weird to hear this called the "first million seller on ps2" given the series's relative obscurity now, a victim of capcom's prolific 3D output in the 00's. unquestionably any cultural cachet these interesting action-focused takes on resident evil's structure had was entirely wiped away when a young hideki kamiya pulled off the wildest "hold my beer" in gaming history and dropped devil may cry less than a year later. for how clever and honestly entertaining onimusha is, its conception of combat consists of mashing square to swing your sword and blocking when needed. no stinger, no launchers, and any semblence of juggling completely wiped from the beta builds - though not before dmc's designers got a quick whiff and snuck the concept into their own game.
onimusha in general hews closely to the resident evil playbook much more earnestly than was probably necessary, but the amount of upgrades and changes they made to suit their system still keeps the game feeling well-tuned decades after its original release. the tank controls are excellent, with not only a comfortable turning radius and synergistic hallway geometry but most importantly a full backdash in place of a slow back-up. this is an actual game-changer in terms of keeping protagonist samanosuke agile and frankly for my money beats out the free-roam controls slapped into this hd remaster. it's also a major boon considering that prerendered backdrops and fixed camera angles are used, as the frequent changes in orientation make non-tank controls too erratic. these are issues regardless of the control scheme given that enemies often appear and attack just off-screen; the designers smartly responded to this issue by making samanosuke's block omnidirectional (except against arrows unfortunately) and by giving his attacks a solid amount of draw towards nearby enemies, eliminating the need to precisely aim slashes. on top of all of this is a target-strafing system that I did not even realize existed until the final boss, although using it there felt instantly at home with the rest of the movement options.
the area exploration primarily takes place within a war-torn castle and its east and west grounds, all of which are littered with the usual locked doors, simple logic puzzles, and oddly-shaped keys that you would expect from a game in this vein. if you're into that sort of structure, it's a blast! each section of the game is nicely partioned into no more than a dozen rooms and a few objectives to cleanly take care of in about an hour each with a boss battle to finish things off. enemies don't stay permanently dead unlike resident evil (ignoring the remake's crimson heads), but each one drops orbs that give exp, health, or magic that must be sucked up with the player's gauntlet in a similar if more protracted way to the later ninja gaiden reboot. thus backtracking feels painless, and a few extra fights here and there never hurt in order to upgrade each of the game's three weapons.
I do have a couple of qualms with progression that disappointed me a bit the more I dug into the game. for one: a major component of accessing certain doors is leveling up the gems within your weapons for "higher-level" doors ie a third-level green door requires the green gem to be upgraded twice. this check is arbitrary and would have been annoying had I elected to upgrade my weapons first, which have a tangible effect on moment-to-moment gameplay - I reluctantly upgraded the gems first to avoid needing to grind orbs. there is also a significant portion of the game (maybe about 25% in two sections) in which you play as samanosuke's allied kunoichi kaede. while she's perfectly fit in combat and can hurl kunai for ranged combat, she lacks alternate weapons or the orb system and thus feels overly simplified. in her portions I often found it easier to run around enemies than bothering to fight for no reward. the little bits of fluff in samanosuke's combat like magic and hot-swapping weapons (and eventually a gun) shore up the shallow framework of the combat, and without that the deficiencies of the game seem more apparent.
regardless of these issues the game is a breezy adventure in the sub-5 hour range and hits the spot for those wanting a survival horror-style adventure with less anxiety and more swordplay. for what it lacks in depth it certainly makes up for in unpretentious charm and adherence to a comfortable modality of play. also: for those playing the hd version, make sure you set it to 4:3! the 16:9 seems to just zoom in on the backgrounds with panning and I found it to look rather unappealing.
onimusha in general hews closely to the resident evil playbook much more earnestly than was probably necessary, but the amount of upgrades and changes they made to suit their system still keeps the game feeling well-tuned decades after its original release. the tank controls are excellent, with not only a comfortable turning radius and synergistic hallway geometry but most importantly a full backdash in place of a slow back-up. this is an actual game-changer in terms of keeping protagonist samanosuke agile and frankly for my money beats out the free-roam controls slapped into this hd remaster. it's also a major boon considering that prerendered backdrops and fixed camera angles are used, as the frequent changes in orientation make non-tank controls too erratic. these are issues regardless of the control scheme given that enemies often appear and attack just off-screen; the designers smartly responded to this issue by making samanosuke's block omnidirectional (except against arrows unfortunately) and by giving his attacks a solid amount of draw towards nearby enemies, eliminating the need to precisely aim slashes. on top of all of this is a target-strafing system that I did not even realize existed until the final boss, although using it there felt instantly at home with the rest of the movement options.
the area exploration primarily takes place within a war-torn castle and its east and west grounds, all of which are littered with the usual locked doors, simple logic puzzles, and oddly-shaped keys that you would expect from a game in this vein. if you're into that sort of structure, it's a blast! each section of the game is nicely partioned into no more than a dozen rooms and a few objectives to cleanly take care of in about an hour each with a boss battle to finish things off. enemies don't stay permanently dead unlike resident evil (ignoring the remake's crimson heads), but each one drops orbs that give exp, health, or magic that must be sucked up with the player's gauntlet in a similar if more protracted way to the later ninja gaiden reboot. thus backtracking feels painless, and a few extra fights here and there never hurt in order to upgrade each of the game's three weapons.
