Okami HD at Comic-Con: Amaterasu Unleashed with Move, 1080p

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Okami HD at Comic-Con: Amaterasu Unleashed with Move, 1080p

San Diego Comic-Con doesn’t want for distractions – famous graphic novelists greet their fans, uber-limited edition collectables line sprawling tables, and cosplayers roam the halls by the thousands.

When I learned that Capcom would be showing Okami HD at their booth, all of those attractions quickly dropped in importance; I knew where my Comic-Con would kick off.

Mere seconds after the doors of the San Diego Convention Center opened for business, Capcom’s Tristan Corbett handed me a PlayStation Move motion controller and I beheld Japanese sun goddess-turned-canine Amaterasu in full HD glory for the first time.

Okami HD for PSN

Not all HD remakes are created equal, but Hexa Drive’s effort clearly isn’t just a soulless re-processing. With the PS3’s hardware muscle to play with, they’re working to improve draw distance and load times over the PS2 original. The cel-shaded visuals up-rez quite nicely, with the game’s iconic bold, black outline strokes popping off the HD display. All cutscenes have been fully recreated, and areas of the game that the team felt weren’t up to snuff were re-textured by hand. It looks stunning.

Corbett informed me that this is the first HD remake that Capcom will release outside of Japan featuring full 1080p HD. That high-end resolution, coupled with the new 16:9 aspect ratio, help Okami’s insane level of visual intricacy stand out significantly more than on the PS2. The game lavishes layers upon layers of visual effects: while approaching a seaside cave, I noticed violet mist pouring forth from a foul portal as wind visibly blows off the sea. Bold lines express the speed of dog deity at a canter, as vibrant flora spring forth from the soil underneath her life-giving paws.

NEW_KUSANAGI_PS3 Okami HD for PSN

The team even lets you play with filter effects in this version; opt for “Heavy,” and the sky appears to have been painted on a rough scroll, making things pop with a timeless, storybook look. It’s may be clichéd to say, but I can’t help but think that Okami HD is a more pure expression of the vision that Clover Studio had when they created the game in 2006.

Okami HD’s enhanced visuals only represent half of the new package. This PS3 exclusive also supports PlayStation Move controls, with a Navigation Controller. Those that struggled with the thumbstick when painting with Amaterasu’s Celestial Brush may find salvation in motion control – hold the T-button to bring up the canvas, then and press the Move to deploy ink as you sketch with Ammy’s paint power. After a few tries, I was rejuvenating dying cherry blossoms with tight circles and power slashing through guarding enemies via a well-placed horizontal line. Of course, Dualshock 3 controls are supported, and control just as you may remember.

NEW_KAGAMI01_PS3 NEW_JYOROU_ENG

I tried to sneak a peek at the PSN Trophy list, but Capcom had not yet implemented them into this build of Okami HD. Fortunately, Corbett promised to share the final Trophy list here on PlayStation.Blog, and it’s been confirmed that there will be a Platinum up for grabs.

Okami HD is coming exclusively to PSN this fall for $19.99. Got any questions? We’ll aim to address them in a future post.

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68 Comments

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  • SO GLAD this isn’t on the Vita. That would be a total waste. This game will be glorious in 1080p on my HDTV & not some dying hand held.

  • what about the game size?..im run out of HDD space (T_T)

  • This is great. looking forward to buy this when it comes out.

  • This looks amazing but I wish it was going on a disc. :(

  • I haven’t been this excited for a game since the Last Guardian was announced.

    And I’d still be excited for the Last Guardian and Versus XIII if I had any hope of them ever actually releasing.

    For now, this will have to do. Especially with Nintendo going all crazy with Zelda and WM+. Yeesh.

    Sony, why don’t you have a Japanese studio dedicating to making large, adventure/RPG-ish games like this? It’s the one major hole in your line-up, and your Japanese arm has subsisted on only two internal studios since the PS1 days, while SCEA/SCEE have grown and grown and grown. A game like anything from Zelda/Okami to Monster Hunter to Final Fantasy would do. Or take Team ICO and get them together with the remnants of your old JRPG teams and have them build a full adventure game using Shadow of the Colossus as a base. Just add towns and people and stuff. Please. =(

  • I missed out on the PS2 version of this game. So i’m looking forward to getting this. None of the HD remakes has disappointed me so far.

  • This and Final Fantasy X HD are WAY up on my list and I can’t wait for either one!

  • Had this pre-ordered the moment I heard of it, can’t wait till the November release!!

  • i bought this for ps2 a long time ago and never played it, will def be playing the crap outta this!

  • No disk, no game for me ! I just want this on a blueray, period ! We deserve what japanese get !

  • This was by far one of my favorite games for the PS2. I played well into the morning just doing sidequests. I didn’t grab the Wii version because I preferred the PS2 version over it. Now that it’s coming to the PS3 fully rejuvenated, I can’t wait to grab it. $20 seems cheap for it too. Thank you!

  • Will 3D be supported as well?

  • Big fan of Okami. Had it on Wii and have been wanting it to be on PS3 ever since. But since it is only going to be digital do you know how large a download size it is going to be?

  • Got a chance to play this at Comic-Con. I never could get used to the Move controls though. I put so many hours into the PS2 game, it feels weird to play it with anything other than the DualShock. Was still awesome though. Definitely getting this when it comes out.

    I was also given a gorgeous Okami HD poster. Thanks, Capcom. <3

  • i smell wet dog

  • Were they able to keep the credits and ending theme in this one? I heard they had to take it out of the Wii version because of the Clover brand.

  • Thank you so much Sony for doing the remake of this masterpiece. Makes my PS3 system worthy. SOTC, ICO and now Okami. I was dreaming about this day. I’ve not sold my PS2 yet because PS3 didn’t have Okami. But now. Thank you again.

  • This game will come also in disk format.

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