For those few of you not in the know, the Onimusha series consists of three Resident Evil style games. But the fixed cameras and tank controls are where the similarities end because you’re in feudal Japan fighting demons and using the power of oni (a different type of demon) to do it. In Samurai’s Destiny, you take on the role of Jubei Yagyu, leader of the Yagyu clan famed for defeating the demons in days past. Things aren’t going well for the Yagyu though as you’ll soon find out, driving Jubei to seek revenge on Nobunaga, the demon leader.
Along for the ride are a number of odd characters. Magoichi the gunman and scholar, Ekei, the drunk, Kotaro the ninja, and Oyu, an odd woman of unknown origin all accompany you on your quest to stop the demons. They each have their private motivations which play out over the course of the game however, resulting in some surprisingly dramatic moments, especially with Ekei. Things are never what they seem in Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny and your friends are fair-weather ones at best. The plot is cheesy to be sure, but it’s not unbearable in any way and after a while, the stilted dialogue and awkward characters actually start to grow on you.
At this point it’s probably important to mention that Capcom chose to make almost no alterations to Samurai’s Destiny from the original PS2 game. There are some significant quality-of-life changes that make a big difference in gameplay but the core game is essentially unchanged, so if you’re expecting a full revamp of the story, let those dreams go now. However, the game has ditched tank controls in favor of analog sticks (thankfully), you can switch weapons on the fly, autosaves have been added, and for casual players, you can even start the game on easy (and you might want to).
In fact, we’re going to buck the standard here and talk about the changes to the game because the gameplay itself is well-documented. What you really want to know is how Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny looks, isn’t it? Well, it looks fantastic. The updated graphics noticeably clean up the game and while the visuals are much tidier, it seems natural rather than forced. In other words, there are no real jaggies (the occasional spot looks slightly odd in a random corner but that’s about it). Character models look amazing, backgrounds look more lust and realistic, even water effects are improved. Capcom has done an amazing job fully upgrading Onimusha 2 and their hard work really shows.
It’s honestly hard to explain how good the game actually looks. Going back to the original content on PS2 is painful in comparison and this upgrade is really going to allow players to either re-experience Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny or experience it for the first time. It’s quite fun to pick out details you would have missed the first time around and new players are going to be surprised by how detailed and complex the environments are. Onimusha 2’s backgrounds are lush and detailed and each area feels different and distinct. That feeling is reinforced by the newly updated visuals, creating even more distinct areas as you work your way through the game.
In addition to the gorgeous new graphics, there are a number of other changes that make Onimusha 2 even more accessible without changing the core of the game. Tank controls being replaced by analog is probably the biggest shift, allowing players to have a bit more freedom of movement in a game that’s particularly precise as you move up in difficulty. The Resident Evil style tank controls are infamous for contributing to the challenge and frustration of the series and Onimusha wasn’t any better. Removing this play barricade significantly affects the gameplay of Onimusha 2 and makes it a fair bit more palatable of a game for modern gamers.
Other changes also improve your experience and Capcom has clearly thought long and hard about this. Originally, you could not select Easy mode by default in Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. Instead, you’d have to die over and over again until the game allowed you to drop to easy mode. You can still do that of course, if things get too rough. Now, you’re able to start in Easy if you want a more sedate experience (not that it’s all that easy either). You can also move up to the “Hell” difficulty where a single hit is game over. No need for healing there, but it’s a heck of a lot more realistic! If stress is your thing, go for it!
Weapon usage is also updated. Previously, you’d have to pause the game to swap weapons, selecting your preferred armaments in the menu. Now, you can hold down L2 and Jubei can switch weapons with a tap of left or right on the d-pad. Left allows you to select your bow and choice of arrows. Right cycles through your hand-to-hand weapons, letting you stay in the action. It should be noted that this is a bit slower than one might like. There’s a momentary pause while Jubei prepares to swap weapons and if you’re doing so in the heat of combat, you can easily take a hit. Enemies don’t stop just because you’re unhappy with your sword after all. Naturally, you can still use the pause menu and avoid this but it does interrupt the flow of combat even if it’s more precise.
