Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

"As sharp as a samurai's sword!"

General

Onimusha 2, a direct sequel to the highly-regarded, platinum hit Onimusha 1, is a great action/adventure game set in medieval feudal japan.

Having played many action/adventure series, I must say that Onimusha 2 ranks as one of the best of its genre, if not the best.

Graphics

As it was done previously with Onimusha 1, Onimusha 2 utilizes pre-rendered backdrop. This is not a bad thing. In fact, I much prefer to see gorgeously pre-rendered settings than jaggy-ridden 3D real-time background that can be found in other poor games. Onimusha 2's pre-rendered settings are nearly perfect.

As for characters, their animations have really improved over the first one, and the level of details is incredible. Aside from Dead or Alive 3, which sports the most advanced graphics and polygonal models to date, I have to say the characters in Onimusha 2 look as good as those of Final Fantasy X!

And this is a good thing, because characters in Onimusha 2 are very unique and interesting. Gone is the handsome, prince-like hero Samanosuke, and enter Jubei, a much more rugged, masculine, uncultured warrior. While the beautiful kunoichi Kaeda is also no longer in the game, Capcom doesn't disappoint us in the ''babe'' department, by offering us a deliciously busty cutie swordswoman wearing thigh-highs in Ooyu:)

Gameplay

This is where Onimusha 2 reallys shines, and improves upon leaps from its original counterpart.

First, Onimusha 2 has much more a RPG feel to it, which I found very enjoyable. You need to talk to many people, search around towns, trading items, to collect rare treasures. There are even mini-side quests you can take to obtain valuable items that can help you out in the latter parts of the game.

Second, the story branches out in multiple directions, and much like the popular multi-ending scenario games common in Japan, you get to experience unique scenes depending on how you interact with other characters. Mind you, there are FOUR major characters to interact with, the beautiful Ooyu, a shrewd rifleman, a drunk monk, and a agile ninja-thief. They are all playable depending on how you interact.

Needless to say, to see all the possible scenarios, you MUST beat the game at least three or four times. This adds to the replay value, which is already tremendous as it is.

Finally, the action and the battle plays have improved significantly also. The awesome ISSEN is still there, allowing you to instantly kill any enemies if you can master the timing of your attack (like a true samurai!). But there are now also secret tech moves, which you can learn by obtaining secret move books. You can also CHARGE your weapons to make them more powerful by holding down R1 button, rather just upgrading them through collection souls.

In short, the battle system, while nearly identical to Onimusha 1, has much more depth and variety this time around.

Others

The sound is great, as most of these highly anticipated japanese games are.

The replay value is TREMENDOUS. There are at least three or four different mini-games that are unlocked after you beat the game each time, and to get a secret costume for the busty Ooyu, you need to finish the game 100%.

I have yet to find a action/adventure game that offers more replay value than this one.

The only negative aspect of this game, while not utterly important, is that there are very few CG-cut scenes.

As this game has a good story and atmosphere, I was hoping that it would contain many CG cut scenes like Final fantasy style. However, this game has less of those than even Onimusha 1. This is a pity, because no matter how good an action or gameplay is in a game, without a good story and engrossing presentation of the story by cut-scenes, a game could become a trash like Devil May Cry.

However, all in all, I believe Onimusha 2 ranks as a truly well-designed, well-thought out adventure game that deserves a space in your most valued game collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/02, Updated 04/02/02