Originally, Onimusha was intended to be a PSOne title. With gameplay that is somewhat similar to Resident Evil, it was intended to be another survival/horror genre game but with a different theme. Instead of being a police officer of a small city, the protagonist in Onimusha was a Samurai and the timeframe was feudal Japan and not present day US. Thankfully, Capcom scrapped the PSOne version and revamped the game for a PS2 release. Using the more powerful capabilities of the PS2, Onimusha not only supports a higher resolution and cleaner CG backgrounds, but the real-time character models have vastly been improved as well. All the graphical improvements with tried and true gameplay make this game a highly anticipated title. It’s good thing Onimusha doesn’t disappoint.

Onimusha starts out with a beautifully CG rendered movie describing the events leading up to the story. Two warring armies, one led by Yoshimoto Imagawa and the other lead by Nobunaga Oda, fight a desperate battle on the plain of Okehazama. With an army of only 2,000, Nobunaga defeats the enemy and slays Yoshimoto. As Nobunaga gloats from his victory, an arrow from one of Yoshimoto’s troops strikes Nobunaga in the neck and he falls back in a dead heap. Watching the battle unfold silently from a canyon face is Samanosuke Akechi.

One year later, Samanosuke receives a letter from Princess Yuki. Strange events have been occurring around Inabayama Castle and Princess Yuki is asking for his help. Workers and soldiers have been disappearing without a trace and an army lead by the once thought dead Nobunaga is attacking the castle. Samanosuke arrives too late and Princess Yuki is gone. Bound by honor, Samanosuke and his companion, Kaede, a female ninja, swear to rescue Princess Yuki from the evil Nobunaga and his demon army.

Graphically, Onimusha is an absolutely beautiful game. Characters and enemies are rendered in real-time on top of pre-rendered backgrounds, similar to the Resident Evil games on the PSOne. Effects such as fire, smoke, fog, and occasional polygonal objects make the pre-rendered backgrounds seem more lively and animated. The most striking thing about Onimusha is how complex the character and enemy models are. Both Samanosuke and Kaede look incredibly lifelike and realistic. After watching the CG intro movie and then being exposed to the real-time renderings, it’s amazing how close the real-time renders look when compared to the CG renders. The PS2 is helped somewhat, since it only has to render the characters and not the backgrounds but even so, the polygon models are strikingly realistic. The backgrounds are also quite nice and Capcom has taken advantage of the higher resolution output to create pre-rendered backgrounds that are almost impossible to distinguish from real-time elements. Almost being the keyword here. Most of the pre-rendered backgrounds are quite nice and generally match real-time elements but some of the backgrounds also seem to be blurred somewhat and lack detail and clarity. A few blurry backgrounds are probably the worst graphical attributes of the game since even the particle effects like fire, smoke, and the fading blood effect that occurs when you kill a demon are all spectacularly done. There is very little to complain about regarding the graphics.

Although not as impressive or striking as the graphics, there is little to complain about in the sound and music departments as well. Both the music and sound effects have a nice clarity to them and, in particular, the sound effects don’t sound like they’ve been taken from a generic sound effect database. The music, although not necessarily remarkable, fits the game well with themed music that sounds much like it would fit with the feudal Japanese era that the game takes place. One thing that is a nice change from previous Capcom efforts is the voice acting. Although all of the Resident Evil games after the first one have progressively gotten better in that regard, the Resident Evil series has never really escaped from it’s campy B-movie mood because of the horrid voice acting from the first game. Onimusha, however, is in a completely different class. The voice actor for Samanosuke makes for a convincing rogue Samurai, with just a touch of an accent to give him a bit of authenticity. The voice actress for Kaede also makes for an honorable, sensitive, but also deadly female ninja as well. The demon voices seem cartoonish by comparison and if they were spoken in a darker more serious tone, could have been just as compelling. Capcom has graciously left the Japanese voices in the game so, if gamers prefer, they can have Japanese voices with English subtitles.

Much of the game seems similar to Resident Evil, but the gameplay is far more action oriented. While there are puzzles to be solved and keys to be found, fighting the game's demons is nothing like the slower paced Zombies of the Resident Evil series. Initial demons act slowly but later, they move and attack with the agility of ninjas. Moving around and the inventory system is much like Resident Evil but the combat has been altered to make fighting these faster enemies less of a chore. Along with just a standard sword slash button, Capcom has also added a “lock-on” button similar to the one in Zelda 64. Once locked on to an enemy, controls are switched from the standard Resident Evil scheme to one that allows for Samanosuke to strike quickly as well as side step toward and back from an enemy. It also allows for a few extra attacks such as a kick or a stabbing motion. Capcom has also added a separate “guard” button that allows Samanosuke to block most attacks. Another addition to the combat is the Ogre Gauntlet that you’re given early in the game. This gauntlet allows for you to suck the souls of the demons you defeat in combat and allows you to use those souls to enhance your weapons. These additions make combat in Onimusha far less frustrating that it was in Resident Evil and are a welcome advancement.

For all that has been said of Onimusha, it’s safe to say this is a spectacular game and easily one of the best, if not the best game on the PS2 to date. From the excellent DVD quality CG intro movie, to spectacular graphics, sound effects and music that actually fit the game, and even voice acting that sounds competent, this should be an easy game to pick up. I say should, because one of Onimusha’s most glaring flaws is that it’s an incredibly short game. I finished it in just shy of five hours and if you take in the fact that I took my time defeating demons in certain areas, the game could probably be completed in an even shorter time. There is a certain amount of replay value because the combat is point based and you’re graded on performance at the end.  If you play games for the story, it becomes tougher to recommend this title. If length doesn’t bother you, this is a must buy title for the PS2. Even if you found the Resident Evil series to be unappealing, you might want to give this one a shot anyway. It’s a pure masterpiece. However, if you like a game with more replay value or a longer, more engrossing story, you might want to give this a rental. It’s a game you can beat with a few casual sessions. Hopefully Onimusha 2, which is already in development, will solve this problem with a game that lasts at least twice as long.

Thankfully, Capcom has altered the standard Resident Evil control scheme to make the more action-oriented combat less frustrating. More sword moves would have been nice though.