Okamiden Hands-On

We've seen Okamiden a couple of times, but with the release date now penciled in for September/October, it's looking like the developer is now in its final push. The game was on show at this year's E3 conference in Capcom's booth, allowing us to get some hands-on time with Chibiterasu and Kuni in the game's beautiful world. We also managed to corner producer Motohide Eshiro to ask questions and play the game itself.

The E3 demo acted as a chance to learn the basic controls, as well as experience some of the big gameplay mechanics that will be featured in the finished game. The main game is viewed on the top screen, while a map is displayed on the bottom screen. However, a big part of Okamiden is drawing out shapes, so when you hold either of the shoulder buttons, the action drops down onto the touch screen so you can draw on top of what you see.

We experienced quite a few touch-screen gameplay mechanics during our time with the game. Bloom is a move that allows you to draw a circle around a dilapidated tree, bringing it back to life with beautiful pink leaves and dropping items in the process. Power slash can be used to take out enemies and large objects, such as rocks that block your path, simply by drawing a horizontal line across them.

Drawing on the touch screen also helps you solve certain puzzles. In one example, we had to draw out the missing piece of a painting and then sketch in the sun to make the image come to life. You also need to doodle celestial deities at times, including one occasion where we had to (strangely) draw out a monkey. We also played small battle rounds, where we had to kill multiple enemies within a close space, using a combination of standard attacks and special drawing-based attacks to kill the enemies and take the loot.

The game also puts a large emphasis on co-op puzzles that need to be solved using Chibiterasu and Kuni together. Whenever you see a crumbling bridge, you must make Kuni dismount the animal. Then he'll follow the path of whatever you draw on the touch screen. We also found plenty of button-related puzzles to solve. In one situation, we had to use Chibiterasu to stand on switches to stop the flow of water, allowing Kuni to pass to the next area. When one leak was passed, we then had to move Chibiterasu and draw out a new path for Kuni.

The game takes place nine months after the original Okami, although Eshiro-san is keen to note that Okamiden is a separate game, rather than a direct sequel. There will be something for fans of the original, though, with locations and characters from Okami appearing in the game. Kuni is the son of swordsman Susano from the original game, for example.

Okamiden retains the same art style of Okami, with cel-shaded graphics providing a beautiful visual canvas. There are some really nice graphical effects to take in, such as the leaves and flowers that emerge out of Chibiterasu as he runs around the world. Look out for Okamiden on the DS very shortly, and for more from Capcom's lineup, be sure to check out the rest of GameSpot's E3 coverage.