Part 48: String of Beads

Completely trivializing an already easy game

This nifty little number is your prize for collecting all 100 Stray Beads, a truly arduous task. In fact, you can’t even do it in one playthrough, since you get the last one for defeating the final boss (past the Point of No Return). This means, you can only benefit from it in New Game+. A lot of goodies are unlocked in New Game+, so it’s worth checking out at least once.

What does it do, exactly? Well, the String of Beads is a Divine Artifact (like the Lucky Cat or Golden Inkpot). It grants infinite health, infinite ink, and multiplies your attack power by ten. It’s tantamount to activating God Mode.

But, considering how much of a pain in the ass it is to collect all the Stray Beads (and I don’t just mean Blockhead Grande. What about the Devil Gate Trials? The rematch with the Canine Warriors? That one at the end of all those Konohana Blossoms at the City Checkpoint? The Ida and Hayate races? That asshole Hayazo? And let’s not forget the race with Kai through the Forest of Annoying Things! Getting all the Stray Beads is hard!), is it worth it?

Well… to be perfectly honest, no. Not really.

Oh, sure, it’s hella fun to equip it and beat bosses in all of two hits. I just don’t think it’s worth the trouble, for several reasons.

First, this game is easy. The String of Beads is hardly necessary. You can break the game over your knee perfectly fine without it. Second, in New Game+ you also get access to all your weapons (save the ultimate ones). For the early parts of the game, using the late-game weapons is such massive overkill that the String of Beads makes no difference. Third, all your Divine Attributes carry over as well. You have massive health, tons of Ink, and you get to keep all your Astral Pouches. New Game + is going to be easy mode anyway. Lastly, by the time enemies catch up to your overpowered weapons, you’ll have Veil of Mist anyway so who. Gives. A. Shit? Not to mention you’ll be rolling in Yen, so you can spam Vengeance Slips and Steel Fist Sakes ‘till the cows come home!

The only reason to get them all is if you’re a completionist, which I admit I am. Certainly collecting them all is a challenge, and it sure feels good when you finally get a really tough one. Really, that feeling of accomplishment from completing a really tough challenge is reward enough for me, especially considering how easy the rest of the game is. Getting an actual prize for it is just icing on the cake. It’s your “Good job, you made this game your bitch. Now go have some fun!” reward.

So, give it a try. Get the String of Beads and God Mode it up. Why not? You’ve certainly earned it! If you don’t care, ignore it. It’s not like you can’t break the game 9 ways from Sunday without it…

Personally, I get a lot more enjoyment from playing around with all the different Karmic Transformers. All you need to do to get them is not suck at the game!



Certainly. Okamiden is the sequel to Okami, released in March 2011. It takes place 9 months after the events of Okami and follows the journey of Chibiterasu, Amaterasu's son.


Chibiterasu. Ain't he just the cutest?

In terms of gameplay, it's more or less "Okami, but smaller." Chibi is a puppy, most of the enemies are small or toy versions of those found in Okami, and the Brush Gods you encounter are mostly the children of Okami's Brush Gods.

It's very cute and reasonably fun. If you can find it for cheap, I recommend nabbing it. I was actually toying with the idea of LPing Okamiden next. That wouldn't happen until next year, at least, though.