Onimusha 2 remaster review – authentic to a fault

Keep in mind Onimusha? It’s best to. The brainchild of Keiji Inafune, it could possibly be thought-about the precursor to Satan Could Cry, Sekiro, and Nioh. To my thoughts, it is ‘required studying’ for anybody whose pursuits sit on the intersection of PlayStation, Capcom, and character motion. Nonetheless, up till final yr, Onimusha was consigned to cult standing – as soon as record-breaking, now a footnote within the legacy of video games that got here after. However earlier than we get to see what a brand new Onimusha seems to be like, Capcom has graced us with a shock aperitif: an Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Future remaster.

If 2024 was the yr of friction, then 2025 is the yr of the remaster. The Sims, Oblivion, Snake Eater – there’s even a rumor {that a} remaster of GTA 4 is due later this yr. The nostalgia prepare left the station years in the past, however there is not any query it is a landmark yr for thirty-something players pining for his or her childhoods. I mentioned this in my Oblivion Remastered overview, nevertheless it bears repeating: remasters are bizarre. Remakes have a definitive intent; remasters are a much more nebulous endeavor.

Mercifully, Capcom declares its intentions for the Onimusha 2 remaster in a splash display sandwiched between the well being warning and predominant menu: “The contents of this recreation are offered with minimal modifications to protect an genuine expertise reflecting the unique launch.” If Capcom needs to save lots of me the difficulty of dragging my black-label copy of Onimusha 2 out from the IKEA storage field beneath my mattress, that is effective by me.

Its precursor, Onimusha Warlords, is considered one of my favourite action-adventure video games. Billed as a Sengoku-flavored Resident Evil, its compact plot and economical motion make all of it too simple to return to yr after yr. Its sequel, nevertheless, is one other story. Onimusha 2 continues to be a Keiji Inafune manufacturing, however additionally it is a really completely different beast. It casts off the shadow of Resident Evil to ascertain its personal collection id, however in doing so, it separates itself from what got here earlier than. Whereas Warlords is an action-survival horror, Samurai’s Future is a feudal fantasy journey.

Proper off the bat, this remaster brings the textural richness of Onimusha 2’s pre-rendered backgrounds into excessive definition. The caves and forests are as drab as they ever have been, however distinctive areas like Jujudormah’s bed room boast an opulence that the PS2 could not absolutely seize. The return to Gifu (née Inabayama) Fort proves that Capcom has taken the identical strategy to the Samurai’s Future remaster as Warlords; it seems to be similar to the way it did six years in the past.

For the uninitiated, Inabayama Fort is analogous to Resident Evil’s Spencer Mansion. Whereas each are clearly outlined areas – Inabayama Fort is an actual historic fort which you can go to right this moment – their structural structure and dream logic convey an extratemporal high quality. Distinction this with Imasho, a gold-rush village teeming with miners, drunkards, and luxury girls. Onimusha 2 refrains from leaning absolutely into the historic bent established by its predecessor, nevertheless it actually embraces it with gusto. It additionally takes the camp undertones of Warlords and dials them as much as 100.

Protagonist Jubei returns house to find his whole clan has been massacred by demons. “Who did this?!” he growls. His fist clenches. His forehead quakes. A lightning strike lights up the sky behind him. Later, he takes a moonlit gallop with love curiosity Oyu on the again of a mechanical horse. She gazes up at him, starry-eyed, probably struck by his cut-glass jawline and Good-looking Squidward-esque pout. Nonetheless, none of this touches the camp heights of Gogandantess, self-styled as “the best swordsman of all of the demons.” The place the remainder of Onimusha 2’s bosses are your normal cartoon side-villains, Gogandantess steals the present with nipple armor, a gravity-defiant bob, and an unshakable code of honor that pushes him firmly into anti-villain territory.

Inversely, Warlords is a lonely affair by design. Apart from Kaede (by the way topped by FHM as one of many “sexiest ninja babes” in gaming), Samanosuke is the final hope for Princess Yuki. In Onimusha 2, Jubei has an entire posse at his beck and name. There is no query that I am meant to care about this supporting solid, however their help appears extra incidental than it does collaborative. Their look is dictated by a rudimentary reward system that offers you somewhat perception into their personalities. Magoichi loves books. Kotaro loves bizarre trinkets. Ekei loves alcohol and ladies. It is not sufficient to get me invested, and the token gadgets they provide in trade are an overtly transactional interpretation of friendship that reveals Onimusha 2’s age. The succession of betrayals and revelations in these eventualities is as clumsy but earnest because the state of affairs system itself.

