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Capcoms best franchise - ONIMUSHA - An appreciation thread

Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Tiduz, join me!

Street Fighter is among the best. Resident Evil is amazing. Devil May Cry is ridiculously good. Monster Hunter is great. Mega Man is awesome. Lost Planet is awesome. Dead Rising is good. Dino Crisis was incredible.

But in the end, if I had to choose one franchise from Capcom, it would without a doubt be the incredible Onimusha.

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Onimusha is a trilogy but it didn't end after the third game since Capcom realized they could get more money from the franchise. SO they created Dawn of Dreams.

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Onimusha: Warlords was released in Europe July 6, 2001. It was first released on PS2 and afterwards ported to Xbox with the name Genma Onimusha. In the end, the inevitable PC-version got released.

It was originally supposed to be a PS1 title but since the PS2 was close to being released in stores, they started from scratch with the new hardware technology.

Magazines all over the world loved Onimusha: Warlords, the combination of a great fighting system and an unbelievably detailed world, both technically and artistically, made it a great game.

Onimusha: Warlords used pre-rendered backgrounds with few exceptions.

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Onimusha: Warlords story
It all starts on a huge field, rain is pouring down and you can notice how there's a war between two clans, the Saito and Oda-clans. The huge battle between the samurai starts and during this we see Samanosuke Akechi (Takeshi Kaneshiro):

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He's fighting against the Oda-clan. Minutes later, Nobunaga gets introduced (the greatest, most evil bad ass mother fucker in a video game - on par with Wesker):

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(picture from Dynasty Warriors) He realizes that he's going to loose the war, like the bad ass he is he laughs at the news when suddenly an arrow that comes from nowhere pierces his throat.

After the war, our hero gets a letter from princess Yuki. Samanosuke reads that people are disappearing from the castle and she suspects demons. She begs to be taken out of the castle before she also gets kidnapped. Before Samanosuke reaches the palace, she's already been taken. Not long after that, we can see an army of soldiers being led by Nobunaga (didn't he die?!) once more. He looks even more bad ass this time.

The greatest thing about Onimusha is probably its soundtrack. Just listen to this. Seriously, just do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjq6chsQSI

I mean, what the fuck? When listening to this shit, don't you feel like hooking up your PS2 and start wooping demon asses immediately?


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Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny was released October 4, 2002 in Europe.

Just like Warlords, it got a great reception. It's biggest flaw reviewers would come up with was that it was more of the same. Control wise, I agree. But the game had tons of new ideas and and gameplay moments that were new to the franchise.

The biggest one being the new role playing-elements that took a big role in the game. Our hero Jubei Yagyu can gain gold by slaying enemies and return to the town and buy different items. Some items can even be given to one of the four sub-characters (Ekei, Magoichi, Kotaro and Oyu). Depending on what they like and don't like, they'll give you a reward and build up reputation. By building a reputation with a character, they will eventually come and help you during hard times in battle. Events like these made the whole system amazing and really satisfying.

Samurai's Destiny uses pre-rendered backgrounds just like the original.

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Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny story

The year is 1571 and we are in Japan once again. Today, we're not playing the hot dude Takeshi Kaneshiro. Instead we're introduced to a new guy named Jubei Yagyu. The game starts of in his hometown, showing us how everyone's died and all the buildings are destroyed. He'll encounter one person who's alive and she'll explain how the Genma army suddenly appeared and started wooping people's asses. The leader of the army appears to be Nobunaga once again (!). The demons clearly see potential in him since they resurrected him another time.

I also declared Samurai's Destiny the winner of the best fucking intro in video game history. If this doesn't make you wanna go out there and buy this game, then nothing will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtZlL1dgVso&feature=player_embedded

Enjoy.


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Sexy footage of Jean Reno (including Onimusha 3: Demon Siege) is the last game in the trilogy and was released December 8, 2005 for the PS2 and later on ported to PC.

