Onimusha Blade Warriors

"Ultimate Party Game ^_^"

OK, since the first Onimusha game was released, I was instantly hooked. I loved the blend of Japanese history, architecture and of course, the way of the samurai. With the amazing weaponry and realistic animations and facial expressions, I regarded Onimusha as a masterpiece.

When the second game came out, I was quite sad to hear Samanosuke was nowhere to be found, but that feeling quickly was decimated, and I enjoyed the second game thoroughly. This sparked a question in my head, who would win in a fight, Jubei or Samanosuke? Well, Onimusha Blade Warriors is set to answer questions just like these and many more.

Visuals

Visually, Capcom have performed a good job at keeping everything running at a steady rate while having many fast paced battles. Environments are amazingly done, and also detailed very well. The animations and character models are superb and really compliment the in game action. However, I find that when playing the game and cutscenes, the mouths don't move as much as they should which is a minor setback. Biggest con about the graphics? They can easily slow down the framerate, if there is too much going on in battle, which is a major turn off for me, as it happens in the 60Hz version too (which is in the PAL version ^_^)

Sound
The sound in this game is very accurate, as when metal hits stone, it makes the appropriate sound etc. However, whenever a character kicks an enemy the wrong sounds can be made, such as steel hitting flesh, instead of a kick hitting a person. Once again, a minor con, but can be worked around and easily ignored. The music is just right for the battles, and really does add to the atmosphere. The voices of the characters, however, can be improved, as Capcom have obviously used other actors for the voices in game, and this leads to irrecognizable voices, and really bad accents.

Gameplay
The best part of Blade Warriors, without a doubt. The game operates in a battle arena, similar to Super Smash Bros and Power Stone. Each level is based on the superb locales found in the Onimusha games, and also includes multi level arenas, which can be changed with a double tap of the desired directional button. This can allow players to get vantage points against other enemies. When enemies are hit, they will drop the trademark of Onimusha, souls. These can be absorbed through the O button, and will recover health, drain health, increase speed, decrease speed, and other things. Also new to the series, is the way magic attacks are used. Besides souls bing dropped, Orbs can also be found. These magical orbs are based on the landmark elements in the game, Wind, Flame and Thunder. When picked up, the player can execute one magical attack on a player, and use that orb up. You'll find that originality in attacks is lacklustre, and this is probably the biggest let down.
Items are also evident, and are generated randomly, just like Super Smash Bros. Items range from the traditional Kunai dagger, as used by Kaede in the first game, to the very out of place Laser Beam. The most coolest items are without a doubt, the magic disks, which, when thrown, will summon an elemental attack against the enemies. All in all, Gameplay is the best feature in the game. The single player mode is short, and has no story, but it is a very good addition to the series, where players can level up their characters as need be, similiar to an RPG. Levelling up characters can increase power, as well as unlock new characters.

Secrets
Onimusha Blade Warriors is full of secrets, which is the main reason why I love it so much. There are heaps of weapons which can be found through various methods, as well as over 10 secret characters which can be unlocked, including a few surprise from Keiji Inafune. If you pass the game with Samanosuke, you'll find out exactly what I mean ^_^.

Overall
Onimusha Blade Warriors is an extremely fun, challenging and interesting party game, which can add spice to anyones party. I am not too sure if it is going extremely well here, but I think it was sorta left behind, as the release between itself and Onimusha 3: Demon Siege was so little, and everyone picked up DS before BW. I recommend buying this one, as it's gonna keep you entertained and battling for hours.

Visuals 7 (Very Fluid Movements, but let down by framerate slowdown)
Sound 5 (Voices aren't the same :()
Gameplay 10 (Best thing about the game. Multiplayer Fun!)
Overall 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/04