Onimusha: Warlords Review (2019 Re-Release) -- CLS Side Quest

Back in early 2001, Capcom’s Onimusha: Warlords was a welcome addition to a PlayStation 2 launch window library that had a lot of choices, but not many great (or even good) ones. By melding Resident Evil-like vibes, hack-and-slash gameplay, light RPG elements, and alternate Japanese history, Onimusha was impressive for its time, and now that it’s been re-released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, it seems appropriate to reassess the game from a critical perspective. Indeed, Onimusha’s reemergence on the scene -- even if only in the form of a slightly retouched port -- is a healthy reminder that tastes and expectations steadily change. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
All Onimusha: Wardlords footage in this video review was captured by CLS off of a PS4 Pro. The copy of Onimusha: Warlords played for this review was provided by Capcom to CLS free of charge and ahead of its release date.
PS2-related footage was garnered from this source: • PlayStation 2 Press Co...
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[@user-kj4od7ig3t]

Colin keep being a blessing to gaming.

[@Ty-hx5ts]

Yes! Colin's opinion is the only one I trust

[@WheezyTsunami]

I really appreciate you doing a review of a game like this in a modern context. Thank you for being awesome Colin :)

[@bipolarcow]

"Generation of gaming when DLC didn't exist" games would ship fully finished and fully featured with a suite of extra options and challenges. I miss those days. Now we have to pay extra for accoutrements that used to be standard.

[@WickedGoodEverything]

I missed this series back in the day, but this review makes me want to give it a try!

[@danbarbour85]

Clicking that like button even before the video starts because you know Colin Moriarty has you covered

[@DaBroheimer]

Had to buy it loved it as a kid plus hopefully they will give us the sequels. 2 was easily the best I loved the gifting system and all the branching paths gave the game a lot of replayablity.

[@FunForChu]

Great job separating your nostalgia for the game and reviewing it objectively. As a 2001 game it looks pretty dang good. I also hope Capcom will try to reboot the series as there is a lot potential here.

[@boots_33]

I'm pretty sure I owned this game and played through it at least 3 times and yet I recognize NOTHING from the footage shown here other than a sword and that gauntlet. It's amazing how that happens.

[@MHilstrom]

Going to hop on it when I get up. Gotta show support for these solid remasters.

[@sheabrooks5786]

I’m happy you understood why this game is great, while still acknowledging its shortcomings. The IGN review is embarrassing.

[@McBerts522]

For us to get this port Capcom had to get the rights to Samanosuke u can see it on the title screen and they also had to redo all the music cause the original composer ripped off it all. They probably had to redo all the voice acting also cause of copy rights.

[@Grandmastergav86]

Shame I loved the original score.

[@Ocean5ix]

You forgot to mention Issen. It's an integral part of the combat system and it's IMO by far the best parry mechanic ever in a game.

[@616Entertainment]

YO. I'm up at 2 AM editing a video and I get a surprise CLS review in my notifications? What a great fucking Tuesday.

[@shawnsmith564]

I need to say this I've been with PlayStation since the very beginning. I'll never forget that Christmas getting a ps1 and playing intelligent qube and fast forward 23 years later I still love PlayStation but I just went and bought a switch and I'm in awe of how amazing it is, don't get me wrong I had a psp and I have a vita which I hacked to death and enjoying the benefits but between playing both I realize that I feel playing my vita has been a chore and it comes from the support from sony and games are mostly graphic novels which is cool but playing Mario kart 8 online for hours seamlessly brought me back to my high school gaming days without a care in the world and I don't know how far the switch plans to go with this but I'm gonna enjoy the ride. I'm not giving up the vita but it's truly now a legacy handheld with so much potential on my back burner

[@DOC_951]

People always seem to think a remaster signifies a new entry is on the way. When instead, more often than not it is simply just a quick financial turn around that requires little work for the amount of money they'll (hopefully) recoup.

[@EliteBlackSash]

Buying. Just in hopes this is a feeler for working on a modern iteration. I think about Onimusha Dawn of Dreams everytime I see stuff like Ni Oh. Well onimusha and ps3 launch title Genji Days of the Blade.

[@pgs9407]

Colin you should replay Bioware's Jade Empire to see if it holds up.

