Review: Okamiden

Much of Ōkamiden' centers around the children of previous characters from Ōkami and their adventures and the relationships that form through the game's story, according to producer Motohide Eshiro.

Release Date: March 15, 2011
MSRP: $29.99
Exclusively on: DS
E10+ for Everyone 10+
Genre: Adventure 
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

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Gameplay:
Ōkamiden plays similarly to its predecessor, Ōkami, as an action-adventure game similar to games from The Legend of Zelda series; Zelda was an inspiration for both Ōkami's director Hideki Kamiya and Ōkamiden's producer Motohide Eshiro. The "Celestial Brush", the ability to freeze the screen and draw symbols via the touchscreen with the stylus to effect changes on the game's world, remains central to the game for solving puzzles and fighting enemies. The theme of returning life to the world also returns from Ōkami. A new feature is the ability for Chibiterasu to team up with partners. They can be used to explore the overworld with, as well as battle enemies. The new Guidance technique, also called the "Shirabe" or "courage" brush by Daniel Feit of Wired, may be used to move Chibiterasu's partner independently across areas Chibiterasu cannot cross; this is often required to progress in the game. The game uses the face buttons to move Chibiterasu about the world, with the top display being the current third-person view and the bottom showing a mini-map of the area. By pressing either shoulder button, the Celestial Brush is activated: the game pauses as the top screen is moved down to the bottom and rendered as a parchment, and the player then can use the stylus and touchscreen to draw to activate various powers of the Celestial Brush. The game will sense the speed at which the player draws the stylus across the screen and reflect this in the weight of the stroke drawn on-screen; a quick motion will lead to a faint, partial line while slow movements will create bold strokes.

Brush techniques can also be used to defeat enemies. Many enemies are weak to one specific brush technique, and by defeating the enemy in this manner, the player can earn rare items that help to upgrade Chibiterasu's power.

Some sections of the game include minigames based on other genres, such as shoot em' ups and side scrollers.

Final Thoughts:
Okamiden has all the right ingredients for a spectacular adventure game, though it never quite reaches the heights of the titles it seeks to emulate. Even so, it shows tons of promise, and has me really excited for the future of this franchise in the making. All in all, there is nothing lacking in this package. An engaging tale, memorable characters, epic boss battles, and cute wolf puppies-- it’s all here and it feels great.

Rating: 4.0 = Good
Reccomendation: A Must Buy