Onimusha 2 Review

[@Ronbotnik]

When the Onimusha 1 port dropped on PS4, I was beyond excited to pick up 2 & 3 after. Its a damn shame to learn it didnt sell well enough to keep porting the rest. They're such underrated games!! Forever glad this is one of those series I randomly picked off the shelf from a local resale shop as a child, they really deserve more attention than they get

[@LakesideAmusementPro]

I figured that was the reason why there wasn’t a 2&3. I don’t understand why they didn’t just port all 3 in a collection like they did with Devil May Cry. It probably would have sold better that way.

[@TonyRedgrave1501]

Maybe it's also because of the rights for the faces of the protagonists. They didn't want to pay for those rights maybe. Jubei of Onimusha 2 got the face of deceased japanese actor Yusaku Matsuda and in Onimusha 3 we got french actor Jean Reno. In the first game it's japanese/taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro

[@chrisbfreelance]

I didn't even realise they ported Ominusha, just randomly stumbled upon it in the PS4 store.

[@RyuX420]

@TonyRedgrave1501 honestly, that's what I thought. They could at least port dawn of dreams :'( oh well thank the powers that be for emulation

[@XXNemesisXXXX]

For Capcom to say "it didn't sell well enough" is far easier to do than saying "there's actors and things we need to reclaim the rights for and we can't be assed to spend money" because the former tosses the blame on someone else. Besides the PC port is kinda lacking. Nothing done to unskippable cutscenes placed after checkpoints and they completely neglected what Onimusha Genma brought to the table... Also there's an Onimusha Netflix anime coming ... so there is clearly some interest.

[@limabarreto911]

This new mix of the more serious analitical videos and the older, more "fun" content you've been pulling is great!

[@superbro6413]

The pre rendered Onimusha 2 backgrounds look crazy good, especially that beach with the almost lifelike waves. It's kinda funny that we wouldn't get reflections up to par until fairly recently

[@somechinesedude5466]

Kinda questions that if we can get pre rendered background as this on other games

[@SonicKick]

As the Onimusha 1 video was a Christmas vid, it makes sense the 2 video is a New Years vid. 😂

[@morkgin2459]

What would 3 be?

[@michaeltheodore5149]

@@morkgin2459 Easter maybe?

[@PrideOnInsightGamer]

@@morkgin2459 ❤ day?

[@Jose-se9pu]

The best in the series, by far. Also, both this game and the trilogy itself are a testament on why you DONT put celebrities in vídeo games, because we are never getting remasters of them.

[@SianaGearz]

I doubt that's the particular impediment.

[@JDelwynn]

Personally it's my least favorite. 3-1-4-2 would be my best to worst ranking.

[@Rorschach1195]

Great review as always, can't wait for the Onimusha 3 review in 2030 !

[@Trisaaru]

I'm actually in shock that this video has finally been made. This is my favourite game ever made; a true masterpiece. It has a combat skill ceiling that is damn near infinite (chain issening bosses separated the masters from the good players). It also has incredible replay value. I just watched the whole video and was a little disappointed you didn't mention issening at all, it really does add to the already amazing game.

[@stolensentience]

The weakest onimusha

[@tomsantos9448]

While I really do love Onimusha 2, I do think they dropped the ball a little with it's tone and polish. O1 had this more threatening, even frightening atmosphere, that almost never lets up. The goofier robots you mentioned are most likely a result of the new staff coming from Tokusatsu background and definitely feels like that. A cool style for sure but makes this one a little cheap and silly looking. Because the scale is so much larger and there's this new style it gets tough to keep it all consistent. By comparison the prerenders in 01 are always classy and since there's less of the rooms with a panning camera, almost every fight is framed in a way to show off the enemies and player in a cool way (the best being the boss fight on the roof) The point of no return is something that also seems more sloppy. Gives me Code Veronica flashbacks, it doesn't feel as well thought out as the first. I feel like the 3rd game does a better job shaking things up without sacrificing the polish (Woah this was a long comment. Great vid Charlie)

[@Jose-se9pu]

Onimusha 1: Resident Evil 1 Onimusha 2: Resident Evil 4 Both equally as good.

