Don't forget to brush

Let me introduce you to Chibiterasu, possibly the cutest video game character since we first laid eyes on Nintendo's electric mouse in 1996. She's the star of Okamiden, the DS follow-up to the PS2/Wii RPG, Okami. We first saw screenshots of the game a few days ago, in Japan's Famitsu Magazine, and now Capcom have released the very first footage, as part of their TGS 2009 lineup.

Okami, for those who don't know, was released in 2006, for PS2. It cast you as Amaterasu, part wolf and part sun-god, as you brought light and life back to a dying world. This was accomplished by use of the "celestial brush", which allowed you to paint directly onto the screen. These paintings would then become real objects: A circle in the sky would become the sun; a circle on water would become a Lilly pad; a loop in the air would cause the wind to blow, and so on. Unfortunately, since the game is so long, I never finished it (seriously, it's long), but could accept that it's heavily-Zelda-inspired gameplay was possibly the best of it's kind since, well, Zelda.

However, I'm much more likely to finish a long handheld game than a home console one, which is why Okamiden might be just what I'm looking for. But can the DS handle the wonderful cel-shaded visual style of the original? Maybe not quite, but the video is still impressive, despite it's choppiness (I hope this is ironed out before release). One aspect that should work perfectly, though, is the celestial brush. Touch screen painting, here we come!

Not much more is known about the game right now, but I'll be sure to post details as and when they're released. For now, just feast your eyes on the teaser video. It's not embeddable, but you can check it out by clicking here.