Gunfinger - General - Wolf or a dog?

OK, everyone think's Okami is a classic, and I bought the OPSM just for the demo even though the rest of the disk was crammed, outrageously, with repeats: Yes, we've seen Black, and if we want to buy it we can pick it up in a bargain bin for less than the cost of the magazine so please stop putting it on the disk. Tomb Raider Legend is another perennial favourite.
Anyway, Okami. Or OK-ami. It's a bit blurry, though. It left me thinking I needed my eyes checked, and I don't dig the weird colour scheme. Also I am not a fan of random monster encounters. I have truly left that kind of RPG experience - the one where you inch through the landscape a few steps at a time before being encountered with: A Bat Attacks! No..you can't retreat: take 5 damage! This is not entertainment.
At least in Okami you can wilfully avoid them, but that just means gambolling around the landscape from feature area to area. Having said that I've already pre-ordered it so I am banking on it being better than it is sold on the demo. However, it's irritating to keep hear it being compared to Zelda. No, this is maybe what people who only have PlayStations think Zelda is like - I am playing Zelda currently and this is not Zelda.