[@tomsantos9448]

@@Jose-se9pu in terms of tone, that's fair. Like I said, I do love them both. I just think this one's a little sloppy in it's design like the point of no return and it being harder to see enemies n stuff

[@TheCrewExpendable]

I think Onimusha 1 is a little too relentless. Healing items are limited but enemies generally are not, so it’s possible to screw yourself over and run out of healing items. Then the only way to heal yourself is by entering Oni mode.

[@JDelwynn]

@@TheCrewExpendable But the enemies also give you health?

[@Trisaaru]

@@TheCrewExpendable Issening enemies guarantees yellow orbs for health. Would have been cool if it was explained in 1 and 2. Thankfully in 3 we got a training course.

[@alexanderburlyka2843]

Happy New Year to you, good sir! Thank you for the stellar work in '22, and looking forward to more good times this year😊

[@jackbiesty3729]

At the 3:25 mark. (hands on keyboard) 13:35 (hands off keyboard). Great vid Charlie.

[@vholst]

I was hoping after the success of Sekiro and Ghosts of Tsushima, action games with a heavy Japanese flair, that Capcom would try something with Onimusha. And they very well might be doing it behind the scenes. Even if nothing manifests, I'm glad I was able to experience this series as it happened. It's a good series of games that struck a fun middle ground, and something I'd like to see more of from the indie scene.

[@Jose-se9pu]

Capcom spent quite a bit of money to get the rights to use Kenshiro's face and remaster the first game in 2018...it sold like crap. Capcom DID try to revive the franchise, sadly, there was no interest in it :/

[@vholst]

@@Jose-se9pu It sold like crap because of several reasons (imo). It's barely a remaster, they decided to not advertise it as much as they should have, its missing content, and to top it off, they released it in January. It's a D- fair all around.

[@Jose-se9pu]

@@vholst That Is also true, but most of the budget went to get the rights back, and they also had to make a new OST because the original one was made by a..."controversial" figure. A shame, but fact Is, Capcom did try, and it just didnt work.

[@SianaGearz]

@@Jose-se9pu Mhm wasn't the original composer not only allegedly deaf (except not really) but also so inept, he'd thoroughly make use of ghostwriters? If so, discovering and crediting those could provide a positive publicity, such a missed opportunity. Sometimes you can go too far with trying to avoid controversy, you might as well take it and turn it around.

[@basicallybojack1033]

Kunitsu-Gami is described as a spiritual successor to Onimusha and Okami so, there’s that. I guess. Coming out probably 2026 though

[@ultimate_oikawa]

Babe wake up tgbs finally dropped onimusha 2 review

[@gameroutoftime117]

The Onimusha series is a masterpiece. I played it many times back in the day and I would play them again. Rest in Peace Yusaku Matsuda.

[@songoku9348]

I just actually added the Onimusha trilogy to steam deck, if the upcoming Netflix anime is anything to go by, here’s hoping for a DMCV style revival for Onimusha. It needs to come back.

[@hotstinkytaco]

onimusha 2 is already on steam? I know warlord was remastered and demon seige was ported to pc. Though they gave up bringing 2 to steam due to the poor sales on warlord.

[@songoku9348]

@@hotstinkytaco No no, all 3 games work extremely well via PCSX2. Sorry to get your hopes up.

[@BlackangelKatakuri]

Long as the characters don't look ugly

[@Jose-se9pu]

@@hotstinkytaco Only 1 is on Stream, the 2018 remaster, that Is. And there are some fan patches to make the PC port of 3 working on current hardware. But there is no way to play 2 outside emulation.

[@JDelwynn]

Nioh perfectly scratched my Onimusha itch, but I wouldn't oppose a remake of sorts.

[@anguset]

Love the way you just jump straight into the action. It’s confident and familiar, and gives your channel a distinct texture to the way videos are structured, which makes your content very memorable.

[@SuperOtakuKyo]

Praying they remaster the other Onimusha games, this one was my favorite as a kid.

[@BlackangelKatakuri]

They definitely should.

[@darrylrobson4376]

@@BlackangelKatakuri Apparently the remaster of the first one didn't sell anywhere near what Capcom had hoped, so I doubt they'll bother remastering the others unfortunately.

