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My favorite PS2 game so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: July 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Wow. What is there to say about this game without resulting in sweeping praise? This game has great graphics, a wonderful storyline, and great replay value too.

Take on the role of Samonosuke and his Ninja friend Kaede, who have set ot to retrieve Princess Yuki from the Demons who have overtaken the province.

Samonosuke has been given powers by the subverted Ogre Clan, in the form of a Gauntlet that grants him the use of magic orbs and the ability to steal the souls of fallen demons, using their power to enhance his own, thus using it against them.

Cool fragments of history are interspered into a wonderful storyline. The FMV sequences are great, and the graphics in the actual game are almost of the same level.

I was a bit weary at first; not being a big fan of the controls on the Resident Evil series, I thought the comparisons would be a major turn off. But the problems I have with the controls are minor compared to the plusses of this game.

Combining hack and slach with adventure with strategy, and minor elements of a RPG, this game is hard to compare to other games. It's an experience in and of itself.

This game had me going right up until the end, and I'm on my third replay. Onimusha is clearly one of the best games on the PS2, and with a sequel on it's way, it promises to be one of the best series to boot.

Rent, don't Buy...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 19
Date: May 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Onimusha is very good, but let me say this: I saw everything this game has to offer in 1 five day rental. I actually played through it TWICE. I had fun, was blown away by the graphics, but after I returned the game I never thought of it again.

Onimusha can be compared to Resident Evil because it basically that same game only set in medival Japan. Anyone who has played the RE series will certainly feel some deja vu. You play a samuri warrior who must rescue a princess from a castle over run by zombies. The graphics are beautiful but are still the same static shots. However, the player models and little touches of smoke and such really make everything blend in together and seem more alive. Combat is simple yet strategic and very fun, although it gets old after the second run thru. Still, I enjoyed myself better than shooting zombies. There are a few puzzles in the game, but nothing too hard. The story, though, is very very simple, and a bit of a letdown. You can tell they cut parts of the game to release it on time.

I consider Onimusha a part of the Resident Evil series because it is SO similiar to those games. Definitely rent it if you own a PS2, but I think you money is better saved for RE:Code Veronica...

I sure am glad this game's got an "easy" mode.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'm not big on battle strategy unless I've got time to think--in a game like this one, I charge the enemy and pound buttons until the enemy is pulp.

Or I am. Which happens a lot.

In this game, when you're smashed to dust somewhere around 5 times, the game hands you a free pass: the option to play in "easy" mode.

Don't get me wrong--I still die on occasion, but without this mode, the game would have been unsurmountable to a player of my skill (and I use the term loosely). As it is, I've made it to the final boss (though haven't beaten him yet) and enjoyed the experience all around.

2 minor complaints: the use of the D-Pad only for character motion and the occasional bad camera angle.

In the case of the D-pad, I don't mind not being able to use the analog stick, but the choice of how the D-pad functions is a little weird--the left/right arrows turn you, the up arrow sprints you forward, and the down arrow jumps you back. I seem to spend a lot of time tapping the left and right to line up where I want to go before I go there...this is especially bad when you're in the middle of a boss fight.

The camera angles are generally quite good, but often you'll find yourself fighting a demon who is out of view, and you have no way to bring him into view except to try to move somewhere that there's a more favorable camera angle. My personal solution is to hack-and-slash toward the enemy because a) you can kill him even if he's not on camera and b) you'll usually slash your way to a better camera angle. Once or twice, though, the camera angle set me up to take damage I could easily have avoided, and since Kaede can't heal except with the games rather scarce herbs and medicines (I've never seen a game as stingy with healing items), having her take damage is a pretty expensive proposition.

But the game is pretty, sounds good, is anywhere from reasonably challenging to "what? Are you crazy?" depending on your skill level, and has a pretty decent story and system of combat/magic.

If you like hard-driving combat against some pretty tough enemies and don't mind that the puzzles aren't especially tricky, this is a solid offering that you should enjoy. Worth your time, even if it is a little on the short side.

