The Ōkami Video Games

A grand adventure with powerful enemies and the world’s beauty and life at stake, but also good friends, genuine fun and lighthearted moments and discoveries – full of lively characters, with always something to do for the enthusiastic players!

While Ōkami does allow and encourage developing combat techniques depending on the enemy and ones’ own preferred fighting style, the main focus of this video game is the story that will pull you in, if you allow it to.
When first beginning to play Ōkami, its fifteen minute long prologue to the story is a good filter, separating gamers looking for a quick and addictive button-mashing, from those who want to take part in a longer and deeper adventure. Not a video game for everyone, but rewarding to those willing to invest a little more time.

Here’s a summarised description from Ōkami’s WikiPedia page:

Ōkami (Japanese: 大神, lit. “great god” or “great spirit”) is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom.

Set in classical Japan, Ōkami combines Japanese mythology and folklore to tell the story of how the land was saved from darkness by the Shinto sun goddess, named Amaterasu, who took the form of a white wolf. It features a sumi-e-inspired cel-shaded visual style and the Celestial Brush, a gesture-system to perform miracles.

Ōkami was one of the last PlayStation 2 games released prior to the release of the PlayStation 3. Although it suffered from poor sales, the game received critical acclaim, earning IGN’s 2006 Game of the Year. Mainstream adoption of the game has improved with age with the release of remasters, and Ōkami is now considered to be one of the best video games ever made, as well as an example of video games as an art form, aided by the improved art details and graphics resolutions. –Wikipedia, summarised, 5-02-2020

“Interactive Japanese Painting” (Ōkami Title): Clover Studio, Capcom

Ōkami can be found on all major gaming platforms in high definition (HD) and even 4K resolution. This “interactive Japanese painting” has now attained its most beautiful clarity.
Available on the PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in High Definition and PC (Steam) and PS4 Pro in 4K, there’s no need to go out and buy expensive new devices to fully enjoy Ōkami.

For the Nintendo DS, there’s also Ōkamiden – often labeled a sequel but generally considered a kind of spinoff by many gamers, the game features Wolf Amaterasu’s puppy-son as the main character:

Ōkamiden, for the Nintendo DS

Released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS by Capcom and consistently touted as a sequel by multiple gaming publications and sales outlets,¹ For example, as of April 7 2020 the game’s Amazon.com page uses the word “sequel”, however fewer gaming publications do this. The game’s producer Motohide Eshiro has also called this game a sequel before its release, but apparently later went on to call it a “spiritual successor” instead. Ōkamiden is set nine months after the events proceeding Ōkami.

Not created by the original team that created Ōkami, by bringing inconsistencies into the story, Ōkamiden can be reasonably described as a “Gaiden Game” (side-game/spinoff), rather than a sequel. ² Inconsistencies such as Shiranui no longer being Amaterasu’s wolf form 100 years prior (Ōkami), instead in Ōkamiden Shiranui being Chibi’s grandfather with Ammy being the mother to Chibi, but all three being an incarnation of the same female (with boobs) Shinto deity/goddess Amaterasu… wat? Just keep it simple please, Capcom!
Ōkamiden’s producer Motohide Eshiro apparently first called this game a sequel (source), but soon afterwards calling it a “spiritual successor” (source).
When reading candid comments about Ōkamiden, most gamers (and virtually all fanart/craft producers) appear to believe Ōkami’s original story.
Many gaming articles/journalists not calling Ōkamiden a “true sequel”, but instead hoping Kamiya will get a chance to create one (source, etc.)
Kamiya himself using words along the lines of “creating a true sequel” (source).
Nevertheless, Ōkamiden was an effort that earned respectable sales and reviews, resulting in a new wave of fans who enjoyed the franchise.

Here’s a summarised description from Ōkamiden’s WikiPedia page:

Much of Ōkamiden’s story centers around the children of previous characters from Ōkami and their adventures and the relationships that form through the game’s story, according to producer Motohide Eshiro. In spite of Amaterasu’s battle against the Dark Lord Yami, which would kill all the demons in Nippon, they return. The Konohana Sprite Sakuya, a character from the original Ōkami, summons the (wolf) Sun Goddess Amaterasu, but instead finds Chibiterasu (her son). He retains several abilities of Amaterasu, including the Celestial Brush, but lacks her power, which will be reflected in the plot and gameplay.

