of the Onimusha series!
Mr Khan @ May 1st 2008 2:25PM
This really shows how much bad blood is between Capcom and Clover about this. Clover was pissed at Capcom, and didn't give them access to much of the content that they actually used to make Okami, hence the different gfx filters and the "stolen-from-IGN" cover art, so Capcom figured since Clover really didn't help them make the port, they don't deserve any credit
It's a bitch move, but the reasoning is clear
dvnt @ May 1st 2008 2:26PM
A f***ing tragedy is more like it. I was going to pick this up even though I have the PS2 version already but now... not so much. I've only heard negative things about it.
samfish @ May 1st 2008 2:39PM
It's still worth picking up over all.
the filter is FAR less pronounced and the color is amped up tenfold, but some people like that (I don't). The only REAL problem with the game, besides the missing credits, is the way it treats reflector attacks. You have to have an exacting timing to get it to work right.
...thankfully, once you get the rosary or glaive, you can pretty much waggle till your little heart's content to attack.
BUY it. SUPPORT it. It's the last chance we get at doing it, and thus getting a sequel, which Kamiya has expressed interest in in the past.
j. howlett @ May 1st 2008 6:07PM
is it worth going through that long ass opening for the 5th time? i love the game and want to get it for the Wii but goddamn the beginning pisses me off. i'll probably still get it though.
ssuk @ May 1st 2008 2:49PM
Surely, they could have... I don't know. Rewrote the old credits back into the new staff roll? What bullshit about that logo as well, any video editor worth their money could edit that out.
They had access to CRI Middleware tools to encode into CRI SFD video format to replace the old credit roll, if they don't come with decoding tools (and why not?) there are SFD decoding tools floating around the internet if you Google them. A quick edit and a re-encode later you have a replacement video.