017The Big
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
is a great thing to have in a game.”
There’s definitely a lot newcomers to
the country’s history can learn.
“I think that there is a certain
consistency to the historical setting
which means that the only way to
bring something new to it is to
change your interpretation or
perspective on it, but doing so can
make it less universal and potentially
make you subject to negativity. It’s a
hard thing to incorporate into a
game’s design,” Hama-san says
when we ask about using historical
settings, saying it can be important.
“When you make a game based in a
historical setting you have to do a lot
of work to get the world right, and
that tends to lead to an increase in
the quality of the finished game.”
FUTUREPAST
“Speaking generally, I think that
modern technology allows us to
bring an 18-year-old game to
players today in a way which lets
them appreciate the quality of the
original game and see that it shines
through,” says Hama-san when we
get talking about the importance of
remasters and remakes. The issue
is partially one of preserving a
classic and continuing a legacy, but
it also shows the core design
principles behind some of these
older games still pack a lot of bite.
“There were several reasons,”
Hama-san tells us when we ask why
now was the time to bring back the
first Onimusha. “But one big one was
that the popularity of games in this
genre are on the rise, so it felt like a
good time to bring back one of the
masterpieces of the genre.” It’s true- Onimusha is a masterpiece, and of
late Capcom has been making its
portfolio stronger than ever.
Monster Hunter: World and Resident
Evil VII were some of the strongest
titles in their respective series, and
Devil May Cry V is bringing back
Capcom’s hack-and-slash legacy in a
big way. The first Onimusha came
out in 2001 in Japan, and we haven’t
had another mainline game since
- It’s time another katana stab
was taken at it.
Finally we have to ask Hama-san if
there might be more Onimusha on
the horizon if the remaster does
well. The remaster’s producer
teases: “If there is a lot of demand
from fans, the possibility isn’t zero!”
The Onimusha: Warlords remaster is
out now on the PlayStation Store.QThere’s no evidence tentacle samurai really existed,nor that they didn’t.QThe Resident Evil influence is laid bare
inthe panic-inducing camera angles.info patches
update your brain
BACK FROM THE DEAD
News of industry layoffs is always sad; game
devs work hard. When Telltale closed, its
game The Walking Dead: The Final Season
was two episodes into its five. We’re happy to
hear Skybound Entertainment stepped in to
get core Telltale staff to return and finish it,
and Episode 3 is now available.PASSING JUDGMENT
The previously-codenamed Project Judge has
been officially named Judgment, and given
an English-voiced story trailer. It’s from the
same dev as Yakuza, which has remained
undubbed since the first game. Join detective
Takayuki Yagami as he hunts an eye-stealing
serial killer targeting criminals.A DAUNTING TASK
Free-to-play Monster Hunter-alike Dauntless
is heading to PS4 in April 2019. With the world
torn apart, slayers come together to fight
large behemoths (should it have been called
Behemoth Slayer?). Loot from kills can be
used to upgrade your kit, and you can squad
up with other slayers to take down big beasts.ANCIENT VIRUS
The idea for Onimusha came
about back in 1997 when
Capcom kicked around the
idea for “Sengoku Biohazard”- a historical Resident Evil
set in a tricky ninja house.