Onimusha: Warlords Remaster will receive a new update on April 23, Capcom has announced, adding a new mode in the form of Hell Mode. Hell Mode, a challenging one-hit kill mode that makes players extra vulnerable, was freshly announced for the aforementioned Onimusha 2 remaster earlier this year, though soon, it will also be available to play in its direct predecessor.

Additionally, the update will also add sub support for six additional languages in the form of Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Arabic, and Latin American Spanish.

Onimusha: Warlords Remaster is available for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

It was unlike any other RPG released at the time. While somewhat underrated in Japan, Demon’s Souls became a huge hit in the West and FromSoftware would use it as the base for creating Dark Souls. The rest is history as they say but it’s interesting to look back at the titles that had Souls-like elements before the term “Souls-like” even became a thing. Let’s take a look at them here.

King’s Field

Before Dark Souls, there was Demon’s Souls and before that, there was FromSoftware’s King’s Field. Released in 1994 for the PlayStation One, King’s Field was a first person RPG that saw players traversing dungeons and killing monsters. Its difficulty put many people off at the time, further accentuated by the stamina meter which drained with attacks. Still, the emphasis on exploration and first person combat stood out especially since consoles didn’t have many games like it. Antiquated as it may have been, King’s Field is where it all really began for the Souls series.

Development

Development on Onimusha began in 1997 as the first instalment in what was originally envisioned as a trilogy. The game was originally intended to launch for the N64DD (the disc drive attached for Nintendo’s N64 console), but production was later moved to the PlayStation. Development on that version was finished halfway through to completion, however, the development team’s excitement about the PlayStation 2 and the greater technical capabilities it offered led to that version getting cancelled, and the project instead shifting to being developed for the PS2.

Onimusha was originally pitched as a ninja version of Capcom’s very own Resident Evil franchise. The game would employ many of the similar design philosophies, systems, and mechanics as the Resident Evil games and would put players in a ninja house, similar to the Spencer mansion in the original Resident Evil. The game was geared as more of an action title, though, with much less focus on horror and survival elements.

Capcom chose the Sengoku era as the game’s narrative backdrop because they felt the historical events and figures of the period would provide interesting stories and characters for them to employ in their own story, which they would then put their own spin on within the game’s fiction. The game also used motion capture for character movements, which was a relatively rare practice at the time.

In January of 2019, a remastered version of Onimusha: Warlords was also released for the PS4, Xbox One, Windows (via Steam), and the Nintendo Switch. The remastered version touched up the visuals to run in HD and support for 60 frames per second frame rate (for hardware that supports it). The game also added Achievements and Trophy support on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam, the ability to play in widescreen (since the original game was played in a 4:3 aspect ratio), and new control options. Pre-rendered backgrounds were also touched up.

Japanese voices for the game were also re-recorded (English voices were brought over as is from the original release), with Takeshi Kaneshiro, the original actor for protagonist Samanosuke Akechi returning to reprise his role. The game’s soundtrack was also entirely re-written and recording anew, owing to the fact that it had come to light in 2014 that the original composer, Mamoru Samuragoshi, had not actually composed the soundtrack for the original Onimusha: Warlords soundtrack and had illegally claimed it to be his own work.

Story

Onimusha: Warlords is set in Sengoku era Japan, with the story beginning in the year 1560. It follows the story of two protagonists- the main protagonist, a samurai named Samanosuke Akechi, and the secondary protagonist, a female ninja named Kaede.

The game’s story begins at the Battle of Okehazama, between Imagawa Yoshimoto and Nobunaga of the Oda clan. Just as a victory for Nobunga and the Oda clan seems imminent, Nobunga is killed as an arrow pierces his throat. The story picks up a year later, when Samanosuke receives a letter from his cousin, Princess Yuki of the Saitō clan, in which she claims that the servants and maids in her castle have been falling victim to mysterious disappearances of late, and she suspects it to be the work of monsters, finishing her letter by asking Samanosuke to come to her rescue.

Samanosuke and Kaede make their way to the castle, which is coming under attack as an army of the Oda clan marches toward it, being led by Nobunga, who was thought to be dead during the battle a year ago, but seems pale- but living. The game follows Samanosuke and Kaede as they attempt to rescue the princess, and uncover the truth behind the mysterious things happening in the castle.

