First game of 2024, this game was long overdue for me.
Despite being a huge Capcom fan, a huge RE fan, AND a huge fan of yokai-themed body horror, I had never played any of the Onimusha games. I think I had gotten into my head that this series was something completely different, thinking it was closer to the Basara series or something, rather than what it actually is, Resident Evil but with Samurai. It's funny how your brain can write something off for years, and then randomly change its mind.
I'm glad it did, because this game was awesome, Onimusha got so much right on its first outing. The combat felt good, the backgrounds were cool and readable, and the designs all around were great, especially the demons. It all felt conventional, but well polished with a clear identity, to replicate a classic Samurai film with the Capcom flare of the era. Another thing that was surprising to me was how good the facial animations and mocap were, while it does have those early mocap exaggerated gestures, it still felt believable, and there were games on this system which came out way later that looked worse.
What really impressed me was the release, let's put this game into perspective. Coming out in 2001, the PS2 has only been out for a year, and within that 2000-2001 timeframe, Capcom developed Onimusha, Code Veronica, Dino Crisis 2, and DEVIL MAY CRY. That's insane! Sure, they all borrow elements from each other, but considering the level of care this game had as a new IP is crazy. That's just covering the RE side of the company too, Capcom was such a powerhouse in the late 90's.
Anyways, the game was fun, if not a little short, but it didn't need to be any longer than it was, the game covered everything it needed to, and laid the framework for the rest of the series. Really excited to play the rest, especially 3.
Despite being a huge Capcom fan, a huge RE fan, AND a huge fan of yokai-themed body horror, I had never played any of the Onimusha games. I think I had gotten into my head that this series was something completely different, thinking it was closer to the Basara series or something, rather than what it actually is, Resident Evil but with Samurai. It's funny how your brain can write something off for years, and then randomly change its mind.
I'm glad it did, because this game was awesome, Onimusha got so much right on its first outing. The combat felt good, the backgrounds were cool and readable, and the designs all around were great, especially the demons. It all felt conventional, but well polished with a clear identity, to replicate a classic Samurai film with the Capcom flare of the era. Another thing that was surprising to me was how good the facial animations and mocap were, while it does have those early mocap exaggerated gestures, it still felt believable, and there were games on this system which came out way later that looked worse.
What really impressed me was the release, let's put this game into perspective. Coming out in 2001, the PS2 has only been out for a year, and within that 2000-2001 timeframe, Capcom developed Onimusha, Code Veronica, Dino Crisis 2, and DEVIL MAY CRY. That's insane! Sure, they all borrow elements from each other, but considering the level of care this game had as a new IP is crazy. That's just covering the RE side of the company too, Capcom was such a powerhouse in the late 90's.
Anyways, the game was fun, if not a little short, but it didn't need to be any longer than it was, the game covered everything it needed to, and laid the framework for the rest of the series. Really excited to play the rest, especially 3.