Okami is my favorite game. From its storybook art style and lovable characters to its intricate dungeons and epic boss encounters, Okamiden's predecessor has more crowning moments of awesome than you can shake a paintbrush at. Hence, it couldn't have been easy for a new development team to remain true to Okami's pedigree (on substantially less-powerful hardware) with this sequel. However, while falling noticeably short of its forebear's breathtaking highs, Okamiden's streamlined execution still makes for a solid and charming Zelda-esque adventure.

Yes, the Legend of Zelda series can be considered a genre at best and a formula at worst, but either way, Okamiden undoubtedly rides on Zelda's coattails. You guide Chibiterasu (or "Chibi," literally "Shorty"), child of Okami's protagonist Amaterasu, in a quest to subdue a mysterious evil spreading throughout the familiar land of Nippon a mere nine months after Okami's conclusion. As the overarching story progresses, you aid both familiar and new denizens of Nippon's overworld as you acquire new items and skills to fight enemies, solve puzzles, access new areas, and purge the blight on the land.

The core mechanic of Okamiden involves wielding the celestial brush. With a tap of the L or R button, the game's normal display becomes a parchment drawing on the touchscreen. You then draw a simple figure on the bottom screen to use Chibi's "brush techniques" -- powers bestowed upon your character by various young gods encountered throughout Okamiden. These powers are borrowed almost wholesale from Okami, but new powers and new twists to familiar ones certainly apply. Moreover, thanks to its touchscreen, the DS is a godsend compared to its imprecise console counterparts, with the exception of occasionally sloppy sketch recognition.


Okamiden also differs from its predecessor by employing a teamwork mechanic; for most of the game, you fight alongside one of several adorable child partners, each with slightly different abilities. Partners can be dismounted and guided with the celestial brush to areas that Chibi can't reach on his own, making for some interesting -- but rarely challenging -- puzzles. In fact, Okamiden's overall difficulty is disappointingly easy, but the game makes up for its lack of challenge with colorful characters, variety in puzzles and environments, and memorable and sometimes grueling boss battles (which are often difficult puzzles in their own right).

With easily 15 hours of main story content (not to mention numerous optional quests), Okamiden is a fairly lengthy adventure, yet one that shows several signs of shoehorning a big idea into a small package. First, the overworld is divided into many small sections that fail miserably at creating the illusion of a seamless 3D environment, mostly due to the eyesore blue portals at each area's entrances and exits. Worse yet, some of these portals are only a few steps from each other, making the invisible walls downright obtrusive. It's no wonder that Okamiden is often at its best when working at three-quarters overhead and 2D perspectives. Also, because of the tight camera perspective and the skeletal environment design, the platforming is exceptionally weak. I often found myself constrained by invisible barriers, and confused or frustrated when jumping was necessary.

Luckily, Okamiden's heartwarming story and adorable characters compensate fairly well for the telltale console to portable "squishing." 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. Okamiden may piddle the floor a bit, but it's a puppy most won't mind bringing home from the shop.