I love how Onimusha 2 begins. Showing the Yagyu village getting decimated and then having you traverse through the foggy aftermath as an eerie voice repeatedly calls out Jubei's name, it leaves such a strong first impression.
It's also during the opening that Onimusha 2 shows off its improved combat. Not only is it much faster here, there's also plenty of new additions like running attacks, charge attacks and even unlockable secret techniques. Because of this, the combat is much more varied here compared to Onimusha 1. Onimusha 2 also adds purple souls and collecting 5 of them transforms Jubei into an Oni and when in this state, he is invincible. It's neat when it works but I wish you could choose when you could trigger it. The moment you get the 5th soul you're forced to transform. So, if you want to save the transformation for bosses, you have to avoid the 5th soul which just gets cumbersome.
Even with that said, the additions to the combat are all welcome, but the biggest addition Onimusha 2 has is the gift system. Once in Imasho, you'll get a bunch of random items that you can give to other characters to befriend them. Befriending different characters leads to them showing up to help you at different points in the game. This is where Onimusha 2 gets it replayability factor from, since it's impossible to acquire every scenario on a single playthrough. This is cool in concept, but honestly, this system is handled really poorly. Firstly, the game doesn't explain how this system works at all. It gives you a few hints, like saying Ekei likes drinks and Magoichi likes books, but when it comes to items like Parrots, Coins, Fork etc, you just have to guess or follow a guide. Another issue is that if you want to give as many gifts as possible, it requires a lot of early game grinding since you get the items by buying them for gold. My final issue with this system is that it just feels so artificial and shallow. I never felt like I earned the trusts of the characters I befriended because all I did was shower them with useless presents. Because of this, later in the game when the game is trying to get an emotional reaction from the player, it completely fails because I don't really feel like I bonded with the cast of characters. As a whole, the story doesn't do much for me, it retreads old ground only with a less likeable protagonist.
Atleast the reward for having friendships is cool. If your friendship with someone is high enough, they'll save Jubei at different points in the story. In these segments, you'll control the characters you befriended and they're handled way better than the Kaede sections in Onimusha 1. The characters feel distinct from Jubei (except Oyu) from Kotaro's shadow clones to Magoichi's emphasis on long range combat and the sections are short enough to not overstay their welcome.
Onimusha 2 is twice the length of the first game, which is welcome, but a large chunk of the game is simply you revisiting the castle from Warlords. The game as a whole is much more linear, and yet I got lost here a few times near the endgame since the Gifu Castle just isn't as well designed as it was in the first game, where I never got lost.
Onimusha 2 does have things going for it, like the improved combat, its immense replayability and the character of Gogandantess who is always fun to watch. However, I'd say I prefer Onimusha 1 due to its superior OST and it feels like a very complete package, whereas 2 feels a little undercooked in many areas.
It's also during the opening that Onimusha 2 shows off its improved combat. Not only is it much faster here, there's also plenty of new additions like running attacks, charge attacks and even unlockable secret techniques. Because of this, the combat is much more varied here compared to Onimusha 1. Onimusha 2 also adds purple souls and collecting 5 of them transforms Jubei into an Oni and when in this state, he is invincible. It's neat when it works but I wish you could choose when you could trigger it. The moment you get the 5th soul you're forced to transform. So, if you want to save the transformation for bosses, you have to avoid the 5th soul which just gets cumbersome.
Even with that said, the additions to the combat are all welcome, but the biggest addition Onimusha 2 has is the gift system. Once in Imasho, you'll get a bunch of random items that you can give to other characters to befriend them. Befriending different characters leads to them showing up to help you at different points in the game. This is where Onimusha 2 gets it replayability factor from, since it's impossible to acquire every scenario on a single playthrough. This is cool in concept, but honestly, this system is handled really poorly. Firstly, the game doesn't explain how this system works at all. It gives you a few hints, like saying Ekei likes drinks and Magoichi likes books, but when it comes to items like Parrots, Coins, Fork etc, you just have to guess or follow a guide. Another issue is that if you want to give as many gifts as possible, it requires a lot of early game grinding since you get the items by buying them for gold. My final issue with this system is that it just feels so artificial and shallow. I never felt like I earned the trusts of the characters I befriended because all I did was shower them with useless presents. Because of this, later in the game when the game is trying to get an emotional reaction from the player, it completely fails because I don't really feel like I bonded with the cast of characters. As a whole, the story doesn't do much for me, it retreads old ground only with a less likeable protagonist.
Atleast the reward for having friendships is cool. If your friendship with someone is high enough, they'll save Jubei at different points in the story. In these segments, you'll control the characters you befriended and they're handled way better than the Kaede sections in Onimusha 1. The characters feel distinct from Jubei (except Oyu) from Kotaro's shadow clones to Magoichi's emphasis on long range combat and the sections are short enough to not overstay their welcome.
Onimusha 2 is twice the length of the first game, which is welcome, but a large chunk of the game is simply you revisiting the castle from Warlords. The game as a whole is much more linear, and yet I got lost here a few times near the endgame since the Gifu Castle just isn't as well designed as it was in the first game, where I never got lost.
Onimusha 2 does have things going for it, like the improved combat, its immense replayability and the character of Gogandantess who is always fun to watch. However, I'd say I prefer Onimusha 1 due to its superior OST and it feels like a very complete package, whereas 2 feels a little undercooked in many areas.