I do have a couple of qualms with progression that disappointed me a bit the more I dug into the game. for one: a major component of accessing certain doors is leveling up the gems within your weapons for "higher-level" doors ie a third-level green door requires the green gem to be upgraded twice. this check is arbitrary and would have been annoying had I elected to upgrade my weapons first, which have a tangible effect on moment-to-moment gameplay - I reluctantly upgraded the gems first to avoid needing to grind orbs. there is also a significant portion of the game (maybe about 25% in two sections) in which you play as samanosuke's allied kunoichi kaede. while she's perfectly fit in combat and can hurl kunai for ranged combat, she lacks alternate weapons or the orb system and thus feels overly simplified. in her portions I often found it easier to run around enemies than bothering to fight for no reward. the little bits of fluff in samanosuke's combat like magic and hot-swapping weapons (and eventually a gun) shore up the shallow framework of the combat, and without that the deficiencies of the game seem more apparent.
regardless of these issues the game is a breezy adventure in the sub-5 hour range and hits the spot for those wanting a survival horror-style adventure with less anxiety and more swordplay. for what it lacks in depth it certainly makes up for in unpretentious charm and adherence to a comfortable modality of play. also: for those playing the hd version, make sure you set it to 4:3! the 16:9 seems to just zoom in on the backgrounds with panning and I found it to look rather unappealing.
I think this series' relative obscurity now is less a mark on its age and more a testament to the frankly absurd amount of quality releases, not just from Capcom, but from a lot of developers during the 6th generation of consoles.
It's a short one, and on the easier side if you're used to the fixed-camera Capcom games of the era, but it's still a lot of fun while it lasts and is worth playing if you want something that sits somewhere in the middle of Resident Evil survival horror and Devil May Cry stylish action. There is one section that is just cruel (if you know you know), but honestly, in an era where you can just look it up in two seconds, it's hardly worth getting upset over.
It's a shame this didn't sell well enough to justify porting the rest of the series over to modern platforms, but at least we got something (which is more than I can say for most companies regarding their legacy output...).
It's a short one, and on the easier side if you're used to the fixed-camera Capcom games of the era, but it's still a lot of fun while it lasts and is worth playing if you want something that sits somewhere in the middle of Resident Evil survival horror and Devil May Cry stylish action. There is one section that is just cruel (if you know you know), but honestly, in an era where you can just look it up in two seconds, it's hardly worth getting upset over.
It's a shame this didn't sell well enough to justify porting the rest of the series over to modern platforms, but at least we got something (which is more than I can say for most companies regarding their legacy output...).
Onimusha: Warlords is a game I have been interested in playing for a very long time. I may have been interested in playing this game longer than some people reading this have been alive. So I finally got around to playing it and god damn it I should have played this sooner. Onimusha: Warlords is a short dose of greatness straight out of the golden era of gaming. 2001 just keeps on giving.
Onimusha: Warlords borrows a lot from the survival horror games of the time. It has tank controls, pre rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, puzzles, a bit of back tracking and using items to unlock your way through the game. But instead of being a survival horror it uses these elements to make an action game. So you could kind of say it falls somewhere between Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. However it doesn’t have as well designed locations and puzzles as the best survival horror and the action isn’t on the same level as a Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden.
First of all I want to address the controls. There is the option to use the stick but don’t do that. Use the direction buttons that controls like this were made for, it’s just better. I know there are probably plenty of people that will see fixed camera angles and tank controls and say things like ‘outdated’ or ‘slow and clunky’ or ‘needs modernising.’ To these people, please take a small amount of time and effort to learn to play it. Games should not have to bend to your comfort zone, low effort and taste. It shows a lack of understanding for how things like specific input methods, restrictions or limitations can create amazing gameplay experiences. Videogames were more interesting when we didn’t have standardised controls and it allowed for more unique experiences. The controls in Onimusha: Warlords are excellent. After a brief time getting comfortable with it you will find yourself running smoothly through the environments and weaving your way past enemies without getting touched. Then when you use R1 to lock onto enemies the controls change. Now the directions do quick forward/back/side steps. Perfect for dodging attacks, creating space or closing the distance. It works really well and you’ll be dancing with these demons in no time.
The combat is a bit on the simple side but it's satisfying and I didn’t tire of it across multiple play throughs. Combined with the controls I just explained you use a sword for basic combos and there is a block, thrust, kick, ground stab and upward slash. You can also perform counters if you attack or block at just the right time. The other attacks you have are magic which is great for tough enemies or dealing with groups but it does run out. Finally you have your ranged weapons, the first one being a bow, which is great for the floating enemies or just attacking from a safer distance. At first I found weapon swapping to be annoying as you can’t do it while attacking or moving but then I remembered this is an old game and you just pause to use the menu to instantly swap equipment or use items. Occasionally you’ll switch to another character which while similar to control is geared more towards evading enemies as they can flip over their heads and they don’t have an incentive to kill enemies.
