Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox was challenging. There are entire games with less challenge than the first level of Ninja Gaiden. It also featured a number of the finest boss encounters ever. And yet, despite the challenge, ninja gaiden was also incredibly fun and addictive. You'd die a lot, but that just meant you got to do more awesome ninja stuff, and usually the hardest parts were right after a save.
By comparison, Okami is just frustrating. The levels are very stylish, but they're also easy to get lost in. The combat is novel, if a bit odd, but I quickly found myself trying to avoid combat because it slows me down and isn't especially fun. I rarely die in Okami, but when I do it usually means I'm turning the console off. This is because Okami uses a save system from the dark ages. When you find a save spot, you can save there. When you die, you go back to your last save. Frequently, this means replaying 10-15 minutes of gameplay but faster and skipping the fun of exploring and goofing off because you're pissed about having to do it again. I don't have high hopes of finishing Okami anytime soon. I'll play for an hour, die once, lose 10 minutes of playtime, and quit for another week. Simply unacceptable.
