Ōkamiden

Ōkamiden plays similarly to its predecessor, Ōkami, as an action-adventure game similar to games from The Legend of Zelda series; Zelda was an inspiration for both Ōkami's director Hideki Kamiya and Ōkamiden's producer Motohide Eshiro. The "Celestial Brush", the ability to freeze the screen and draw symbols via the touchscreen with the stylus to bring changes on the game's world, remains central to the game for solving puzzles and fighting enemies. The theme of returning life to the world also returns from Ōkami. A new feature is the ability for Chibiterasu to team up with partners.

They can be used to explore the overworld with, as well as battle enemies. The new Guidance technique, also called the "Shirabe" or "courage" brush by Diamond Feit of Wired, may be used to move Chibiterasu's partner independently across areas Chibiterasu cannot cross; this is often required to progress in the game. The game uses the face buttons to move Chibiterasu about the world, with the top display being the current third-person view and the bottom showing a mini-map of the area. By pressing either shoulder button, the Celestial Brush is activated: the game pauses as the top screen is moved down to the bottom and rendered as parchment, and the player then can use the stylus and touchscreen to draw to activate various powers of the Celestial Brush.

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. The game takes place nine months after the events of Ōkami. Despite 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 Sun Goddess Amaterasu, but instead finds Chibiterasu, who looks like a young version of Amaterasu.

Chibiterasu, as revealed by Matsushita, is, in fact, Amaterasu's son, as was previously speculated. Producer Eshiro noted that he is a "young form of existence" and not fully grown; he retains several abilities of Amaterasu, including the Celestial Brush, but lacks her power, which will be reflected in the plot and gameplay. Matsushita also called Chibiterasu clumsy and having childlike traits of "being tearfully sentimental or not being able to make decisions".

Due to poor sales, Ōkami was considered a commercial failure on the PlayStation 2, and while it was widely believed to be one of the factors involved in the closure of its developer, Clover Studio, Hideki Kamiya, lead designer of Ōkami, specified that producer Atsushi Inaba had had an argument with Capcom management. Kamiya commented that he had an idea in mind for the sequel and would enjoy making it, but it was nothing more than an idea and beyond his control. In July 2007, former Capcom employee Keiji Inafune commented that a Wii port was something he had considered, but it was easier said than done, and they had no plans yet. In spite of this, it received a port for the Wii. Capcom employee Chris Svensson commented that a lot more people would have to buy copies of Ōkami to warrant a sequel's production.

In August 2009, Capcom filed for a Japanese trademark on the name "Ōkamiden" for a video game, a few months prior to the Japan release of the Wii version of Ōkami, which led to speculation about an Ōkami sequel; Ōkamiden may be a shortening or pun for Ōkami Gaiden, translated as "Ōkami Sidestory", or possibly Ōkami Densetsu, which translates to "Ōkami Legend", thus fueling speculation that it may be the long-awaited sequel. The September issue of Famitsu revealed that Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyō was indeed another Ōkami game which was slated to be released by Capcom on the Nintendo DS in 2010 in Japan, though no other release information was provided. The Famitsu article shows gameplay, including combat, and graphics similar to the PlayStation 2/Wii game.

The decision to put Ōkamiden on the Nintendo DS has received mixed reactions. The Escapist editor John Funk stated that it was the perfect platform for the sequel, due to how the touch screen could be used effectively for the Celestial Brush. Kombo editor Daniel Sims praised Ōkamiden's cel-shaded visuals, stating that they work well on the Nintendo DS. Destructoid editor Hamza Aziz believed it was perfect for the Nintendo DS.

Aziz added that he was impressed with Capcom managing to retain Ōkami's stylized appearance in the sequel. Siliconera editor Ishaan Sahdev, however, was skeptical that Ōkamiden could replicate the feel that Ōkami provided, due to how much it relied on its visuals and art style to bring players into its world. He also criticized the reasoning behind placing it on the Nintendo DS, which was to reach a larger audience, calling the visuals terrible. He later questioned whether its faults may hurt it enough that the project may not even have been worth it.