Issun, Amaterasu’s partner in the first game, is unavailable to help Chibiterasu as he is busy with his duties as the Celestial Envoy, and thus Chibiterasu is tasked to find other partners to help rid the world of evil. One of the partners that accompanies Chibiterasu is Kuni (クニヌシ, Kuninushi) the adopted son of Susano and Kushi, two characters from Ōkami. –Wikipedia, summarised, 21-01-2020

Besides remasters of the original Ōkami and new merchandise, there has been a consistent desire for a true sequel:

Ōkami 2 Sequel

Ōkami 2 doesn’t exist in reality just yet, but Hideki Kamiya (Ōkami’s director and writer) has stated that he has not stopped working on it in his mind, has several ideas for the sequel, and wants to be the one to create it.³ https://www.destructoid.com/kamiya-says-he-has-ideas-for-bayonetta-3-okami-2-and-other-scalebounds–369249.phtml
(Accessed April 14, 2020)

The major reason for this independent fansite existing, is because its author is an Ōkami fan and wants to see a true sequel being made by (many of) its original creators. This is a sentiment also shared by many, but very likely most of Ōkami’s fans.⁴ Most articles linked on this page mention that, as well as candid comments wherever Ōkami is discussed.

In October 2019, Hideki Kamiya and Ikumi Nakamura (Ōkami environment artist) have posted Twitter messages stating their desire to create a sequel, much to the excitement of many.⁵ https://twitter.com/nakamura193/status/1185203513543933953
(Accessed April, 2020)

Let’s not forget, that as much of an adventure and moving work of art that Ōkami is, the decision for its sequel to go ahead will be a purely financial one. Capcom, the intellectual property/rights holders of Ōkami, will need to see hard numbers/facts and have a measurable level of confidence in making a profit, before spending money/risk on Ōkami’s sequel. Capcom is a business-oriented company which wants to see profits, like any other business would want to as well.

By collecting the “numbers/facts” into a single independent fansite as much as reasonably possible, hopefully they’ll make it easier for Capcom to see and measure, as well as having well-deserved confidence in them.

Back in 2016, work on Ōkami 2 apparently came very close to officially going ahead, but it seems the “momentum” wasn’t there just yet, to carry the project forwards. Let’s hope this fansite adds to that momentum.⁶ https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2018/09/16/how-okami-2-nearly-happened-at-platinumgames
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_cfG4xCaBI
(Accessed April 14, 2020)

In January 2020, Platinum Games opened a “Platinum 4” website that teased four big upcoming announcements. So far, these announcements were that “The Wonderful 101 Remastered” would be created, the second was of a new original video game and the third announcement was the opening of Platinum Games’ Tokyo studio. The fourth and final announcement on the first of April was an “April fool’s joke”.⁷ https://four.platinumgames.com/
(Accessed April 14, 2020)

One can’t help but wonder, that if the stars had aligned themselves as hoped, that this (backup) joke would instead have been quite possibly the biggest announcement of them all: The original creators and Capcom coming together to officially begin work on an Ōkami sequel. Maybe there’s room on that “Platinum 4” website for a fifth announcement, peering out from behind a boulder somewhere in the background.

In fact, as of April 14 2020, there’s a “coming soon” spot on the “Platinum 4” website – perhaps negotiations were delayed?

Interesting times lay ahead, for Ōkami’s fans. If you enjoy Ōkami, consider saying it so that Capcom will hear.

More information

Besides continuing to browse this fansite, you can find good information on the Ōkami video games by visiting the Ōkami wiki pages.
Please note, that due to the confusion that was created by claims of spinoff Ōkamiden being a sequel to Ōkami (on almost every website that sells the video game, such as Amazon.com), some information may be contradictory due to being written by multiple authors with a different understanding of the situation:

https://okami.fandom.com/

Hiii! We’re still working on expanding this page a bit. If you’d like to make suggestions, please see the contact page.

• World peace
• Finding good places to buy the Ōkami and Ōkamiden video games new, used or perhaps even borrow – preferably on disc or cartridge rather than download from eShop
• Ōkami 2 news.

See our Planned Updates & Updates Log blog post for more details.