It doesn't even try to be as innovative as its predecessor, but its beautiful storytelling will draw you in.
Picking up nine months after the conclusion of Okami, when Amaterasu, the sun goddess in the form of a white wolf, defeated evil demon lord, Yami, cleansing Nippon of all evil and darkness, we find a strange new threat has arisen. But Amaterasu is not available to return to Nippon, as she is in the Celestial Plain, returning that heavenly land to its former glory. So instead, Amaterasu's young son, Chibiterasu, comes down to Nippon to save the day. Through the course of his journey, he will learn the same skills and techniques that his mother wielded, making him a pint-sized god. In this way, Okamiden will feel very familiar to anyone who played the first game.
Those core skills are crucial to the game. You will make use of Chibi's Celestial Brush, a tool he uses to literally paint the world. It can be used as a both weapon and for puzzle-solving. All you need to do is hit the shoulder buttons to turn the world into your canvas and start painting with the stylus. The number of uses is extensive, ranging from rejuvenating the environment to slashing away at your enemies.
The addition that makes this title different from the first game is the introduction of the partner system. Chibi will pair up with a number of different characters throughout the course of the game, all of whom have special skills they will lend him in battle, and a touching story that will play out as you get to know them. You can command them to carry out tasks away from Chibi by using the touch screen, creating a new dimension of gameplay that was not present in the first Okami game.
This game looks and sounds almost exactly the same as its the first Okami game, which is a definite strength. Okami was hailed as a spectacle of visual design with its cel-shaded graphics that resembled a Japanese watercolor painting, and Okamiden has recreated that look almost perfectly. The music is almost the same soundtrack too, which may or may not be considered as cheating, but I absolutely love it. How can you not appreciate such beautiful music as it transports you back to a faraway time and place?
The bottom line about Okamiden is that it does not surpass its forerunner, but then it's not even trying to. It looks, sounds, plays and feels just like the first Okami game. You are visiting the same locations, using almost the same repertoire of moves, even meeting some of the same characters. There are a few new iterations of all thrown in to mix things up, but really this is a game made for people who simply wanted more of the original. It gives you a beautiful story of friendship and redemption that just might bring a tear to your eye if you let your guard down. If you didn't play the first game, you certainly will appreciate the beauty and cleverness of this title. If you did play it, you know that this has been done before, and better. But even if this game is just a little piece of the magic, it's still much more than most other games can claim to be.