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Good morning, here's a dog dressed as Amaterasu
Even dogs took part in the cosplay activities at this year's Otakon convention, with Dante the dog here dressing in the divine garb of Okami's heroine, the goddess Amaterasu. If you have a white dog you'd like to style as Amaterasu (and who is a good boy like Dante -- good boy!) his owners detailed the process of making the costume on their blog. Happily, the whole thing was conceived from the perspective of what would be best for Dante; even the decision to bring him to Otakon in the first place was explained as "this was better for him than leaving him in a boarding place for five days." The whole post is full of tips and disclaimers about ensuring your dog's happiness and comfort while also making it look like a video game character. Basically, our hearts were warmed twice by this story. And then a third time when our eyes drifted back up to the picture.
SOTA's new Darksiders, Darkstalkers and Okamiden toys go to Comic-Con
Toymaker SOTA has announced that it's prepping a trio of exclusive, licensed video game-based items for this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, which runs July 21-24. The biggie (and by that we mean nearly a foot tall) is a statue ($160) of Morrigan and Lilith from the gothic fighter Darkstalkers, which depicts the two as they "fall, together, in a loose embrace, unaware of how much longer they have together" and "freezes in time a moment that Morrigan and Lilith wish to last forever." SOTA's words, not ours. Smaller and fluffier, a keychain-sized Okamiden plush will be included as part of a "San Diego Comic-Con Impulse Pak" ($40) that features three of SOTA's non-game-related Bobble Budds. Finally, there's our favorite of the bunch: Darksiders' War astride his horse, Ruin, in an LED-lit statue (above, $250) that looks as hot as the flames erupting from the Apocalypse rider's steed. All three items will be available at the show and through SOTA's online store. You can view more pictures and details at the source link.
Okamiden producers discuss planning around Pokemon and 3DS
The producers of Okamiden realized they were in a pickle, marketing-wise, when they were finishing up the Western version of the game just as the 3DS and Pok émon Black and White were being announced for the same release window. Capcom decided to thread the needle and send Okamiden out right between these two. "Even though the news of the Nintendo 3DS was a bit earlier than we had expected," said producer Motohide Eshiro and director Kuniomi Matsushita in a postmortem on Gamasutra, "we decided that releasing the pan-Western versions of the game after Pokémon and before Nintendo's 3DS would be our best bet." The developers also revealed the inspiration behind Okamiden's partner system, which pairs the tiny Chibiterasu with young swordsboys, mermaids, Moon Tribe aliens, and others. "A child version of Amaterasu would only have half the abilities of the adult Amaterasu," they said. "It would be rather difficult for half of a god to save the world, but if there were a partner, then the two of them could work together to save the world."
Okamiden review: Small puppy, big game
If I were to overthink Okamiden, I would suspect its premise is a subtle commentary on the game's own development. The world of Nippon as it appears in the DS game is filled with the small children of the people and gods found in Clover Studio's 2006 PS2 game Okami. It's tempting to say that this is the developers' subversive way of comparing themselves to children at play in the world Clover created. But it's more likely Capcom realized a cute puppy would sell games. It is a really cute puppy.
Okamiden demo lets you adopt Chibiterasu today
It's time once again for us to remind you that the Wii's Nintendo Channel exists and is occasionally useful. This week, Capcom is distributing an Okamiden demo through the channel's DS download service in North America. Just select the demo on the Wii, load up Download Play on your DS, and you'll summon an adorable puppy god for a playdate. DS demos are only guaranteed to be available for a week -- they might show up on the list again the next week, or they might not. What we're saying is that if you want to try Okamiden now, you should try it now.
Okamiden preview: Puppy power
Okami, in addition to being a beautiful and technically impressive game, fulfilled the role of Zelda substitute for PS2 owners. The exploration and gradual acquisition of new abilities gave Clover Studios' adventure a similar feeling to 3D Zelda games, on a console that didn't have any Zelda games. By hewing to the same formula, Okamiden acts as a surrogate 3D Zelda for the DS, a system that has Zelda games, but only nontraditional, stylus-controlled ones. I bring this up because it's a pretty simple shorthand for understanding how the game works: there are large field areas connecting towns, there are a series of upgradeable abilities, dungeons filled with puzzles that require the use of the abilities you just picked up, and partners who do all the talking for you.%Gallery-113051%
Okamiden media calls down the thunder
Even though Okamiden isn't a 3D television, cell phone, or cell phone that can be used to control a 3D television, Capcom still chose to release new info about it during CES. This latest media introduces a new partner character, Kurow, and the Galestorm and Thunderstorm brush techniques, which allow the user to control wind and lightning. Chibiterasu has to be taught how to use the Thunderstorm by some kind of celestial band; luckily, you can just look at the screens to learn about it. Of course, the trade-off is that unlike Chibi, you don't actually have a Celestial Brush with which you can call lightning.%Gallery-113051%
Free Chibi keychain with Okamiden pre-order from Capcom store
Capcom just won the Okamiden arms race. Whereas GameStop offers a pretty cute paintbrush stylus with pre-orders of the celestial DS adventure game, Capcom's own online store is offering ... this. A tiny plush Chibiterasu keychain, small enough for you to bring with you everywhere, forever, like the most convenient best friend ever. We'll offer some free advice to other retailers: if you want any chance of attracting us away from this irresistible offer, you're going to have to take the loss and bundle a bigger Chibiterasu plush. It's a burden, we know, but if you want to succeed in this world, you have to give us really cute toys of baby Japanese wolf-gods.
