It doesn't reach the glory of its predecessor, but Okamiden is a joyful, satisfying adventure that is worth playing.
+ heart-warming story with lovable characters and many adorable moments
+ beautiful environments and a fantastic soundtrack that reflect ancient Japanese culture
+ exciting boss battles
+ loads of secret areas and rewarding collection sidequests
+ Celestial Brush techniques are easy to pull off with the DS stylus and touch screen and are once again an awesome feature
Cons:
- hardware limitations cause the game to stand in the shadows of its predecessor
- dungeon puzzles and combat offer almost no challenge
Console series coming to handhelds can lead to some very conflicting situations. On one hand, the franchise expands its audience and possibly introduces a new way to play the series with a feature of the hardware. On the other hand, technical limitations can inhibit a handheld sequel from shining like its console predecessor(s). All of this is true for Okamiden, the Nintendo DS sequel to the cherished Okami. That game's great success on the PlayStation 2 and Wii (though mainly critical) came from the combination of a familiar Zelda-esque formula and a unique cultural twist shown brilliantly in all of its aspects. Okamiden shares these great qualities, but to a lessened extent because of the lack of newness and the weaker performance quality of the DS. Comparisons to its predecessor aside, Okamiden is a splendid adventure filled to the brim with beauty, charm, fun, and lots of cuteness and is one of the most memorable DS adventure games available.
The land of Nippon enjoyed nine months of peace following the events of Okami, but when demons inexplicably begin causing trouble yet again, Chibiterasu, the son of Amaterasu, answers the call to purge this new threat. He learns the basics of his inherited abilities from Amaterasu's spunky sidekick Issun and shortly after teams up with Kuni, the son of Susano, to set out on his mission. The plot develops at a steady rate as you meet both old and new faces and join different young partners. Each character in Okamiden has his or her own side-story, all of which enrich the main plot, and well-written text dialogue makes it very easy to grow attached to their lovable personalities and care about their problems. Major themes of friendship and individuality are ever-present through the game's story, creating many emotional moments, both cheerful and somber, and often comical. Seeing Chibi's partners mentally grow and mature to become better people in the short time they are with him provides such a heart-warming feeling. Okamiden's story is at its best during its many adorable moments, such as when Chibi and his partner jump up and down to celebrate their recent victory over a particularly dangerous demon. These parts never fail to put a smile on your face and might often make you want to pull Chibi right out of the screen and hug him.
The transition from consoles to the DS was in attempt to make it easier to use the trademark gameplay mechanic of Okami, the Celestial Brush. In Okami, you had to hold multiple buttons and draw paths or shapes either using the analog stick on the PS2 or the Wiimote on the Wii to harness the powers of nature and the elements lent to you by your fellow gods. In Okamiden, all you need to do is press one of the shoulder buttons (which pauses time by placing your surroundings on a canvas) and draw your line or figure to execute one of the many brush techniques, most of which have been borrowed from its predecessor. It's never been easier to slash enemies or boulders by drawing a horizontal line through them, cause dying trees to effloresce by drawing circles around them, conjure up a bomb by drawing a circle with a line through it, and every other returning ability. The major new brush technique introduced in Okamiden involves guiding your partners' movements when they're not riding on Chibi's back. Each partner has a different ability that allows him or her to be guided through certain areas, such as the mermaid through water. This technique is used often during puzzles in dungeons in order to hit certain switches or to obtain an item inaccessible to Chibi. It would have been nice to see a lot more new techniques, but the recurring ones are still very satisfying to use and it's neat to the see the god's (who gave Ammy her powers) adorable offspring grant Chibi his abilities as the adventure goes on.
But the more efficient Celestial Brush controls came at a hefty price. Almost every other aspect of Okamiden, while usually great, is technically inferior to that of its predecessor. This is most apparent when traveling through the game's rather large overworld. Every open area has been abridged in some way since Okami, and they are each broken up into small sectors separated by frequent portals that come with short loading times. Even so, Okamiden provides one of the most robust and beautifully detailed worlds of a DS game that really pushes the power of the system, and the abundance of secret areas make searching for the items in various collection quests an enjoyable and rewarding distraction.
Multiple dungeons, where the biggest and baddest demons reside, stand in your path as you progress in purifying the land. These dungeons throw a variety of scenarios at you that force you to use all of Chibi abilities, and each of them are designed according to the skill of whichever partner is with you, giving them fresh divergences from each other. You'll have to attach yourself to a plant's vine to swing across a bottomless pit, extinguish fires by drawing water to them, and use your Celestial Brush to repair a broken bridge, among your other talents, when you face the dungeons' obstacles. While they provide some interesting and clever ways to make use of your abilities, the puzzles are just too easy, making most of them forgettable right after completion. You won't be taking the time to mull over how to approach these obstructions often because of the very simple structure of most of the puzzles that make it clear what skill you must use.
Okamiden's combat also gets stuck in a rut due to its complete lack of challenge. Like in its predecessor's combat, you fight diabolical-looking demonic creatures in a confined arena using different divine instruments, only this time you can equip just one weapon at a time. Most battles involve simply mashing the Y button to attack and using the celestial brush to either weaken or finish your hideous foes. On top of the lack of depth, you rarely fear for Chibi's adorable life because it's very easy to stock up on items that replenish your health, damage enemies, and increase your attack and defense. The bosses found in the dungeons are similarly unchallenging, but the unique tactics involved in taking down the monstrous baddies keep the fights extremely engaging and make them some of the most exciting moments in the game.
Okamiden has an excellent presentation that reaches a surprisingly quality that is just under Okami's. Predictably, its visuals are not on the same caliber as its predecessor's, but the game is undeniably a graphical achievement for the DS. The fantastic Japanese watercolor art styIe shines spectacularly again in every aspect of the visuals. The vivid settings are strikingly beautiful and include a field, forest, coastline, villages, and other locales, all of which have a great amount of detail. The restored versions of these environments dramatically contrast to when the land is shrouded in gloom due to evil presence, which makes rejuvenating these areas all the more rewarding. The character designs are creative and distinct, reflecting the personalities of the characters swimmingly, and the fiendish enemies look appropriately ghastly and repulsive. The only graphical blemishes of this otherwise superb visual treat include the framerate occasionally dropping at a few certain points and some blurry textures.
Okamiden's audio is another standout for the DS, with both new and old sounds and themes that again use a mixture of both classical and ancient Japanese instruments. It's a bit odd that some returning themes don't sound as sweeping as they did on consoles and that some are actually even better, but you can definitely expect most of the game's tunes to be pleasant and memorable. There are multiple themes to represent the current mood of certain parts of the story, and these really enhance the emotional effect of the cutscenes, whether they are joyful, tense, or sorrowful. Okamiden's sound effects are generally clear and effective from the jingle that plays when you open a treasure chest, to the explosion of a bomb, and to the various sounds applied when commanding the elements. The most charming parts of the audio include the return of the vaguely Japanese gibberish of the characters and of course Chibi's adorable barks, howls, growls, and whines.
Okamiden delves deep in familiarity, and even though you probably won't be able to shake the feeling that this game belongs on consoles, it is a successful sequel that is certainly worth playing. The game is at its best in its gut-wrenchingly cute story moments and interesting boss fights, and an improved Celestial Brush control scheme, rewarding exploration sidequests, and a marvelous presentation make the 20+ hour package oh-so sweet. The game suffers from a lack of depth and challenge, but it continuously dishes out charm enough to make just about anyone fall in love with it. Despite the technical inferiorities posed by the DS, Okamiden ensures that your return trip to Nippon is a satisfying, immersive journey.
Score: 8.5/10