Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $29.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When it comes to some of Capcom’s beloved franchises, Onimusha generally isn’t one of the titles that will get mentioned much. This is partially due to the fact that, outside of a remaster of the first game in 2019, the last new Onimusha title was released nearly twenty years ago. Then, the announcement of a brand new entry in the form of Onimusha: Way of the Sword makes all the more sense, ready to arrive next year at that twenty year mark. In an effort to bring more light to the Onimusha name and also make the PlayStation 2 original actually available to audiences to enjoy as a whole, Capcom has now given the remaster treatment to Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. Bringing with it a number of quality of life improvements and some minor graphical improvements, is this remaster a successful transformation?
Story
Samurai’s Destiny begins not too long after the events from the first game. With the demon lord Fortinbras slain by the first game’s protagonist, the demonic Gemna forces under his command have been taken in by Oda Nobunaga who uses his cunning and bloodthirsty plans to sweep the land of any who dare oppose his might. With these new near-unstoppable allies at his command, Nobunaga’s rampage knows no bounds as he terrorizes Japan, laying waste to countless villages along the way, including Yagyu Village. Returning to find the aftermath of the attack and the remnants of the demonic forces still picking away at his beloved hometown, Jubei Yagyu begins trying to sift through the rubble to see if anyone has survived only for a mysterious voice to call out to him from the village’s sacred cave.
Within, a demonic snake woman gifts Jubei not only the power to absorb demonic souls to empower himself, but the secrets to sealing the demonic Genma away forever using the five orbs created for such a purpose, gifting Jubei the first along with an Oni weapon only he can use thanks to the demonic blood that Jubei too has running through his veins. This makes Jubei’s quest one with two purposes, one of revenge for his slaughtered people but also one to save all of Japan from Nobunaga and the Genma’s demonic powers and along the way he’ll meet four allies that share that same goal, in some form or another, with Oyu, Magoichi, Kotaro, and Ekei each playing a role no matter what, though how much of a role they might play will depend on a surprisingly early implementation of bond building.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny doesn’t tell a very complex tale, in fact it is quite the straightforward one with the only real twists being the realization of who some characters might actually be, and some players may not even see these scenes initially. That being said, there isn’t a whole lot of reason for there to be a complex storyline here, Jubei’s on a mission for revenge and the deeper he enters demonic territory to get it the more dangerous things become. Now, one of the things mentioned before is that some players may not be able to see some aspects initially and that is something that helped set Onimusha 2 apart back in the day, the bonds mechanic.
As players play through the game they will acquire gold that can be used to purchase “gift” items from the town players regularly return to or find gifts out during a mission. These gifts can then be given to any of the four allied characters with each character having their own affinity for each. For example, giving Ekei a bottle of Vodka will make him as happy as a drunken horse while trying to give it to Kotaro will have him flat out turning it down. Similarly, giving a baby chick to Oyu will see her delighted while Magoichi will wonder what the world is going on, potentially even lowering their bond with Jubei. Giving gifts as well as completely eliminating all enemies in a location when one of your allies is in a room can raise these bonds and the higher bonds Jubei has with characters will unlock additional scenes and dialogue. In fact, it can even determine who players might play at times when they aren’t controlling Jubei. These overall story changes are rather minimal but it does give players plenty of reasons to play through Onimusha 2 multiple times in an effort to see every variation and unique scene and how it’ll play out if they happen to be best friends with Kotaro instead of Oyu this time through.
Gameplay
In many ways Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny still plays the same that anyone who touched the original release will remember. Ironically, it might be best described as a take on samurai Resident Evil as players will find themselves navigating fixed camera locations, tank controls, and using their sword to dispatch monstrous creatures that are trying to take their life all while managing limited healing resources. Though that is far too much of a simplification here. As mentioned before, quality of life is the name of the game here when it comes to improvements and the first major change made was to give players full 360 degree character movement using the analog stick when navigating and fighting enemies. This makes action and movement feel more fluid, but can cause a bit of trouble when swapping between rooms as character spawns can often send players right back the way they came if they are using modern movement. Though thankfully for those who want to use it, tank controls are freely available using the D-Pad.