[@ianbowden2524]

I love Charlie because he tells us nothing about his personal life ever. Other than that he lifts. It makes me happy that there's no parasocial shit on this channel.

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

I just finished this game lately, I liked it but I always found it odd how fan’s criticized Onimusha 3 and 4 for being more action heavy and downplaying the horror when this game already did that compared to Oni 1. Just compare the bosses of Oni 1 to the whacky and goofy ones in this game especially Gogandantess and this is coming from someone who loves that guy

[@tomsantos9448]

Yeah it seems weird to me the whole tone of the series changed by the second. I imagine it didn't feel as big of a shift because this one starts off kinda dark and gradually goes off the rails (in a very fun way), while the others are bombastic action from jump

[@Ock_mantis]

Agreed

[@stolensentience]

@@tomsantos9448 probably bc it started off as a resident evil game and gradually they moved away from the survival horror to make it more unique. I agree tho that the first one had by far the best atmosphere.

[@WillBoy182]

Absolute gem of a game. Give Oyu some booze and the Tengu mask to unlock the legendary sex scene.

[@agrippa2012]

wait, what? I don't remember this... 😮

[@Bryan_Kenji_Watanabe]

What happen?

[@cj-de-dj7162]

Best 8 years of waiting for the Onimusha 2 video of my life

[@mikokun7714]

With the release of the Netflix Show this may be capcom's hint at something for the future. But they need to gauge the fanbase's interest this is our chance to be loud & show them

[@zyonhunter]

my favorite Onimusha game! the gameplay and cheese is just, perfect.

[@BAIGAMING]

This was a great retrospective, it's great to see you still making videos every few months. I agree with you completely, it's such a beautiful game and I'm a sucker for games taking place in feudal Japan. The SMT Raidou games and the Great Ace Attorney have great environments too. I played Onimusha 2 when I was young but I barely remember the nuance of the affection system, I'm surprised the game can change so much from giving gifts.... I've never seen affection done in as game that plays like old Resident Evil or Devil May Cry either. Now that I think about it I'm surprised Devil May Cry didn't have routes, though I suppose the later games had character selection and I guess old Resident Evils let you choose the order of protagonists, changing the playthrough as a whole.

[@AntiNihilist]

It's real funny looking back on all the games that talk about the Evil conqueror Nobunaga now that I know the actual history. That there was more than a dozen clan leaders as bad or worse than him.

[@Diwasho]

_>Onimusha 2 is _*_classic_*_ with a capital H_ ....Hlassic?

[@SuperArppis]

I loved this game. It had high replay value! Played through it 6 times.

[@gotinogaden]

This one is the best in the series, IMO. The story, the characters, the improved gameplay elements and the branching plots were all vast improvements over the linear dulness of the first and the third titles.

[@stolensentience]

Linear is great. But dawn of dreams is the best if you haven’t checked it out.

[@Mr.Faust3]

Damn 3 videos in one month he’s on that before New Years grind

[@Moontea1]

When I was a wee lad, I would say "greatest swordsman of all the demons!" all the time while waving a stick around.

[@thebuddah1253]

After finally going back and playing old god of war for the first time I'm blown away with how good the camera worked. Sometimes I felt it zoomed out too far but most often it tracked me and my enemies just fine and knowing I don't have to babysit the camera was a breath of fresh air.

[@pendantblade6361]

Another comfy video from Gaming Brit! Damn, I really missed these old titles.

[@king-boneanger]

Was In tears back then with this game. The baby scene with ekei and jubei clutching gogandantes saying no YOU are gogandantes the greatest demon swordsman. Such an underrated sequel!

[@baroquechevalier8516]

OMG ive been waiting for this review for years!!

[@raulrojas9253]

The Onimusha trilogy on the PS2 was one of the best gaming experiences I ever had growing up and sealed Capcom as my all time favorite developer, Sadly the dark times of Capcom will come not long after Onimusha 3 was release (and I didn't knew about Monster hunter)

[@blank.e5plus]

There's a fourth game called onimusha dawning of dreams

[@thegamingspothd9557]

Onimusha dawn of dreams best out the series

[@blank.e5plus]

@@thegamingspothd9557 it's genuinely my favorite game of all time

[@stolensentience]

@@thegamingspothd9557 yeah that game is the true masterpiece in the series. Along with the shorter and sweeter first one, but dod expands sooo much.

