Okamiden

Okami Den is a true successor to Okami. Even though it's not as rich as the original was, it's taking full advantage of the DS and its touch screen. Pretty, well-paced, charming, funny, Okami Den is an adorable and well-crafted game.

It is a lovely Nintendo DS adventure with brilliant graphics and style. If you are looking for a new graphics and gameplay experience, you have to play this game.

More a shrunken Okami than a full-blown sequel, but there's just as much to love here. [Mar 2011, p.96]

Okamiden reveals itself as a great game and a very welcomed sequel. May be among the last games of the extensive list of the DS, but this does not dimish its quality. Even if the combat doesn't shine as much as the rest of the package, Okamiden is a masterpiece.

While Okamiden might not provide a significant challenge, it's still a fantastic game, with an outstanding atmosphere.

Okamiden is an epic adventure in every sense: well written storyline, a huge over-world and gorgeous visuals and sound. It is an experience that, even if rushed through, will take more than 15 hours to complete.

Original, gifted with an interesting gameplay and a great design, Okamiden could be the DS swan song.

A fantastic action RPG with echoes of Zelda. [Feb 2011, p.62]

While not without its faults, this is a fitting follow-up and a hugely satisfying experience. [Mar 2011, p.92]

Most exciting of all? The end hints heavily at more entries in this excellent series. [Mar 2011, p.96]

If you have a DS and enjoyed Okami, Okamiden would be a great addition to your collection.

Okamiden is as great as its predecessor, offering the same experience and something more. It has little flaws, but they don't ruin a truly enjoyable game. Maybe, the Nintendo DS swan song, and it could have been difficult to imagine a better one.

There is little lacking and so much right within Okamiden. A great sequel, a suitable DS send-off and an outstanding game in its own right.

Much of what made Okami so special has been preserved and even refined in the sequel, but Okamiden slips on the execution front a little too often, preventing it from rising above its predecessor. Nonetheless, it's still a beautiful game and a worthy successor that both newcomers and veteran celestial painters will enjoy.

Okamiden has all the right ingredients for a spectacular adventure game, though it never quite reaches the heights of the titles it seeks to emulate. Even so, it shows tons of promise, and has me really excited for the future of this franchise in the making.

The heritage of a masterpiece such as Okami is a big burden, which Okamiden somewhat fails to fully carry on its shoulders: however, the game is so beautiful and inspiring that's easily forgiven, and it's definitely one of the best adventures on the Nintendo DS.

In either case Okamiden is a great game, and surely one of the last must-own titles on a legendary system.

Okamiden is a fantastic action RPG with echoes of Zelda.

It seems fitting somehow that Okamiden be one of the games that closes out the DS's reign as the game's themes of youth combined with tradition seems to mirror the current transition from one console to the next.

The game is a grand adventure through a fantastical version of feudal Japan, and exploring the mythos and art of this other world should be more than enough reason to give it a try.

The movies are eye-candy, the plot is okay and some role-play elements have found their way into the game. Unbelievable what Square Enix is able to do with the PSP nowadays.

It's tangible magic that you can feel with every stroke of the brush. [Issue#108, p.104]

As one of the lengthiest, most beautiful adventures available for the Nintendo DS, Ōkamiden deserves a place in the collection of any handheld gaming enthusiast. It's definitely not the most innovative sequel out there, but there are still hours upon hours of exciting single player goodness to be had for anyone looking for another Zelda-esque title to sink their teeth into.

One of the best and visually gorgeous games on Nintendo DS, OkamiDen offers a long quest with a lot of things to see (and do) and a good amount of secrets to discover.

A charming and unique game, but oh so easy.

The formula might be the same and it's not as visually surprising, but this sequel for DS will appeal new players as well as those who already played Okami.

There are some minor annoyances here and there, and a few design concessions to the handheld platform would have done a lot to make it easier to pick up and play. Regardless, Okamiden is a real treat to anyone looking for a Zelda-style adventure on the DS. In many ways, it outdoes the recent offerings from Nintendo itself.

Okamiden never feels like a giant leap forward, but it was never intended as such. Instead, it shows that the world of Okami is ripe for further adventures, and that they can appear in new and exciting forms.

It may not feel like a 'full' sequel, more of a fan-servicing side-story or an introduction to the world for newcomers, but Okamiden proves that there is plenty of life in the series yet should Capcom choose to forge on.

Okami fans will be spellbound with nostalgia while finding plenty new to enjoy, and fans of Zelda-esque adventures will be hard pressed to find another portable game so engaging in the twilight of Nintendo's soon-to-be replaced Nintendo DS hardware.

Much like Chibiterasu, Okamiden faithfully does the job of its predecessor, although it lacks much of the grace and poise that we saw last time from Amaterasu's adventure. Still, the feel of the franchise is intact, and that's what really matters here. With extra post-game content and plenty of quests to complete before and after the final battle, Okamiden is a solid closing entry in the original DS's history.

Faithful almost to a fault to the classic original, but still a stunning achievement for the DS and a thoroughly engrossing adventure in its own right.

Okamiden is a great Action RPG that preserves the spirit of Okami: Magic Brush, puzzles, sidequests and great characters. They has only one problem: this sequel is too similar than the Amaterasu game.

Okamiden offers a nice adventure with a lot of Zelda feel to it. Definitely a game worth both your money and your time.

Okamiden exudes charm, perhaps even more so than the original. Unfortunately, charm will only get you so far.

It might not be quite the game its predecessor was, but you can't help but hope that this charming follow-up sells well enough for its publisher to keep the wolf from the lore.

Okamiden is a noteworthy title which follows the story and the structure of the original game. Despite some flaws, especially in the pointer detection, it is a very recommended experience.

Whereas a more comprehensive reimagining of how Okami would work on DS could have resulted in a less ambitious, more polished game, Okamiden succeeds in preserving both the spirit and form of its forebear, and that makes in rather special indeed. [Mar 2011, p.90]

This is one of those sequels that fans never thought would happen, so even if it doesn't measure up to its legendary predecessor, we're thankful to have it. [March 2011, p.86]

The thick-lined, colorful look and Okami's traditional soundtrack are impressively mimicked on the feeble DS hardware, and even though the scenarios are familiar, they're no less charming for it. Okamiden is nonetheless a missed opportunity, never leveraging its youthful veneer to recapture its predecessor's creative spirit.

Okamiden doesn't distinguish itself from its revered predecessor, but great visual design and well-developed characters make it engaging nonetheless.

Not as great as Okami, but still a nice take on a handheld version of the classic game. Expect a long adventure with a lot of recycled stuff included.

With a more balanced difficulty and stronger puzzle designs, Okamiden probably would have been able to beat The Legend of Zelda at its own game, but for now, Chibiterasu will have to settle for simply being on even ground with Link.

There are some players who will undoubtedly love Okamiden, either because the flaws (such as backtracking) are not as familiar or because they have the capacity to overlook its myriad mistakes. I wish I could do the same.

Quotation forthcoming.

At its core, Okamiden is a successful, shrunken-down Okami, but it's trapped on a system that can't entirely pull it off. The art style, music and mechanics, while lifted from the earlier game, are still captivating and worthy of exploration, though we couldn't shake the feeling this story would have soared higher on another platform.