Okami 2 Chances Seem “Pretty High” According To Capcom Artist

Ikumi Nakamura, a prominent game artist and creative director, thinks there’s a good chance a sequel to Okamiwill happen. Nakamura catapulted into the public consciousness during an exuberant E3 2019 presentation of Ghostwire: Tokyo, a project she has since left. But her career trails back a decade and a half to the original Okami. 

Okami released in 2006 and garnered attention for its vibrant, watercolor art style and Legend of Zelda-inspired gameplay. Though Okami isn’t one of Capcom’s more prolific series, the publisher did release a DS sequel, Okamiden, as well as HD remasters of the original. The game landed on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One in 2017 and came to the Nintendo Switch a year later.

Towards the end of an hour-long interview with IGN Japan, Nakamura said she wants to make a sequel to Okami more than anything else, adding that large portions of the Okami story have yet to be told. Via translator, Nakamura commented on the possibility, stating that “As long as [I go] after it [I think] the chances are pretty high that it might become a reality. Actually, after quarantine is over and the world becomes normal again [I am] planning to make a visit to Capcom and propose the idea.” Nakamura hopes that Hideki Kamiya will return as director to preserve the artistic integrity of the property. 

Nakamura and Kamiya worked together on several high profile projects, including Okami and Bayonetta. Last year they teamed up to tease a sequel to Okami. In a staged, six-second Twitter video, the pair stood in front of the Platinum Games logo and Kamiya said “Okami is going to be back” before giving a thumbs-up to the camera. Since then, no additional information about the project has been announced. 

An Okami sequel, even after 14 years, has the potential to impress a new generation of gamers. With the power of current and next-gen hardware, Capcom and Platinum Games can flesh out the game’s lavish world, rendering the mythical landscape with visual flare not possible in 2006. But more importantly, Platinum can expand the game’s scope and pull from a decade of advances in 3D action-adventure games. An Okami game made in 2020 would exist in a post-Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild world, a gaming landscape in which complex, living worlds are possible thanks to improved technology and refined techniques.

Source: IGN Japan/Youtube

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