092
REVIEW
INFO
FORMATPS4
ETAOUT NOW
PUBCAPCOM
DEVCAPCOMONIMUSHA: WARLORDS
Still big Oda here after all these years
E
verything you know about history is
wrong, according to noughties’ Capcom.
In the Resident Evil dev’s hands demons
are everywhere, corrupting Japan’s
Sengoku-era clans and generally goofing
around with historical events.Playing as Samanosuke, a samurai of the Akechi
clan, you witness the death of Nobunaga Oda on
the battlefield and it’s ass-pats all round for the
victors. Or so you think. A year later Samanosuke
receives a letter from his cousin, Princess Yuki of
the Sait clan, who fears for her life.
On arriving at Inabayama Castle you’re
immediately sword-deep in zombie samurai and
demonic giants, and somewhere in the maze-
like corridors and catacombs of the castle are
Yuki and a resurrected Nobunaga. Remember, all
these characters are real historical figures; it’s like
finding out Henry VIII was really an ogre.
Odd timey-wimey setup aside, the Resident
Evil influence is all over Onimusha: Warlords.
Like Capcom’s classic horror this is a fixed-screen
adventure littered with puzzles, item collection,
and exploration. Unlike the zombie classic
there’s a greater emphasis on combat. A demonicgauntlet enables you to suck
orbs and souls from defeated
enemies to heal, power magical
attacks, and upgrade weapons.RAIZAN THE ROOF
You’ve three weapons to swap
between – a katana (Raizan),
a broadsword (Enryuu), and a
twin-bladed staff (Shippuu) –
and each has advantages and
disadvantages to master. Enryuu
is perfect for breaking shields
but slow against nimble ninja.
As well as being used to
upgrade weapons, souls are also
used to enhance embedded
orbs that open like-coloured
doors. The need to upgrade
orbs spurs you on to grind back
and forth through the castle’s
chambers, and doing so you’re
often rewarded with the chance
to collect new weapons, such
as the flintlock rifle that makes
one particularly buzzy boss
(a giant half-wasp, near-naked
sexy concubine) a breeze.
It’s moments like this,
particularly some of the
lingering camera shots, that
remind you this is a PS2 game.
That and the requisite jigglephysics of Samanosuke’s ninja
sidekick Kaede. Play switches
to her on occasion, and lacking
the breadth of abilities of the
samurai, you need to rethink
your approach to surving the
castle. She’s nimble, as befits
a ninja, but can’t suck healing
souls, so there’s a genuine
anxiety to Kaede’s cameos.
While this remaster is
mostly cosmetic, a new
widescreen mode reveals more
of the detailed pre-rendered
stages, and the addition of
analogue movement makes
combat more accessible. But
old idiosyncrasies remain –
you can swap weapons on i
but not mid-fight (you need to
go into the menus).
That said, Onimusha:
Warlords is still fun, and has
the added bonus of corrupting
a generation’s view of history.SENGO-COOL @IanDean74VERDICTYou can lock on to
enemies using u,
which also changes
stance and combos.Playing fast and loose with
historical fact, Onimusha:
Warlords remains a PlayStation
classic. Even some of its
questionable design choices
can’t dampen the fun. Ian Dean“A NEW WIDESCREEN MODE
REVEALS MORE OF THE
PRE-RENDERED STAGES.”