Old school demon slaying.
Are you ready for a gut punch? Onimusha is almost 20 years old. Yeah. We’re all getting old. Good news is, Capcom has decided to bring the first game back with a nice HD coat of paint. Does it hold up after all these years? Let’s find out.
For those that have never touched the game, players take on the role of Samanosuke, a warrior tasked with saving a princess from a demon army that is trying to take over Feudal Japan. Sam obtains a special gauntlet that allows him to absorb the souls of his fallen enemies and use them to enhance his weapons and powers. Doing so will give him the strength to take on the biggest of demons.
Platforms: XB1, PS4, Switch, PC
MSRP: $19.99
Price I’d pay: $19.99
If you have played an old school Resident Evil or Devil May Cry, you’ll notice some similarities here. There are static camera angles with fixed movement in the shots. While there are no tank controls, it can still become a little bothersome when trying to maneuver, especially when trying to dodge attacks. I would also run into the issue of getting attacked by enemies that were off screen due to some camera angles.
I’m not sure if it’s that I’m now older and better versed in action games, but it seemed to me that this game is a lot easier now. Maybe I’m remembering wrong, but it felt like I breezed through a lot of it. Or maybe it has always been an easier game. There’s a trophy for beating the game in under three hours which actually seems pretty viable.
The HD look makes things more clear and actually decent looking. Of course, the pre-rendered backgrounds, a carryover from game development of the past, still look a bit blurry and out of place when placing the characters on screen over top of them, but it’s an 18 year old game at this point.
One thing I didn’t remember was how bad the voice acting was. It’s rough and laughable at times, but hey, another product of its time. I found it endearing in some ways.
This is actually a decent HD remaster. For a game that I played a ton of when I was 15, it was still fun to go back to with a new set of eyes and experiences under my belt. It may be a much more simplistic adventure compared to other action games nowadays, but checking in on this gem was enjoyable all the way through. Fans of the old series will have a fun nostalgia trip while players that missed out on it at the beginning of the PS2, can find some old school fun here and the $20 price tag is perfect for this one.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
