Near the end of The Game Awards 2024, Geoff Keighley told the audience he had a few last world announcements. The camera then transitions to a drummer playing a folk Japanese-style beat. Suddenly, the orchestra plays a familiar tune and the backdrop plays animated painted visuals. When I saw an ink line surrounding a flower bud, my jaw dropped when I realized what this game announcement was. And I grew speechless by the title reveal, Okami Sequel.
The Last Okami Game
What many people may not know is that Okami did have a sequel on the Nintendo DS. Okamiden takes place after the original 2008 Wii title now following the offspring of Amaterasu, Chibi. Throughout the journey, Chibi interacts with the next generation of Nippon’s heroes of different regions and realms. All who ride the pup are children of characters or apprentices from the original Okami.
All of them offer different abilities that need assistance from Chibi’s brush. Like his mother, he must search and gather ink scrolls from the gods. It seems Amateratsu is not the only one with offspring. Her pup meets their children to represent time has passed. While the game had a good premise, it did not capture enough attention. Yet those who have played Okamiden left fans wanting an Okami sequel. Let’s Players on YouTube would acknowledge it as either underrated or missed the mark.
This is mainly due to DS’s control and hardware limitations. Battles would require bite-and-dash attacks from Chibi. Depending on which hand you use for the pen, attacking and dodging with the control pad or buttons felt uncomfortable. The game frames drop when encountering multiple enemies beyond two and traveling into areas with more objects.
Possible Story Routes
Now with an official announcement of Okami Sequel, what could we expect from the franchise’s new installment? I could see this new sequel take two routes. The first route is to re-establish Okamiden as Amaterasu’s story has already finished and passed it down to Chibi. There’s enough story to grow from there and the colorful cast to create a 3rd generation story. The pup grows up to become the next Amaterasu to keep her legend alive.
The second route is to replace the DS sequel with an improved story. While the story was not bad in Okamiden, many people would not remember it. A new continuity for Amaterasu could explore new lore of the spirit of the Rising Sun. The original story had a few mysteries left behind including the flute player Waka. He would live in the ancient fortress with Amaterasu after they brought peace to Nippon. He was not given much backstory but became one of the game’s most memorable characters.
Hideko Kamiya’s Thank You
After The Game Awards ended, Capcom director Hideko Kamiya wrote a personal letter to his fans. He posted it on Twitter (now X) showing his gratitude after the original series.
“How long has the story been concluded with “Until next time?” I didn’t think that day would really come where I’d return to Okami and continue the story with my own hands. Even at this very moment, my body is filled with cautious surprise that this is not a dream, and a joy that cannot be described in words.
Everyone worked so hard to make this project a reality, the friends who believed in me and gathered at CLOVERS Inc., and most importantly, the many voices of those who continued to support Okami. Even after a long time, all of this comes together to create this miracle, for which I am deeply grateful. […] Everyone, please wait with anticipation.”
Capcom shows their appreciation to Kamiya by offering a special game bundle. On Dec. 13th at 10 AM PST, Okami HD and Kamiya’s multiplayer game, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess can be bought together in celebration of Okami’s 16th year. Playing these games will support Kamiya and CLOVERS Inc. on the Okami Sequel project. We wish them luck on this new venture for one of Capcom’s beloved wolf goddess.