[@Alastor343]

See you all in 2030 for the next Onimusha video

[@TankRunner]

I did not expect to watch this video and be slapped in the face by memories from my childhood that have been locked away for almost 2 decades. I had no idea what Onimusha was, or that it even existed before this video, but at 11:45 something happened. This Gogandantes guy shows up and immediately seems extremely familiar to me, but in a weird way, like if you were to see one of your elementary school buddies in a feature length movie after your brain forgot about him for most of your life. I start googling and get hit with a wave of nostalgia. I owned an action figure of Gogandantes when I was a kid, and had no idea who he was or what he was from, and now after all this time have clarification on something that I had completely forgotten about.

[@BlingBlams]

If no one has heard the Onimusha 2 Orchestra Album, do yourself a favor and do it. The track Truth of Guile is one of my favorite tracks ever.

[@davidsterling7570]

I can already tell 18 minutes won't be enough after 8 years, but I'm just glad to finally hear your thoughts on my first and favorite Onimusha :)

[@InvntdXNEWROMAN]

Dude, I completely forgot about these games until I saw the thumbnail and instantly remembered what it was.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Depends on the emulator settings - you can easily up-scale even the backgrounds and stuff trough the latest modded emulators.

[@chrisbfreelance]

I think it's very unlikely that they will release this as a remaster as they did with the first, but that would be marvelous.

[@RetroFan2.0]

The Great Brit has Returned 🎉🎉🎉

[@scarlettpsychopath]

Oh my god, never in my life would I think I'd see an Onimusha 2 video, that game was my childhood and I have so many fond memories of it, I haven't been able to play it in over a decade and eagerly await the day I can finally revisit it

[@herbg4866]

A masterpiece. Still loved giving gifts to my comrades and crossing my fingers hoping they would like them

[@ravipathak4614]

Now if only we could also have Soul Reaver remakes as well

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

i don't understand capcom's logic of basically selling remasters piece by piece instead of the complete package. Maybe they are just too poor to waste any sort of money on a hopeful release, why not let some basic chinese company do it, with so much tech any dev team can do it

[@CTStyles31]

Dropping a banger before 2023 I see

[@Waposa]

Brilliant vid. Love the latter halfs musings on trends in the industry. I do miss diversity in control and presentation so very much.

[@a.alphonso6193]

woooah, i had no idea the characters appearing to help with your battles was based on your relationship with them, as a kid i thought it was pre-determined. awesome !!

[@jerrym1218]

Gogandantes is one of the best things about Onimusha 2, I wish he had more scenes in the game, and became a recurring character in the franchise, but unfortunately he wasn’t 😔. I remember when I first bought Onimusha 2 back when it was first released on PS2, everything was easy for me in the beginning of the game and I felt like a bad ass demon killing warrior, especially after playing and beating the first Onimusha game. Then I finally get to Gogandantes and he totally stopped me on my tracks and wrecked the hell out of me, I had to figure out a good way to beat him, and it took a while for me, and when I finally did beat him in the very first encounter with him, I felt like a greater swordsman and went through the game feeling more stronger and kinda hoping that I would run into Gogandantes again and luckily there is more encounters with him, and yes, he would kick my ass like he did in the first encounter lol, until I finally would defeat him and continue on to beat the game. Ahhh, Great Times 🤔🫠.

[@Marshy50]

Onimusha 2 is awesome and the best in the series.

[@s0lid_sno0ks]

1 is way better.

[@Bendilin]

I adore games with good pre-rendered backgrounds, regardless of the genre. The aesthetic is just so stylish when done properly.

