"One of the best action/adventure games of the year."

Introduction: My experience with the Onimusha Trilogy is with the original, and i loved it. In 2001, Onimusha: Warlords was Capcom's First Shot at a Survival Horror game on the PS2. The game followed pretty much all of the play mechanics (Pre-rendered Backgrounds, puzzles, dank and dark environments and surprising moments) as the acclaimed Resident Evil series. Though it shared similarities, it was fun and a very original game. In 2002, with the release of Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, it shared mostly all of its gameplay elements from with its precursor. Except, that it was far more interactive, and a somewhat different storyline. In the Year 2003, Onimusha 3 was announced. Capcom stated that the environment would be in the 3D format and the Controls will be redone to fit them. Also, they said this would be the final game in the Series. Capcom had even enlisted the help of high profile actors and directors to help in the development of Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. Takeshi Kaneshiro (Samanosuke Akechi) has done motion capture for Onimusha: Warlords and has been in movies such as “The Returner. Jean Reno (Leon/The Professional, Mission: Impossible, Ronin) does the motion capture and French voice over for the first time for his character Jacques Blanc. Also martial arts star Donnie Yen, did the fight choreography for the cut scenes. Now, in 2004, the game has been released and let me just say that it was worth the wait. If you feel reluctant about purchasing/renting this because you have not played the second or the first, don't! The sequel (Samurai's Destiny) did not really move the story forward that much. If you have not played the original, then you might become a little lost about the characters, paraphernalia, and story. However, you still would be entertained none of the less.
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Story: In Onimusha: Warlords, Samanosuke Akechi (the main character) defeated the demon king Fortinbras, but Oda Nobunaga (the villain) is still left to roam the earth. Soon after this, he mysteriously disappears. Demon Siege begins in present day Paris, France and the player introduced to Jacques Blanc (the second main character). He receives a call distress from his friend and rides off on his motorcycle and what follows is a cut-scene in which the Genma (Demon/Monster) begin their attack on the city. In the year 1582, Samanosuke returns after many years to help his uncle (Mitsuhide Akechi) invade The Honnou-ji Temple (Nobunaga's current location). After breaching Nobunaga's forces the main character finally comes face to face with the villain. Samanosuke is suddenly bombarded with a strange light and disappears. The game then switches back over to present day Paris. The Military tries to protect its civilians, but to no avail. We then witness Philippe (Jacques's friend) lead his team to decimate the Genma, but ends up getting decimated themselves. With Philippe left alone, Jacques arrives and kills most of the Genma. The game switches back over to Samanosuke, who appears in a Paris alley. Samanosuke then helps Jacques, and then Jacques himself is transported to 1582 Japan. He then realizes that he must find a way back to his own time, while Samanosuke must find a way to eliminate the Genma from Paris and return to his own time to defeat Nobunaga. If you think that i went a little overboard in explaining the story, then prepared to be surprised. These events only happen in the first 20 minutes of the game and what follows is quite possibly the most twists and turns i have ever seen in game, so far. This story will keep you enthralled until the very end.
Story:10/10
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Gameplay: The Gameplay in Onimusha 3 has been completely re-done to fit in its 3D environment. The game now allows use of the analog, which makes combat faster and more accurate. If for any reason you would feel more comfortable with the original Resident Evil control scheme, you can use that scheme via the D-Pad. Both characters (Samanosuke and Jacques) play very differently from each other. Samanosuke fights close-quarters with his swords and axes, while Jacques fights long range with his whips, chained sword, and extending lance. My only gripe about the gameplay is in the targeting system. Sometimes the auto-targeting moves to an enemy that you don't want to necessarily attack at the moment. In most cases the enemies happen to be off screen or on the other side of the room. This can be especially irritating if your surrounded enemies and you happen to target an airborne enemy. Fortunately, this does not happen too often. Sometimes the game takes a break from the action to focus on puzzle solving. For example; to open some chests, you have to solve a tile-sliding event (moving tiles to make one connecting line to both sides of the screen), another one is where you have to find the right order of numbers to equal a certain number (not as easy as it sounds). Overall the gameplay, aside from the somewhat non-co-operating targeting system, is almost flawless.
Gameplay:9/10
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Graphics/Sound: Considering the age of the PS2 (almost 4 years), the graphics of this game are excellent (HDTV owners will be very happy). Upon watching the Game Intro, you might even question if this is really running on PS2 hardware. Character designs are both unique and somewhat realistic. From the weapon, character, and level design, you will most likely be impressed. The voice acting in the game may turn some off though. Since there is no way change it to another language, you'll have to deal with it. My only real gripes are about the voice acting, more specifically for Jacques' English voice. Though the English VA isn't bad, Jean Reno, who is fluent in Japanese, French, and English, would have been a better choice in my opinion. I would assume that Capcom got the other VA to save money. Another fault I noticed was that the voice volume is a little low in some scenes. The games music is also quite exceptional. Especially during the game intro and the Paris attack sequence. The sound effects made during combat are great as well. You'll immediately recognize the sound of metal hitting metal, crumbling rock, cries made during attacks, and the swishing noise of the weapons made moving through the air. Overall, the graphics and sound are incredible, while the voice acting can be bothersome at times.
Graphics:10/10
Sound:8/10
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Replay Value: After completing the game, there is a lot of reason to replay it. Samanosuke has a total of 3 costumes, while Jacques has 2. There is a hidden adventure with one of the games characters, mini-games, harder difficulties, hidden weapons, and a hidden ending. Or perhaps, you can simply replay the game because of the great story and gameplay.
Replay:8/10
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Overall: With the excellent story, phenomenal graphics, memorable music, intense gameplay, replay value, and high profile actors and directors (Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jean Reno, And Donnie Yen), this game is easily worth the 49.99 purchase fee or 5.99 rental fee. My only gripes are the auto-targeting and voice acting, but these do not bring down the game at all. This game is quite possibly one of the best action/adventure games of this year.
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Overall:9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/04