The game was immediately a success. The RPG-elements from Samurai's Destiny was gone, this game is all about new, cool and fast action. They also made Issen a lot easier to perform, making it even more bad ass.

So what's up with Jean Reno being in this game? Well, Capcom combined Jean Reno in Paris, with 1570 Samurai and they made it bloody, boiling and burning fucking awesome.

There was more gameplay variations and it was overall very fast compared to the other two games.

Onimusha 3: Demon Siege story

The year is 1582, Takeshi Kaneshiro is finally back! No more Yubei baby. There's a big samurai war going on in Japan (once again). Samanosuke manages to catch up with Nobunaga and destroys an odd looking machine that's holding up the Genma army. Destroying the machine made Samanosuke and all the demons teleport to Paris 2004. What the fuck? The demons starts attacking Paris and this is where we get introduced to Jacques Blanc (Jean Reno). While Samanosuke transfers to Paris, Jacques gets ported to Japan where the war was. Both heroes realizes that they need to get to their own time, but how? HOW??? Well... go buy the fucking game, that's how!


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I'll let Dawn of Dreams be like that, because I know how this thread will turn out if I say good things about it.
Played it over 500 total hours and nothing will stop me from saying it's the greatest Onimusha game ever.

Now... the point of this thread was, what exactly?

To tell you to go and buy the games right away. And if you've already got them, replay them. Remember how great they are. Enjoy.
 
Threads like this make me want to hunt down this series. I have yet to play any of them, despite being so very interested in everything I've seen. They seem to be everything Ive wanted in a video game for so long, but I have yet to try them.

Wonder which game would be a good starting point.

edit- didn't realize there were so few games, and that it started on the ps2. I really might pick this series up.
 
Which one should I dial up if I want a good follow-up? Some say ONIMUSHA 2 is a bit lackluster. I've got all of them sitting on the HDLoader.
 
Good to see some love for this series :) Love all 4 (yup, even DoD) although I'd say the second one is my favourite.

It'll be said a lot in this thread, but add me to the list of people who want to see a new Onimusha this gen, preferably HD but personally I settle with a great PSP/Wii game too.
 
This is game break my PS2 virgin. lol, it was the first game that i've played on the PS2, it was amazing!! the atmosphere was beautiful to damm right creepy, and the CG of this game is still gorgeous.
 
loved the First Three ( 3>1>2 ) and hated #4. i wish capcom would rerelaes These Games like GoW As hd Remakes with some tweaks. all three on One Bd Disc would Be Great. After GoW we will See if These Kind of stuff will Happen :)
 
I don't know if 1 and 2 were available in Europe. All I know is that I heard great things about 3, I bought it and fell in love with it. 4 was pretty much as good and certainly superior in a number of ways, even though I'd say 3 was more special somehow.
 
I really loved the first two episodes. The third was good but it was going a bit on the ridicolous side with the story and setting (a bad attempt to capture western gamers attention).
I've never bought Dawn of Dreams because it never inspired me, it seemed more like a spin off than a true game in the series.

I hope Capcom makes a fourth installament but I doubt they'd go back to the roots (Onimusha 1&2) which is what I'd like to see.
 
dragonflys545 said:
Awesome game. Loved the first 3, 4 not so much.
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Heh, thanks for editing that last part ;)
FootNinja said:
Wonder which game would be a good starting point.
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Start on Onimusha 1.
Teddman said:
Which one should I dial up if I want a good follow-up? Some say ONIMUSHA 2 is a bit lackluster. I've got all of them sitting on the HDLoader.
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Follow up? Did you play Oni 1? If not, do it. Then Oni 2.
JustAnotherOtaku said:
It'll be said a lot in this thread, but add me to the list of people who want to see a new Onimusha this gen, preferably HD but personally I settle with a great PSP/Wii game too.
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Yeah, I'd want a HD Onimusha more than anything this generation.
Philanthropist said:
I don't know if 1 and 2 were available in Europe. All I know is that I heard great things about 3, I bought it and fell in love with it. 4 was pretty much as good and certainly superior in a number of ways, even though I'd say 3 was more special somehow.
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Huh? I even said in the OP the exact date when they were released in Europe (I'm from Sweden).
Echoes said:
No.
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Mega Man is Capcoms worst million seller franchise so Robot-"No." to you too.
 