There are also some other interesting things going on that I liked. First there is the risk/reward constantly in combat. The enemies drop souls when they die which is your currency for upgrades, or health and magic depending on the colour. They float around for a while before disappearing and you need to absorb them. This means stopping and being defenceless during battle or just letting them go but obviously you really need them. Then there is health. Herbs fill some health but medicine works way better. But upgrading an herb to medicine costs souls you need for upgrades. Some upgrades are actually required to unlock some doors as well. Once you are good enough you can actually play through the game without using any health items and without upgrading many things. Despite progression appearing simple and straight forward they found a way to make it interesting and give you more challenges on further play throughs once you’re more skilled. Speaking of further play throughs, I love the way this game progresses. You fumble your way through the first time and then get better and better and faster too with each play through. Then there is also an unlockable mini game, Oni Spirits, and another difficulty unlocked after that.
Onimusha: Warlords is set in 1500s Japan but with horror and demons, so of course it looks cool. It’s also one of the strongest looking early PS2 games and as far as I can tell they’ve done a good job with this remaster. It has great looking backgrounds, characters and enemies and the atmosphere is superb. I have to give a shout out to the CGI cutscenes as well, these would have blown me away back then and are clearly a bit ahead of their time. You play as a samurai, Samanosuke, and a ninja, Kaede, working together to defeat some demons and rescue a princess from becoming a sacrifice because her blood will make Nobunaga, who has an agreement with the demons, much more powerful. It is a solid enough story, with good characters, that is really well paced. It’s fleshed out further by reading the documents found throughout the game. The voice actors do a great job and the soundtrack is good too. I played in Japanese as that just felt right but the English has its own charm as well. By far the biggest problem here is that most cutscenes are not skippable. This is a huge sin in a highly replayable game and could even harm a single first play through if you die too often. I don’t have a problem with the cutscenes but I didn’t need to see them this often and it was frustrating.
Onimusha’s biggest problem though is the length. There is just not enough here. Your first playthrough will likely be less than six hours possibly even less than five. Then further playthroughs will probably be three or under. It feels like a short, small game much more so than the Resident Evil’s of this time. Onimusha: Warlords really needed more everything; more locations, more weapons, more puzzles, more enemies, more documents, more items, more upgrades and more unlockables. I think a couple of hours longer would have been the sweet spot but at least it’s really replayable and it is fun to blast through in one sitting. It is a bit of a shame because Onimusha: Warlords isn’t that far off of standing alongside the GOATs. If only there was more to it, skippable cutscenes and more impressively designed locations and puzzles.
I’m so glad we got this remaster and I hope to see the next Onimusha game get the same. How has this series not been fully revived, remastered and remade? Onimusha: Warlords may not quite be one of the all time greats but it’s still fantastic and not far off. Let me make things really simple. I am off to order an original copy of Onimusha: Warlords and the sequel, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, which I am really looking forward to. If this game looks appealing to you I would recommend you do the same.
8.7/10
Onimusha: Warlords borrows a lot from the survival horror games of the time. It has tank controls, pre rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, puzzles, a bit of back tracking and using items to unlock your way through the game. But instead of being a survival horror it uses these elements to make an action game. So you could kind of say it falls somewhere between Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. However it doesn’t have as well designed locations and puzzles as the best survival horror and the action isn’t on the same level as a Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden.
First of all I want to address the controls. There is the option to use the stick but don’t do that. Use the direction buttons that controls like this were made for, it’s just better. I know there are probably plenty of people that will see fixed camera angles and tank controls and say things like ‘outdated’ or ‘slow and clunky’ or ‘needs modernising.’ To these people, please take a small amount of time and effort to learn to play it. Games should not have to bend to your comfort zone, low effort and taste. It shows a lack of understanding for how things like specific input methods, restrictions or limitations can create amazing gameplay experiences. Videogames were more interesting when we didn’t have standardised controls and it allowed for more unique experiences. The controls in Onimusha: Warlords are excellent. After a brief time getting comfortable with it you will find yourself running smoothly through the environments and weaving your way past enemies without getting touched. Then when you use R1 to lock onto enemies the controls change. Now the directions do quick forward/back/side steps. Perfect for dodging attacks, creating space or closing the distance. It works really well and you’ll be dancing with these demons in no time.
