Full transcript
0:00There are moments in Onimusha Wave the
0:02Sword where everything else fades away.
0:05The controller vanishes, the universe
0:06collapses, and the distance between you
0:08and Miyamoto Musashi is annihilated.
0:11There is nothing but move and
0:12countermove, sword clashing against
0:13sword, call and response. You will risk
0:15everything for another moment, another
0:17chance, and do it again and again. As
0:19long as Musashi stands, you can win.
0:21Onimusha challenged me to be perfect for
0:2310 seconds at a time, and I used it to
0:25challenge myself. I found a connection
0:27to its hero I did not expect and will
0:29carry with me. It is a remarkable video
0:32game.
0:39>> [groaning]
0:40>> Strange as it may seem, Onimusha is a
0:42work of very loose historical fiction.
0:45Miyamoto Musashi and his rival Sasaki
0:47Ganryu, both based on real samurai, are
0:49attacked and killed by monsters called
0:51Genma.
0:55>> [groaning]
0:56>> A strange man in hell then brings
0:58Musashi back [music] to life and forces
0:59him to wear an Oni gauntlet that can
1:01absorb the souls of fallen foes.
1:06One that already contains the spirit of
1:07a woman named Shizuka. Now imbued with
1:09the power to stand against the Genma,
1:11Shizuka and Musashi join forces with
1:13fellow Onimusha Takamura, who guards the
1:15Oni gate separating Earth and Hell, and
1:17his assistant Okuni, to protect the city
1:19from the corrupting malice that's
1:20twisting everything in sight.
1:24There's more, but you should discover
1:26Way of the Sword's story for yourself.
1:28It's more character-driven than
1:29plot-driven, and this cast sings. At the
1:32center is Musashi, as compelling and
1:34outright cool a character as you could
1:35ask for. He resents the gauntlet and the
1:37strength that has given him because he
1:38didn't earn it himself. He's not a hero
1:41by nature. He's crude, and his
1:42confidence can border on arrogance, but
1:44that's part of what makes him so
1:45interesting.
1:48He can give as good as he gets with both
1:49his mouth and his sword, and it's
1:51incredible to watch him talk mad smack
1:52to demons as he cuts them down in the
1:54coolest ways you've ever seen.
1:57Watching Musashi do his thing had me
1:58saying, "Oh my god, he's so cool." out
2:02loud what felt like every 5 minutes.
2:14But, it's not just Musashi's swagger
2:16that endears him to you. It's also the
2:18relationships that he forms. Watching
2:20him go from calling Shizuka gauntlet
2:22lady to forming a ride-or-die
2:24partnership is a joy, and I understood
2:26it because I cared about her, too. It
2:27doesn't hurt that Way of the Samurai has
2:29some of the best facial animations I've
2:30ever seen in a video game, elevated
2:32further by exceptional voice acting
2:34across the board, which effectively
2:35sells every second of how these
2:37characters feel.
2:41>> [music]
2:42>> Capcom has done a remarkable job of
2:44translating the mannerisms of legendary
2:46actor Toshiro Mifune, who serves as the
2:48model for Musashi's face, right down to
2:50the way he walks and his habit of
2:51scratching the back of his head. Using
2:53the likeness of a dead actor is always
2:55fraught, but Capcom navigates it with
2:57aplomb here. And Shizuka, man, if
3:00Musashi is Onimusha's heart, Shizuka is
3:02its clear-eyed, iron-willed soul. It
3:04would be easy for the spirit of woman
3:05trapped in the Oni gauntlet to be
3:06reduced to a supporting character, but
3:08she's never presented as anything less
3:10than Musashi's equal.
3:15He may be the one doing the fighting,
3:17but he can only do it because he's
3:18borrowing her strength.
3:24Onimusha isn't just an excellent story,
3:26it's also a damn fine action game.
3:29Kyoto serves as your base of operations,
3:31but it's also the city you're fighting
3:32to protect. You'll spend a much of your
3:34time here killing Genma, closing the
3:36rifts that spawn them, and destroying
3:37the malice-producing plants infesting
3:39the city, which opens up more of it for
3:41you to explore. [music] But, you're not
3:42stuck here. Musashi and Shizuka will
3:44also often visit other areas, temples,
3:46mountains, forests, and even the
3:47Imperial Palace. Onimusha is more
3:49wheel-and-spoke than open world, but
3:51there's lots to explore and discover,
3:53including plenty of different upgrade
3:54materials. Any trip to the wider world
3:56means fighting Genma, but fortunately,
3:59that's where Onimusha is at [music] its
4:00best. Initially, I actually found it too
4:02easy, so I gave myself a challenge. I
4:04would play without using any items. That
4:06meant everything from healing items to
4:08items that brought me back from the dead
4:09[music] to items that granted temporary
4:11buffs. I figured it wouldn't last. I
4:13came close to giving up many times, but
4:15I'd always think, I've made it this far.
