We recently paid a visit to Osaka, Japan, where we had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with the developers of the upcoming Okami sequel. In our two-hour interview, we went into detail with Clovers director Hideki Kamiya, Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, and Machine Head Works producer Kiyohiko Sakata about their plans for the Okami sequel, how the project came about, and what we can expect from it.
We had a great time doing the interview and we think you’ll have a great time either watching or reading it, which you can do in full right here. But if you’re just looking for the highlights, we’ve compiled a rundown of the big ideas from the interview that might be of most interest to Okami fans. Here goes:
The Okami sequel is being made in RE Engine
Probably the biggest piece of news from the entire interview was the confirmation that the Okami sequel is being made in Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine. We wrote a much longer article on this if you want more specifics, but in short, RE Engine is being used apparently because it has the capability to help the project leads realize elements of their vision for the first Okami that they couldn’t do before with past technology. That said, a number of those at Clovers don’t have any experience working it – which is where Capcom partner Machine Head Works comes in. Speaking of Machine Head Works…
Some mystery ex-Platinum developers are working on the game, via Machine Head Works
We’ve been hearing rumors for a while that a lot of talent has been bleeding from PlatinumGames, including a number of developers close to Hideki Kamiya and even some who worked on the original Okami. We asked the group directly if folks like Shinji Mikami, Abebe Tinari, or Takahisa Taura or others from Platinum would be joining the project. While they wouldn’t get specific, Kamiya did allude to at least some ex-Platinum, ex-Capcom folks working on an Okami sequel via Machine Head Works. We’ll have to wait and see exactly who it is.
Capcom’s wanted to make an Okami sequel for a while
Check out our in-depth article on this right here for more, but in short, Capcom hasn’t been as down on Okami as we might think. Though the initial game sold poorly, it seems like growing sales over time with each new platform release caused Capcom to take notice, and the publisher has been thinking about a sequel for some time. However, as Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi explains, Capcom “needed to have certain key people in place” and “it took a bit of time for all of the stars to align.” With Kamiya and Machine Head Works in place, it looks like that constellation is finally complete.
This is a direct sequel
Look, you never know these days, right? Capcom explicitly announced an “Okami sequel” but didn’t give it a title or even call it Okami 2, so really, this could have been anything. But during our interview, Hirabayashi and Kamiya both confirmed that this sequel is a sequel sequel, directly picking up where the first game left off. We won’t spoil that for anyone who hasn’t played the original Okami yet, but we can confirm the game leaves plenty of room for more story.
And yes, that is Amaterasu in the trailer.
Origin of all that is good and mother to us all.
Okamiden… exists.
But what about Okamiden, you ask? The Nintendo DS follow-up to Okami certainly does exist, and has its fans. But Capcom is aware that it wasn’t necessarily aligned with everyone’s expectations. As Hirabayashi puts it, “We know that there are fans out there that like the game, of course. And we also know the feedback on the game out there, of how the story was taken and now how perhaps parts of the story weren’t aligning with what people were expecting. With that, we also have the sequel now that, as we explained before, is a continuation from the story of the original base Ōkami. That’s how we’re going to phrase it.”
Hideki Kamiya reads your social media posts about Okami
Probably no one’s surprised to hear that Hideki Kamiya reads your social media posts, as he’s a prolific poster himself. But Kamiya acknowledged in our interview both that he looks at social media specifically to see what people are expecting of a sequel…but also isn’t here to make exactly what people ask him to make.
“Our work, of course, is not to create the game that people request of us, to create the exact copy of what people want from us,” he says. “But we are working hard to achieve a game that achieves the fun that people are expecting of this Ōkami sequel. I have an idea of what I want to create. And I have no plans of throwing away the user’s expectation of the games, but I always want to make the best game possible.”
Rei Kondoh composed the song for the Okami sequel trailer at TGAs
Rei Kondoh is a prolific video game composer who’s written music for games such as Bayonetta, Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil, Fire Emblem, and more. He also wrote a number of tracks for the original Okami, including the iconic final boss theme entitled Rising Sun. It’s now confirmed that he wrote the arrangement of Rising Sun we saw performed at The Game Awards, suggesting he may be returning to work on the new soundtrack for the sequel, too.
The Okami sequel is very, very early in development still
The trio we spoke to said they announced their Okami sequel very early just because they wanted to, but did ask fans to be patient. “Faster isn’t always the best,” Hirabayashi says. “We will not give up quality for speed, but do know that we will not drag our feet for this title. It’s something that we will put our efforts into.” At the end of our interview, he and Sakata both suggested it may be a while before we get more news about the Okami sequel, with Sakata saying: “It might be some time before we get to meet each other again. But do know that this project is made by staff who love this series, still love this IP, and they’re working very, very hard to create it. And we’re working our hardest to make something that aligns with everyone’s expectations.”
You can catch up on our full interview with the leads of the Ōkami sequel right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
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