The combat is a bit on the simple side but it's satisfying and I didn’t tire of it across multiple play throughs. Combined with the controls I just explained you use a sword for basic combos and there is a block, thrust, kick, ground stab and upward slash. You can also perform counters if you attack or block at just the right time. The other attacks you have are magic which is great for tough enemies or dealing with groups but it does run out. Finally you have your ranged weapons, the first one being a bow, which is great for the floating enemies or just attacking from a safer distance. At first I found weapon swapping to be annoying as you can’t do it while attacking or moving but then I remembered this is an old game and you just pause to use the menu to instantly swap equipment or use items. Occasionally you’ll switch to another character which while similar to control is geared more towards evading enemies as they can flip over their heads and they don’t have an incentive to kill enemies.
There are also some other interesting things going on that I liked. First there is the risk/reward constantly in combat. The enemies drop souls when they die which is your currency for upgrades, or health and magic depending on the colour. They float around for a while before disappearing and you need to absorb them. This means stopping and being defenceless during battle or just letting them go but obviously you really need them. Then there is health. Herbs fill some health but medicine works way better. But upgrading an herb to medicine costs souls you need for upgrades. Some upgrades are actually required to unlock some doors as well. Once you are good enough you can actually play through the game without using any health items and without upgrading many things. Despite progression appearing simple and straight forward they found a way to make it interesting and give you more challenges on further play throughs once you’re more skilled. Speaking of further play throughs, I love the way this game progresses. You fumble your way through the first time and then get better and better and faster too with each play through. Then there is also an unlockable mini game, Oni Spirits, and another difficulty unlocked after that.
Onimusha: Warlords is set in 1500s Japan but with horror and demons, so of course it looks cool. It’s also one of the strongest looking early PS2 games and as far as I can tell they’ve done a good job with this remaster. It has great looking backgrounds, characters and enemies and the atmosphere is superb. I have to give a shout out to the CGI cutscenes as well, these would have blown me away back then and are clearly a bit ahead of their time. You play as a samurai, Samanosuke, and a ninja, Kaede, working together to defeat some demons and rescue a princess from becoming a sacrifice because her blood will make Nobunaga, who has an agreement with the demons, much more powerful. It is a solid enough story, with good characters, that is really well paced. It’s fleshed out further by reading the documents found throughout the game. The voice actors do a great job and the soundtrack is good too. I played in Japanese as that just felt right but the English has its own charm as well. By far the biggest problem here is that most cutscenes are not skippable. This is a huge sin in a highly replayable game and could even harm a single first play through if you die too often. I don’t have a problem with the cutscenes but I didn’t need to see them this often and it was frustrating.
Onimusha’s biggest problem though is the length. There is just not enough here. Your first playthrough will likely be less than six hours possibly even less than five. Then further playthroughs will probably be three or under. It feels like a short, small game much more so than the Resident Evil’s of this time. Onimusha: Warlords really needed more everything; more locations, more weapons, more puzzles, more enemies, more documents, more items, more upgrades and more unlockables. I think a couple of hours longer would have been the sweet spot but at least it’s really replayable and it is fun to blast through in one sitting. It is a bit of a shame because Onimusha: Warlords isn’t that far off of standing alongside the GOATs. If only there was more to it, skippable cutscenes and more impressively designed locations and puzzles.
I’m so glad we got this remaster and I hope to see the next Onimusha game get the same. How has this series not been fully revived, remastered and remade? Onimusha: Warlords may not quite be one of the all time greats but it’s still fantastic and not far off. Let me make things really simple. I am off to order an original copy of Onimusha: Warlords and the sequel, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, which I am really looking forward to. If this game looks appealing to you I would recommend you do the same.
8.7/10
Cool, action-centric take on the RE formula with presentation too good and campaign too short for the tedium of its combat to set in. That timed sliding-block puzzle was unnecessary. The new non-tank controls unsurprisingly make combat smoother, if inelegant.
Um ótimo começo pra uma franquia, esse aqui sendo um dos pais do hack 'n slash (eu acho), é sólido demais, e a idéia de acabar sendo uma mistureba com resident evil é de certa forma encantadora, e combina bem, o combate sólido, narrativa muito gostosa de acompanhar, digna de momentos que qualquer um nos anos 2000 iria a loucura (quem to querendo enganar, até hoje piro com essas coisas) esse jogo merece muito mais atenção, e CAPCOM, por favor traga essa franquia de volta.
Was fully not expecting to beat this one in a single sitting but damn Capcom really made em compact back in the day. Some of the best prerendered backgrounds Cappy ever produced on display here, the bio horror aesthetics of the monsters clashing with the rigidity of the historical setting is so fresh and so clean, it's a joy to explore this space and fight some dudes. The combat is, eh it's sword fighting in Resi style. Could have been worse for sure but it's pretty easy to bash n smash your way through, especially in the less than satisfying Ayane sections. These seem to justify themselves with a unique deadly strike and some restrictions, but you can just run past enemies sooooo whatever? The deadly strike in general is neat but it's too precise a mechanic to hang such a thin combat system around, unless maybe I'm bad or the port introduced some input lag or sommat. Fun!