4:17Just a few more tries and then I'll give
4:18up. But I never did, and eventually the
4:20credits rolled. I'm not telling you this
4:22to brag or show off for this review. I
4:24did it because I wanted to see if I
4:26could. I did it for myself, and I can't
4:28talk about Onimusha without mentioning
4:30it.
4:33Musashi is an incredibly skilled
4:34swordsman with light and heavy attacks
4:36that he can chain together in short
4:37combos. It's familiar stuff, but where
4:39Onimusha's combat system really shines
4:41is on defense. In addition to your
4:43standard block, Musashi can also dodge,
4:45parry, reflect, and do special Issen
4:47counterattacks if your timing is precise
4:49enough.
4:51Dodging is the most reliable, but it
4:52rarely puts you on offense afterward.
4:55Parries are riskier, but they both
4:56deplete a foe's stamina and open them up
4:58to further punishment. Meanwhile,
5:00deflects just take out a massive chunk
5:02of stamina. But the white whale, the one
5:04you'll spend Way of the Sword chasing,
5:05is the Issen.
5:07By pressing an attack button at just the
5:09right time, Musashi will sidestep so
5:11quickly that it looks like he disappears
5:13and then reappears somewhere else,
5:15triggering a devastating counterattack.
5:17Landing this feels incredible, and if
5:19you time another attack as your Issen
5:20hits regular Genma, you can chain them
5:22together to wipe out several small
5:24enemies at once. There are also
5:25different types of clashes that either
5:27require specific button presses or
5:29frantic mashing, depending on what
5:30triggers them. All of these systems
5:32combined mean you always have to pay
5:33attention, and anything feels like it
5:35can happen. It never gets old.
5:37What makes Onimusha's combat special is
5:39how each move has its place. Dodging is
5:42particularly good against unarmed
5:44attacks, and if you time one right,
5:45you'll fill a special meter. Once full,
5:47a perfectly timed dodge, called a reflex
5:49dodge, will trigger a reflex combo,
5:51which will often kill smaller Genma
5:53outright and carve a chunk from elite
5:55enemies.
5:58Parries do a little of everything, and
6:00if you nail one, you charge the blazing
6:01gauge, which sets your sword aflame and
6:03boosts the damage of your attacks.
6:05Deflects are perfect against armored
6:06enemies who are largely immune to your
6:08basic attacks because you can focus on
6:10depleting their stamina, staggering
6:11them, and landing an absurdly powerful
6:13break Eshin.
6:15The Eshin is your defensive holy grail,
6:17but the timing is strict, and it doesn't
6:20work on everything. Certain attacks
6:21can't be Eshined, but can be dodged,
6:23parried, or deflected, forcing you to
6:25pick a strategy on the fly. But, the
6:26biggest risk of the Eshin is that it
6:28leaves you wide open. Miss it, and
6:30you're eating whatever attack is coming
6:32your way. And since the telegraphed and
6:34most damaging attacks are the most
6:36reliable targets for Eshin attempts, the
6:38technique always carries huge risks.
6:41But, lock down your timing, and you can
6:42do things like Eshin the lightning lord.
6:44Yes, really.
6:55What's most impressive, though, is how
6:56Way of the Sword sells all of this. When
6:58you parry or deflect an attack, it
7:00doesn't look like you were just
7:01performing some generic animation. It
7:02looks like you actually parried that
7:05attack. It makes each fight feel like a
7:07unique clash between individuals,
7:09especially against bosses. Feedback is
7:11everything in an action game like this,
7:12and few feel as good moment-to-moment as
7:15Onimusha does. Combine all that with
7:17your regular attacks, the special Oni
7:19armaments that serve as high damage but
7:21meter dependent attacks, and the ability
7:23to break a foe's guard, plus a few other
7:25things I won't spoil, and Onimusha is
7:27constantly forcing you to both come up
7:29with a strong game plan and react
7:31quickly as the unexpected tests it.
7:37The only reliable way to get healing
7:38yellow souls out of your enemies is to
7:40use a certain Oni armament, shout out to
7:42the Two Celestials or pull off Break
7:44Easons. When you use a Break Eason on a
7:46regular foe, you kill them outright.
7:48Against bosses, however, you choose a
7:50weak point to attack. Striking the red
7:52weak points will deal incredible damage,
7:53while purple ones will deal about half
7:55as much damage, but reward you with
7:57additional souls.
8:01And here's where my own imposed
8:02limitations came into play most. By
8:04refusing to use healing items, I made it
8:06so I can only recover health by
8:08absorbing souls or at the spirit mirrors
8:10where you get to save your game between
8:11fights. That meant staggering the boss
8:13or spending my limited gauge to use the
8:15Two Celestials.