More thought could have gone into it.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: March 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a good game, and graphiclly it is pretty amazing. The hero looks too western to be a samurai though. Yes it is a resident evil clone. And for that it is a little sad. Capcom are showing that they have the talent to do excellent games. But they are having a tendency to do the same style of survival horror. The graphics are great, but the characters are weak overall. Just that little bit two dimentional. But hopefully that will improve with an Onimusha II. I don't like the distances between some save points and I don't like the way you can't skip movies. There are 3 trap/puzzel rooms in a row in one area and you have to view the movie each time. The monsters go from being very cool, to just average and that is a bit of a pity. I would have liked to have seen more ninja based villans. The samurai villains are easy but cool. I would have liked to have been able to play the girl ninja. She for most of the game takes a different route and that would have added alot to the lasting appeal. The extra costumes are cool, although I was told there is a panda bear costume or something similar. Capcom for god's sake why? Give us another interesting costume rather than something just ridiculas. I bought the game I am happy I bought it. It is worth buying and the PS2 has already had some nice Japanese samurai games. They are rapidly becoming my favourite type of game. I hope to see more of these cinematic style games.

ONIMUSHA RULES!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is perfect! I saw the ads for it on TV and decided to buy it without renting first. I very rarely do that, but this time it was worth every penny of it and then some. The graphics are amazing in this game, the gameplay is great, and the story's pretty good too. It seems like the basic "Save the princess" game, but there are other characters and stuff, so it's really good. Playing the game is mad fun. I like this better than the Resident Evil games, because you don't have to worry about ammo. In RE, you have to duck around enemies without killing them to save ammo, but here you can kill anything that moves. You should, too, because you can collect their souls and use them to level up your items. That is a great addition to the game, and I find it very satisfying to save up enough souls to pump up the weapons to the max and then hack through more demons to get more souls. Although there's only 3 main weapons, they're varied enough to make them enough, and each has its own magic spell. The boss fights are each different and fun. On my memory card I have about 5 or 6 different save files, one before each boss, so I can fight each one whenever I want. My favorite boss is that Wasp-Lady, she takes awhile but it's fun. The CG movies in this game are simply astonishing. The intro movie (and it does seem more like a movie than an intro) is great, and the scatterings of CGs throughout the rest of the game are mad good too. I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm looking forward to the movie at the end, I know it's gonna be good. A little tip: at the main menu when you first turn it on, let it sit for a minute or so to see an ad for the game. It has CG clips and gameplay clips, and it's mad cool. I recommend this game to anyone and everyone. Rent it if you want, but you should just buy it, you won't regret it.

Me not understand

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 16
Date: March 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

what are all these odd men doing dressed up like zombies? i not know. this game taste like lunch food and why talk japanese?no inglish! me no understandy it confusing so i just smash. me like very much. it fun like me dog wisky. it funny to see people be eat by peeps. i like sloopy joes. make me angry so krunk smash!

Onimusha

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: March 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

PS2's first survival horror game was put out by Capcom, maker of the Resident Evil series. So, not surpisingly, this game is very much like the Resident Evil games, but with some good and bad changes. The controls are better, particularly during battle. Instead of being limited to rotating back and forth while attacking, the characters can jump back quickly and dodge from side to side. Also, you can and must learn to block enemy attacks, which is not possible against the Resident Evil zombies. This makes the battles more fun and interesting. The problem is that the stonger enemies are very slow and fairly easy to beat once you've mastered the controls. There's also not a lot of required backtracking for items, which can get very annoying in the Resident Evil games. On the other hand, it makes this game a bit too straightforward and easy in some ways. The number of items needed is not very high, and puzzles are less frequent and very easy, with the exception of two that are little more than guessing games. Finally, don't expect the length of the typical Resident Evil game. This is a pretty short game. The story and dialogue don't have much to offer either. The game is great graphically and a lot of fun to play. Camera angles are much improved and the game flows very well. Good first effort, with hopes for an improved sequel (a trailer is available after the game is completed). A must have for any survival horror fan.

A reason to buy a PS2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: May 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Wow this game looks wonderful. Not only that, but the play control is superb. The graphics flow eloquently. And the story is interesting.