Gameplay

Owing to the fact that Onimusha: Warlords originally spawned as an offshoot of the first Resident Evil title, it employs many similar mechanics and systems. As such, Onimusha: Warlords is played from a fixed camera perspective, with rooms (and many times even separate sections within rooms) being presented from different camera angles, so that at times enemies that are outside of the camera’s perspective cannot be seen, even though they might be in the same room. Backgrounds are pre-rendered, while immediate environments and enemies are rendered in-engine. Similar to Resident Evil, the game also employs tank controls (the player has to change the direction the character is facing with directional buttons and can only move forward in the direction the character faces). However, the remastered release of the game added the option of being able to play without tank controls using the analog stick. The remaster also lets the player switch weapons on the fly, rather than having to go into the inventory to manually select a different weapon every time, which was the case in the original release.

Players have three primary actions during combat. They can attack using their equipped weapon, they can block attacks, or they can use elemental magic, which varies depending on which weapon the player has equipped. The game starts off the player with a simple katana, but the player gets more weapons throughout with different elemental properties. In total, there are three elemental weapons, in addition to a regular katana. Weapons can also be upgraded to become more powerful.

When enemies are killed, they drop their souls, which players have to collect using their Oni gauntlet by holding down a button. While the player does so, they are rendered immobile until the souls are absorbed by the gauntlet, encouraging players to be aware of their location and to time when to absorb souls during combat encounters, which is bolstered by the fact that souls disappear if left unabsorbed for too long. Souls are used for various purposes- green souls restore health, blue souls restore the magic meter that is used for elemental attacks, while red souls are used to upgrade weapons. There are also some long range weapons in the game that can be used within restrictions of limited supply. During some sections of the game, players can also play as the ninja Kaede, who has her own weapons and attacks, but cannot absorb souls.

Onimusha: Warlords also has puzzle solving elements. These mostly revolve around interacting with the environment, picking up items in the surroundings and applying them where they are needed, and also involve backtracking, mostly functioning very similarly to puzzles in the classic Resident Evil titles.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

The game turned out to be a fantastic hack and slash experience with addictive combat and a story that was surprisingly interesting (well, besides the cringe worthy voice acting). The original Onimusha turned out to be a commercial and critical success. This was followed Genma Onimusha, a port of the game for the original Xbox. This version featured better graphics, new areas, 5.1 Dolby Digital audio and a host of other changes and new inclusions.

So, after several years of absence, the series is finally back, albeit in the form a remaster. The remastered version of the game is now available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch, and it seems like the developers are testing the waters for a potential sequel and more remasters if this performs well for them. What the future holds for the franchise remains to be seen but what kind of improvements does this remaster bring over the original PlayStation 2 version? Let’s get into it.

We tested the game on the PS4 Pro, Xbox One X and PC versions and the game largely seems to showcase minor improvements along with a solid boost to resolution. Character models have seen the biggest improvements with character armor and facial textures now possessing clearly defined details. This improvement in detail is also visible on the various enemies which now showcase better polygonal detail than their original counterparts. Furthermore, environmental detail like doors, architectures and individual objects have also given a boost in texture filtering. Other improvements include better particle and post processing effects along with sharper looking cutscenes and FMVs.

On the performance front, all versions run at a rock solid 60 frames per second. We noticed next to no frame rate drops on any of the three versions we analyzed. This immediately gives the remastered version a noticeable advantage over its PlayStation 2 counterpart. Unfortunately, not everything here has been optimized for current generation of hardware. Besides the shoddy voice acting and lip syncing issues, the pre rendered backgrounds haven’t given a boost in quality. This results into shoddy background textures which doesn’t gel well with the rest of the improvements found in the game.

So, overall, the remastered version of Onimusha Warlords presents some decent improvements over the PlayStation 2 version. However, across all the three versions that we tested, there isn’t anything special about this package. On the PC front, the game requires an Intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHz or AMD equivalent or better, 8GB of memory (which by the way is surprising!) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960.  We tested this game on our test PC which includes a GTX 1080Ti, 16GB of GDDR4 memory and Ryzen 1700 CPU. Unfortunately, the PC version doesn’t include any graphical setting whatsoever. Besides the resolution, there is no way to improve various graphical parameters like level of detail, texture quality or anti aliasing. The PC version feels like a barebones remaster and seems like a missed opportunity for the developers. The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions don’t have any graphical modes, and neither there are any noticeable differences between them to speak of. We are not even sure if the game has PS4 Pro and Xbox One X support at the time of writing this analysis. So, across all the three versions there are hardly any differences but these shortcomings are understandable given the age of the game.

