Onimusha: Warlords
Onimusha: Warlords, known in Japan as , is a hack-and-slash action-adventure video game and the first entry of the "Onimusha" series, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. An updated form as for the Xbox was released in 2002. The original "Warlords" version was ported to Microsoft Windows, although it was only available in China and Russia. A remaster for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows via Steam was released on January 15, 2019. The game's plot is set in the Sengoku period and focuses on the samurai Samanosuke Akechi who fights against  the forces of Nobunaga Oda. After Nobunaga's death in battle, Samanosuke goes on a quest to save Princess Yuki from demons working alongside Nobunaga's forces. The player controls Samanosuke and his partner, a female ninja Kaede, in their fight against demons. While the game borrows elements from Capcom's own "Resident Evil" survival horror series, such as solving puzzles and a fixed camera, the game is focused more on the action game genre with Samanosuke possessing multiple weapons that can be upgraded by defeating several enemies. Capcom originally wanted to release the game for the original PlayStation but  the close release of its next generation version resulted in the project being scrapped. Following its release, "Onimusha: Warlords" achieved high popularity becoming the first PlayStation 2 game to reach one million sales. Its sales eventually surpassed two million units worldwide. The game has been well-received by video game publications and has been recognized as one of the best titles on the system. It was followed by two direct sequels for the same console and another three games within the franchise. Gameplay. "Onimusha: Warlords" features pre-rendered backgrounds. The player primarily controls swordsman Samanosuke Akechi in his fight against  demons. The game balances its action elements with puzzles that involve interacting with the environments and obtaining items to make progress. The player begins the game with a standard katana sword, and can obtain long-range weapons with limited supply. As the player progresses, the protagonist Samanosuke can gain three elemental weapons: Raizan, Enryuu and Shippuu, each with an elemental magic attack. As enemies are defeated, they release different colored souls that are absorbed by using the demon gauntlet on Samanosuke's wrist: red souls act as "currency" which can be used to upgrade weaponry, yellow souls recover health, while  blue souls recover magic power which is used to perform each weapon's elemental abilities. Some sections are played with Samanosuke's assistant, the kunoichi Kaede. She has her own distinctive weapons and acrobatic abilities, but is unable to absorb souls. Plot. During the Battle of Okehazama, Samanosuke of the Akechi clan watches but is attacked by Imagawa Yoshimoto's men. Though Nobunaga Oda was victorious against Yoshimoto, he is fatally wounded and assumed dead. A year later, Samanosuke receives a letter from his cousin Princess Yuki of the Saitō clan for his assistance as she fears monsters are behind  the disappearances of her servants. Joined by Kaede, Samanosuke arrives too late to Inabayama Castle as Yuki is abducted as he and Kaede split up to cover ground. After being defeated by a monster while trying to rescue Yuki, Samanosuke is visited by the twelve oni who give Samanosuke the power to vanquish the monsters that abducted Yuki, the Genma, and seal their souls in a mystical gauntlet. While searching for Yuki, Samanosuke finds a laboratory and encounters the Genma scientist Guildenstern, learning that the Genma have resurrected Nobunaga to serve them before slaying Guildenstern's creation Reynaldo. Samanosuke later  encounters Nobunaga's servant Tokichiro as he attempted to recruit him before reunited with Kaede as they follow the boy Yumemaru who Yuki took under her care. When Samanosuke finds Yumemaru spirited off, he learns from Tokichiro that Yuki is essential for a human sacrifice where the Genmas' god Fortinbras will bless her blood that Nobunaga will drink to gain the power to destroy the Saitō clan. After saving Yumemaru from the Genma Marcellus, Samanosuke leaves him with Kaede as he looks for Yuki underground. But as Tokichiro traps Samanosuke, Kaede is knocked out by Genma resembling Samanosuke while Yumemaru  is taken by a woman. When she awakens, Kaede is led to the prison and finds Yuki locked in a cell. Guildenstern arrives and leaves Kaede to die at the hand of a powerful Genma, only for her kill it while escaping. Samanosuke awakens and kills his doppelgänger in the underground passage. He makes his way back into the keep and finds Yumemaru with the woman who introduces herself as the Genma Hecuba as she assumes her true form while spiriting Yumemaru into the netherworld with Samanosuke in pursuit. Joined by Kaede as he learns that her kin intends to  kill Yumemaru before Yuki to heighten her sorrow to make her blood more potent for Nobunaga, Samanosuke kills Hecuba. As Samanosuke makes his way through the demon door, he encounters Guildenstern who summons an improved Marcellus. After defeating him, Samanosuke makes his way into Fortinbras' throne room, where he finds Yuki and Yumemaru trapped on the upper level. Before he can free them, Fortinbras enters the room and summons Nobunaga before the monster attacks Samanosuke. After Samanosuke defeats Fortinbras, he frees Yumemaru and Yuki as Kaede enters the room. However, as they flee the collapsing chamber, Samanosuke is grabbed by  Fortinbras as Kaede, Yumemaru, and Yuki are forced to escape. Some of Samanosuke's blood falls on the gauntlet and activates it as it transforms him into an "Onimusha". In his Onimusha state, Samanosuke kills Fortinbras by stabbing him through his central eye. As Samanosuke transforms back into a human, he encounters Nobunaga as the room continues to collapse. During the ending sequence, Yuki and Yumemaru follow Samanosuke's advice and travel the world. After the end credits, Samanosuke is seen alive, viewing Inabayama Castle from afar before he departs to parts unknown. Development. The game originated in Yoshiki Okamoto 's 1997 idea to create "Sengoku Biohazard", a ninja version of Capcom's 1996 "Resident Evil" (known as "Biohazard" in Japan), set in the Sengoku period and featuring a "ninja house" filled with booby traps, similar to the mansion from "Resident Evil", where battles would be fought using swords and shuriken: "The house will contain hidden doors behind walls, ceilings that fall down to you, scrolls and ninja magic, and many other ninja techniques". The project was originally intended for