When Onimusha: Warlords launched for Change all the best way again in 2019, we had optimistically assumed that its sequel can be proper across the nook. How naïve. A little bit of persistence has been required, however now, greater than six years later, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Future has lastly been given the identical remaster therapy. We are able to’t be too mad on the lengthy wait, thoughts you; with Capcom trying to totally revive the collection with Onimusha: Means of the Sword in 2026, now is likely to be the very best time to remind gamers of what might effectively be the very best entry.
By way of what’s new with the Change remaster, you may look to the unique for a fairly strong benchmark. Visuals have been given a pleasant increase, and whereas there are not any enhancements right here akin to what the Resident Evil franchise has loved up to now, the bump as much as HD continues to be fairly good. Sure areas can look somewhat muddy in handheld mode, nevertheless it’s a fine-looking sport for essentially the most half, bolstered by sturdy artwork design.
One space that did stick out to us, nevertheless, was the side ratio. By default, the sport is introduced at a widescreen 16:9 show, however you may change this to the unique 4:3 show by way of the choices menu. We opted for the latter for many of our playthrough, since widescreen mode cuts off an enormous chunk of the setting and motion by merely zooming in to fill the area. It’s not like the sport takes any cues from the HD port of the Resident Evil remake by panning the digicam as you progress to compensate for the lacking content material; for lots of photographs, it’s simply gone. In the event you can abdomen the black bars on the edges, stick with 4:3.
Gameplay has acquired a revamp, with ‘trendy’ motion mapped to the analogue stick, and the normal ‘tank controls’ mapped to the D-pad. It could’ve been good to have the choice to change these for the purists on the market, however with solely two management configurations out there, the one factor you’re going to be altering is which analogue stick could be clicked to provoke a fast flip. Not the top of the world, however a bit extra customisation can be welcome.
The fashionable controls really feel fairly good for essentially the most half. Since we’re nonetheless coping with mounted digicam angles, there are transient moments the place holding in a single route will lead to protagonist Jubei jerking to the left or proper as you recalibrate your motion with a sudden digicam change. Tank controls merely have you ever pushing ‘up’ to maneuver ahead, so these don’t undergo from the identical downside, however there’s little doubt that they really feel typically extra cumbersome compared.
As an example the gameplay and visuals a bit higher, Onimusha 2 looks like a stepping stone between the inflexible limitations of basic Resident Evil and the extra free-flow setup of Satan Might Cry, regardless of the latter launching a yr previous to Onimusha 2. There are not any sweeping digicam actions right here, which is a disgrace for the reason that sport’s mounted angles felt dated again in 2002, however the gameplay definitely feels extra agile and responsive than something you’d discover in these early RE video games.
The story itself stars Jubei Yagyu, who takes over from Samanosuke as the one surviving member of a clan worn out by the evil Nobunaga Oda. We’ll be sincere, Jubei is type of a boring protagonist with a sometimes gruff voice, however his lack of wit is compensated for by the encircling solid, together with the charmingly boisterous Ekei Ankokuji and the delightfully flamboyant demon Gogandantess.
Gameplay is a mixture of sword-fighting motion and light-weight puzzle fixing. Jubei can wield a number of distinctive weapons as you proceed by means of the story, beginning with a fundamental samurai sword earlier than grabbing a spear, a hammer, and extra. You may lock onto enemies, strafe round them, and use a slick mixture of offensive and defensive actions accordingly, together with the flexibility to kick your enemies backwards and stab them with a pointy thrust.
Defeating enemies as soon as once more ends in their souls drifting upwards into the air, by which level you may take in them along with your gauntlet. This allows you to regain misplaced well being, add energy to your magic meter, and improve your gear at varied shrines dotted all over the world. Onimusha 2 dips its toe into RPG mechanics, nevertheless it’s mild sufficient that those that aren’t notably keen on such issues needn’t fear. It’s very a lot a case of selecting which weapon to improve, holding down ‘A’ to spend your forex, and away you go. Crucially, you’re not essentially punished for not bothering with it an excessive amount of.
General, Onimusha 2 looks like a big enchancment over its predecessor, with deeper fight mechanics, extra diversified environments, wonderful boss encounters, and interesting puzzles (together with Sudoku!). The music can be price highlighting, too, taking inspiration from the feudal setting to bolster its authenticity whereas offering a bunch of catchy tunes you’ll be buzzing lengthy after the credit roll.
Neat little extras are additionally loaded into the remaster. In the event you’ve performed by means of Onimusha 2 a number of occasions, you may ‘get pleasure from’ the brand new Hell problem setting, which sees Jubei die with only a single hit – brutal stuff. On the flip aspect, an Straightforward mode has additionally been added should you choose to benefit from the story with out a lot problem.
Enjoyable but throwaway minigames, together with The Man in Black, Workforce Oni, and Puzzle Phantom Realm, at the moment are out there from the beginning by way of the primary menu, and the unique’s Gallery mode has been included as soon as once more with revamped, HD property to get pleasure from everytime you like. Lastly, additional costumes for the primary sport can be found, however these look kinda goofy in our opinion. In the event you personal the primary title on Change, nevertheless, you may decide to put on Samonosuke’s outfit, which can at all times look badass.
Conclusion
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Future is a robust, worthy successor to the unique that’s now at its best possible on Change. A few of it feels dated by trendy requirements, with mounted digicam angles that arguably ought to have been ditched again in 2002, nevertheless it nonetheless feels extremely enjoyable regardless. The remaster provides in a bunch of quality-of-life updates and extras that each longtime followers and newcomers will admire, however finally, this can be a devoted revival of one of many PS2’s easiest video games. Now the affected person watch for Onimusha 3 begins.
