Onimusha Update

We recently had the opportunity to play a demo of Onimusha, Capcom's first survival-horror effort on the PS2. Onimusha puts you in the shoes of Samanosuka Akechi, an honorable samurai who is the only man who can prevent the game's villain from unleashing an army of demons upon the world.

In the demo, Akechi faces a giant monster, and despite his skill with a sword, he is defeated by the monster's tremendous power. He suddenly hears a voice, and he is then given a mystical demon gauntlet and is told to equip it. Doing so, he gains the powers of a demon, and it is unclear what will become of him.

When you kill enemies, their "souls" appear as colored balls of light and float above the field map. These souls can be absorbed into the demon gauntlet. Absorbing the red light balls gives the demon gauntlet experience points. It is not yet known what sort of benefits or transformations acquiring these experience points will yield. The yellow souls help you regain your health points, and the blue souls help you regain what the game calls "demon points." Your character's health and demon points are indicated by the appropriately colored onscreen gauges.

The demon points are used for special attacks. To activate a special attack, you must first find a special orb. Once you find one, you then attach it to the demon gauntlet. These attacks, like Final Fantasy's magic swords, transform your katana into a magical one. Shiden is the orb of lightning, and once equipped, it transforms your katana into a blade of lightning. Attacking an enemy with shiden equipped will not only enable your sword's slashing attacks, but a special lightning attack as well. These attacks should be used on tougher enemies and bosses. Equipped special attacks will become more powerful as you progress through the game, although it is not yet clear how.

Unfortunately, the demo provided us with only a small glimpse of the actual game. Onimusha is scheduled for a release this January.