Pretty fucking GOATed. I bought this on a whim for $8 on sale and I don't regret it for even one second. I had a blast playing through this. I loved the pre-rended visual backgrounds, and the CG cutscenes looked pretty nice and clean too. And while the fixed camera was sometimes a little inconvenient, it never wound up getting me killed or anything. I enjoyed the combat a lot, performing counter attacks always felt so godly. I absolutely loved too having three different swords and magic attacks to power up, it really helped with the general feeling of progression. I REALLY appreciated also that each time you level up a sword, it changes appearance. I wish the Kaede sections had a bit more going on, but that's a minor gripe. I can very easily see myself replaying this in the future.
Side note:
We REALLY need more PS2 games on the Switch. Playing this game undocked the entire time with a Hori Split Pad Pro was the best, and I'd love to play more PS2 games in this manner.
Side note:
We REALLY need more PS2 games on the Switch. Playing this game undocked the entire time with a Hori Split Pad Pro was the best, and I'd love to play more PS2 games in this manner.
I can see why this game was popular back when it first released. It takes a lot of cues from its spiritual sibling in the RE series, but plays significantly less on the "survival" characteristics in favor of methodical action. Definitely my kind of game, even if I kinda slobbered my way through it.
Holds up surprisingly well in 2022, minus some annoying camera angle shifts that probably weren't received too fondly at the time, either. All in all, it's flawed but wonderfully so.
Holds up surprisingly well in 2022, minus some annoying camera angle shifts that probably weren't received too fondly at the time, either. All in all, it's flawed but wonderfully so.
Resident samurai
Pra época é um puta jogo, me lembra muito re clássico as câmeras tanque, mas não tira o fato de mesmo sendo o primeiro, tendo sua simplicidade, é muito divertido, o combate do onimusha ja é algo que me atrai desde que joguei o 3 lá no ps2. Porém o port é bem raso, uma pena que a Capcom não trouxe coisas do Genma Onimusha do Xbox pra deixar o jogo como uma versão definitiva.
A história em si é bem tranquila de entender, nada que te surpreenda também.
A história em si é bem tranquila de entender, nada que te surpreenda também.
Devil May Cry before Dante was kicking ass, shredding, eating cheese pizza & claiming "Devils Never Cry". A Capcom action(horror?) gem of gaming's past, that might have been lost but has not been forgotten. Too bad the others never got remastered, this one rules.
Very nice port of a cool, stylish game.
Maybe some day Capcom will remaster the complete trilogy
Maybe some day Capcom will remaster the complete trilogy
Great pacing for both story and combat, short but highly replayable, fun challenges, you can dress as a panda, banger OST, has the best English dub ever, and most importantly... super fun! That was the best 13-hour gaming experience of my life. 10/10
I never played the original with tank controls, but I think the tank controls may have been a bit much looking back. I just know I would have gotten frustrated at times with those controls in this type of combat. The camera angles are phenomenal, definitely has that resident evil feel. I can't believe it took me so many years to give this one a shot. Worth it.
Re-releasing old games is a tricky business because nostalgia can often crumble when an old title is being judged by new standards. While the original release date explains how the game is shaped, it doesn’t exempt it from the criticism of other, newer games. Onimusha: Warlords Remastered is one of those remasters getting pushed back out onto the market. Although it was typically regarded as a samurai game on the sharpest edge of the genre, the years since have turned it into glorified butter knife that has been dulled by the many advancements in ensuing years.
Read the full review here: https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/482717-onimusha-warlords-remastered-review-snore-lords
Read the full review here: https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/482717-onimusha-warlords-remastered-review-snore-lords
I’m a sucker for tank controls and pre-rendered backgrounds, so as soon as I see anybody say “It’s like Resident Evil with ________” I’m probably going to purchase and play whatever they’re talking about.
Onimusha: Warlords is Resident Evil with samurai. Kinda.
One big thing missing is resource management, so it’s not nearly as challenging, but the moment-to-moment gameplay and combat is surprisingly fluid and satisfying. The soul/weapon upgrade system was slightly reminiscent of the Dark Souls games, and was a welcome inclusion.
The story is a “save the princess” footnote to the gameplay, and you can really tell they were inspired by Resident Evil because the English voice acting is embarrassing.
But Onimusha isn’t literally Resident Evil. It’s its own thing, so I’m trying not to judge it entirely on a comparative basis. I found that the inclusion of puzzles along with a slower explorative pace balanced the hack-and-slash combat, despite neither being all that difficult on the highest difficulty available at the start of the game.
The game being so short (it’s only a few hours long) is a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it, and I fall slightly on the negative side, as I think the game could have used a few more enemy types and maybe a couple more puzzles. An additional area could have facilitated that. There is some replay value here, and I can see myself revisiting Onimusha: Warlords at some point.
Leaving me wanting more is far from the worst thing a game can do, and I’m pretty stoked to try the rest of the games. Apparently the third one heavily features Jean Reno for some reason!
Onimusha: Warlords is Resident Evil with samurai. Kinda.
