Another village has been brutalized by a host of ghastly creatures. Ten years after Samanosuke Akechi battled a resurrected demon lord in Onimusha, Nobunaga has returned to terrify and oppress innocents across the country. Fortunately a young samurai, Jubei Yagyu, has noticed the spread of evil and resolved to battle the demonic forces wherever he finds them.
The famous Japanese actor Yusaku Matsuda, best known in the U.S. for the 1989 movie Black Rain, was the model for Jubei Yagyu. Matsuda died in 1989 of cancer, but returns for a starring role in Onimusha 2. Capcom also hired Keita Amamiya as character designer, director, and illustrator to insure a high-quality product. Onimusha 2 includes twice as many cut-scenes as the original, and the quality of these cut-scenes has been dramatically improved. Action stars were hired to add additional realism.
Jubei is noticeably more powerful than his predecessor, Samanosuke. Jubei has a new set of devastating moves called "Ohgi," or "esoteric fighting," and is the master of the Yagyu Shinkage style. Players have the option of choosing a partner from four available fighters (who gain experience and unique moves along with Jubei), or going solo. Fighting alone is much more difficult, but the option is included for those experienced players searching for a stiff challenge.
More emphasis has been placed on storytelling, which includes realistic historical snippets, and the gameplay allows multiple storylines depending on player decisions. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny takes advantage of the PlayStation 2's impressive graphics capabilities. Gameplay still takes place against pre-rendered backgrounds, but the character animations have been updated to take full advantage of the PS2's abilities. New environments include the town of Imasho, the sacred shrine of the Oni Clan, foggy gorges, secluded forests, a gold-rush town, caves, and a remote gold mine. The soundtrack boasts music from the famous composer Taro Iwashiro.
Great game, but lack of analog control is a drawback.
Great game, but the lack of analog control gets really frustrating. Oh, if only they had made this game analog it would have been on of the greats. As it is it's a fun game, beautiful backgrounds, good characters, a fun story, and some RPG elements that add to the fun. definitely worth the few bucks that you are going to get if for. Also, a game the any collector should have as it illustrates a transition in game play. There was clearly a lot of time and effort put into making this game good, and it shows.
I loved this game as a child and wanted to get it to share with my kids however it freezes at the same spot every time. The graphics were the same which is fine and yes I still love the gameplay, but I am unable to play the game any further because the game won't continue after that certain point. My kids and I are disappointed in the product and that is a bummer but there is nothing to be done at this point already paid for it so oh well.
If you've played and enjoyed the 1st game, Onimusha 2 should be a definite buy, especially at the reduced used or new prices you might find on half.com or ebay. Graphics are better than the 1st game, same goes for elements like game play, enemy AI, options in terms of fighting etc. I am glad i got this game and now looking forward to buying Onimusha 3.
If you like killing undead with swords, read this!
This game is one of the best games I have ever owned. I have played this I can say how many times. I had to buy this for a second time because my first disc just wore out.
If you enjoy slaying undead then this is an awesome game. It was made by the same people the made the Resident Evil Series. So they are producing a game that is set in the Middle Age Japan during the 1600's during the historic reign of the warlord Nobanaga, who was credited with uniting parts of Japan.
You are a young warlord who is thrust into a middle of figuring out and finding out the source of a great evil that has befallen the area. As you go through you discover that prognosticator from the first game is not as dead as you thought you left him. You have friend this time around that are playable and help progress deeper into the story line than if you just play with the main character. It adds an extra layer that was missing from the previous game.
5 stars across the board with this title!Read full review