[@ApenBaard]

Capcom wasnt the one being good about extras in their games, for anyone interested, its the studio that ported those retro collections and has ties to the video game hystory foundation, Steve Lyn and Frank Cifaldy, they are the ones that put in the extra effort. They also did work on the recent snk 40th collection. The companies that own these games often dont even have the old material you see in these collections, its literaly just stuff from Frank and Steve Lyn's personal collections if I understand it correctly. Alhough seeing as they started the video game history foundation last year or the year before Id guess its now maybe officially owned by the foundation :p

[@alef321]

Colin's reviews are a gift of heavens.

[@SickTruck]

Love this game. Love this Colin.

[@knowledgeisthepower1]

1st ps2 game to sell 1 million copies

[@Arcananine77]

This series got weirder with each subsequent game. This one is basically Resident Evil: Samurai Edition (I don't mean that as an insult) in terms of tone and then the second game introduced goofy stuff like robots and obnoxiously quirky villains; and then the third game had time travelling to Paris and fighting demons as Jean Reno. Don't know if I want to revisit the other games if they also get a re-release; but I'll buy this one since I have good memories of it. Thanks for the review!

[@justifiedfun9811]

I'm glad your happy with this port, I know you were looking forward to this game.

[@axelstone3131]

I was a day one adopted for onimusha back on ps2 also. I absolutely loved it! I remember the trailers. They got me so pumped. Played about 30 mins on the remaster last night on my switch. Almost felt like a new game. He visuals, 60fps, improved controls. Really enjoyed it. Excited to keep playing.

[@ApenBaard]

I remember a buddy of mine who loved to drive over sheep in gta while laughing on ps1 got this game with his ps2.We were like 10 years old at the time. He apparently played it up until he killed a few enemies and felt so sick because the violence felt so real compared to on ps1 he had to bring the game back to the store with his mom. He didnt tell me till yeeeaaars later hahaha, I always thought his first ps2 game was penny racers but thats the game he picked when they brought back onimusha. I actually used to feel sick every time when he drove over sheep in gta so I loved hearing that hahaha.

[@dannysullivan12345]

remember the with jean reno lol

[@1SWINZ1]

Love this game, I just wish it was harder. I struggle finding the motivation to play through the pot-smashing mini-game to unlock the Hard Mode but one of these days, I'll brute force my way through it and hopefully find a decent Hard Mode at the end of it. I gotta say, I think the new soundtrack is superior as hell. I might be the only one, but I've listened to it on a daily basis since this game released in January. Comparing it to the old score, I think only the original Theme of Samonsuke is better(compared to the new version), whereas the rest of the new tracks are all superior to the old ones, IMO. 2001 is my most fondly remembered year in gaming overall.

[@JusticeSoulTuna]

Nice review. Onimusha was one of those games I completely missed, but it seems fun

[@BigSchim]

Now that I think about these kinds of games... this, Lord of the Rings, aren't these like early predecessors of Dark Souls? I dunno. I never really thought about it like that until just now. I think we've all been tricked. Dark Souls is just a hack and slash game that they slowed down to 25%. It's not it's own genre at all!

[@theroseexperience]

It was a mistake to release these as one off's, it should have been at least a trilogy if not all of them revamped and up to date. The original game alone didn't warrant the price tag or a stand alone, despite it being a really good game. In 2019 you should need to do more with your nostalgic compilations. Saying that, I bought it day 1 and will be playing it really soon.

[@KC-Shinobi]

This just dropped on Switch, and im was really thinking of getting it. Would be sick if Capcom ported DMC 3 to switch

[@McBerts522]

Hopefully someday we get a new Onimusha game, maybe open world. Colin u like tactics games check out Onimusha tactics on GBA.

[@peterrufus7574]

Colin, thoughts on Dave Rubin dodging Same Seder's debate challenges recently?

[@luciddre4m]

Seems like a solid package for the $19.99 asking price, but I'll probably bypass it as I have zero nostalgia for this series. Great review.

[@smgofdvld]

Bringing me back to childhood 😎 can't wait to play this we needed another game maybe this inspires them if sales are good enough.