8:18Success was built in small moments,
8:20knowing when to parry, when to deflect,
8:21when to risk the Eason, and managing my
8:23reflex dodges so I could spend reflex
8:25combos in the right moments. I had to
8:27truly learn the fights to understand
8:29what was needed of me.
8:32I was often tempted to give up. Onimusha
8:35wasn't doing this to me, I was doing it
8:37to myself. But each time I died, I would
8:39take a deep breath, wait a second, and
8:41press retry.
8:44To succeed required every tool I had. I
8:47couldn't think beyond the next 10
8:48seconds, the next decision, the next
8:50moment. Most Break Easons were spent to
8:52gain souls and restore my health. Each
8:54time I was prolonging the fight. Each
8:56time I was betting on myself for the
8:57next 10 seconds. After a while, the
9:00distance between myself and Musashi
9:02would fall away as I acted purely on
9:04instinct. I gave myself to the next 10
9:06seconds. In those moments, Onimusha
9:07soared. There are fights here that I
9:09will remember for a very long time. They
9:11are excellent regardless of how you
9:13play, but by choosing to limit myself,
9:15the comebacks and the moments of
9:16perfection mattered even more.
9:22Like Musashi, I put my belief in myself
9:24and the strength of my technique. Just
9:26when I thought it was impossible, I
9:27would find a way. My journey neared his.
9:34Onimusha's bosses are its greatest
9:36strength, but its optional content is so
9:38strong that I did all of its side
9:39missions and everything else over the
9:41course of my 39-hour playthrough. My
9:43favorites were quests from Lady
9:44Murasaki, a writer whose spirit stayed
9:46in the world of the living to tell
9:48stories. She would send me to get to the
9:49bottom of anything that seemed
9:50interesting so she could write about it.
9:52Whether that was a child searching for a
9:53father consumed by revenge, a wife
9:55praying for her abusive husband's
9:57recovery, or a man who believed he had
9:58been blessed with immortality by the
10:00gods.
10:03Many of these side quests build on one
10:04another, telling a single narrative
10:06across several smaller stories that
10:08Murasaki then records. Other side quests
10:10don't always feature the same level of
10:12detail, often lacking voice acting, but
10:14using drawings to find hidden treasures
10:16scattered around Kyoto, returning to
10:18previous areas to shoot down flying
10:19Genma, or just helping average citizens
10:21is often funny and rewarding. Even
10:23hunting down and rescuing Murasaki's
10:25missing lion dogs, a fairly normal take
10:28on collectibles, was entertaining
10:29because the dogs themselves were
10:31incredibly cute.
10:34And each one also rewarded me with a
10:36retelling of a story from Japanese
10:38mythology. Some were funny, some were
10:40sad, and some were just plain weird, but
10:42I enjoyed reading them all. Equipable
10:44charms and stat upgrades provide an
10:46incentive to hunt down the optional
10:47upgrade items scattered around Kyoto and
10:49the other areas, which in turn made me
10:51want to explore the city, figure out
10:52workarounds to areas that had been
10:53blocked off, and open shortcuts once I
10:55did so I could get back there more
10:57easily. Each part of Onimusha touches
10:59every other part, and each piece is
11:01better for how it combines into a
11:03greater whole. That said, many bosses
11:05appear what feels like dozens of times,
11:07and certain main boss fights recur a few
11:09times as well. I was never bothered by
11:11these revisits, however. In fact, I
11:12often welcomed them.
11:16It was a chance to test my skills again,
11:18to gain greater mastery, to put the will
11:20in Musashi that were here now against
11:22those that had come before. Each time I
11:24learned something that would be handy
11:26when I go back for another run in New
11:27Game Plus or in Carnage, an additional
11:29difficulty you unlock after you complete
11:31the campaign. This time though, I think
11:33I'll let myself use items. Probably.
11:36>> [groaning]
11:40>> It's a testament to Onimusha: Warlords
11:41combat that I could beat it without
11:43using some of the systems designed to
11:45help you progress. Not because you don't
11:47need them, but because it leaves room
11:48for you to truly understand its action
11:50and overcome their absence through sheer
11:52determination. Even if I hadn't
11:54initially made things harder for myself,
11:56though, I still would have loved
11:57spending time with the charismatic
11:59denizens of this world, all of whom are
12:01as well acted as they are animated. I
12:03still would have thought that Musashi
12:04himself is one of the coolest, most
12:05interesting protagonists in any video
12:07game, and I would have loved going on
12:08this journey with him. I still would
12:09have savored the creative fights against
12:11dozens of impressive bosses. My journey
12:14reflected Musashi's, and Onimusha made
12:16that possible. The best part of life is
12:18the challenge. You have to learn to love
12:21the fight.
12:22For more in the world of action games,
12:23check out our reviews of Resident Evil,
12:25A Plague Tale: Innocence, or Mortal
12:27Shell, too. And for everything else,
12:29keep it here at IGN.