One big thing missing is resource management, so it’s not nearly as challenging, but the moment-to-moment gameplay and combat is surprisingly fluid and satisfying. The soul/weapon upgrade system was slightly reminiscent of the Dark Souls games, and was a welcome inclusion.
The story is a “save the princess” footnote to the gameplay, and you can really tell they were inspired by Resident Evil because the English voice acting is embarrassing.
But Onimusha isn’t literally Resident Evil. It’s its own thing, so I’m trying not to judge it entirely on a comparative basis. I found that the inclusion of puzzles along with a slower explorative pace balanced the hack-and-slash combat, despite neither being all that difficult on the highest difficulty available at the start of the game.
The game being so short (it’s only a few hours long) is a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it, and I fall slightly on the negative side, as I think the game could have used a few more enemy types and maybe a couple more puzzles. An additional area could have facilitated that. There is some replay value here, and I can see myself revisiting Onimusha: Warlords at some point.
Leaving me wanting more is far from the worst thing a game can do, and I’m pretty stoked to try the rest of the games. Apparently the third one heavily features Jean Reno for some reason!
Me surpreendi, perfeitamente jogável até hoje, a gameplay é divertida do começo ao fim, o gráfico era muito bom pra época e mesmo hoje em dia não ficou feio. Maior problema do jogo é ser curto, 4 horinhas já dá pra terminar, ainda mais que a história parece um filme de aventura qualquer.
Onimusha: Warlords: A short, serviceable, and somewhat fun ride. An unabashed ninja knockoff of Resident Evil, but Onimusha has enough going for it that you may want to check it out. It's only like three or four hours long, though, and don't expect total gold.
You are Samanosuke, who is apparently just some guy who's here and not a samurai (despite dressing like one), and you'll be leading this theatrical affair. All the characters went for ham, but you're the hammiest of them all! You'll find a few melee weapons that can all be upgraded and a couple ranged weapons that cannot be. It doesn't matter, they're almost completely worthless. Every new melee weapon means a new magic ability and attack pattern. You're never really forced to use any particular blade, so whatever suits your style is fair game.
Samanosuke wants to save Princess Yuri and her adopted brother from demons who are running rampant thanks to Nobunaga, some asshole leading an army. Nobunaga died, actually, and made a deal with some demons so he could come back and finish what he started. They think he's very powerful and will be useful in obtaining them lots o' sacrifices. He must be quite the charmer!
There's also Kaede, the female equivalent of Samanosuke's “just some guy who's here”. You'll play as her a couple times, but her segments are pretty pointless dashes; she doesn't have the tool Samanosuke does to regain health on her own and she can't acquire demon souls for upgrades, rendering her combat pointless. She's fast, though, so she can easily zip by foes; just run from A to B, grab X, then sprint to C. This remaster does include comical breast physics. Sorry, Kaede, you deserved better.
Combat is pretty simple, there's only two attack buttons: normal and magic. Switch melee weapons with the right trigger, ranged weapons with the left. The left bumper blocks, the right bumper gets Samanosuke ready to strafe and dodge attacks (with ranged, this is 'lock on', too). On paper, it's all pretty good.
In practice, the combat is pretty stiff stuff. Samanosuke cannot break his attack animations to block and you just have to memorize (or guess) which attacks can be blocked at all. Then if you can block it, should they follow it up with a second attack, there's a chance you're locked into a “recoil” where you've got no choice but to get hit by the followup. It's hard to find a good flow.
Dodging, then? Well, only if there's room to do it, which can be infrequent. Again, you'll just have to memorize some of these attacks and hope there's room to dodge the overhead swing before blocking (or dodging again) the followup spin. Typing it out, I know I sound like a whiner, but trust me: it's a stiff system and you'll get extra pissed when you have to fight in a room where the camera leaps around on you, fucking with your movement inputs.
I'm pretty sure I was parrying or something, every so often -- but the game never tells you anything re: combat, so I don't know what that was.
You won't really give a shit about the story or characters because again, it's comically hammy, so you're really only here for the combat and puzzles.
I think the combat “works” but certainly isn't something I'd ever replay the game for, it's not Devil May Cry or anything (though, supposedly, a bug in this game inspired DMC and its aerial combat. Kinda neat).
The puzzles? They're fine, too. Only one is memorable to me, a sliding block puzzle where you've gotta beat the clock or Samanosuke drowns. It did its job and was pretty stressful.
It's fine. For its time, maybe pretty cool to see, but now? Well, it's got some charm. I kind of recommend it: it's probably worth seeing if you like Resident Evil's style, but it doesn't need to be on the top of anybody's list.
Despite never owning a PS2 growing up, I have a distinct memory of Nobunaga getting that arrow in his neck (in the opening cutscene) and it freaking me the fuck out. I'll never know how I saw this.
From what I've read, the sequels actually only get better and are pretty ambitious in how they don't stick to a set formula. I'm interested enough to try out 2 and 3 someday, I'll toss them on the backlog.