While the menus are essentially the same, Capcom has incorporated an autosave feature that lets you go back to the most recent save point in the game. Usually this is a screen transition point from area to area and is often at least near an actual save point, but it’s a handy feature that didn’t exist before. Naturally you can also save at the lanterns like the original release of the game, but if you’re trying to limit the number of saves you make, this is a wonderful bypass that doesn’t count against you. Autosaves can really save you as well, since if you save at just the wrong time, you can miss things in Onimusha 2. Being able to go back to an autosave is definitely helpful on occasion, especially when you take a few too many hits and save without thinking!
There are a couple of other options as well including the ability to swap aspect ratios (we stuck to 16:9 though) and the very welcome ability to entirely skip cinema sequences. Dying and having to replay long cinemas is particularly irritating and this is a welcome QoL change, that’s for sure! There’s also a huge gallery of additional content included with 100 new pieces of artwork to enjoy, enhanced resolution, and more. The soundtrack is also available here in a player with 43 songs to enjoy. The extras are definitely solid and expanding them is certainly welcome, though likely due to rights issues, the music video included with the PS2 extras is no longer present in this remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny.
Chances are you already kind of know what you’re getting into with the gameplay of Onimusha 2, but if not, let’s give a quick rundown. This is a feudal Japanese environment where you’re a preeminent swordsman of your clan. Combat mostly consists of single demons and groups of demons attacking you while you choose your weapons and take them out. Enemies respawn when you leave each area too, allowing you to farm experience as desired. You don’t have to farm of course, but it sure helps boost your strength and abilities and demons occasionally drop health too. Health items are few and far between and there’s no healing in the game aside from those and what drops from enemies.
You absorb the demon’s souls as you kill them, using them to add to your experience and boost your weapon and armor strength through the game. Weapons and armor each have three levels of upgrades possible but it takes a very long time to upgrade even when farming so be patient as you do. Enemies also drop magic and purple orbs that allow you to turn into an Oni, increasing your power temporarily. In the PS2 version of the game, this was automatic, often triggering at inopportune times, but now you can save your oni powers for when they’re the most useful, stronger enemies and bosses. To power up, absorb experience, and absorb health, you’ll need to absorb the floating energies around defeated enemies before they dissipate, often in the middle of combat. Red is experience, blue is magic, yellow is health, and purple charges your oni powers. What the enemies drop is randomized though, so you’ll have to pay attention!
If you’re unsure, always block, as Jubei has exceptionally good blocking skills and the vast majority of attacks can’t penetrate your blocks with the LB button. You can also target enemies with the RB button, allowing you to focus your attacks and you’ll definitely want to use both blocks and targeting liberally. Each weapon has special items you find that allow you to charge it for stronger attacks and complete specialized secret attacks as well. Some of these are found through the game, but others must be acquired through the gift system. Jubei can find and buy a wide variety of items and then give them as gifts to the four supporting characters of the game. Not only does this raise the affinity level between yourself and the other characters, but they give you a gift of some sort as long as they’re happy with what you offer. These gifts can range from weapons to medicine to other gifts that you then have to give to different people. You’ll occasionally get particularly powerful items as gifts or even items that boost your magic or life bars, so don’t ignore this mechanic!
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny was a fantastic game when it was released and it has become an even better game now with Capcom’s upgrades. Gorgeous modern visuals with more options for a wide variety of player accessibility and minor changes and tweaks to control and game options have made Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny an even better game than it was previously and one that’s well worth your time. It might not be as scary as Resident Evil but the story has a certain charm to it and it’s great to see a game preserved and not fundamentally changed as often happens these days. There’s no question that Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is worth your time and at only $30, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get your money’s worth out of an absolutely excellent remaster when it becomes available on March 23rd!
This preview is based on a digital copy of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny provided by the publisher. It was played on the Playstation 5 in 1080p and on the Playstation Portal and played well on both. Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is also available for Switch, Xbox, and PC on Steam.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.