PlayStation 2 Review
Onimusha 2: Samurai\'s Destiny

I’ve always been a fan of games published by Capcom. I’ve enjoyed everything from Street Fighter to Resident Evil, Mega Man to Haunting Ground. So my latest endeavor into their world “Onimusha 2” was based strictly on my faith in this wonderful company. While I can’t say I’m entirely pleased with my decision, I can’t say I’m completely disappointed either.

You are introduced to the story and the main character Jubei with one of the most eloquent monologues I’ve ever heard. What follows are cut-scenes that are nothing short of gorgeous with the most polished and defined CGI I’ve ever seen and a plot foreword that makes The Last Samurai look like an after school special. Anticipation ran high in my blood but slowly everything fell apart.

Take for example, Jubei. Yes as a samurai he is noble, humble and loyal but that mentality wears thin after a while. Jubei almost seemed to lack emotion; even with his village destroyed and his mother killed he showed very little rage. It was very hard to fully feed into the story or even get behind it. If Jubei isn’t driven, why should I be? It comes across as choppy and almost too direct at times. Nobunaga is the bad guy. As direct as that, yes. And I only gathered that because they repeat it so many times. You don’t even see him until the very end, so you never get a feel for how truly evil he is.

Depth is what’s missing here. Plain and simple.

And that wonderful voice-over disappears completely. After such, the dialogue takes a horrible turn while the bad guys spew horrid babble that is only shadowed by the god awful voice acting behind it and the good guys are either catatonic or simply useless. Melodrama has never been my thing and this game has an overdose of it.

Thankfully, the game remains a visual ecstasy from beginning to end so all those cut-scenes, while lacking emotions, still provide a worthwhile experience. Outside, they are even better. Environments look as though they were taken directly from a travel brochure for Ancient Japan. Castles, Pagodas and tiny villages were recreated without a blemish. The movement of your characters is seamless. Clothes move, bodies turn and twist naturally and the style of sword fighting is enough to catch anyone’s attention.

The problem is, although moving looks great, it’s so hard to actually do. I understand the controls, only because I played Resident Evil. For anyone who didn’t, they may not be used to system and may find it as a bit of a hindrance. Even I found it irritating at times, especially when I first started playing the game and realized that my left analog stick didn’t do anything? I can’t even remember the last time that happened. The controls just don’t work. For a slow, psychological thriller like Resident Evil they are perfect. For a fast-paced hack and slash like Onimusha they’re a huge pain. I want to run around and turn normally, not face forward and back up. Not run, turn sluggishly to the side then run again like a drunk. I’m a Samurai. I’m supposed to be elegant and smooth.

And what is the deal with the targeting system? I swear it’s trying to give me an aneurysm. When there’s only one enemy, it’s never a problem… but OH!, there is never just one enemy. So you end up locking on a creature until he is downed or dead all the while other creatures are sneaking up and making a pincushion out of your back. It would be nice if Jubei would lock on to the nearest threat, but you have to keep constantly pushing R1 to make that happen. And when you do push R1, your weapon is supposed to charge but I had a hard time doing even that when I wanted to.

Thankfully, the combat makes up for it. It’s usually only a one-button jamboree but you can toss in magic at any point during your combo to mix it up. Dodging is also a neat little trick. It takes a while to learn and even longer to master, but it ups the anti on the games difficulty level and makes the battles pretty intense. Not to mention the well-timed, one hit wonder that you can pull off if you dodge and attack at just the right time. It’s pretty slick and makes Jubei look like a bad ass.

You can also have your friends battle alongside you. Which also makes for a cool mini-game. During your travels you find all sorts of rare items that are of no use to you. But very soon in the story you meet four different characters-Kotaro, Ekei, Oyu and Magoichi-whom you can offer these things to and they will, in turn, help you in certain battles, depending on how well you bribe… er, thank them. Figuring out who likes what, as well as short bursts of actually being able to play them makes for a well-placed break from Senior Stiff Jubei.

I’m on the fence with Onimusha 2. It’s got a lot of really good aspects, but it’s also got a lot of thorns. I know this game has spawned a lot of sequels and counterparts and I understand that it has a good following, but for me it was just “okay”. Followed by God of War though, it doesn’t come as a surprise. If the game tightened a few things, it very well has the potential to be great, but it’s not there yet. Then again, it could be me. I may have picked up the sequel that was trying to find itself. It’s okay. I still like Capcom.

Overall: 7/10

By: Greg Knoll