Resident Evil with swords was how it was conceived, and how it plays -- and it shockingly feels awesome. It's slower and methodical, making you think sometimes before you input an attack.

The series just became Devil May Cry after this but the first Onimusha is a solid game that doesn't outstay it's welcome and has aged quite well. Only thing about this game that will send people into a rage are the fixed camera angles, which was the style at the time.

It'd be cool if 2&3 were ported to modern consoles like the first one was.

Onimusha Warlords is a 2001 Resident Evil inspired hack n Slash action adventure that tells the story of Samanosuke Akechi, a Samurai battling against the forces of Nobunaga Oda. And following Oda's death, Samanosuke must rescue Princess Yuki from demon's working alongside Nobunaga's forces.

Essentially, Onimusha is a more mature take on what Mario did in 1985. In both its survival horror esque demonic nature and how it's story, while still incredibly simple, even by 2001 standards, plays out.

Much like Resident Evil, which Onimusha was originally a spinoff of sorts of, Onimusha features fixed camera angles, painful tank controls, an underground lab, a supernatural plot, the ability to control a man and a woman, an inventory system with limited save spots, healing items, and is one of the shortest games you will play.

With gameplay lengthened by backtracking, puzzles, key items, and having to use menus for everything, basically, if you've played Resident Evil, you'll be right at home in babies first Resident Evil.

But onto the review, the strong points in this barely above average game are that when there is music, it's mostly good and is suitably atmospheric, the environments and the level design and the way it all comes together makes this game immersively atmospheric, and that when the camera isn't fighting you like a crack addict at Walmart the gameplay can be quite satisfying. The gameplay, while initially appearing simple, is a lot like dark souls in how you're expected to know timing, dodging, blocking, when to attack and such.

But as far as the negatives, this game, for me at least and I'm aware that it's an old game, 20 years at this point, the story is overly simplistic and short, the camera and tank controls feel needlessly restrictive and actively work against you, feeling less like an evolution of the series that inspired it but more like a dated mechanic that tries to force fear out of you without working for it. The dub, while of the time, is a lot like a flaccid cock, it's kind of cool I guess but it'd be a lot better if it was of more substance.

At this point it may sound like I just don't like Resident Evil games, but I do, I greatly enjoyed Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 2 Remake

And I know it sounds like I'm repeating myself but that's honestly just how it is with this game, it only took me 3 hours and 49 minutes to beat for those curious, not speedrunning, and even this brief review feels elongated.

But what would I rate Onimusha: Warlords? Well, all things considered, I would personally give it a 6 out of 10, although I can see the argument for it being a 7 out of 10 or even an 8 out of 10.

It's a pretty short game (I replayed it around a year ago) and I still like it. I realize now that it's very similar to resident evil games, but now it's samurais. More importantly, to me it has DNA in it that informs the souls games (i.e., you suck up souls from killing demons and use them to upgrade weapons/gear). It has almost an endless battle mode that gets you an awesome sword if you can beat it. It set me on a path of playing all the sequels (not including spin-offs) and loving them, I plan on replaying them in the near future.

I was offered a PS2. I went into a game shop. I never heard of Onimusha before. It cost me 2€.

When I launched it, I discovered it was made by Capcom. I was really happy to discover so. When I finished it, I read that Onimusha is the 7th most profitable serie of Capcom. I now know why.

Onimusha comes with a great technology. Capcom decided to create an animation team dedicated to CGI cutscenes (which are great). Thus, CGI would only shine if it would show something interessting. Someone sugested a medieval theme. They went for it.

Now, they had a theme, a clear technological goal... how about making a game ?
In 2001, what does Capcom knows to do ? Survival horror. Let's go on this basis. Unfortunately, Capcom's survivals rely on multiple subleties, one of them being ammo managment. Erf, katana do not need ammunitions. Well, let's put a mana system and reorient the game towards combat action. Let's add a light RPG system and everything will work well. They were right. It works well.


Onimusha is situated between old-fashionned-capcom survival horror games and (for its time) new fashionned beat'em all (see DMC). The adventure is situated in really tiny and kind of oppressing spaces, which can lead to some stress inherent to survival horrors. Thus, most of the time, combats shine. This is due to the variety of opponents you fights and the pseudo-rigidness of your character. Should you either slash enough to make 3 enemies temporaly fall down, which would give you the time to end them on the ground or deal with their comrades, either try to focus the most powerful ones with your magic spells, either run through them taking the risk to be attacked, either take your distances and shoot'em with your bow ? It's up to you, and it's wonderful gameplay-wise. Add on top of this interessting and memorable bosses and you have an intense game experience, set up in a non-commonly seen layout, with imbricated systems that lead to multiples genre and game experiences in a unique software.

at the time this game was basically just resident evil but set in edo period japan. the story is very linear and simple but it works well. the tank controls take some time to get used to but its super satisfying once you figure it out. gameplay wise, i liked the variety of different elements for swords cuz it adds lots of depth to the otherwise very formulaic hack and slash kill undead monsters gameplay. they managed to mash some pretty cheesy and campy horror elements with genuinely soulful action. regarding combat specifically, it was a lot more complex than meets the eye. the progression system was very satisfying with leveling up orbs and weapons.

this game will always hold a special place for me because it was essentially the first console game i ever played to completion. its super endearing, doesnt pull its punches, and in its time, it set a precedent for the new wave of great gaming that came with the ps2. its definitely a must play.

Onimusha Warlords is the pinnacle of pre-Resident Evil 4 Capcom design. It is trite to say "RE but samurai," but the work Capcom did to rebalance their formula is incredible. Swords can be swung indefinitely, so the enemies are faster, more aggressive, and have larger movesets. The level design also enables larger scale fights despite the tank controls. The more action centric story still has goofy moments, but it remains coherent and, surprisingly enough, more genuine than some of RE games. Comparisons aside, the use of pre-rendered backgrounds is among the best since the 3D models can have more polygons and the backgrounds can be higher resolution. Knowing that component video output is pretty soft, the visuals look consistent as a whole. Onimusha is an impressive and fun iteration on existing precedent.

Didn't expect to enjoy this one nearly as much as I did.

Onimusha: Warlords boasts well-composed environments, a rewarding combat system and an elegantly drip-fed world design. I loved the enemy variety and character models and often had a chuckle during most cutscenes, due to the cheesy dub.

The story is almost nowhere to be seen, most details shrouded by collectable books that are nothing more than meandering walls of text, if you're here looking for lore I'd suggest you leave. The moment-to-moment narrative is serviceable, but even then, by the end of the game, I felt next to no compassion for any of the characters.

Overall a fun little experiment of a game, whose short run time is to its advantage. I'd say it's worth paying just to witness the pre-rendered cutscenes, them shits go crazy.

I didn't play it at launch but this might be my favorite launch game. It's basically samurai Resident Evil. The first entry does have more of an atmosphere and slight horror element to it. Exploring the castle and seeing the death and destruction and all the wandering spirits does help set the tone. Unlike RE though this game is more action focused and is a hack and slash game. It has the tank controls as well but when you ready your weapon you can strafe around an enemy. Sounds kinda jank but really it feels good. Weapons feel meaty and merciless. Killing enemies releases souls which you can use as currency to level items. Finding your magic weapons you can power up their power or their ability to unlock sealed doors. It's always a choice on what to improve and in what order. The game is pretty short and sweet and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Easy to pick up and play when you feel the action itch.