the Nintendo 64DD. "Onimusha" was planned by Capcom as a trilogy. Its first title was originally being developed for the  PlayStation, but the project was eventually moved to the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation version was scrapped and never released. It was about 50% complete before it was cancelled. "Onimusha" team's excitement about the PlayStation 2's capabilities resulted in that change. They developed the game basing on the system from the "Resident Evil" series. The game's plot was written by Noboru Sugimura and Flagship. The storyline was set in the Sengoku period due to how its multiple conflicts could provide an interesting background for the plot. While the historical Oda Nobunaga can be considered either a hero or  a villain, Capcom chose to portray him as the latter one. Character movements were created using motion capture. Film actor and singer Takeshi Kaneshiro was the character model and Japanese voice actor for Samanosuke Akechi. The game's orchestral music is credited in-game to composer Mamoru Samuragochi. According to "Time": "To record it, Samuragoch[i] browbeat the producers into employing a 200-piece orchestra, including musicians playing such traditional instruments as a Japanese flute and taiko drums. The result is both haunting and inspirational, reminiscent of majestic scores for films like "Lawrence of Arabia"". However, he admitted in 2014 that  he directed his orchestrator Takashi Niigaki to ghostwrite the music for the game, for which Samuragochi took full credit for composition. In the English localization of "Onimusha: Warlords", the word "oni" was translated as ogre and the word "genma" as "demon". In all subsequent games in the series the words oni and genma have remained intact in the English scripts. It was the only game within the series that gives players the option of hearing the voice acting in either English or Japanese with subtitles (this option was not provided in the UK/EU PAL version) until the fourth installment , which also had this feature. Section::::"Genma Onimusha". "Onimusha: Warlords" was ported to the Xbox in 2002 under the title "Genma Onimusha", formerly announced by Capcom in May 2001 with the company expecting to be released by late 2001. The Xbox version contains many updates to the game including enhanced graphics, new 5.1 Dolby Digital audio, explorable areas, a boss, costumes and body armor, changes in enemy placements, and a three-tier charge attack to each weapon. Additionally, the inclusion of green souls adds a new dimension to the game. When five green souls are in the player's possession, the  player can activate temporary invulnerability with a slow health recharge. Players frequently have to enter tug-of-war scenarios with the enemies over the possession of green souls; if a green soul is absorbed by a demon, the demon will gain new attacks and they will also see a dramatic increase in their defense. They will release a greater number of souls upon death. Remaster. A remaster for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows via Steam was released on January 15, 2019. This is a remaster of the original game, and doesn't include any features from "Genma  Onimusha". Reception. "Onimusha: Warlords" was a commercial success, selling over 2 million copies worldwide, with 1.04 million copies sold in Japan. The game went Platinum in just under a month in the region, quickly becoming the top-selling PlayStation 2 game ever at the time of its release. By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of "Onimusha: Warlords" had sold 800,000 copies and earned $28 million in the United States. "Next Generation" ranked it as the 75th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. Combined sales  of the "Onimusha" series reached 3 million units in the United States by July 2006. Capcom VP of Strategic Planning and Business Development Christian Svensson referred to the first two "Onimusha" games as one of their most successful titles. The game has received positive reviews. Critics praised the graphics, sound, and gameplay, but complained about the short length of the game. In Japan, "Famitsu" magazine scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 35 out of 40, and gave the Xbox version a 34 out of 40. As of 2010, the game has a GameRankings average score of 84 % for the PlayStation 2 version, and 81% for the Xbox port. The Xbox version was nominated for "GameSpot"s annual "Best Story on Xbox" and "Best Action Adventure Game on Xbox" awards. Blake Fischer reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it three stars out of five, and stated that ""Onimusha" is a beautiful game that lacks the refinement of more modern game designs. It's a pretty good ride, but one that you'll forget as new PS2 games appear". At the SIGGRAPH 2000 conference, "Onimusha" received the "Best of Show" award for its opening  sequence. "Complex" listed it as one of the most beloved and missed PlayStation 2 games. The reviewer from GameSpot said that he was called biased multiple times when doing the article for the video game. In a 2010 retrospective, "GamePro" ranked it as the 28th best game for the PlayStation 2. In 2012, "FHM" included the game's Kaede among the nine "sexiest ninja babes in games". The 2019 remaster received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics; while its action gameplay was praised for standing the test of time, its visuals, game design, and presentation were said to have aged  poorly. The remaster's lack of the additional content found in "Genma Onimusha" was also met with criticism. Horror media website Bloody Disgusting gave it a 3.5/5, writing that "beneath a new lick of paint and some clever adjustments, "Onimusha: Warlords" doesn't make for an essential action game in 2019, but it's a great modernization all the same", while Windows Central gave the Xbox One version a 4 out of 5, calling it "not perfect by any means", but going on to state that it was a "wonderful blast from the past". In a more critical review, IGN  awarded the game with a 6.5/10, the final verdict being that ""Onimusha: Warlords" is exactly how you remember it, and in 2019, that's not necessarily a good thing". Legacy. The game spawned two direct sequels, "" and "", that followed Samanosuke and more warriors in their fight against Nobunaga Oda. While "Demon Siege" was the closing chapter of the story, Capcom developed "" due to popular fan response. There have been two spin-offs, "Onimusha Tactics" and "Onimusha Blade Warriors", that focus on different genres. A bug within "Warlords" inspired game designer Hideki Kamiya in the making of the action game "Devil  May Cry".