Onimusha Blade Warriors

"PS2 finally get it's own SSBM! Yay!"

Alright, today, Onimusha: Blade Warriors will be reviewed by me. This game controls and plays just like any other wacky fighting game, but more strategically. Ok, let's get to the bottom of this...

Game play:
Game play is solid. It's great to use the environment to your advantage. For example, in one stage, you can hack away at a random board and it will fall off the building, possibly landing on an unfortunate opposition. Plus, the way the story mode goes scares me. I really don't like it. Usually the missions are "Destroy 10 people!" or "Eat 5 souls in 3 minutes!". And then after a few of those you fight a story character. Usually better than anything is what I always say.

9/10 They should really improve the Story mode badly.

Controls:
Controls are a little sloppy but okay. I see Capcom's point in making them. But for some reason whatsoever I can't get use to them. Most of a character's attack requires no skill at all. Just press triangle and square repeatedly and your character does a killer move. Also, if you were to go to a different part of the arena, you'd have to press up or down twice and your character jumps to that part of the stage.

5/10 The controls are not good but not bad. I see why Capcom made it like that.

Graphics:
One word: Great. Sometimes when you hadoken someone or shoryuken anybody, there's this energetic thing charging in your character's arm. I think it's kinda awesome how it' s like that. Also, if your character clings swords with another, you'd actually see sparks fly.

9/10 Pretty solid. That's some of the best I've seen in a PS2 fighting game.

Sound:
I've gotta hand it to you. Some of the voice acting come in really late. Such as when you win a battle, it takes like 10 seconds for your character to say his/her victory speech. And during that 10 second period, the screen says "Battle Over" and your character just stands there. Well besides that, I like the sounds the swords/weapons make. It's almost like as if you clanged a sword!

7/10 Here's some advice: Improve the voices!

Replayability:
If your a party animal, expect to pop this game in even after 2 years after it's release. If not, well... you'll probably sell it to Game stop/some other game place later.

Rent or buy?:
Depends if you're a die hard Onimusha fanatic, go buy this game immediately so that you can add it to your collection of Onimusha things and games. If not, you had better rent it first. Or else you'll just may regret it.

Conclusion:
This game ends the drought of no party fighting games for PS2. As I might as well say, this is the PS2 version of Super Smash Bros. Melee. It may not be the best there is to offer, but it's still a worthy addition to your library.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/15/04