With extra interactions on the desk, Onimusha 2 is extra susceptible to undertake the actual model of racy but finally innocent innuendo endemic in JRPGs on the flip of the millennium. Typically fleeting, it nonetheless constitutes a dramatic tone shift for the collection. Warlords is wholly sexless; in Samurai’s Future, everybody is attractive. Oyu is attractive for Jubei. Jujudoma is attractive for Nobunaga. Ekei is attractive for, effectively, any girl that stands nonetheless lengthy sufficient. Onimusha 2 by no means oversteps the mark, nevertheless it does make for some weird beats, reminiscent of when Jubei and associates rescue a villager’s “cute” daughter, solely to find she’s a child. This makes for a enjoyable lampshade second, till it sends Ekei right into a PTSD flashback of his spouse and baby burning to dying. I may make an insurance coverage declare for this tonal whiplash.

In basic samurai vogue, Jubei is simply attractive for revenge, and Onimusha 2’s fight system actually delivers. The weapons that Samanosuke wields in Warlords are distinct in type however not in operate. They’re all ostensibly blades that hit with variable pace, energy, and elemental magic. Onimusha 2 builds on these foundational ideas simply sufficient for a bit of sunshine technique. Jubei’s hammer is one of the simplest ways to carry down a hulking brute, nevertheless it’s too gradual to deal with acrobatic foes. Conversely, his spear retains enemies with lengthy attain at bay, whereas his naginata delivers a relentless barrage of sunshine assaults. All this with a buttery-smooth framerate to higher land these parries (ahem – Issen). It is completely possible to strategy Samurai’s Future as a primary hack-and-slash recreation, however fairly frankly, you would be robbing your self of the dopamine shot {that a} profitable counterattack delivers.

Like 2019’s Warlords, the Onimusha 2 remaster consists of the choice to forego the normal tank controls for analog motion. I am positive it will come as a aid to many, however to my thoughts, it is a travesty. Sure, when improperly dealt with, tank controls are unwieldy – however so is a samurai sword. Each demand exact actions and a eager consciousness of your environment, and whereas I am not about to prescribe an similar likeness, analog motion deflates all the stress of Onimusha 2’s fight just like the air out of a whoopee cushion. How may I probably really feel threatened by a demon mob advancing on all sides once I can simply dance my means round them with a twist of my analog stick? Frankly, I am unable to. The one actual issue analog motion poses is operating within the incorrect path everytime you enter a brand new display.

Look, I get it. You may’t throw a rock within the Onimusha fanbase with out hitting somebody making an attempt to remap their emulation controls, and the Warlords remaster’s analog motion was largely well-received. Nonetheless, I preserve that tank controls are as integral to Onimusha as Resident Evil. The comfort of analog is a temptation that hangs over each remasters, and the second you’re taking that path of least resistance, the “genuine expertise” that Capcom so rigorously pledges to protect is misplaced.

My enduring love for tank controls however, I do have an enormous bone to choose with Onimusha 2’s fastened digital camera angles. Given its claustrophobic setting, areas in Warlords are siloed off from each other by doorways that require participant enter to progress. Onimusha 2’s static screens are open-ended. This makes the world really feel considerably extra linked, however is usually a supply of nice frustration for those who occur to stumble into the following display – or, even worse, if enemies push you into the one which got here earlier than.

It is not a lot better in giant areas, both. The digital camera continuously cuts forwards and backwards to seize each nook, usually on the expense of sightlines. It really works to nice impact for horror and suspense in Warlords; in Samurai’s Future, it is suffocating. I usually discover myself boxed into the invisible boundaries that mark digital camera transitions, desperately making an attempt to keep away from being blinded to enemy actions. I am undecided if my showdown in opposition to Oda Nobunaga wanted seven digital camera angles, particularly when over half of them work in opposition to me.

It actually would not assist that the spawn charges in Onimusha 2 are unbelievably excessive. Samurai’s Future diversifies the Genma military, however the novelty of alligator males, bizarre rotor bugs, and masked demons with wolverine claws quickly wears off when it’s important to battle waves of them on each display. I can solely surmise that this was for the sake of stability, however given the quantity of demon souls it takes to degree up your tools, Capcom may afford to chill out each. Likely, such an adjustment would compromise that “genuine expertise” – maybe I ought to simply be grateful that I haven’t got to degree up weapons and orbs individually like in Warlords.

The Onimusha 2 remaster is likely to be trustworthy to a fault, however I’ve to present particular point out to some small but substantial additions that Capcom has thrown in for good measure. The inclusion of the Japanese dub lastly cures the stilted English performances and mismatched lip syncing, although it does imply I miss out on Dee Baker’s vocal antics as Gogandantess. There’s additionally Hell Mode: a one-hit KO issue that I will not be clearing any time quickly. Other than that, although, all the things is because it was in 2002. Like Oblivion Remastered, I am undecided if a remaster of Onimusha 2 was strictly vital, notably one that continues to be so trustworthy to its authentic blueprint. In contrast to Oblivion Remastered, the supply of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Future on PC and trendy consoles is a decisive win for recreation preservation, and the proper alternative to seize a brand new viewers earlier than the Onimusha: Method of the Sword launch date rolls round.