As I mentioned before, this remastered version feels like a testing ground for the developers to potentially fund the next big Onimusha game. There is a renewed interest in samurai games with the success of 2017’s Nioh and upcoming games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Ghost of Tsushima and Nioh 2. We are fully expecting remasters of Onimusha 2, 3 and Dawn of Dreams in the future so that the developers can push for the next big entry in this long forgotten series.

Capcom’s remaster of Onimusha: Warlords, a hack and slash action-adventure title from the PlayStation 2 era, is releasing today for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Boasting a significant upgrade to high-definition visuals, the remaster contains other new additions as well. Check out the launch trailer below.

A new soundtrack and an optional control scheme for more modern players are some of the new features. Those with a wide screen monitor will also be happy to hear that Onimusha: Warlords Remastered supports it as well. Also, if you find the difficulty too over-bearing, the game’s Easy difficulty option is unlocked from the start.

Hopefully this means some of us will actually be able to complete this game before Onimusha 5 is ever announced. Onimusha: Warlords Remastered retails for $19.99, presenting some pretty strong value. For more information on whether it’s worth your time or not, check out our official review here.

"While it might not be the proper Onimusha sequel that we’ve all been craving for for so many years, Warlords’ remastered version is still an excellent excuse to jump back into what has to be one of the best and most underrated PS2 games ever made."

While Capcom haven’t made any radical improvements to the original version of the game, the remaster still makes enough changes and adds enough new things to help modernize an already excellent experience. For starters, the visuals have received a significant facelift, with everything from the character models to the environments to even the CG cutscenes having been touched up to HD resolutions. Everything looks crisper and sharper, with an extra level of detail clearly visible, and though it’s not uncommon to see a few blurry models or weird looking character models here and there, that’s more a product of how long it’s been since they were designed than it is an indictment of the remastering job Capcom have done.  

Onimusha: Warlords Remastered also performs very well, with a solid and consistent frame rate that rarely buckles, which is always a bonus in any game, but especially so in an action title that requires quick reactions and reflexes. The one aspect of the game that doesn’t look too good visually is its pre-rendered backgrounds. Owing to the very nature of what a pre-rendered background is, it wouldn’t be fair to criticize Capcom for not improving upon the originals for a remaster – unless you’d expect them to have redrawn higher resolution backgrounds from scratch, which, again, really isn’t a reasonable expectation. What they can be criticized for, however, is that they haven’t aged very well, and all too often look muddy and lacking detail. As a result, they often stand in stark contrast to the rest of the game’s visuals, which are much sharper and more polished, and can be jarring to look at as such.

The other major change that this remaster makes to Onumisha: Warlords is that it allows you to control your character with an analog stick- for a game featuring tank controls and fixed camera, you can imagine how useful that is. Movement feels a lot more accurate and intuitive, and as a result, combat is also elevated significantly. While in the original Onimusha, having to wrestle with movement was often an issue, such isn’t the case in the remaster, and the entire experience feels tighter and smoother as a result. Of course, if you would rather control your character with the d-pad like in the original release, that option is still there for you.

"The other major change that this remaster makes to Onumisha: Warlords is that it allows you to control your character with an analog stick- for a game featuring tank controls and fixed camera, you can imagine how useful that is."

This a change that I appreciate more than I otherwise would have because of how excellent the combat in Onimusha is, and because that excellent combat deserves to be elevated in every way possible. Unlike a lot of action games that follow similar structures, Onimusha’s combat is slow and methodical. Whaling away at enemies is almost never a good idea, and when faced with larger groups of enemies, or even some of the bosses you run into (which almost never fail to impress, by the way), death can come all too easily. Positioning and picking the right time to attack is vital in Onimusha, but equally as important is evading or blocking attacks. The game’s fixed camera perspectives also only serve to add to all this, as enemies can often creep up on you from corners or out-of-view angles, making spatial awareness also quite important. 

Collecting the souls of enemies you down in Onimusha is also a fundamental part of the gameplay loop. This doesn’t happen automatically, nor does it happen by simply being in close proximity to the souls- no, you have to physically hold down a button to get all the souls to come to you. While you’re doing this, your character is rendered immobile, and neither can he attack, nor can he block, and the fact that collecting all the souls is also a process that can also take a handful of seconds (depending on how far away those souls were from you on in the room) makes it an even more dangerous thing to do in the middle of combat. Waiting until after the combat scenario is over also isn’t an option, because those souls don’t stick around forever. With all of this in mind, picking the best moment in the middle of a tense skirmish to get away from a group of enemies to collect souls makes every encounter even more tense. And, of course, being able to use multiple weapons, which come with different powers and abilities, and feel appropriately different from each other, lends a nice dose of variety to the proceedings as well.

