As someone who hasn´t played the first game Okamiden is just amazing pure fun. If you like drama movies.
The story is a bit complicate for newbies in the Okami-story (a lot of names and three timelines and generations, I think even the dialog writers messed them up sometimes) but it is well written and drags you in till the end. And then you think "Oh my god! And what happens now?"
The DS is really made for this game, because the touch screen is perfect for the use of the brush - even if the game didn´t like my circles... somehow half of them didn´t do anything... and my circles weren´t THAT bad.
But how does it come that story writers loose reality at some point? I know the story must go on, but there are moments in this game I thought "Really? Yeah, that´s gonna happen..."
For example there is this one quest, you sneak into a cave where one of the big bosses wait and you have to win a competition. The monsters think you are one of them and you have to defeat them all. Obviously you win.
Logical reaction if a daemon you never have seen before in your life easily knocked out all his opponents? "Hey, fantastic! Here you have the key to ALL doors here as a reward!!"
But still the story is kinda nice. Even if it is the old bad daemon threatens the world again and YOU have to save it.
But be prepared for a lot of watching, then you have a hole drama movie in there. And not everybody will stay dry, there are a lot of tragic goodbyes.
One thing that was frustrating is how you collect demon parts to upgrade your weapon. When you don´t look up how do so you have most of the time no glue what to do. At the end of the game I had about 40 demon skins, but nothing else, which are also needed for upgrades.
Not that I needed those, then the game (like today any other game) was too easy for gamers with a little bit of experience.
And Something I often don´t like is how the game goes on after the official end. Okamiden lets you start at the very beginning (even with introduction!!) only with your upgraded health bar and your achievements and if you now wanna collect your missing parts of Issuns paintings or complete other side quest (is that not the reason to play a game a little bit longer??) you must do the hole story again, only that you know this time when you can´t come back to a place again.
But ignore my critics, this game is fun and sweet and you will like it.