Okamiden mug makes hot beverages cuter
Were the Okamiden teacups not puppy-shaped enough for you? Capcom's latest Japan-only merchandise offering is this mug, with Chibiterasu's face, tail, and wings (is that what those are?) on it. The mug will be out in February for ¥1,890 ($23) -- plenty of time for you to start that coffee habit. This mug is the latest in Capcom's user-suggested merchandise campaign. Previously announced releases include towels, a book cover, the Chibiterasu plush, and these slippers that we're just now seeing, which need to be on our feet right this very second.
Bring Okamiden home this March
Prospective pet owners: we're delighted to announce that you'll be able to adopt a beautiful baby wolf-god this March. Capcom will release Okamiden, the ever-adorable DS sequel to Clover Studio's Okami, on March 15 in North America and March 18 in Europe. In the US, pre-ordering Okamiden from GameStop will get you a paintbrush stylus and a screen cleaner with Okamiden artwork. While we think it's a missed opportunity to produce any Okamiden goods that aren't a) puppy-shaped and b) huggable, the stylus is pretty neat. We'll shake our heads while we pre-order. Capcom is also giving away prizes like Chibiterasu plushes, a 3DS and more, to people who play its Goblin Mask Facebook game, in which you doodle new faces on your photos.%Gallery-106472%
Chibiterasu is lost and found at New York Comic Con
Posters of this adorable lost god puppy can be found all over New York Comic Con. According to the poster, his name is Chibiterasu, he weighs about twelve pounds, and he likes painting and peanut butter. If you didn't figure it out, it's a viral campaign for Okamiden, and he can be found at Capcom's booth. After we got to play the upcoming DS game, we decided to give a call to the number listed on the flier. Unfortunately, all we got was a voicemail message, which you can listen to here:
Brush up on Okamiden with new screens and video
Capcom sent out some new media for the upcoming DS adventure Okamiden, the scaled-down sequel to the PS2/Wii game Okami, starring the scaled-down descendant of that game's heroine. Nice how that works out, isn't it? One aspect that isn't scaled down is Chibiterasu's arsenal. The Celestial Brush allows you to restore life to dead things, repair broken bridges and other objects, and even summon cherry bombs with a line-art bomb shape, as seen in the video. The artwork in our gallery includes two adorable new celestial deities, and a new partner for Chibiterasu, child actor Kagu.%Gallery-104476%
Japanese Okamiden commercial is far too cute
Capcom is wisely capitalizing on Okamiden's legendary cuteness for its Japanese ad campaign. This commercial introduces us to the almost intolerably adorable Moran-chan, who serves as a sort of real-world counterpart to Chibiterasu and is a good boy. Yes, he is! Good puppy.
Okamiden demo graces Japan's Nintendo Channel next month
In a move that is entirely too rare, Capcom will distribute a demo of its DS adventure Okamiden via the Wii Nintendo Channel in Japan. The demo will be available through Wiis from September 8 through October 5. It will also be distributed via "DS Station" download kiosks throughout Japan from September 9 through October 6, and through Nintendo Zone connections (found in McDonalds) from September 10 through October 7. The game is out in Japan on September 30. We're checking with Capcom to find out if there are any plans to distribute a demo in North America before the game's 2011 release.
Okamiden book cover hugs your books
Even if we never play Okamiden, it is still going to cute us to death. Capcom revealed the next item in its series of fan-requested merchandise, the Okamiden Mofu Mofu ("Fluffy") Book Cover. Guys, it has a tail. It has a tail.
Preview: Okamiden
Okamiden on the DS manages to capture the painterly art style of the PlayStaton 2's (and then the Wii's) beloved Okami while also adding a heavy dollop of adorableness to the mix. This really comes through in some of the animations, such as tiny wolf god Chibiterasu's darling backflip attack, or the way he flails his paws in mid-air, Saturday-morning-cartoon style, before he falls from a collapsing bridge. Okami's trademark magical paintbrush is back in the DS game, of course, and the short Gamescom demo showed it being used to manipulate the world in some of the same ways as the original game -- slashing rocks and obstacles in half, circling trees to make them bloom, and building bridges across gaps. Using the stylus to do all these things feels a bit more natural than awkwardly painting with the Wii remote, but was essentially similar. %Gallery-99717%
New Okamiden video paints a pretty picture
We're gobbling up this new Okamiden video from Gamescom, but not learning a whole lot more than we already knew. Visuals: Still adorable. Dialog: Still sounds like you force fed a schizophrenic person psychotropic mushrooms and managed to record the sound of their nightmares. Us: Still in love.
Okamiden media brings the cute to Comic-Con
If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's the overwhelming level of cuteness to be found in Okamiden, the upcoming sequel to Okami. From the pint-sized Amaterasu, to the Animal Crossing-like speech of the game's inhabitants, we're kinda feeling like the proprietors of a very different web site right now. We're trying our best not to dawwwwww all over the place. But we digress. You have yet to experience this feeling for yourself, so go ahead and check out the new media, straight from Comic-Con. If you'll excuse us, we're going to draw some kittens for a while. %Gallery-97979%
Okamiden trailer invites Chibiterasu's little friends to play
When Okamiden was first revealed, we learned that Chibiterasu would be accompanied by several different companions, each offering their own unique abilities. Until now, though, we'd only ever seen the young warrior Kuninushi.
Two great Okami convention collectibles coming soon
There are not one but two brilliant Okami-related items in this post, and we tossed and turned all last night about which one we should put pre-break, and which one we should put after. In the end, we flipped a coin, and this amazing Okami polystone statue won. It features a terrific sculpture of everyone's favorite Shinto deity, Amaterasu, and will be available starting at the 2010 International Tokyo Toy Show for 15,540 yen. That's about US$176, so it's not cheap -- but at about 8" across and about 5" tall, it's a nice chunk of sculpted form. We're still not sure we made the right decision though -- the second piece of collectible Okami gear will be found at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, and also after the break.