[@xSabinx1]

Onimusha...now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. Game deserves a remake

[@BRUTALSHANZ1988]

My first introduction to Onimusha was with Onimusha 2 Samurai's Destiny and it is still my favourite PS2 game to speedrun. This game is so much fun I take pleasure in the issen kills and needless to say the risk vs reward element is stong here which means if you kill demons normally you will get a few red souls and a few blue souls but if executed perfectly the demons releases more red souls and even yellow souls to get your health back. However the Ultimate mode is the true test of Onimusha 2's Mastery and it requires issen kills only. So you can slash away for hours and the demons will not die even if you use magic on them. You have to issen them to kill them and currently I am not skilled enough to tackle Ultimate mode. but never the less Onimusha 2 and Onimusha 3 were my go to games when coming home from school and I enjoyed the both of them. Onimusha 1 to me felt rough and even though I can play it I prefer the other 2 games in the Trilogy. Onimusha Dawn of Dreams on the other hand is it's own seperate experience so I hope that others will be kind to the game if they haven't played it yet.

[@timtim9o5]

a blast from the past! I remember hating the tank controls in this game when I played it in my childhood. An awesome story, and beautiful setting. I miss it now.

[@BaBboonking]

It really helps in combat if you sometimes let the enemy enter in camera frame instead of pursuing them in their's.

[@MaximumLowBlow]

Have you ever played Nioh? I loved Onimusha as a kid, and Nioh was the first game that really captured that feeling of it again. It isn't nearly as charming, but almost every other flavor is there.

[@waifu_enjoyer]

EN dub so bad I thought it was part of the youtube video and you were doing a spoof voice track for the game.

[@kibowman]

i really like the prologue of this game blew my mind with the atmosphere back then on the PS2

[@christophercarrasco154]

I can see this game coming back. Especially with Ghost of Tsushima being popular.

[@OneTrueNobody]

I keep meaning to go back and finish Onimusha 2, but somehow I just never get around to it. It really is a memorable game from what I've played.

[@sugarsmile7852]

After 8 years later you made a review to the sequel

[@freaknr1]

I've own Onimusha 2 for years, but have yet to play it. 😅 Got it and 3 cheap at a GameStop, and bought them because I really enjoyed 1 and because the CG trailers for both games where amazing. Now I feel the need to dig them out and actually play them. Its interesting how 2 seems to emulate Sentai-shows in a way 1 didn't as much, what with the expanded team, and more over-the-top villains.

[@Cheeks730]

one of the best soundtracks that main theme is amazing and iconic.

[@megasoniczxx]

The fixed camera thing is interesting to me since I don't consider myself particularly nostalgic for the tank control + fixed camera combo that a lot of games had back on the PS1 but after an adjustment period I didn't really mind it too much despite even coming fresh off Onimusha 3 and how that game controlled. The camera angles, while frustrating at points, are actually pretty nice since for every sudden camera shift that throws my timing and sense of place off, there's one that perfectly frames the scene making fights not only look cool but allows me full awareness of what's going on without having to fear getting clipped off screen.

[@DonutSwordsman]

your video looks sweet not being widescreen tbh good touch

[@BukaKEK]

Omfg after 8 years we finally got onimusha review continuation! 16 more and we will have caught up lads!

[@ProjectRedfoot]

THIS WAS THE ONE MY BROTHER AND I PLAYED! Thank you!@

[@MrMister681]

New Year's with Brit

[@tayvoncole5483]

Anyone else want to hear him talk about the early PS3 gem heavenly sword?

[@TrvisXXIII]

I never got to play any of the sequel games in this series and wish they got ported over to the switch at least

[@genuinesaucy]

Onimusha is criminally underrated. Playing the first game made me feel like I was in fucking Ninja Scroll. The only other game I can think of with such a perfect samurai vibe is Bushido Blade, which is basically an endless string of Akira Kurosawa duel scenes.

[@amx9122]

When I was younger I always thought the companion missions and them appearing in boss battles were pre scripted I’m just finding out now that it all depended on your relationship with them lol makes me wish the whole series was backwards backwards compatible right now I miss it so much.

[@SolidusGriloShow]

Amazing video! Oni 2 is probably one of my favorite games from ps2 era, still, i think Oni 3 is still the best one of the series. Thanks for covering this game, not much people talk about Onimusha series anymore lol.

[@lichlame]

Damn. This is some classic TGBS stuff!

[@barkleyos8036]

NO FUCKING WAY ITS HERE

[@thewebbie9698]

Soulstice is a hack and slash that came out this year with fixed cameras!