I hate that capcom is ignoring this franchise for this generation. The same goes for dino crisis franchise (yes dino crisis 3 sucked big time, so what, don't they deserve another chance?; dino crisis 2 was a masterpiece).

BTW does anyone have the music that plays in onimusha 1 at the main screen?
 
I enjoyed the first three Onimusha games. The mix between storytelling and action was really enjoyable. Would like to see some kind of reincarnation of the franchise for this gen.
 
OP I think i love you

My favourite series of all time,

Dawn of dreams was fuck awesome. think my first playthrough was about 40 hours!

I dont think anything will beat the greatest intro to a game ever in onimusha 3! *creams*
 
Had the series on my wishlist for the longest time, picked 1 & 2 up earlier in the year - only just played the first game for the first time in the last week and loved it. I did previously try 2 and didn't really like it that much, but I'm itching to play it having enjoyed the first game a whole bunch.

Still need to grab 3 & 4.
 
rockman zx said:
For some reason I never liked Oni3 but loved Dawn of Dreams. Oni2 final battle is horrible but the game is great.
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Might not have been the best final battle ever but holy momma, listen to the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3coOvRq_vkk&feature=PlayList&p=6C4671B1ED31D5B7&index=40

JESUS.

EDIT: And then, there is the song that plays during the battle against The Lord:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKAH7VD3xwQ&feature=PlayList&p=6C4671B1ED31D5B7&index=39

De4th Strike said:
OP I think i love you

My favourite series of all time,

Dawn of dreams was fuck awesome. think my first playthrough was about 40 hours!

I dont think anything will beat the greatest intro to a game ever in onimusha 3! *creams*
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We Oni-brothers should stick together! Me, you and Tiduz! (I'm wondering where Tiduz is, he hasn't entered this thread yet ;O)
 
Loooove Onimusha. They've never really perfected it, though - I'd love to see a game that combined the atmosphere of #2, the gameplay of #3, and the adventure/co-op system/puzzley dungeoniness/rewarding backtracking of #4. On the other hand, #2's gift system and weird guest system (as opposed to #4's more fleshed-out party system), #3's story/atmosphere for the most part, and #4's music and battle system and RPGification can go to hell. #1 is probably the most flawless in the series but that's only because it doesn't aim as high as the other ones and so there's much less to criticize.

And yeah, Seiken, I have to agree that an HD Onimusha is sooo necessary - they've got all the elements necessary to make the best game in the series if they only draw on the right aspects of the previous games so far. And honestly, the series responsible for the MT Framework engine (first premiered with Onimusha 3 if I'm not mistaken) absolutely deserves to have a go of it on the HD consoles.
 
What's the big deal about the fourth one? I loved it. But that was before I started reading message boards I guess...
 
pje122 said:
What's the big deal about the fourth one? I loved it. But that was before I started reading message boards I guess...
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GAF tends to dislike games that don't sell millions of copies.
 
Seiken said:
GAF tends to dislike games that don't sell millions of copies.
Click to expand...
For basic (sad and unhappy) Onimusha series history, each successive game has sold noticeably less than the previous one, which is why it's possible that we won't be getting another one in the series. :(

Shin Onimusha had a pretty noticeably slashed budget, though, which along with the added grind (and the poor decision of drastically increasing boss health in the North American version while changing little else) explains a lot of the animosity toward the game. I personally think that the combat is a major downgrade from 3 (no charge moves? no BOW OR GUN?!?!) but that's more of a matter of personal opinion. And this is coming from someone who completed the Dark Realm with all five characters (even though it takes like FOUR FRIGGIN HOURS APIECE, longer if you count the fact that you basically need to run partway through, leave, and come back in order to really do reasonably well)
 
I support the statement in the title. Always preferred it to RE and the others. Now where is my next gen Oni?

