Okami was released originally for the Playstation 2 back in 2006. Now we are in the year 2011 and we have a true sequel to that critically acclaimed game; this time on the Nintendo DS. This adventure takes place in the same land of Nippon with a cast of a lot of familiar faces from Okami, but new comers to Nippon will still find an enjoyable ride here despite not playing the first. Okamiden still has an enjoyable story and game play that uses a lot of methods used that have been proven to work time and time again.
Okamiden starts the player off with a quick wrap up of the events of the first game, and shows the player the world of Nippon. The world has again been threatened by an unknown darkness that spreads across the land. Enter the sun god puppy Chibiterasu (son to Amaterasu the heroine of Okami) to aid the land of Nippon in getting rid of the darkness, and putting everything back in its place. The story in this game is well thought out and features a roller coaster of emotions happening throughout the game. Every main character that Chibiterasu runs into is well developed and actually made me care about what happens to them. People who didn’t play the original Okami will not need to play it to understand everything that’s happening in the story, but they will miss out on some inside jokes and some hidden references here and there. Not everyone is going to like the story, though, because at times it does seem a bit childish, but the player that sticks with it to the end will have a had a long journey full of memorable moments. Capcom did an amazing job developing this world into a place that makes the player care about the world they are saving.
One of the massive tasks Capcom has done with this game is to try and make the visuals match the style of the previous Okami. For being on the Nintendo DS, the graphics are really well done. The Japanese art style is back and it makes the world look like it’s part of a classical Japanese painting exhibit. Every animal, human, and enemy in this game looks unique. While the world looks amazing for being on the DS, I can’t help but think how sad it is that the power of the DS limits the ability fully develop Okamiden into the gorgeous masterpiece it desperately wants to be.
The Sound design in Okamiden has a lot of the tracks used in the previous game but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t sound good. The score matches the tone of the game perfectly at each moment. For those who haven’t played the first Okamiden, the only thing that will probably get on a player’s nerves is the way that the people in Nippon talk. They talk in either high pitched or low pitched sounds that don’t make coherent words at all. All the narrative is read through text while these noises are being made. It can be rather annoying depending on the character that Chibi or one of his partners can be talking to, but for the most part it’s tolerable. The sounds they got for Chibi are really well done as well. Every time Chibi got hit in combat my heart sank a little because it was like hearing someone kick a puppy.
The game plays very similarly to the previous Okami but this time they have tweaked a couple of things for the DS. The player will attempt to travel around the world, not being able to progress further without going to an area to find some power or item that will help him or her progress to the next area. This normally means scouring through a building, dungeon, cave, etc. and finding said item or power and defeating a boss in the dungeon. The dungeons are never really all that hard. The puzzles are pretty straight forward and never really get too challenging. Combat with minor enemies always begin with a dark aura or a dark being which sends the player away to the combat area. The area is normally a small circle of space enclosed by a wall of darkness. After combat, the player is judged based on their performace and awarded money and items accordingly. What sets this game apart from the rest of the action adventure games out there is the Celestial Brush.
The Celestial Brush is back and it feels better than ever. This tool basically lets you press the L or R button on the DS to pull the action that’s happening on the top screen to the bottom screen. This makes the action Chibi is in look like an old parchmental drawing. From here you can draw certain ways to create actions to happen. For instance, early in the game you get a slash power. If you draw a horizontal line across an enemy it will actually slash them. Using the DS touch screen finally seems to answer all the problems people had with the previous versions of Okami’s Celestial Brush. What’s really nice about this version is that you don’t have to hold down L or R to keep the screen up. Instead, there is a timer which limits the player’s time to draw. Each enemy has a weakness to a certain brush which becomes quickly apparent, but the fact of the matter is it never gets old using the Celestial Brush.
The celestial brush isn’t just for combat, though; you can use the brush in the open world. If there is a jet black ugly tree, Chibi can draw a circle around it (once you get the right power) and the tree blooms petals, gaining its color back. The reason why this is important is because it will give you praise, as does performing main story tasks and side missions that help save the world. This is how Chibiterasu can gain more health beads and ink pots. The ink pots will let you perform more celestial brush actions. If your ink pots ever completely run out, you lose access to your weapon and Celestial Brush until it’s refilled. This shouldn’t be a problem though.
This game gives you an over-abundance of money and items at times, and the combat is usually really easy. You can sometimes even button mash your way through some of the fights as long as you use the right Celestial Brush power. The game almost wants itself to be to easy so that everyone can make it to the end. The player is even sometimes told what brush power they need to perform to defeat an enemy. This leaves little room for trying new techniques out. Another thing I personally wish was in here was the ability to draw more than one power at a time. It’s not a huge problem, but it does feel limiting on top of the already cut-and-dry fights. One of the additions they did make to Okamiden to freshen things up is that this time around hero isn’t flying solo.
Through most parts of the game you will be teamed up with a different partner depending on where you are along the way. The changes come pretty naturally with the story and don’t feel out of place. Each person normally comes with their own ability: for instance, one can swim while another can see floor panels that normally couldn’t be seen in order to traverse over pits. In combat, though, they are really only good for extending hits or being used by the Celestial Brush.
As fun as this game was, it was not without its flaws, either. There were moments where using the brush was really frustrating. The game sometimes wants you to draw in certain ways and sometimes it can feel really picky. I drew a circle around a tree about six different times before it finally bloomed. There are also some frame rate issues; the game is prone to some slowdowns that seem to break the flow of the game play. While these brief moments can be annoying at times, the flaws never really deterred me from finishing the game.
It’s kind of sad this game had to come out so close to the end of the DS. Even though it’s one of the last DS titles, it is sending the DS out with a bang. Okamiden is a grand adventure across a interesting land full of interesting characters. While the journey is long, it is worth every step. Even though the adventure never truly takes the training wheels off, Okamiden is very enjoyable and deserves the opportunity to let this adorable puppy win over your heart.
