The
next installment of Onimusha is available in Japan,
coming to North America very shortly, and chock full
of surprises. by
StewXX
Please
click here to read our other Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams
Review
March
7, 2006 - Note:
If there aren't any noticeable gameplay diffferences
between this import version and the North American
version, consider this our definitive review for both.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered my import Japanese
version of Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams had settings for
English text and voices. Ka-Ching! I live for things
like this. I wasn't expecting to have too much trouble
working my way through the Japanese import as hacking
and slashing is the universal language, but there
is a surprising amount of good story telling here
and I'm tickled that I was able to play Dawn of Dreams
(hereby referred to as DoD) in my native tongue. I
prefer listening to the Japanese voices while reading
the text - and I expect the localization to improve
with the North American release as it's a little wonky
in spots.
Without
ruining the entire plot for you, I'll just recap:
It's been 16 years since Nobunaga was defeated at
the hands of Samanosuke. Calm and order has been restored
to Japan and ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi has been keeping
the peace. That is until a strange planet appears
in the sky, wreaking havoc with nature and causing
Toyotomi to become an angry, power-hungry zealot,
hellbent on doing nasty things. Cue Soki, Oni of the
Ash: aka "The Blue Demon" (at least that's
what it says on his bomber jacket) our hero for this
period piece who happens to have a vested interest
in Toyotomi. You'll have to play the entire game to
find out their relationship.

If
you were under the impression that Capcom was retiring
the series after Onimusha 3, you're a sweet kid. Instead
of resting on their laurels and spitting out a rehashed
game they know fans will buy anyway, Capcom fixed
a lot of those niggling issues gamers have had with
the series since its inception while at the same time
evolving the gameplay to infuse more replay value.
The enhancements to DoD include a fully functional
camera system which finally gives players the vantage
point they've been craving: ANY vantage point other
than the default! Aside from a few areas in the game,
you will have full control over what you see, which
is worth a fourth installment in its own right. Since
the series originated as a Resident Evil game way
back when, the franchise has been known for incorporating
those RE dramatic camera angles which weren't necessary
in a hack and slash game. DoD really scales back on
these oddball viewpoints and the game is far better
for it. Interactivity has been increased and the addition
of more playable characters (5 in total) all with
various strengths and weaknesses bumps the value through
the roof. Capcom even allows co-op play with another
player (with a secret code)! While this mode is a
welcome addition, please note that adjusting the camera
isn't functional as it is in the single player mode,
for obvious reasons.
Playing
as 5 different characters elevates DoD from being
another run-of-the-mill hack n' slash, to something
far more entertaining. However as we have seen in
previous games that offer such experimentation, often
times the limitations of the characters border on
ridiculous. Characters who are incredibly powerful
for example, will require a more agile character to
finish a level because their "special ability"
is the only thing that will suffice - which is silly
as hell - but that's just the way things work. Puzzle
solving will require the use of the different characters
and it's in your best interest to backtrack to previous
levels with new characters to see if their particular
powers will reveal hidden secrets or help progress
in that stage.

Playing
co-op with a CPU controlled character adds an extra
dimension to the series as well. 4 commands are available
to your robot-pal, which can be issued via the D-Pad
- Soul Absorption, All out Attack, Follow and Attack
or Wait and Recover. For the most part, having a teammate
along for the adventure keeps things interesting.
As is often the case with CPU controlled characters,
you will experience hiccups in functionality, but
nothing catastrophic. Offering 5 distinct play styles
and weapons for each character: heavy swords (broadsword),
barehanded, katanas, staves and guns, chances are
high that you won't be bored playing DoD. Each character
can upgrade their weapons, armor and abilities with
the collection of orbs and skill points as they progress
which keeps the learning curve and experimentation
factors high.
Enemy
AI in the Onimusha series has never been incredibly
intelligent and DoD is no different. The demonic Genma's
only known use is simply to be slaughtered at the
hands of the hero de jour. As long as you don't expect
much of a fight out of the underlings, you'll be on
the right track. Underestimate the bosses and mid-level
enemies however, and you'll be an unhappy camper to
say the least. The boss battles in DoD are terrific
and as epic and imaginative as you've come to expect
from the series.

Presentation
has always been Capcom's specialty and DoD pulls out
all of the stops. I can't imagine how incredible any
of Capcom's games would look on the Xbox or X360.
I shudder to think about it. What they are able to
pull off visually on the PS2 is nothing short of brilliant.
Everything about DoD shines with quality touches from
the menu screens, CG cutscenes, lighting, animation,
character design and models and backgrounds. It's
all topnotch. The visual style of the game has been
altered to reflect more of a fantasy edge, rather
than the feudal Japan of the previous installments.
I can only assume Capcom is intending to take the
series in the fantasy direction, given the character
design choices they made for DoD. Once you get a look
at Soki, you'd swear you were playing a real time
Final Fantasy game. Not that this a bad thing, in
fact, I think the series will have more worldwide
appeal by evolving the art direction.
DoD
clocks in at a hefty 20+ hours for the single player
mode which is almost unheard of in the hack n slash
genre; that's a lot of game time. Take into account
the 500 level Dark Realm mode, Valor challenges and
tons of secrets to unlock (including playable Street
Fighter skins!...how cool is that?) and you've got
a game that will keep on giving until you just can't
take anymore. If you've been a close fan of the series
since its inception, the new direction won't throw
you. It's a welcome change and breathes new life into
the Onimusha franchise. After the stellar Devil May
Cry 3: Special Edition and now this, Capcom is on
a roll in 2006.

By
StewXX
CCC
Staff Writer
|
Capcom
announced Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for PlayStation
2, the 4th installment of the popular samurai action
adventure series. This time the game will have a new
setting, the story takes place in 1598, 16 years after
the battles between Samanosuke and Nobunaga in Onimusha
3.

The
world is in peace until one day, suddenly a red star
appears from the sky, and causing natural disasters
at various places over the country, and the genma
monsters reappear on the land, and the ruler of the
land - Toyotomi Hideyoshi also became berserk.
The
producer is Inafune, the cherry blossoms is the theme
of the game. The protagonist is an original character,
instead of modeled after an actor like the previous
games. Let's hope there aren't any real actors that
look like the main guy in Dawn of Dreams, since all
of the real actors used as digitized heroes in Onimusha
have been deceased. Aside from Jean Reno in Onimusha
3. As far as weapons, our protagonist will wield two
long blades as weapon, one is red and one is blue.
I wonder if it's like Smarties....you should always
kill with the red one last.

The
game is currently 20% completed, Capcom is aiming
to push out the game sometimes in spring 2006.
By
Gooseberry
CCC
Freelance Writer
|