Capcom Shows 'Nature Adventure' Okami

From the studio that brought you Viewtiful Joe comes Okami, a nature adventure game from Capcom. First screens and details.

Capcom Europe today announced the first details and released some screens for Okami, a game in development at Clover Studio - the Capcom-owned subsidiary behind Viewtiful Joe and its forthcoming sequel.

Coming soon to PlayStation 2, Okami depicts a stark world devoid of colour that the player must return to its natural state. In Okami colour represents the life blood of the land and sucking this life are supernatural monsters that inhabit the surrounding areas.

Players take control of Amaterasu, the mythical sun god in its earthly form of a wolf, and must seek out and defeat these monsters, returning colour and hence life to the area.

As a deity, Amaterasu's power is in part derived from humans believing and this is accomplished in two ways - by bringing colour and life back to areas and by listening to the wishes of the people and fulfilling these desires. The more faith people have the stronger Amaterasu becomes and the easier it will be to defeat the monsters.

Okami's visual style is based on traditional Japanese art. Although a digital reproduction, the developers have ensured that the analog feel of paper plus the delicate calligraphy and pen work of this art form have not been lost.

This graphical style also helps set the pace of the game with players encouraged to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Okami's world rather than rush headlong through the missions.

A refreshingly modest offering that surely deserving of attention amidst an imminent hellstorm of sequel madness at E3 next month.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com