Okamiden

Okamiden is a 2010 action-adventure video game for the Nintendo DS, developed and published by Capcom. It serves as a spiritual successor to the 2006 game Okami and takes place in the same mythic world of Nippon. Players control Chibiterasu, a young sun goddess in the form of a white wolf, who travels with Issun, a tiny artist and guide. The pair journey across Nippon to cleanse corruption that has spread across the land and restore scattered villages and temples.

The gameplay blends exploration, puzzle solving, and combat, with a strong emphasis on the Celestial Brush mechanic. By drawing on the touchscreen with the stylus, players trigger brush techniques such as painting a line to create a path, summoning wind, fire, or other effects to interact with the environment and enemies. The top screen displays the action while the bottom screen shows brush options. The art style mirrors traditional Japanese ink painting with cel shading, maintaining a look reminiscent of Okami.

Development and release: Capcom developed Okamiden as a handheld installment to bring the Okami aesthetic to the DS platform. It was released in Japan in 2010, with North American and European releases in 2011.

Reception and legacy: The game received generally favorable reviews, with praise for its art direction, its use of the DS touchscreen for the Celestial Brush, and its faithful adaptation of the Okami aesthetic to handheld play. Some criticisms focused on a smaller scale relative to the original and occasional control quirks. Okamiden remains the only handheld entry in the Okami franchise, continuing the series’ world rather than serving as a direct sequel.

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