Late last week a lot of online sources picked up an interesting bit of info-- Capcom Japan had filed a trademark for something called "Okamiden." Fans wondered if this might be a game related to Okami just based on the title, though skeptics pointed out that it'd make little financial sense for Capcom to start making Okami sequels after everyone who worked on the original game left the company years ago.
Well, it... seems this might be exactly what Capcom is doing anyway! What you see above is a low-quality but most likely legit scan from the latest issue of weekly Famitsu. Sources indicated this issue would reveal what "Okamiden" was and from what we see above, it appears to be a Nintendo DS Okami sequel slated for sometime in 2010.
The timing for this might seem strange, but there's two pretty big reasons why Capcom might feel like giving Okami another go right now. The Wii remake of Okami that came out in the US last summer is coming out in Japan next month. Okami's version of the mythological creature Yamata-no-Orochi was also chosen to be one of the final bosses of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, a game that's picked up a sizable Japanese following.
While I'm pretty happy to see Okami back, it's pretty frustrating to see it happen after all of the people who worked to create the first gamei have long since moved on to working at Platinum Games. It's hard to believe a DS Okami sequel will be in quite the same spirit or will manage to be just as good as the original, though I'n sure Capcom will do their best with it. Here's to hoping for a pleasant surprise.
UPDATE: Capcom confirmed the legitimacy of all of this overnight, so it's not speculation anymore!