[@Maharvel]

I got the Devil May Cry HD Trilogy for Christmas and I beat the first one in 5 1/2 hours. This is very reminiscent, which is a great thing because I had a blast playing that. Can't wait to get this.

[@HerFirstTime]

Never beat the first boss as an inept child. Glad to hear the game is actually pretty short so I can go back and give it a whipping without taking up too much time.

[@BigTwonLT]

I actually thought I wanted a new Onimusha until I saw Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima gameplay.

[@cailancook9720]

Never played the original but this was an insightful review. Thanks for this Colin, I think your reviews are some of my favourite videos of yours.

[@nickd9142]

Great stuff Colin! Not seeing much coverage of this release anywhere else. It's awesome to think that we're getting this and Sekiro so close to each other, talk about an evolution...

[@Juve1898]

Great game back in the day. I think 3 is the best and would definitely buy it if it was remastered despite not playing games as often anymore. Thanks for the review Colin!

[@mjschlosser]

Here's hoping we get 2 & 3! I really want to purchase this one so we can get em all.I like my long games like monster hunter world so it is nice to have a shorter 5 hour game like this, games like this can exist now a days, every game does not have to be a "forever game"

[@jasonprice9823]

I would have been in grade 12 when this released. Back then, this wouldn’t have interested me. It most certainly does now.

[@sumojoe1188]

I wish this got a full out remake like with Resident Evil 2. I always have a hard time getting into games with tank controls and fixed cameras

[@redanimator6973]

Make sure to play in Japanese its censored only if u play english dubbed, censored gaming has video

[@MrRodrigues520]

Hope to see all games back including the Blade Warriors spin-off

[@daniellee-poy3371]

Great vid! One thing also worth mentioning was the music score for this remaster was completely changed and redone. The original composer has confessed to fruid and this was one of the titles he had a "ghost" composer write the music for him selling it off as his original compositions.

[@BigDuace]

IGN score 2 out of 2 million,reason why.. game logo font size is inaccurate

[@EternalReplicant]

Why has like every video on this I've seen lately mispronouncing the title of the game lol, c'mon Colin!

[@tonylavagnaart3865]

Colin...please, for the love of all that is holy, review Astro Bot!

[@SaberWolf94]

I just want Team Ninja to make more Ninja Gaiden.

[@gamegoblin1]

Nobunaga: I was laughing at a joke that I suddenly remembered..then a took an arrow to the throat..

[@danielguerrero1438]

Out of the 4 games which they still sitting on the shelf this was my less favorite but 2 and 3 love last game was good but kinda felt off somehow.

[@mikealsutton8119]

I loved this series. I’ll get it this weekend to show support so we can finally get more of the series.

[@DeathToMonday]

His name is Samanosuke? Damn... I thought it was Onimusha.

[@lowerclassbrats77]

That's all I needed to hear. You had fun and the price is right, ordered it myself today

[@BreakingKarl]

Never played this. Might check it out.

[@Titantaunt]

I missed this thanks Colin for doing game reviews again!

[@irisdiaz9889]

Will onimusha 2 n 3 be remastered im waiting till all 3 come out to buy all 3

[@sterlingkart9562]

I really hope we get more Onimusha, because Nioh literally gave me my Onimusha fix. If it comes back I hope they take some influence from Nioh and Ghosts.

[@KC-Shinobi]

Nioh was dope. Being a Ninja Gaiden fan with the xbox, Nioh reminded me of that game

[@sterlingkart9562]

@@KC-Shinobi that too. Man, I want all those series' back. 😭

[@Jasters_Fear]

It is a shame they didn't release it with the additions from Genma.

[@Superspiddy3]

Love Onimusha, you too Colin

[@liammcnulty1987]

Still got my original ps2 games

[@BlueValco]

It’s 2 am for me, but I’m still here.

[@deucemcallister13]

hello fellow central time user.

[@BlueValco]

Josh Threeton hello

[@ffboi7]

Can pronounce Samanosuke but can't pronounce Onimusha lol love ya Colin

[@solidmasterdante]

Well... to be fair, he didn't pronounce Samanosuke right either. He said "Sam-uh" instead of "Sah-Mah". Truly shameful.

