Onimusha: Method of the Sword is the most recent sport to grace the quilt of Recreation Informer, and whereas the sport has made fairly a splash within the samurai-action scene, it’s straightforward to overlook that is the primary entry within the sequence in 20 years. Sure, we obtained remasters of the primary and second video games lately, and Onimusha: Daybreak of Desires (the fourth mainline sport) is coming to PlayStation Plus’ Classics lineup subsequent month, however Method of the Sword is the primary new entry in 20 years. That’s why, when it was time to interview the sport’s director, Satoru Nihei, and one among its producers, Akihito Kadowaki, at Capcom’s Osaka, Japan, HQ for this cowl story, my first query was: Why is 2026 the time to deliver again Onimusha?
I half-suspected it was a difficulty of gross sales, contemplating the sequence has solely bought 9 million copies, a far cry from Resident Evil’s 200 million, Monster Hunter’s 127 million, and even Road Fighter’s 59 million. The opposite half of me assumed Capcom had merely forgotten about Onimusha – after the primary sport, Onimusha: Warlords (which, after not too long ago enjoying the remaster on Steam, I can confidently say nonetheless completely rips), launched in 2001, we obtained three sequels within the following 5 years. And that was it: Onimusha disappeared as quick because it arrived. Kadowaki tells me, nevertheless, that Onimusha’s departure from the motion house wasn’t for lack of attempting.
“[Whilst Onimusha] was all the time well-received, there have been, at Capcom on the time, different main sequence like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil video games, and Road Fighter, however there have been additionally up-and-coming growing titles,” he says. “And as improvement turned harder, needing extra time and extra individuals, with all these individuals targeted on these titles, it was very tough to get a staff collectively to make a brand new Onimusha sport, regardless of desirous to internally for a very long time.”
Kadowaki says he personally needed to have a hand in bringing the sequence again as a longtime fan of Onimusha. It took the RE Engine coming to fruition and a tender reset in 2020 for Capcom, because the publisher-developer checked out scheduling out the brand new/now-current technology of {hardware} and the video games it meant to make for it, for Onimusha’s return. The staff has been engaged on Method of the Sword for six years, and Kadowaki tells me that whereas Capcom paid consideration to the motion house and to what gamers count on of it, the staff labored laborious to make sure Method of the Sword retained all the things that makes an Onimusha sport an Onimusha sport. He additionally particularly requested Nihei to direct Method of the Sword, conscious that Nihei liked the video games as a teen and needed to make his mark on the sequence. A lot to Nihei’s shock, his alternative to make a mark on Onimusha additionally turned his first time as a director.
After I ask Nihei the place one even begins when making a brand new sport in a sequence that’s been dormant for 20 years, he responds with one phrase: Issen.
Current in each Onimusha sport, the Issen is a robust counterattack that gamers can carry out by attacking simply earlier than an enemy assaults, typically leading to a important hit. Should you’re an Onimusha fan, it’s probably one thing you wish to hear on the subject of this sequence’ return to the motion house.
“[This] was one of many important components of that satisfaction and the texture of the interval motion, and the Oni Gauntlet, the tactical parts of it when it comes to soul absorption, sort of weighing when to make use of these talents and when to not, after which additionally the weather of the historic ties to the actual historical past of Japan,” Nihei says. “Clearly, the earlier titles had been set within the Sengoku interval, so the Warring States interval, however simply mixing these historic parts with darkish fantasy parts is the core of Onimusha.”
That is simply the primary of many Onimusha: Method of the Sword articles I’ve deliberate for Recreation Informer’s month of protection surrounding the sport, and we’ll be publishing unique gameplay and behind-the-scenes movies (in addition to a Speedy Fireplace Interview) on the Recreation Informer YouTube channel too. Hold the Onimusha: Method of the Sword protection hub bookmarked so that you don’t miss any of it!
Within the meantime, right here’s some extra Onimusha: Method of the Sword studying for you:
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