The one thing that Onimusha: Warlords Remastered has going against it, which was also a knock against the original game back when it launched in 2001, is its length. The entire game can be completed in roughly five to six hours, a number which can even fall down to three or four if you know what you’re doing and have played the game before. That is, of course, not a criticism against the remastering work Capcom have done, but it is a criticism of the experience itself. Does the short runtime justify the $20 price tag that the game has launched with? That really depends on how much you like Onimusha.

"Does the short runtime justify the $20 price tag that the game has launched with? That really depends on how much you like Onimusha."

It’s pretty clear that Onimusha: Warlords Remastered has been sent out into the world by Capcom as a test of sorts- to gauge just how much interest this property generates. At least, I hope it is, and that this is indeed a test run before Capcom takes the deep dive with a proper sequel- more than anything else, this remaster should serve as a reminder of how excellent this franchise could be at its best. Onimusha: Warlords was a great game back when it first launched on the PS2, and eighteen years later, it is just as good. It has aged remarkably well, and this remaster should serve as both, a welcome return for those who’ve played the original, and an excellent way to be introduced to the game for newcomers.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStaton 4.

• Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey
• Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
• Genesis Alpha One
• Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
• Aftercharge

Without further ado, let’s get into the top 10.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Some more Nintendo Wii U games are being ported over to the Switch. Big surprise, right? Fortunately, they happen to be New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, together forming New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. They’re both stellar platformers that are worth experiencing and release on January 11^th 2019. Toadette and Nabbit arrive as additional playable characters with the former capable of using the new Super Crown to turn into Peachette for copying Princess Peach’s abilities.

Onimusha: Warlords

Onimusha is back…kind of. Onimusha: Warlords is basically Onimusha: Warlords, a remaster of the classic PlayStation 2 title. Along with improved visuals, it features widescreen support, a new control scheme and a new soundtrack along with an Easy mode. Of course, those who want the authentic old experience can have that as well especially since the fixed camera angles remain. It’s out on January 15^th 2019 for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Switch.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Episode 3: Broken Toys

Telltale Games is more or less gone but 20 or so of its developers are helping Skybound Games with the last two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Episode 3: Broken Toys arrives next month with Clementine and AJ doing their best to survive in their new home. Once the undead comes knocking, nowhere proves to be safe once more. Episode 3 is out on January 15^th 2019 for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 – Rules

The journey of Sean and Daniel Diaz continues in Life is Strange 2: Episode 2 – Rules. We last saw the brothers on a bus heading to Mexico following some bad stuff that occurred on their street in Seattle. Expect more tough decisions to make as Sean has to watch out for his brother while also acting as a good influence. Episode 2 is out in January for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Resident Evil 2

The long-awaited “remake” is nearly here but Resident Evil 2 is a lot more than that. Its revamped visuals mask a vastly changed game with an enhanced narrative, rewritten dialogue, a new over-the-shoulder camera and several gameplay changes. The essence of the PlayStation One classic is still here though as our heroes Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield struggle to escape from the nightmarish Racoon City. Resident Evil 2 releases on January 25^th 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Tropico 6

Death, taxes and El Presidente – you can always be assured of these three inevitabilities in Tropico 6. Developed by Limbic Entertainment instead of Haemimont Games, Tropico 6 will take place on an archipelago for the first time.  Prepare your best election speech – Tropico 6 arrives on January 25^th 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Despite all the jokes about the inanity of the series’ plot, Kingdom Hearts 3 still represents a monumental moment. All the events of the previous games and their spin-offs have led to this as Sora and friends face Master Xehanort and Organization 13 in one last epic battle. Keyblade transformations, the return of Link Attacks, new Summons and a variety of worlds and characters from Disney movies like Frozen, Hercules and Big Hero 6 await. Kingdom Hearts 3 is out on January 29^th 2019 for Xbox One and PS4.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

A game of multiple games, Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes sees our favourite assassin competing with Badman to gather the six Death Balls. Since they’re trapped inside of a game console, Travis and Badman will encounter titles with elements from classics like Hotline Miami. We’ll see how this indie homage pans out when it releases exclusively for Nintendo Switch on January 18^th 2019.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is the first mainline title in the series since 2007. As such, it has a lot to live up to but having a storyline where the player flies as part of a penal military unit after being accused of attempted murder on a former president? Well, it feels just about right for Ace Combat. With gorgeous visuals, a variety of maps and missions, and some good old flight combat, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown looks to be a worthy follow-up when it launches on January 18^th 2019 for Xbox One and PS4. It arrives on February 1^st for PC.