[@axelstone3131]

Also you can do a quick lethal attack. If you attack just before you are attacked by an enemy. I can’t always pull this off but I’m guessing it’s s timing thing

[@olliebear6926]

What's wrong with fixed cameras? I really like them

[@olliebear6926]

Played Resident Evil 1 remake for the first time last year when I was nearly 17 and it's one of my favourite games ever. Also got RE2 and RE3 ps1 classics so I could play with fixed cameras before their remakes come out. Just a different and refreshing way to play.

[@soulslayer434]

I assume they will remake all 4. And I imagine a new Onimusha will get announced sometime for the PS5.

[@Fc3s808]

Onimusha oh-knee-mu-sha

[@Dragon969Reviews]

Here's hoping they release the Xbox Genma content as DLC.

[@JerriKoe]

Hey Colin, I have one question regarding the button mash-y combat. Did you like or dislike it? Usually I hear you saying that you disliked it in other games. Maybe that's because of the potential of what the combat could be if you were forced to do some moves other than punching (Spider-Man, Batman, which for both I disagree with you but it's totally fine). I didn't really get it from this video. Really interested to know your opinion about it as I've never played any Onimusha and I think it's time I change that. :D

[@EdvinDzafcic]

At my current state being married, kid, etc etc I hardly have time nice to be back to some shorter games. Also, I remember drooling over EGM in my Junior year waiting for this baby to come out. All I had at that time was Tekken Tag, Ridge Racer, and I was playing FF9 good ol days.

[@TheMikerocks85]

Waking up to ya boi Colin M's voice is better than a morning beej

[@davecarsley8773]

Whoh. Just FYI, you're not normal.

[@shivajones108]

Nobunaga!

[@irishxero]

It's great to play this again, the original was a day one purchase just like the remaster but I immediately noticed one major flaw...it doesn't have the original soundtrack and I'm not a fan of the replacement. I remember it was performed by a new(at the time) orchestra so maybe it was a licencing thing, but still

[@PicoHobbies]

It a Classic game

[@StuartDesign]

'To this day'!

[@stevenewsom3269]

Oooh, a liver!

[@sabith9152]

3 am uploads lol

[@Marthastewart209.]

This game is a classic! I love the Onimusha series, let us get Onimusha 4 on PS5 CAPCOM

[@Anthony19byrne]

The second the clock struck 12 i bought this game. Love the series & i hope this is Capcom's way putting feelers out to see if it wanted.

[@ZardozXerxes]

I love the way that you can get these old games upresed on ps4 I just found out you can get the horror classic Forbidden Siren.

[@kenjifuse8599]

i think a big reason why it feels alot shorter and maybe easier is soley because of the controls. Playing this game back in the day with tank controls is what made it 'hard', now with the new addition of the analog directional controls, this game just loses all difficulty.

[@nickwick35]

4-5 hours is a positive these days. A one sitting kinda game is sometimes all you need. Thanks Colin!

[@IrishRumjob]

Purchased as soon as this popped up on the PSN store. Cannot wait to go back after just shy of two decades.

[@beartoes2002]

When this went live, I was just beating the game. Been playing it since Midnight EST.

[@louis8529]

You would

[@melbye7441]

As someone who never played the game until i played it last week on Switch i really did enjoy my time with it

[@ApenBaard]

I played the ps2 original for the first time last year and its among my favorite games I played that year. Im glad more players will get to play this great game.

[@plmjuygv]

Great review Colin, love seeing you back reviewing games 👍

[@kaiangel7]

Onimusha reminds me of Ninja Gaiden.

[@IMRavnos]

Samurai Resident Evil, or Resident Ronin, or Residentmusha.

[@danijelb.3384]

Don't u even dare to suggest this is the last we see from from this IP, Sir.

[@neojd]

Never played this before but I’m interested so I’ll give it a shot

[@snowman151623]

I had no idea it was even out. Just bought it while watching the video 😂😂

[@schwabdizzle]

this might be a perfect Switch title for me.

[@HeyMyNameIs...]

I loved this game when i was a kid! Cannot wait to play it on the switch

[@extebonexcobon8536]

Good review, Colin. Crazy to see how Dark Souls and Nioh borrowed ideas from this old franchise. I'll get in on it soon.

[@Regna]

i played the shit out of that back in the day

[@Repasado1894]

First game I played on ps2