En general un juego bastante genial, toma los ángulos de cámara de su primo y los mezcla con la época de los samuráis de manera funcional y llamativa (para aquella época claro) y cuenta con unos puzzles bastante creativos en su aventura, lo que no me gusto fueron los jefes en general que se sienten como sacos de boxeo gigantes sin mucha gracia que aportar a la historia, hablando de esta, es bastante sencilla pero sin el punto de llegar al ser ridícula como la de RE; teniendo sus momentos de seriedad en la mayoría del tiempo (por la época básicamente).

Ah… el final es una mierda.

It's a pretty short game (I replayed it around a year ago) and I still like it. I realize now that it's very similar to resident evil games, but now it's samurais. More importantly, to me it has DNA in it that informs the souls games (i.e., you suck up souls from killing demons and use them to upgrade weapons/gear). It has almost an endless battle mode that gets you an awesome sword if you can beat it. It set me on a path of playing all the sequels (not including spin-offs) and loving them, I plan on replaying them in the near future.

This is a game I wanted to like so much more than I actually did. The sound design, visuals and especially the pre-rendered backgrounds are such a treat, though the music left a lot to be desired. I like the idea of a samurai-Resi hybrid action game. The thing is, I don't think the tank controls do this particular game any favors.

Combat is very simple in this game. You've got a handful of weapons with a basic combo and metered attack, plus a perfect parry that does loads of damage (great touch for a samurai game). You can move around survival horror style or lock onto an enemy, changing left and right into strafe buttons to allow for dodging incoming attacks or circling around threats. I'll be the first to admit my skill issue here, I fumbled with the controls quite a bit in my time with this game. My complaint isn't so much that "controls bad", it's that combat is so brutally simple that there isn't much to engage with, no hook to keep trying when the going gets tough.

Three weapons with one power move each makes for very repetitive encounters, and the progression of wandering and puzzle solving often lead me to walking around enemies just like Resident Evil. The game also has limited healing items you have to use the same XP that levels weapons to upgrade, and I unfortunately wasted all of it on the weapons before realizing I screwed my save to require near perfect gameplay for the entire end section. Perhaps I'll come back to this and find more enjoyment later, but for now I'll consider this playthrough good enough and move on to Onimusha 2 when I crave more B-tier Capcom action schlock.

at the time this game was basically just resident evil but set in edo period japan. the story is very linear and simple but it works well. the tank controls take some time to get used to but its super satisfying once you figure it out. gameplay wise, i liked the variety of different elements for swords cuz it adds lots of depth to the otherwise very formulaic hack and slash kill undead monsters gameplay. they managed to mash some pretty cheesy and campy horror elements with genuinely soulful action. regarding combat specifically, it was a lot more complex than meets the eye. the progression system was very satisfying with leveling up orbs and weapons.

this game will always hold a special place for me because it was essentially the first console game i ever played to completion. its super endearing, doesnt pull its punches, and in its time, it set a precedent for the new wave of great gaming that came with the ps2. its definitely a must play.

I was offered a PS2. I went into a game shop. I never heard of Onimusha before. It cost me 2€.

When I launched it, I discovered it was made by Capcom. I was really happy to discover so. When I finished it, I read that Onimusha is the 7th most profitable serie of Capcom. I now know why.

Onimusha comes with a great technology. Capcom decided to create an animation team dedicated to CGI cutscenes (which are great). Thus, CGI would only shine if it would show something interessting. Someone sugested a medieval theme. They went for it.

Now, they had a theme, a clear technological goal... how about making a game ?
In 2001, what does Capcom knows to do ? Survival horror. Let's go on this basis. Unfortunately, Capcom's survivals rely on multiple subleties, one of them being ammo managment. Erf, katana do not need ammunitions. Well, let's put a mana system and reorient the game towards combat action. Let's add a light RPG system and everything will work well. They were right. It works well.


