Subject: The official Okamiden thread Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:49 am
Okamiden
Format: Nintendo DS Developer: Unknown Publisher: Capcom Genre: Adventure
Capcom let a sequel to their cult hit off the leash
Although Capcom's brilliant Zelda tribute Okami started life on the PlayStation 2, it proved a more natural fit on the Wii. The paintbrush mechanic that allowed you to daub great swathes of colour over a drained landscape was ideally suited to the Wii Remote. It's no great surprise then to see that thinking carried through to its natural conclusion - a version for the DS, whose stylus is perhaps an even better pretend-paintbrush.
Amaterasu is gone, but in her place is Chibiterasu, a younger, altogether cuter canine crusader. On her back is Kuninushi, the more vocal of the pair and Chibiterasu's guide. The young boy spent most of the demo we saw pointing out enemies and telling Chibiterasu what to do, at times jumping off to lessen the load on her haunches. This lends the game a definite puzzle slant and gives people yet another reason to compare it with Zelda.
Advertisement: The partnership system here has Kuninushi hopping off so that Chibiterasu can cross shaky bridges, or perhaps outflank certain enemies in much the same way as Link and his phantom helper combine in Spirit Tracks.
Free Stylusin' This is where the stylus comes into play. Tapping either of the shoulder buttons brings up the parchment screen, whereupon the environment is represented as an inky sketch. If you touch your stylus upon Kuninushi, your ink runs red and you sketch him a path to follow, around the back of an enemy for example, or along a narrow precipice too small to permit Chibiterasu to pass.
Time is frozen once the parchment paper is brought up on the touch screen, and a few deft slashes with the stylus allow you to either block a number of enemies' attacks, or slice through them and send them packing. Different brush powers will have different effects on a variety of enemies, so liberal mixing and matching will reap rewards.
The recognition of shapes and actions drawn with the stylus is flawless so far, though with the action being paused as you scribble on the touch screen the only thing likely to take any damage if you were to draw and redraw would be your patience. The stylus actually feels much more natural as a paintbrush than the Wii Remote did, so we're hoping for a more inventive set of commands to be carried using it.
Brush With Greatness Because there's a finite amount of ink available to you, you'll be grateful for that efficient touch screen. Imagine if your brush strokes weren't easily registered and you ended up going over your strokes to get them in the game. You'd hit the roof as your ink was wasted away by a design fault. Okamiden is too subtle for that and even uses the touch screen's refresh rate to judge how thick you lay down your ink.
Although the Zelda comparisons are understandable given its structure, there is a defined identity to Okamiden. The distinctive, immediately recognisable art direction makes it hard to mistake for anything else but a successor to Okami. The brushwork is also a trademark feature and as such it feels like Okami and nothing else. Having said that, there is a sense of this and Zelda taking very similar routes with their respective experiences, the aforementioned stylus controlled path-marking being the prime example. We're anticipating some surprise new features though.
A minor concern is the camera, which pulls in close to Chibiterasu when engaging in a skirmish, often becoming unwieldy and obscuring your objective. There's a while to go before Okamiden is released however - plenty of time for Capcom to fine-tune these and other parts of the game. It would be a shame for such a beautiful game to be hamstrung by something as simple to correct as a wonky point of view. Capcom has said that currently a UK release has yet to be green lit but then the publisher was notably coy when discussing the existence of the Wii version of Okami too, so we'll take that with a pinch of salt. What's more pressing is that Capcom gets this just right. It could just let a snappy painting mechanic and some lovely visuals suffice, but we've got a feeling there's no danger of that happening here.
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Cormster Sage
Posts : 1914 Credits : 33809 Reputation : 6 Join date : 2010-01-30 Age : 27 Location : Northern Ireland
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Sun Feb 14, 2010 10:00 am
It looks good. I never got round to getting Okami. I guess I thought it looked a bit too much like Twilight Princess. Even though you can get it for a good price.
The Insanity Factor Hero
Posts : 1223 Credits : 29634 Reputation : 8 Join date : 2010-01-28 Age : 28 Location : Happily looking up your nose
Character sheet Test1: IT'S OVER 9000!!!!! And I can prove it. Just click the word "character sheet" on my posts or profile.^^
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Wed Feb 17, 2010 3:35 am
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:35 am
Cormster wrote:
It looks good. I never got round to getting Okami. I guess I thought it looked a bit too much like Twilight Princess. Even though you can get it for a good price.
D: Did you not like TP?????
_Reece_ Moderator
Posts : 875 Credits : 33245 Reputation : 9 Join date : 2010-01-31 Age : 29 Location : Cheshire
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:29 am
Jazz wrote:
Cormster wrote:
It looks good. I never got round to getting Okami. I guess I thought it looked a bit too much like Twilight Princess. Even though you can get it for a good price.
D: Did you not like TP?????
I loved it. I just thought this looked a bit too much like a clone. I was probably wrong though. Everyone who's played it has loved it. I was gonna get it once but I got Punch-Out!! instead.
The Insanity Factor Hero
Posts : 1223 Credits : 29634 Reputation : 8 Join date : 2010-01-28 Age : 28 Location : Happily looking up your nose
Character sheet Test1: IT'S OVER 9000!!!!! And I can prove it. Just click the word "character sheet" on my posts or profile.^^
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:11 am
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:24 am
Cormster wrote:
Jazz wrote:
Cormster wrote:
It looks good. I never got round to getting Okami. I guess I thought it looked a bit too much like Twilight Princess. Even though you can get it for a good price.
D: Did you not like TP?????
I loved it. I just thought this looked a bit too much like a clone. I was probably wrong though. Everyone who's played it has loved it. I was gonna get it once but I got Punch-Out!! instead.
I researched it and Okami was made before Twilight Princess. If you ever take my advice for anything, make it this. GET OKAMI. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!
Cormster Sage
Posts : 1914 Credits : 33809 Reputation : 6 Join date : 2010-01-30 Age : 27 Location : Northern Ireland
Subject: Re: The official Okamiden thread Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:58 am
Jazz wrote:
Cormster wrote:
Jazz wrote:
Cormster wrote:
It looks good. I never got round to getting Okami. I guess I thought it looked a bit too much like Twilight Princess. Even though you can get it for a good price.
D: Did you not like TP?????
I loved it. I just thought this looked a bit too much like a clone. I was probably wrong though. Everyone who's played it has loved it. I was gonna get it once but I got Punch-Out!! instead.
I researched it and Okami was made before Twilight Princess. If you ever take my advice for anything, make it this. GET OKAMI. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!
Ok then maybe I will. I'll see how cheap it is online.