I don't own a PS2, but my friend has one. After renting this game I immediately went out and purchased it. I was almost compelled to buy a PS2 as well. The games atmosphere follows that of the times of ninja warriors and such. Upon watching the opening movies, which was well over 5 minutes long. I figured this game to be your typical ninja warrior saves the princess from the evil ninja clan. I was shocked, although I shoud've seen it coming, to fing out it has a more resident evil-esque plot to it. With beasts and undead samurai warriors I was immediately engulfed in a hack and slash puzzle mystery. Of course the company that brought us resident evil also made this game, Capcom. And what a game it is. I compared the graphics and play control to Shenmue and quickly noticed a vast improvement. Not only do the charecters move with speed and grace, but the graphics maintain constant 'smoothness.' The setting is 'mediaeval' japan, you play a lone warrior who is bound to no clans in a fight to save a princess from the evil demons who want to use her blood to conquer the world. You also gain assistance from a ninja girl in your quest to hack and slash your way to the end.

If there was ever a better reason to purchase a PS2 or a awesome game, then Onimusha: Warlords is it. I can't stress how well this games play control is, but the hack and slash tactics seem similar to a Double Dragon game, while following a Resident Evil style plot. The only reason why I give this four stars is the game seems to lack fast load times, and sometimes seems to freeze up for a second during critical battles, also I found this game to be too short in length. Other than that this game is a must buy for any fan of fast paced action and realisitc horror and gore.

A sign of good things to come...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Onimusha is by no means a perfect game. But after a set of disappointing PS2 launch titles, Onimusha is definitely a big step in the right direction.

The general gameplay mechanics are derived from Capcom's Resident Evil series and are fairly basic. You navigate your character through various environments killing demons and solving the occasion puzzle. The focus of the game is clearly more on action as demons are constantly materializing around you.

The fighting mechanics are definitely not as advanced as a pure fighting game. However, there are a variety of weapons, abilities, and enemies which keeps combat from becoming stale.

However, the visuals and the atmosphere are where the game really excels. Onimusha employs 3D characters on a 2D background. This allows the backgrounds to be incredibly rich and detailed. This also allows the characters to be incredibly detailed as well. A lot of emphasis clearly was spent on modelling and animating facial features. As a result, Onimusha is the first game I've ever played where the in-game characters look realistically human.

The story is driven along by both real-time and prerendered cutscenes. The real-time cutscenes are the best to-date. The stunning level of facial animation allows the models to actually display emotions realistically. The prerendered cutscenes are also top-notch and on a par with anything that Final Fantasy has offered. The cutscenes and the atmosphere of the game really give the impression that you are experiencing an interactive movie.

However, this movie analogy extends to the length of the game as well. While long for a movie, the game is very short by videogame standards. I was able to complete the game in just over 3 hours of game time. There are a few missed items and secrets to unlock, so i will likely play through the game again, but regardless, the game is quite brief.

Also, I found myself very disappointed by the ending. I won't reveal any spoilers, but the general impression is that I felt the ending was very abrupt and didn't really close off the story very well. The amount of detail and effort spent setting up the story and atmosphere were oddly contradicted by the sudden end of the game.

Despite that, Onimusha is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Action-packed, stunning visuals, immersive atmosphere. Definitely a good sign of things to come.

Good game...but too short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Onimusha Warlords, to me, was like playing through a movie. As Samanosuke and Kaede, you fight in medieval Japan, battling various demons and creatures while searching for the captured Princess Yuki. Though the game has several key weaknesses, it is still one of the best releases for Playstation 2.

The overall gameplay is not bad at all- it's a thrill wielding the different swords and using awesome moves while cutting through demons, and sucking up their souls with the Gauntlet. The storyline and different characters you meet are also very entertaining, and the music is pretty good. However, despite all that, I was disappointed by the length of the game. After defeating the final boss, I was just begging for more. Additional storyline shoud've been put into Onimusha.

Controls are very easy, and one word can describe the graphics: BEAUTIFUL! The amount of detail put into the background scenery and characters is amazing, and the lighting is stellar. The movie scenes you see at certain points in the game are superb, almost as if real actors and sets were used. The problem, however, is that you can't skip through the movie scenes. I was extremely frustrated by this- depending on when you save, you might be forced to watch a scene several times before you're able to progress through the game, especially after you died fighting a boss. Another annoying feature of Onimusha is the different camera angles. Sometimes, I would get hit by something, and I wouldn't even be able to see it. Camera angles are very irritating when you're trying to defend yourself, especially in the Realm.

Despite those problems, Onimusha Warlords is still one of the top games released for Playstation 2. It is a very fun game to play, and though you may be disappointed by some aspects of it, you should still enjoy the overall gameplay.

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