For the record, Onimusha 2 was my favorite.
 
DoD would be fine if the bosses didn't have their health bars inexplicably increased for the NA release.

Also isn't the Nobunaga pic in the OP from Samurai Warriors, not Onimusha?
 
Oni 3 was my first entry to the series and that opening movie blew me away. Just awesome. Then the french dude, more fuck awesome.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dawn of Dreams, I was hoping they'd continue the series afterwards. =(

Fuck Capcom for dropping the series. I'll never get that DMC/Oni crossover game I dreamt.
 
first one was decent, didn't have very good combat not very good design, but a good experience, I fucking loved the Onimusha 2, and the "freedom" they give you to choose different paths and the mission estructure gameplay, I don't know why the saga didn't followed the formula, Onimusha 3 was good, the enhancements on the combat system were good and actually, probably was the most fun to play, but it losed all the good things that made Onimusha 2 the best one.

Onimusha: Dawn of dreams it's a fucking joke of a game I didn't like it at all, I enjoyed more the smash bros clone than that game....
 
Onimusha 2 is actually one of the secret best PS2 titles, to use a Shaneism. It features an interconnected world, a town area with shops and NPCs, an ally system where you can befriend various characters with gifts so they can fight alongside you (or even give you control of them in certain sequences!), and branching paths of action and storyline. The prerendered graphics are some if the best ever in console gaming (REmake and RE Zero might be the only competitors).. And the soundtrack is excellent.

I said at the time.. It's like an alternate world evolution of the Zelda series. If, instead of going with a fully 3D world, they simply updated the early Zeldas "rooms" with artistic pre-rendered vigniettes... You'd have Onimusha 2.

Something was lost with Oni3's 3D graphics.. All of a sudden it was just a slow moving DMC clone. Pre-rendered games have their own unique appeal, and the first two Onimushas demonstrate this.

Someone above said Oni2 was lackluster? Objectively incorrect. It did some very unique things, and it's a deep title.
 
I thought 3 was the worst. 2 was my favorite of the traditional games by far. I really enjoyed Dawn of Dreams as well, but it definitely felt like a different game.
 
Pureauthor said:
It's still inaccurate!
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Find a good Nobunaga Onimusha screen for me then :)
 
Yes yes all over my face!
Onimusha 1 2 (especially 2) and Dawn of Dreams ARE the best samurai action demon ass-kicking games you'll ever play.

I think I spended 2 hours on the freaking last boss in Onimush 2 and was pretty much tearing the controller apart in frustration, still an awesome awesome game though
 
I love the Onimusha series. Played the first three games back in the day. The third was my favorite. Awesome game. One of the best things about Onimusha 3 was the intro movie. It's one of the best I've ever seen.

Also, I haven't played it but isn't there a game called Onimusha: Blade Warriors? (Onimusha: Buraiden in Japan)
 
Pureauthor said:
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Of course, now w get to the issue of why you chose to use the Samurai Warriors version in the first place...
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Because Nobunaga in those versions absolutely fucks up the Onimusha version of Nobunaga. Best designed IMO ;) I'll stick with it.
 
Loved the first three, but I hated the fact Onimusha 1 had only D-Pad control!

I can't "wait" for Onimusha 5 on the current gen systems <3 (I can hope!)
 
I thought I was the only one who loved Dawn of Dreams (I honestly didn't care much about the first three games).
Glad to be wrong.
 
I remember Capcom fucking us up with the Basara 3 announcement :( Giving us hopes that it was Oni 5 :(
 
I enjoyed the 1st 3, and the fact that they used Jean Reno and Takeshi Kaneshiro for the 3rd game. I don't think the 4th one was based on any actual actor, and the fact that he has a Caucasian appearance turns me off (Jean Reno is an exception because part of the game took place in Paris and that Jean Reno is awesome)
 
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