You are Samanosuke, who is apparently just some guy who's here and not a samurai (despite dressing like one), and you'll be leading this theatrical affair. All the characters went for ham, but you're the hammiest of them all! You'll find a few melee weapons that can all be upgraded and a couple ranged weapons that cannot be. It doesn't matter, they're almost completely worthless. Every new melee weapon means a new magic ability and attack pattern. You're never really forced to use any particular blade, so whatever suits your style is fair game.
Samanosuke wants to save Princess Yuri and her adopted brother from demons who are running rampant thanks to Nobunaga, some asshole leading an army. Nobunaga died, actually, and made a deal with some demons so he could come back and finish what he started. They think he's very powerful and will be useful in obtaining them lots o' sacrifices. He must be quite the charmer!
There's also Kaede, the female equivalent of Samanosuke's “just some guy who's here”. You'll play as her a couple times, but her segments are pretty pointless dashes; she doesn't have the tool Samanosuke does to regain health on her own and she can't acquire demon souls for upgrades, rendering her combat pointless. She's fast, though, so she can easily zip by foes; just run from A to B, grab X, then sprint to C. This remaster does include comical breast physics. Sorry, Kaede, you deserved better.
Combat is pretty simple, there's only two attack buttons: normal and magic. Switch melee weapons with the right trigger, ranged weapons with the left. The left bumper blocks, the right bumper gets Samanosuke ready to strafe and dodge attacks (with ranged, this is 'lock on', too). On paper, it's all pretty good.
In practice, the combat is pretty stiff stuff. Samanosuke cannot break his attack animations to block and you just have to memorize (or guess) which attacks can be blocked at all. Then if you can block it, should they follow it up with a second attack, there's a chance you're locked into a “recoil” where you've got no choice but to get hit by the followup. It's hard to find a good flow.
Dodging, then? Well, only if there's room to do it, which can be infrequent. Again, you'll just have to memorize some of these attacks and hope there's room to dodge the overhead swing before blocking (or dodging again) the followup spin. Typing it out, I know I sound like a whiner, but trust me: it's a stiff system and you'll get extra pissed when you have to fight in a room where the camera leaps around on you, fucking with your movement inputs.
I'm pretty sure I was parrying or something, every so often -- but the game never tells you anything re: combat, so I don't know what that was.
You won't really give a shit about the story or characters because again, it's comically hammy, so you're really only here for the combat and puzzles.
I think the combat “works” but certainly isn't something I'd ever replay the game for, it's not Devil May Cry or anything (though, supposedly, a bug in this game inspired DMC and its aerial combat. Kinda neat).
The puzzles? They're fine, too. Only one is memorable to me, a sliding block puzzle where you've gotta beat the clock or Samanosuke drowns. It did its job and was pretty stressful.
It's fine. For its time, maybe pretty cool to see, but now? Well, it's got some charm. I kind of recommend it: it's probably worth seeing if you like Resident Evil's style, but it doesn't need to be on the top of anybody's list.
Despite never owning a PS2 growing up, I have a distinct memory of Nobunaga getting that arrow in his neck (in the opening cutscene) and it freaking me the fuck out. I'll never know how I saw this.
From what I've read, the sequels actually only get better and are pretty ambitious in how they don't stick to a set formula. I'm interested enough to try out 2 and 3 someday, I'll toss them on the backlog.
Oque melhor define esse jogo é "Resident evil de samurai", e só isso já define tudo. O jogo é excelente desde a trilha exploração e etc e tal, talvez único problema seria o combate limitado, espetáculo.
09/10.
09/10.
Really liked this one. Fun ass game to go through if you like fixed camera angles, action combat, or early 2000s Capcom.
Remaster of the PS2 version of Onimusha with HD resolution and the ability for analog movement as opposed to the old Resident Evil "tank" controls. Did not make use of any of the addition made by the Xbox Genma Onimusha version that had extra content with a new boss and unlockables and improved features that gave new enemy placement and combat moves to both you and your opponents.
Still a quick and enjoyable playthrough. Looks and animated well for an older title and is a good setting, though the atmosphere and play area is a bit limited for a PS2 game with little visual variety and for a more action oriented game there is a lack of enemy types. Combat typically works well and the counterattack system where you can attack or block right before being hit to deal much more damage and regain health is a fun feature, but the lock on attacks are terrible, probably made even worse with the more modern movement that makes the entire feature obsolete, with it constantly forcing you to swing at enemies you won't want to target and might not even be able to hit. A few dull, time wasting, and often out of place puzzles.
Worth a look if found on sale, but content wise isn't even the best version of the game.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1512757294789902346
Still a quick and enjoyable playthrough. Looks and animated well for an older title and is a good setting, though the atmosphere and play area is a bit limited for a PS2 game with little visual variety and for a more action oriented game there is a lack of enemy types. Combat typically works well and the counterattack system where you can attack or block right before being hit to deal much more damage and regain health is a fun feature, but the lock on attacks are terrible, probably made even worse with the more modern movement that makes the entire feature obsolete, with it constantly forcing you to swing at enemies you won't want to target and might not even be able to hit. A few dull, time wasting, and often out of place puzzles.
