Ever wondered how a Samurai - Biohazard would be like?
STORY: Samanosuke, a lone brave swordsman must travel to the castle of Nobunaga, an assassinated feudal lord who was resurrected as a demon with sole purpose the entire domination of the human species. Armed with his blade, honed skills and the magic of the human guardians known as Oni, Samanosuke must save a kidnapped princess (his cousin I think) and end Nobunaga’s reign of terror before it truly begins. Oh, he also has to defeat a possessed baby-doll in the Xbox version, and believe you me, of all the tasks at hand, the last one is no picnic.
Onimusha’s story combines Eastern fantasy, horror and drama, in order to bring us an epic tale of swords and magic. The translation is very good, but then again the game has little dialogue. You can switch between English and Japanese languages (for Otaku nutcases).
GRAPHICS:
Onimusha follows the old and classic method of the Resident Evil series. Still 2D backgrounds combine with 3D characters and although in the 32-bit era this looked somewhat bad if you had a decent television, the art here is beautiful to the eye (especially since Onimusha deals in rich forests, dark and moody caves, and castles engulfed in flames and evil). All known RE camera issues are still here. The camera changes depending on your location, and sometimes you can’t see who is attacking you. Doesn’t happen very often though.
The characters and monsters are also very, very impressive. I liked the fact that most monsters “respect” the d&d tradition and have a rather serious approach, unlike silly monsters found in most Japanese RPGs. Violence and gore abound, as you will actually slice and dice your foes into 3-4 parts sometimes. Great job.
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS:
The music clearly screams “Japanese Epic”, with subtle as well as powerful clips to put you into the mood. Sound effects are also nice, although the basic slashing sound (and possibly the sound you’ll hear the most in the game besides Samanosuke’s own footsteps) while nice, is a bit weird. Nitpicks of course...
GAMEPLAY:
I’ll never understand why some slashing games are boring after 10 minutes (Berserk - Gut’s Rage), while other slashing games can make me play them (to the end) not once, not twice, but three times. Is it the awesome sprite collision? The good defence-offence combinations? The impressive creatures you have to fight? The evolution of your weaponry? All of it combined? I’ll never know for sure. Onimusha is a button-masher as far as combos go, especially since you have no jumping attacks, but the fact that you often need to defend or sidestep in order to evade or parry against your foes’ attacks, keeps you in the edge, and prevents you from getting bored (unless of course, you get bored easily).
Samanosuke can absorb his fallen foes’ souls so that he can gain experience to evolve his weaponry. Along the way he gains new melee (swords, and double-edged swords) and ranged weapons, as well as (a limited number) of magic attacks to fell even the strongest of foes, like the Hyperbolic Ultimate Super Possessed Slashing Serial Killer Baby Doll. The first time you’ll fight that girlie, you’re in a world of pain.
Onimusha’s difficulty is just about right, ranging from easy to challenging encounters. But if things get too rough, you can always switch to easy mode. You just have to prove to the game that you suck (at playing).
OVERALL:
Genma Onimusha is one of my favourite slashers, and an amazing enjoyment. I am grateful to the people of Capcom for making this jewel, and grateful for seeing many sequels as well. A must-buy!!