Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams

"Onimusha: DoD leaves a sour taste with this Onimusha fan"

Before I start, like me just say that I am reviewing this as an Onimusha fan.

The original Onimusha Warlords, though obviously now outdated, was a fine game blending elements from Resident Evil with samurai heroics for a splendid experience. Then came Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, which introduced natural improvements visually, but also allowed a 'Gift system' which enabled interaction with the four different supporting characters so that they could individually assist you in battle. This led to much replayability as you witness different plotlines unfold depending on which characters you formed a relationship with.

Onimusha 3: Demon Siege was next. An expensive title featuring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jean Reno and fight choreography by Donnie Yen, not to mention an exhilarating CGI opening. Looking beyond its contrived and nonsensical time travelling plot and the infamous lack of Jean Reno's English voice, the game featured some fine innovation such as use of the analogue stick for more flexible movement, yet still kept the original system of movement on the D-Pad for conservative players. Onimusha 3 looked to have wrapped up the battle against the Genma, what with Capcom announcing it would be the last of the series anyway.

But now we have Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, a new addition to the story which feels more like a corporate decision than an artistic one.

Sixteen years after Nobunaga Oda was defeated by Samanosuke Akechi, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (his sly and irritating vassal from the first two games) has taken control of Japan and managed to unify the country at last, bringing an end to the wars that had previously torn the country apart. However, when a series of natural disasters occur, it is no coincidence that the foreboding 'Omen Star' has appeared in the heavens. The demonic Genma return to the land and Hideyoshi seems to be playing some part.

As the game begins, we witness a blonde-haired samurai called Soki enter a town razed by Genma demons. There are colossal samurai robots in the distance, which he soon has to take apart. Capcom has been influenced by God of War it seems. But after that, the tone is lowered and you're soon traipsing around uninspiring castles and caverns.

- I need a hero! -
As I just mentioned, the new hero is a fellow by the name of Soki although he has several other names such as the Oni of the Ash, the Blue Oni, and his birth name Hideyasu Yuki. He is a deviation from the past two Onimusha protagonists: Samanosuke Akechi and Jubei Yagyu. The aforementioned were solemn and aloof figures, the epitome of samurai. Soki, however, comes closer to Dante from Capcom's other franchise Devil May Cry. I can understand Capcom wanting to be fresh with this new protagonist, but I could never really take to Soki. Although I didn't find him as obnoxious as I know some players did.

In fact, its presentation, the addition of stages instead of one flowing route, the new 'Tests of Valor', and the impudent new hero, all smells of Devil May Cry. The Onimusha series has been a success, so why contort its identity by revamping it with DMC-style presentation?

The game does draw however from Onimusha 2 in the sense that you have other supporting members who can take place in battle with you, although only one at any given time. You can issue orders to these characters via the D-Pad and swap them for another at the special save points. It's not a bad addition, but sometimes the AI of your ally is poor, with them often ending up a dead heap on the floor as you battle on.

- Stop! ...Filler time! -
Yes, unfortunately Onimusha: DoD is jam-packed with filler content. For example, in the previous Onimusha games there is a side quest called the Dark Realm, where one must battle through levels of Genma before being rewarded come completion. This follows into Onimusha: DoD alright, but now the Dark Realm is composed of 100 levels! This isn't helped either by respawning enemy patterns. Instead of becoming an enjoyable sidequest anticipating your reward, you just will for the nightmare to end as soon as possible. I have also yet to mention that's 100 levels for each of the five playable characters. Do the math.

Weaponry wise, there is an abundance of swords/rifles/spears etc to collect for your characters. In the previous games, you were given roughly three or four main elemental weapons which could be levelled up thrice. In Onimusha: DoD, the weapons have to reach level 10 now to be at their maximum strength. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if you didn't waste time investing your gained souls into them only to reach the next stage and discover a superior weapon.
Once again, it's Capcom applying filler time. They want you to spend time revisiting locations to gain souls to improve your weapons, only for them to be regarded useless not long after, because it prolongs the true length of the game. Bad Capcom, very bad Capcom.

- Rehashing and aesthetics -
This first part may just be a personal niggle of mine, but I was severely disappointed by the amount of rehashed weapons, particularly for Soki. There are many blades in this game that are just swords taken from various past Onimusha characters and given new names. So technically they aren't supposed to be the same historically, despite looking EXACTLY the same.

These range from swords used by Samanosuke, the demon Marcellus, and even a couple of Nobunaga's from Onimusha 3. For me personally, I like to think of this weapons as exclusive only to their respective owners. It felt like the designers couldn't be bothered to conceive original weapons, so they threw in a load of swords already designed. But then again, some have said to me that they enjoy being able to wield a variety of swords that villains such as Nobunaga used, so I guess it just depends on your perspective.

As far as character and monster design goes, it pales in comparison to its predecessors. This could be due to the absence of Keita Amemiya's involvement on the design team. Some Genma from Onimusha 3 return, but most of the new monster designs are nothing inspiring and some look plain dumb. For example, there is a level where there are actual zombies! An acquaintance of mine mentioned that it might be inspired by Resident Evil 4. Even something as simple as stereotypical zombies feel out of place in Onimusha. The character designs aren't anything to rave about either, come to mention it.

- Audio -
I don't care much for the soundtrack of this game, with only really two tracks appealing to me: the 'Blue Oni Theme' and the 'Red Samurai' theme. Most of the other music is nothing memorable IMO but nothing to make your ears bleed either.

Now for the notorious ENG voice acting. Having only played the PAL release, I am unable to play with the JP voices. Previous to purchasing this game, I heard the ENG voice acting was a real tragedy. However, the only voices that irritated me at times were naturally Akane's and Minokichi's. The others are tolerable but sometimes lines are poorly delivered or overacted. Soki's isn't too bad, and I quite liked Mitsunari's, but "Tenkai's" just didn't sound right. Particularly if you consider his true identity. (Not saying a word!)

- The gang -
The five playable characters: Soki, Ohatsu, Akane, Roberto and "Tenkai" are all mostly just tedious links to past Onimusha characters. Ohatsu is the daughter of Oyu (Onimusha 2), which makes her the late Nobunaga Oda's niece, and she was also trained in firearms by Magoichi Saiga (Onimusha 2). Akane Yagyu is the granddaughter of Jubei Yagyu (Onimusha 2). Combat wise, they are homage to characters styles from the previous games too, except Roberto whose fisticuffs style is a new technique to the Onimusha series.

And as for Tenkai, well he's an oh so mysterious monk who joins to help fight the Genma, and takes an interest in Soki's Oni potential. Unless you've never played any of the past Onimusha games, figuring out his true identity won't be too hard to discern. It's THAT obvious.

I liked the assortment of main antagonists, but the game's climax left me perplexed. The story is written poorly, which one would hope could perhaps help tolerate the unwanted innovations to the gameplay, but alas no. I never felt for these characters or their plights. It all seemed too forced and rushed.

Don't get me wrong, despite my constant slating, this game is by no means hideous or unplayable. It's just as an Onimusha fan, I have a great expectancy of what they will deliver. And for me, this doesn't feel like an Onimusha.

I read a review in a PS2 magazine that summed up Onimusha: DoD perfectly. It says that if Onimusha 3 is a blockbuster movie, then Onimusha: DoD is more like a television series. It's cheaper and low-key by comparison.

If Capcom do plan any future Onimusha titles for the next-gen consoles then I hope they learn their lesson from this game. They will need better writers and character designers and more financial investment. But sometimes you're best off just letting things end and ignoring the yen signs that appear in one another's eyes, guys.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06