After four long years for die-hard fans, Ōkamiden has finally released and is the last title to hit the DS. But will fans continue to love the long-awaited sequel as they did with the original?
The Story
Ōkamiden is set nine months after the events of Ōkami. Issun has been doing his duty as the 7th Celestial Envoy and spreading the word of Amaterasu’s (the Shinto sun goddess who took the form of a white wolf) good works. However, the world hasn’t been cleansed as Issun and Ammy thought it was and a brand new batch of demons have arrived in the land of Nippon. After being ambushed by two demons, Issun is saved by an adorable wolf puppy with the same markings as Amaterasu. This is Chibiterasu, the son of the sun goddess and heir to the celestial brush.
Gameplay
The goal of the game is exactly the same as Ōkami: wander through the land of Nippon and fix everything that has gone wrong. This time you are relying on some new help in the form of “partners”. These partners will ride along with you and you will have to solve puzzles and navigate dungeons with two individuals now. They also provide some assistance during battles with demons and, of course, speak and make decisions for the mute sun god (much to Chibi’s dismay).
If you have played Ōkami before, you should have no trouble understanding the basics of gameplay and navigating the world. The game is an adventure RPG, with a lot more demon and boss battles to do than last time. For those of you new to the game, a very unique quality to this game is the use of the “celestial brush”, which you use by drawing certain symbols onto the world with the DS stylus, to manipulate the world. You will use this an awful lot as keys to defeating bosses, navigating dungeons and gaining more “karma”, which will help level you up.
I love the gameplay because they have remained very loyal to the original game. There are also plenty of new additions however, in the form of two new brush techniques and a few technical changes that I feel might have been changed for graphics purposes. The weapons system has changed slightly, you will upgrade your weapon by collecting things simliar to the demon fangs of the previous game. You will get the basic three: reflector, rosary and glave but it is up to you to work hard to gain their upgrades.
Ōkamiden is also harder, which really surprised me. You will be fighting a lot more often and the pace of the game is much faster than the original. Having a partner with consistently low health makes it difficult to navigate dungeons at times and if they die you will receive a “Game Over”. In addition, Chibi’s powers haven’t exactly matured like Ammy’s and you will not regain health or ink over time (so you will use a lot of items).
Chibi’s limited powers also mean you now have a time limit for using the brush: 30 seconds when you’re not in battle and 15 seconds in battle. However, the DS stylus makes drawing incredibly accurate and being a veteran of Ōkami I have had no issue with this time limit.
The game on the DS is perfect! I would love to have Ōkamiden fill my TV screen but after playing the Wii version of Ōkami and experiencing the occasional frustration of drawing with the Wii remote, the DS stylus is a much better tool to use. Ōkamiden is excellent on the DS, but I am hoping for another title to hit the Wii after this. Mostly because of graphics and audio, which I am covering below.
Graphics
The graphics will not disappoint those that are looking to experience Nippon all over again. I was happy to see the DS showing all the areas as they looked like in Ōkami. However, you will notice that the graphics the DS can provide do limit you in the game. Areas are smaller and to explore the full area, like Shinshu Field, you will have to experience some more load times. But loading is quick and not much of a distraction.
Despite this, I am impressed by how much the world of Ōkami and the graphics translated to the DS. It looks and feels like a legitimate sequel to the original game.
Audio
Because we are working with the DS, the audio is a little more limited and simplistic. I was blown away by the originality and talent of the Ōkami soundtrack and currently, I am not sensing anything new from Ōkamiden. However, the developer’s attention to bringing the
world of Ōkami back into Ōkamiden through the use of sound effects and the soundtrack is wonderful. I do find myself humming along to the music in the background occasionally, which is a personal indication that I am enjoying the audio on some level.
Overall Impressions
If you are looking for Ōkami all over again, you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for something completely and totally new however, you won’t find it here. Ōkamiden is not as groundbreaking or original as its predecessor. But as a die-hard Ōkami fan, I was merely looking for experiencing the joy and beauty of Ōkami without having to play the original game over and over again.
The DS is a decent platform to use for this game, especially with the use of the stylus for the celestial brush, but I would really like to see this series come back to consoles that can utilize better graphics and audio.
Overall, I am pleased with Ōkamiden and its continuation of the storyline developed in Ōkami Despite Clover Studios closing after the release of Ōkami, the developers have done a wonderful job of keeping the spirit and heart of the game alive. This is a great sequel to have to an amazing game and it leaves me hungry for more from this series. For those that loved and enjoyed Ōkami like I did, I greatly suggest you pick it up.