Combat remains as straightforward and simple as ever, with Jubei having an attack button, a block button, and a magic attack button. Every weapon, be it a sword, spear, or hammer, has a standard attack combo and the magical attack button will vary depending on the type of weapon equipped. There are some extra combo options available, though players need to find documents hidden throughout the game to properly use them. There are also a number of ranged weapons that Jubei can use such as a bow and arrow or even flintlock rifle though given the way enemies move and respawn, they have limited use or are primarily meant for puzzle solving. Another major quality of life improvement, especially for those who like to take combat to as hard of a level as possible, is the fact that players no longer have to pause the game, go to the menu, and swap weapons anytime they want to change things up. Now Jubei can simply swap to another weapon, be it melee or ranged, with a button hold and tap left or right on the d-pad, making for easy weapon changes on the fly.
Another unique element to Onimusha 2‘s combat mechanics is the “Issen” system. The Issen mechanic is based around having players attack just before the enemy does, allowing them to perform a powerful critical blow that will instantly kill nearly any standard foe and deal severe damage to most larger enemies as well. Not only this but Issen’s can be chained together, making for some truly bombastic looking finishes to fights as Jubei chains his way through a swathe of demons and pops up numerous orbs as a result, since enemies slain by critical blows provide extra rewards. That being said, it isn’t required to master Issen to get through the game, though for true masochists out there there is also a difficulty option that makes it so enemies can only be killed by utilizing this mechanic. Though that being said, there is also a new difficulty called “Hell Mode” where even a single blow can instantly kill the player.
As mentioned earlier, Jubei quickly gains the ability to absorb the souls of defeated demons and depending on the color absorbed, it’ll change what effect it might have. Anytime an enemy is slain, souls will spring forth from their body and slowly start to dissipate, encouraging players to absorb them quickly, and if they happen to be a red soul, they’ll be used as XP to boost the levels of Jubei’s weapons or armor, yellow souls will refill his health, and blue to restore his magic. The real special souls are purple Onimusha orbs that allow Jubei to temporarily transform into an incredibly powerful Onimusha form to lay waste to nearly any opponent or boss. Herein lies another major quality of life improvement from the original release, the fact that players actually have control over when to trigger Jubei’s Onimusha transformation. The original game saw the transformation occur instantly whenever enough orbs were gathered and now players have the option of holding onto them as long as they might need, holding out for a difficult foe or boss fight.
The puzzles players still need to solve from time to time, be it an optional one or one related to progressing the main story are still quite fitting and just challenging enough to feel rewarding and it does not appear that these have been modified in any way since the original release. The last major quality of life elements added into the game are the fact that all of the mini-games and side-content available that players would have to otherwise unlock, including extra costumes and bonus modes, are unlocked immediately as soon as players start the game. This includes the aforementioned Hell mode and even an Easy mode for those wanting to take things simpler or are newcomers to the franchise.
Audio & Visuals
It should be noted coming in that it is quite clear that Capcom was likely aiming to provide more quality of life upgrades than actual graphical improvements in Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny as the latter is quite sparse. The character models have all been slightly retouched to look a bit better and the backgrounds have also been given a small improvement but this is still very much a PlayStation 2 era game and one that looks only markedly better in many areas as a result. Thankfully the game runs flawlessly with a completely smooth frame rate even when facing down bosses using Onimusha mode or teamed up with another character. It is worth noting that there is some light censorship in the game with Oyu’s bonus outfit and one in-game scene but these are quite minor.
One nice improvement with this remastered version of Onimusha 2 is the fact that the Japanese voice track is now available in the game as an option as well as the original cheesy English dub that feels like it is more campy than good. That being said, players have the options between the two which is always nice. The background music throughout the game is fitting and appears to have been retouched a little as well.
Overall
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny remains a strong entry in the franchise even all these years later and now that it has been brought to modern platforms for a potentially new audience to experience in anticipation for the franchise to continue it is great to see it make a return, even if it is a bit limited and dated by modern day standards. The lack of significant graphical improvements or additions to the base game will likely disappoint those hoping for more from a remaster, especially one with such a straightforward story, but thankfully the cast of characters and unique scenes they all offer continue to make the game as impressive as ever upon numerous replays, and now with more quality of life elements made to combat, even slaying countless demons is as fun as it has ever been.
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