Onimusha is situated between old-fashionned-capcom survival horror games and (for its time) new fashionned beat'em all (see DMC). The adventure is situated in really tiny and kind of oppressing spaces, which can lead to some stress inherent to survival horrors. Thus, most of the time, combats shine. This is due to the variety of opponents you fights and the pseudo-rigidness of your character. Should you either slash enough to make 3 enemies temporaly fall down, which would give you the time to end them on the ground or deal with their comrades, either try to focus the most powerful ones with your magic spells, either run through them taking the risk to be attacked, either take your distances and shoot'em with your bow ? It's up to you, and it's wonderful gameplay-wise. Add on top of this interessting and memorable bosses and you have an intense game experience, set up in a non-commonly seen layout, with imbricated systems that lead to multiples genre and game experiences in a unique software.

A Nostalgia Review:
I hadn’t heard of Onimusha: Warlords before seeing on my friend’s TV, paused midbattle, a samurai slashing into a giant, axe-wielding demon.

My immediate excitement must have been plain on my face. “It’s called Onimusha, and I suck at it,” he said. “If you want, you can try it out. But start a new game.”

What followed was the gaming equivalent of a schlocky horror movie marathon as we played through all of Onimusha that night. We gleefully sliced our way through the weird-gross demons filling the game and rolled our eyes through the terrible English voice acting. My clearest memory is of finally beating the game’s optional gauntlet battle, the Dark Realm, and getting yelled at by his mom for waking her up with our cheers.

Looking back, it’s crazy Onimusha: Warlords wasn’t remastered before 2019 and that games-media personalities don’t wax poetic about the franchise, given how popular the Souls-like genre is.

Over 20 years ago, Onimusha was implementing many of the mechanics that now characterize one of the most popular gaming genres. In addition, many of the other elements of Onimusha, like it’s blend of action and horror aesthetics and the inclusion of leveling systems in an action game, went on to become lengthy or permanent trends in gaming. If you’re a fan of action, Souls-like or horror games or just enjoy seeing how the artform of games has evolved, you owe it to yourself to experience Onimusha.

What I loved about Onimusha: Warlords
• The mashup of (campy) horror and fast-paced action, all set in a feudal-Japan era samurai drama, was so different than anything I played before, and reminded me of the hyper-violent, horror anime I was into like Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D.
• The monster designs! Every demon looks like it stepped out of a B horror movie and elicited the perfect mix of delight and fear in finding what was lurking around the next corner.
• Combat mechanics were more complex than most action games of the time and, depending on timing and skill, allowed you to parry, counter, and one-shot enemies in a way that encouraged me to not mash buttons and watch for openings.
• To heal, you need to defeat demons and absorb their souls — compelling you to play aggressively against powerful enemies (much like Bloodborne’s rally mechanic). It was a thrill to launch into groups of demons and rely on my skill for healing.
• This is the earliest action game I remember playing that included upgrading your weapons. Doing so made me feel a sense of progression I rarely get from this mechanic now that it’s become so common.
• Upgrading your weapons made their elemental attacks more powerful — rewarding you with explosions of lightening, gouts of flame and devastating whirlwinds that, for the time, looked amazing.

Why you might not want to bother tracking down Onimusha: Warlords
• There is a good quality remaster of Onimusha on modern consoles. I suggest picking that up rather than trying to hunt down a PS2 and an original copy of Onimusha.
• Onimusha uses tank controls which, understandably, is enough to ruin a game for most folks. (Note: The remaster still uses tank controls, but they’re now mapped to the analog stick.)
• While a selling point to me, the weird-grossness of the game may be a turnoff for folks that are extremely squeamish.

Resident Evil with swords was how it was conceived, and how it plays -- and it shockingly feels awesome. It's slower and methodical, making you think sometimes before you input an attack.

The series just became Devil May Cry after this but the first Onimusha is a solid game that doesn't outstay it's welcome and has aged quite well. Only thing about this game that will send people into a rage are the fixed camera angles, which was the style at the time.

It'd be cool if 2&3 were ported to modern consoles like the first one was.