 Genma
Onimusha
Capcom
Action/Adventure
XBox / PlayStation2 (Onimusha Warlords)
One of the first games released for the Sony PlayStation2 was
Capcom's Onimusha Warlords, which was a fun game and got by on its
decent story and lots of hidden extras. But there was something
missing, a challenge perhaps. Is the XBox re-release of Onimusha
any better than its predecessor?
Most gamers should be familiar with Capcom's action/adventure
games. A long list of classics comes to mind; Resident Evil, Dino
Crisis & Devil May Cry. Each had their shining points but they
all seemed the same...gameplay wise. Onimusha really isn't any
different, which is a good thing. But while it has that same flair
that all of Capcom's other titles possess, there's something
different. Oh yes, that's it...it can be difficult. Devil May Cry
and Dino Crisis relied on a swarm of enemies to defeat you
(Resident Evil's a bit different, focusing more on
puzzles...although those Hell Hounds are nasty), but Onimusha
requires different tactics to take out even the most minor of
enemies.
 As
Akechi Samanosuke, you return to a palace to visit your cousin,
the princess Yuki. But she has been kidnapped by the resurrected
warlord Nobunaga Oda, who you killed in battle. When you find Yuki
alone and scared as two demon ninjas try to haul her off, you are
attacked by a large ogre sized demon and knocked unconscious only
to lose Yuki. During your slumber, the Ogre gods bless you with a
powerful gauntlet that has the ability to absorb souls of demons
to give power to your weapons. Assisted by your (rather hot) ninja
friend Kaede (who has more or less fallen in love with you), you
journey through the destroyed Inabayama castle in search of Yuki.
Combat is a simple combo based system where you hack and slash
away at enemies. There's also defensive stances and your swords
have the ability to charge up its power. A combination of a guard
stance and watch stance can allow you to dodge enemy attacks at
given moments, which can be crucial. Much like in Devil May Cry,
there are multiple weapons each with an elemental attack. Each use
up your magic supply but are well worth the cost. Also similar to
Devil May Cry, your weapons can be upgraded as can your items to
make them more powerful through spending the amount of red souls
in your possession. Also, through the absorption of yellow and
blue souls, Samanosuke can replenish his health and magic supply
respectively. Unfortunately, since Kaede doesn't have the
gauntlet, her weapons cannot be upgraded, she has no magic and she
can't regenerate. But she does have daggers and a very powerful
blade at her disposal, not to mention her superior speed.
 But
what's different from Onimusha Warlords? Thrown in to Genma
Onimusha is the green soul, which Samanosuke collects. When he
collects six green souls, he can enter a mode of invulnerability
which is very handy against difficult enemies. However, the demons
will fight to absorb these green souls as well. If a demon absorbs
a green soul, it will enter a berserk mode in which he becomes
faster, stronger and unrelenting on its attacks. Some attacks are
even unblockable. In order to prevent them from absorbing the
green souls, Samanosuke enters a tug-o-war with the demon over the
soul, but be warned...the demon's buddies are often going to
attack Samanosuke when he's in this battle over a soul.
One other element of Onimusha is the puzzles. Many have been
relocated from Onimusha Warlords but in essence, they are the
same. Many are easy and straight forward...but there are others
which will give you a brain hemorrhage when you try to solve them,
especially the water trap puzzle which had me stumped for hours.
 But
the most deadly thing in this game isn't the demons nor is it the
puzzles. Its a little porcelain doll named Ayame. She seems
innocent enough, but get close enough and six three-foot blades
will protrude out of her sleeves and she will attempt to slice you
up, slash you to pieces or suck your soul dry from your neck.
Worst thing is...is that she can't be killed. When using physical
attacks, she merely phases out of existence only to reappear in
full force. Magic attacks are only effective in the sense that she
becomes stunned and is knocked backwards for a second, giving you
a moment to high tail it out of there. I don't remember how many
times I screamed in terror over the presence of the little doll.
Quite
frankly, I enjoyed every moment of Genma Onimusha. It's a very
pretty game, although not nearly to the caliber that Dead or Alive
3 or even Halo is at. It suffers a bit from the static camera,
especially when there's an enemy between you and it. But its a
fun, quick ride from beginning to end. I only wish I had the
patience to do the extra arena battles to get the ultimate sword.
Final Verdict: 9/10
Genma
Onimusha
Capcom
Planet
XBox
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