Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Review

For many, the Onimusha series has fallen into the shadows of the past. However, most of us still remember fighting against the Genma to save the soul of Japan. Well, now is the best time to grab your katana, as Capcom has released the full remaster of the 2002 PlayStation 2 classic: Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny.

Now, for those of you in the younger generation, Onimusha is a series of hack-and-slash adventure games with a horror twist and a hint of environmental puzzles. Imagine Resident Evil, but with a sword and magic powers. 

Ominusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny has you take the role of Jubei Yagyu, who is on a quest for revenge against the Genma demon army of Nobunaga Oda. Jubei isn’t alone in this fight as, over time, he will gather a group of allies, while discovering more about his past and heritage. 

So, first things first, what is different in Samurai’s Destiny compared to the PS2 version? In a sense, a lot has changed, and, at the same time, much of the magic from the original is still here. You can still use the older tank controls if you want to, but you can also utilise more fluid movement option if you prefer. Honestly, there isn’t too much difference between the two, as most of your movement will be based around combat. 

The world of Onimusha is dangerous, but thankfully, you’re a master samurai and have few options for killing demons. At a basic level, you have a fast attack, a charged attack, and a magic skill to add more damage. Over time, you’ll find more weapons and combos as you progress and build your relationships. Annoyingly, there’s no clear list of the combos, and I honestly felt I never needed them, but it’s nice to see at the very least. 

Each weapon you find features a different element, which comes into some of the puzzles as well. However, the main focus of combat is moving and trying to perform the “Issen” hits. Now, you’ll remember I said how picking your movement option wasn’t that important?That's because you have a lock on key, and you’ll need it as it’s also the only way to use the dodge move. You can block, but it pushes you back when you do, so dodging to the side is much faster. 

Meanwhile, the Issen hits are all about timing. When one of the Genma is about to lunge forward, you can instantly kill it by hitting it just before the attack lands. It’s a bit tricky to get right at first, and each enemy has different movements, but it’s the fastest way to finish a fight, so it’s worth getting the hang of. 

Initially, I found the combat to be a bit stagnant and hard to initially get into the flow of, but I started to really get into it. The mix of blocking, movement and timing all blend to make it engaging. Now, it’s not quite up to the par of a game like DARK SOULS, but it’s still fun and I never felt myself getting annoyed or frustrated. I can’t say the same for trying to figure out where in the heck I was meant to be going half the time. 

Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny has a bit of an issue when it comes to telling you your objectives and goals. This is fine when you’ve been playing for a while, but if you take a break and come back, then I wish you all the luck in the world. There are also the aforementioned companions, whom you meet throughout your adventure.

These people have their reasons for fighting the Genma, but they’re willing to help Jubei when he needs it. While you often won’t control them directly, they’ll usually turn up at the odd fight or boss encounter and give you a helping hand. You can help this process along by giving them the right gifts, but it can be a bit complicated to know who to give what, so it might be worth taking some notes. 

With all that said, each of the companions is unique, and they help to keep the plot grounded. Originally, I thought they were just there to be funny allies, but they have some really deep moments. In truth, the odd one out when it comes to personality is Junbei himself. While he does show the odd moment of depth, he tends to take the “stoic samurai” trope a bit too far. 

Now, the real question is how much Samurai’s Destiny departs from the original Onimusha 2 in terms of visuals. Well, for a start, the environments are much better looking in the game, and the animation is much more fluid. The UI has also seen some cleanup, with everything appearing much less jagged than on the PlayStation 2. It might not be at the same level as a modern release, but Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny still looks great. However, while the UI and menus might visually be better, they’re still not the most interesting thing to stare at, and really are pretty bare bones. 

The character designs have also seen a bit of upscaling, with much cleaner lines. This improvement is also noticeable on the enemies,  which makes their movements much easier to follow and, in turn, helps to time the Issen hits. With that said, some of the non-main characters look a bit wooden and don’t really emote to any noticeable level.

Overall, while it might not be as massive an improvement as we saw with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Capcom has managed to capture what fans loved about the game while improving what it can. With that said, this is more of a coat of paint than a complete remodel; as such, the issues with the first game still exist, and the gameplay is certainly dated. If you’re a fan of the series, then this will be a must buy, but if you’re not here for the nostalgia hit, you might want to wait until it’s on sale.