Ōkamiden

Ōkamiden (Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyō​ (大神伝～小さき太陽～,? lit. Ōkami Chronicles: Tiny Sun in Japan) is an action-adventure game published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS.thumb|300px|right|Gameplay Trailer It is a direct sequel to the PlayStation 2 and Wii title Ōkami. It was designed by Kuniomi Matsushita, the director of the Wii port of Ōkami, and Motohide Eshiro, producer of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny.

It was released in Japan on September 30, 2010, and with North American and European releases on March 15, 2011. A Collector's Edition of the game was released in Japan alongside the normal game; in addition to the game, this version included a soundtrack, DVD, storybook, a plush Chibiterasu keychain, and Ōkamiden-marked earphones. Art was done by M. Endo.

Characters

• Chibiterasu - a tiny, celestial wolf puppy, he is the son of Amaterasu.

• Kuni - the adopted son of Susano and Kushi.

• Kurow - a musician who aids Chibiterasu with his magical flute.

• Kagu - a child actress who becomes one of Chibiterasu's partners on his journey.

• Nanami - mermaid partner who is able to swim for treasure chests.

• Manpuku - one of Chibiterasu's partners, aiding him with the power of fire.

• Master Anura - boss in the form of a giant red toad.

• Bullhead - catfish boss responsible for the flooding of Agata Forest.

• Renjishi - giant mechanical doll boss encountered at the Playhouse.

• Witch Queen - pipe-smoking boss of the Demon Market.

• Mizuchi

• Akuro - is the main antagonist of the game. He is a spirit of pure darkness who aims to find a vessel of light and become powerful enough to shroud the world in darkness. It is revealed that Yami split into five pieces upon his defeat, Akuro being the most powerful of them all.

• Issun
• Sakuya
• Susano
• Kushi
• Mr. and Mrs. Orange

Story

The game takes place three months after the events of Ōkami. In spite of Amaterasu's battle against the Dark Lord Yami, which would kill all the demons in Nippon, they return. The Konohana Sprite Sakuya, a character from the original Ōkami, summons the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, but instead finds Chibiterasu, who looks like a younger version of Amaterasu. Chibiterasu, as revealed by Matsushira, is, in fact, Amaterasu's child, as was previously speculated. Producer Eshiro noted that he is a "young form of existence" and not fully grown; he retains several abilities of Amaterasu, including the Celestial Brush, but lacks her power, which is reflected in the plot and gameplay.

Chibiterasu's partners are incorporated into the main plot as well. One of the partners that accompanies Chibiterasu is Kuni, the son of Susano and Kushi, two characters from Ōkami. He was born after the events of Ōkami, and appeared in the ending of the first game. They did not reveal how Susano had a son in such a short amount of time, but stated that they would reveal it eventually. Other characters from Ōkami return, including Issun and Mr. and Mrs. Orange. The game features locales from Ōkami, as well as new areas to explore as part of its adventure.

Development

Development began when Kuniomi Matsushita expressed an interest in creating a new Ōkami game, and showed Eshiro a technical demo of such a game in December 2008. Because the demo was so well-done, development began on a sequel. The Nintendo DS was chosen, due to both it being the most successful platform of this generation as well as the touch screen being ideal for controlling the Celestial Brush.

Gameplay

The game plays similarly to its predecessor, Ōkami. It retains the ability to freeze the gameplay and use the Celestial Brush to solve puzzles and fight enemies. The theme of bringing life back 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 may be used to move Chibiterasu's partner independently across areas he 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.

Trivia

• Several characters appear in the Japan-only social game Onimusha Soul.

Gallery

Chibiterasu

ODChibiterasu.png

Chibiterasu

Kuni

Kurow

Kagu

Nanami

Manpuku

Box Art and Merchandise

Japan

U.S.

Europe

OST

External Link

• Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyō Official Japanese Site
• Capcom-Unity Creature Feature
• Ōkami Wiki