[@night1952]

I'm down with fixed cameras for action games, I'll take an awkward camera change over having to wrestle the camera to get a good view of the action. I even have some docs about a game I wanted to make, a DMC1 like with fixed cameras, a semi open world without levels and a souls like check point system as well as resource management.

[@Timodus]

One of the first PS2 games I played and still my favorite in the series. Release the HD remaster already, Capcom!

[@-neurasthenie-]

"It's fair to say this isn't the most compelling plot in the world" In a Capcom game? Surely you jest Also, fixed camera wouldn't be that much divisive if the character movement wasn't "tanky". Something like Genji as an example.

[@tonyfinale.]

kingly takes as ever! video games as a medium are obviously just more interesting the less homogenized they all are. there's enough room in the world for more 'weird' styles of play and presentation like from good ol onimusha

[@kenshin391]

I just don't understand why isn't Capcom either Remaking the Onimusha franchise or making a new one. These games were amazing besides the last one, but the first 3 🔥🔥

[@JDelwynn]

The reason is, and always will be money. Like they're remaking RE4, a game that I think doesn't need a remake, just because it's most likely to make a lot of money. Onimusha is kinda niche and the 1 remaster didn't sell all that well.

[@Ock_mantis]

OOOOLD BAyYyyyy, OOOOOOOOOIOILD BAYYYYYYYY, over here OLD BAYYYY....The first thing that comes to mind when I think about this game

[@EddDoubleDD]

modern 3d action camera control has had over two decades to refine itself yet fixed cameras barely even got one and was completely abandoned but is judged like what was made is all it could be

[@lowerclassbrats77]

Hey Capcom, can we get a port of 2 & 3 to current consoles?

[@JDelwynn]

"No" -John Capcom, probably

[@jayfolk]

Hopefully capcom does something with this franchise. Maybe RE engine to quickly scan replacement assests in, swap out actor faces and voices to get around expensive use of likelihood - even if it mean we don’t get Leon the Professional.

[@Grandmastergav86]

I so wish this was officially available on PC

[@melancholyman369]

Damn my childhood is rumbling

[@Schizobateman]

Now for that Kingdom Hearts 2 video

[@Kriss_ch.]

I don't find the arguments in favor of the prerendered fixed angles particularly convincing, so I'm happy you acknowledged them at the end. Personally I don't think running around on jpegs is particularly immersive no matter how you frame it, and I'd say any graphical advantages were already dubious around the time RE4 came around three years after this. Certainly not something worth sacrificing the gameplay for as far as I'm concerned at least. I appreciate you being so into the mood and vibe you get from these games, though.

[@SianaGearz]

In the context of a game this age though? Gamecube RE games pulled off highly cohesive lighting between character and backgrounds and very impressive looking environments. There was no way to accomplish that otherwise. Even something like Syberia or The Longest Journey make prerendered backgrounds absolutely count, there's no way they could have realised their vision otherwise even close. That being said of course it's more suitable to some games than others, there's a very strong case to be made for a point and click adventures and a fairly strong one for horror games, perhaps less so for a slash-em-up.

[@kyledodson2992]

I really wanted Onimusha 2/3 ports. O2 has the best looking Pre-rend art of any game in the Capcom arsenal (even if it’s not my fav)

[@AlexGreat321]

I played Onimusha 3 on my PS2 back in the day and I played 1 on PS4 recently. I'd really like to play 2 at some point. Ideally I'd like them to remaster 2 and 3

[@panos3320]

Thats pretty good..Better than i remember, which was already good.

[@a.alphonso6193]

oh hell yes!!!!!!! i love your reviews, and this game, so excited to watch

[@SPOCK22]

I could never beat the final boss because I ran out of health packs

[@HazyJ28]

I feel like GoT devs took heavy inspiration

[@Dyreblade]

I've been waiting for this 🍿

[@GamerRoman]

These sequel reviews that take nearly a decade are killing me.

[@pockystyx4087]

Man, probably my favorite of the OG trilogy. It sucks Onimusha is pretty much a forgotten IP; and my back-up Nioh is on hold.

[@WhiteDingo79]

Speaking of Samurais... I'd like to see you cover Samurai Legend Musashi or Brave Fencer Musashi. those games are neat!