Worth a look if found on sale, but content wise isn't even the best version of the game.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1512757294789902346
OKAY SO IT LOOKS LIKE I WONT BE BEATING THIS VIDEO GAME BECAUSE I SPENT LIKE 2 HOURS TRYING TO BEAT WEAVILS INSECT QUEEN ONLY TO DO IT AND THEN ENTER ONE OF THE FINAL BOSS BATTLES DIRECTLY AFTER WHICH I OF COURSE DIED TO AND THIS GAME DOESNT HAVE ANY CHECKPOINTS ONLY SAVES SO I WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT THE ULTIMATE INSECT QUEEN AGAIN AND IM DONE AND LITERALLY WAS AT THE FINAL BOSS AREA ANYWAYS SO I JUST WATCHED THE FINAL CUTSCENES ON YOUTUBE. I WISH THERE WAS A “GOT TO THE FINAL BOSS AND QUIT” STATUS ON THIS WEBSITE. THIS GAME WAS REALLY COOL TOO SO ITS A SHAME THAT I HAVE TO BUSTER OUT HERE AT THE END OF THE GAME BUT IT JUST MUST BE DONE. THIS HAS ALL THE COOL JAPANESE DEMON LORE TOO. ITS LIKE AN INUYASHA VERSION OF RESIDENT EVIL MAYBE ILL PLAY THE SEQUEL SOMETIME IDK DANG
A supernatural samurai action-adventure game built like "𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘭", nothing more to say.
A short and sweet action slasher, with light puzzle elements reminiscent of Resident Evil, although mechanically it's not as deep as other games in the same genre, it's still great to dabble with it, combined with the game's very short playtime it's a non-issue.
The resident evil and pre-devil may cry samurai game is very fun with terrible, over dramatic voice acting adding so much cheese to it, in addition to combat that is surprisingly fun but a little awkward and clunky in some spots. That said, this remaster kinda blows. The puzzles nearly broke me with the awful manual save system and the lack of cutscene skips that all add up to watching these characters painfully get through dialogue that was unintentionally goofy at first but starting to frustrate me heavy. The death arena put me through it for more than an hour, but I eventually got it and saved before moving to the final area, only to remember about the sword you can get right after completing the arena. Restarted to get to that new save I made only to see that the save after the arena wasn’t even there, and I dropped the game and watched the ending on YouTube because my brain broke at that moment lol
Also who puts the map button on the left joystick in a very heavy combat game and then not giving options to rebind the controls so they wouldn’t be uncomfortable ?????
Also who puts the map button on the left joystick in a very heavy combat game and then not giving options to rebind the controls so they wouldn’t be uncomfortable ?????
Resident Evil but sometimes you suck up ghosts like it's Luigi's Mansion.
Far easier without tank controls and incredibly short. It is actually just Resident Evil with samurai though and didn't really find its identity until the second game. They should remaster the rest though because it was worth the revisit.
I didn't realize how much Resident Evil DNA is within the first Onimusha game, but now it is one of my favorites! Between the puzzle-solving and navigating a dense map, this really feels like the developers went "What if Resident Evil was set in feudal japan?". The game is originally from the PS2 and has all the elements that comes with that, which I personally love.
Overall, definitely a fantastic experience and I wish the other entries on the Onimusha series stayed with this formula, but they did not.
Overall, definitely a fantastic experience and I wish the other entries on the Onimusha series stayed with this formula, but they did not.
no jean reno ? more like onimushit >:(
Onimusha: Warlords is a little forgotten gem from the early 2000s, released on the sixth generation of video game consoles. At its core, it's Resident Evil but set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, where you play mainly as the samurai Samanosuke, tasked to defeat an ancient evil.
You'll be exploring a single memorable castle, filled with traps, locked doors or devices that require an item to be found and used, and different kinds of enemies, who are there to stop your progress. Although it's a pretty straightforward game with very little side exploration, it has a few surprises up its sleeves.
Another thing to note is that this game has a phenomenal original soundtrack that has been replaced due to the controversy surrounding the composer. That being said, the new music I believe is underappreciated and sounds quite good, even if compared to the old one.
It is hardly a perfect game, but I had quite a lot of fun and for those looking for something like the original Devil May Cry, I highly recommend it.
You'll be exploring a single memorable castle, filled with traps, locked doors or devices that require an item to be found and used, and different kinds of enemies, who are there to stop your progress. Although it's a pretty straightforward game with very little side exploration, it has a few surprises up its sleeves.
Another thing to note is that this game has a phenomenal original soundtrack that has been replaced due to the controversy surrounding the composer. That being said, the new music I believe is underappreciated and sounds quite good, even if compared to the old one.
It is hardly a perfect game, but I had quite a lot of fun and for those looking for something like the original Devil May Cry, I highly recommend it.