Okamiden

[DANGERMAN]

Fuck yeah!

This got cut from the podcast and was just rumour till this morning, but Okamiden, a recent trademark from Capcom has been revealed as a new Okami game on the DS

GoNintendo Scans

[Hendo]

I was just about to post this!

Is it gonna be a remake then or a new version?

[DANGERMAN]

I dont recognise the temple in the centre picture from the first game, so either a sequel or a prequel I'd say

[retroed]

Awesome! I've never played Okami, and will definitely pick this up.

[HandsomeDead]

I heard the name Okamiden thrown around and I assumed it would be on a home console.

I'm not gonna knock this news though, some more Okami in any form is nice.

[retroed]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/55431.html

[Hendo]

1up Preview

Much as we hoped and prayed, no one really thought that the Okami would ever get a sequel. But Capcom recently shocked the world by unveiling the brand new Okamiden, which marks the much-loved franchise's debut on the Nintendo DS.

This time, the star is Chibiterasu, an adorably miniaturized version of the wolf-like sun goddess Amaterasu, who starred in the first game. Like Amaterasu, Chibiterasu can use the celestial brush, which has the power to turn the world into a canvas of creation. However, she's still just a puppy, and lacks Amaterasu's raw power.

Basic gameplay will be familiar to the fans, with the added wrinkle that Chibiterasu must work with different partners to restore balance to the world. Capcom has promised that the game will have similiar themes to the original, which revolved around restoring nature's balance. However, Chibiterasu's relationships with her different partners will also carry a great deal of weight in the storyline.

What's new for TGS? The TGS demo featured a couple of environments that should be very familiar to fans of the series. The denizens of an ancient Japanese village need Chibiterasu's help, which means performing odd jobs around town to help them out. In this case, that mostly amounts to bringing the local sakura trees to bloom with the brush; a common activity in the first game.

After briefly exploring the village, it's possible to venture into a cave, which contains puzzles that are fairly similiar to the first game. You'll once again be using the brush -- this time via the stylus -- to slice through boulders and restore ancient portraits, but the young girl accompanying Chibiterasu also comes into play. She'll spend most of her time on Chibiterasu's back, but you can also direct her to do things like press switches by drawing a line to it with the brush. Only one of the puzzles really brought this into play, but it's not unreasonable to assume that it will feature prominently in the full game.

What's our take? The Nintendo DS isn't the most powerful system, of course, but Capcom has so far done an amazing job of translating the original's lush visuals to the handheld's tiny screen. Most of the animations were quite smooth, and the colors and textures really stood out. Obviously, it can't match the PlayStation 2 original, but it comes much closer than you think.

Obviously, there are a few compromises. Rather than the smooth transition to the canvas featured in the original, the screen in Okamiden will pause and move awkwardly down to the touchscreen. That might not seem like a big deal, but it does have a certain effect on the presentation. The transition takes half a tick longer than it would on PS2, which also makes battles feel a tiny bit awkward at times.

More importantly, the animation is very rough in the arena-like areas where Chibiterasu has to defeat more significant areas. The fiery backgrounds are still impressive, but Chibiterasu's attacks are definitely not smooth as Amaterasu's, with a rather awkward leaping attack that fans of the original might find off-putting. Obviously, this is a comparatively early demo, but the fighting felt like it could have used a few more frames of animations. As the game progresses, Chibiterasu's battles will hopefully play a bit better.

For its part, the stylus control seems pretty solid, though it can definitely stand to be tightened up a bit. While I had no trouble making the appropriate designs with the stylus (and more precisely at that), I rarely managed to execute the brush actions on my first try. It strikes me as an issue that might also be a product of the fact that Okamiden is still early, but I hope it's something that developers pay attention to. I don't want to be yelling in frustration as I try to execute a perfectly-timed brush stroke on a boss, only to have nothing happen.

Beyond that, Okamiden is shaping up to be a pretty impressive adaptation of one of the best PS2 games. Thanks to the well-executed visuals and familiar environs, I felt instantly at home, and I was off bringing trees to full bloom before I knew it. It's still rough in places, but there's no reason to believe that Okamiden will receive a significant amount of polish in time for its release next year in Japan. And at that point, we may indeed have a truly special Nintendo DS game on our hands.

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(same video Ed posted but this one has the sound)

[retroed]

New trailer.

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Looks awesome.