Onimusha Tactics

"A truely awsome squad based stratagy rpg"

This is a game that plays a little like tactics ogre for the psx (or snes), but obviously is unique in its own way. All the other reviews I've seen so far on this site keep comparing it to FFTA... and that is a very wrong thing to do. Basically the 2 games have absolutely nothing in common except for the fact that they are both a team based strategy rpg game. That is all. Everything else about this game is unique to itself and not FFTA pretty much. That is not to say that FFTA is not a great game. It is just different.

GamePlay 8/10 : I really enjoy playing this game and the gameplay is pretty smooth. Not too hard to learn. Quite a bit of customization you can do with the items and equipment. The control is also very easy to learn (not a lot you can do with only 4 buttons)

Story 7/10 : I do not know for certain but I am pretty sure this game is a spin off from the onimusha storyline. (i did not like the onimusha games very much, so did not pay attention) But basically you play this young man named Onimaru and his sister who find out that they are some of the last remaining people from the Oni clan.. and Onimaru is given the Oni gauntlet to help fight against the forces of the Genma (which are basically demons). So far its a great story in my opinion.

Graphics/Sound 5/10 : This would be the one weak spot unfortunately. The graphics are not outstanding but certainly are not horrible either. They are pretty average. The same goes with sound. Not too much to say about the same... typical GBA beeps and minor music.

Play time/Replay 5/10 : Onimusha Tactics is said to offer about a 40 hour game length for your average gamer. I have not beaten it yet but I have gotten quite a lot of time in it so far just leveling my characters and equipment up to make sure I have good equipment. However I do not see any replayability to this game at all. You do get a choice of a lot of differant type of characters you can bring in.. but in all honesty, one archer is no differant than another archer except for one or 2 special attacks which arnt very unique. Playing through the game twice wont offer you anything new and exciting to do .

Final Recommendation 9/10 (not an average) : Personally I love this game a lot. It is a lot of fun to play, it is got some very unique features to it, and it is rather fun to play a turn based rpg version of a fast paced action game. However this game is not for everybody. Some people may think it is horrible or is a waste of time compared to FFTA. Well...I do not really give much attention to the kind of people that continue to base every game in a genre after one game. Rent this game if you are not sure, but if your like me and love these kind of games, then you are going to buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/03