The Grand Tour Game

An unexpected adaptation of the show, The Grand Tour Game is developed by Amazon Game Studios. It sports some fairly nice graphics and will see players engaging with the racing on an episodic basis. Each episode will have different chapters that look to capture the tone of the show, whether it’s racing a car that Jeremy Clarkson is reviewing or taking control of Hammond in time trials. It’s kitschy and interesting – let’s just hope the live action element isn’t overdone when The Grand Tour Game debuts on January 15^th for Xbox One and PS4.

Onimusha Warlords’ remastered version is exactly two months away from release now, and Capcom have revealed the minimum and recommended system requirements for the game’s PC version. You wouldn’t expect a remaster of what will be an eighteen year old game in January to be very taxing, and while it’s not taxing, the recommended requirements are more demanding than you might have expected.

Capcom recommends that you play with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 graphics card, with an Intel Core i3 dual core processor, or an AMD equivalent of that. An 8GB of RAM also comes recommended, along with DirectX 11, Windows 10 as your operating system, and 16GB of storage space. The minimum requirements, on the other hand, are much more relaxed- an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x graphics card, for instance, will do you just fine. You can check out the full system requirements below. Pre-orders for the game are also now open.

Onimusha Warlords launches on January 15, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game recently received two new trailers, one showing off some slick looking gameplay footage from the upcoming remastered release, and the other focusing solely on how it looks on the Switch. Make sure you check them both out through the links.

Onimusha Warlords Remastered may not be the Onimusha sequel we’ve all been waiting for for years, but it’s still more Onimusha than we’ve had in a long, long time, and more Onimusha is always a good thing. To give us a taste of how the upcoming remaster of the classic action title is shaping up, Capcom have released a bunch of new screenshots from the game.

The new images give us glimpses of several characters from the game, good and bad guys alike, including the likes of Hecuba, Kaede, Princess Yuki, Tokichiro Kinoshita, Samanosuke Akechi, and others. It’s also looking like a pretty good remaster, with sharper and better defined visuals bringing older assets to life. Should be interesting to see how the game looks in action.

Capcom have also announced (via Famitsu), that they’re recording new Japanese voices for the game, and have revealed the voice cast. The cast includes Mugihito as the narrator, Houchuu Ootsuka as Guildenstern, Takeshi Kaneshiro as Samanosuke, Fumihiko Tachiki as Oda Nobunaga, Mayumi Sako as Hecuba, Hisako Kanemoto as Yumemaru, Mikako Komatsu as Kaede, Wataru Takagi as Tokichiro Kinoshita, and Kaori Nazuka as Yuki.

Onimusha Warlords Remastered releases on January 15, 2019, for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

It seems Capcom have been fuelled by the desire to operate first and foremost on fan service over the last few years. After reviving Reisdent Evil, they’ve announced Mega Man 11, a proper sequel to Devil May Cry, and a remake of the classic Resident Evil 2. Something else fans have been demanding for a long, long time is a revival of the popular action franchise, Onimusha, and now that wish has been fulfilled as well.

Well, not exactly- they haven’t announced a sequel. But they have announced that Onimusha: Warlords, the first game in the series, is getting remastered, and will be launching for PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on January 15, 2019, just a little over four months from now. You can view the announcement trailer below.

As per an update on the PlayStation Blog by Capcom community manager Andy Wong, the remaster will come with several enhancements, other than the obvious visual upgrades. The game will now come with wide screen support, a new soundtrack, and the addition of an optional modern control scheme, with players being able to choose between the classic one and the new one. Additionally, while in the original Onimusha, an easier difficulty could only be unlocked after beating the game, in the remaster it will be unlocked from the get go.

Onimusha: Warlords will release digitally for all three systems for just the price of $19.99, while a physical release for the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game is also planned. Great work, Capcom. Now we just need an Onimusha 5 announcement.