Yesterday, eXophase’s Mike Bendel reported that Capcom would be porting Okami to the PlayStation 3 as a digital download. The game, which was praised by gamers on the PlayStation 2, featured a beautiful art style inspired by Japanese woodblock paintings. The whole thing looked truly spectacular, and everything in the game — environments, enemies, backgrounds — looked like a work of art.

As beautiful as Okami may have been on the PlayStation 2, Capcom promises that the downloadable PlayStation Network version will look even more stunning. The reveal trailer for Okami HD (above) shows the game in action, and it even compares the two versions. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.

Personally, while I won’t deny how much clearer and bolder everything looks on the PlayStation 3, I was always a fan of the original art style. The intentional rice paper texture made it look even more like a Japanese painting, adding to Okami‘s authenticity as a Japanese folklore-inspired epic. I would also like to point out that I was an art major in college, so I know what I’m talking about.

Also, while Okami‘s visuals didn’t pop as much on the PlayStation 2 as they do in the HD version, the game looks a hell of a lot blurrier and more washed out in this trailer than I remember. Like one YouTube user pointed out, that’s what happens when you run a game from a previous generation on an HD TV. Come on, Capcom, play fair.

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