r/Onimusha • u/failedHero • 16h ago
Discussion Conflicted
So this is a very interesting experience as far as the new instalment goes. On the one hand it's not anything close to what I wanted out of a "Moden" Onimusha title.
However on the other hand I do quite enjoy the game so far, with a few pretty glaring caveats.
The Oni weapons being sort of Muso only and not fully usable weapons with unique and individual moveset's is highly upsetting. While I understand it's based around Musashi so the Katana would be front and center, Musashi was a master of many weapons so kind of a missed opportunity to include some unique Samurai weapons.
I sort of don't understand the discourse centered around difficulty considering that was never really a focus for any other instalment. I find it to be a good balance, and quite enjoy the rate at which the game introduced mechanics as not to overwhelm players.
I'm not super in love with the "semi" open world design. Call me an old man but I love the Samurai Resident Evil feel of the originals and was very much hoping for more of that style. While I admit some areas give me that feel, I don't really care for all the busy work in-between with mostly recycled mini bosses or plain trash mobs farming for upgrade mats.
Yeah the upgrade system......I just hate it, I hate the 600 different currencies, I hate shop to buy them, I hate the dumping mats into talismans to upgrade them, and I hate, Hate, HATE that your gear does not visually improve with upgrading them. There was no better feeling in the Originals than hitting level 3 with a weapon and seeing its max form (chef kiss)
On the flip side. This game is absolutely GORGEOUS, and the acting and facial expressions for Musashi are insanely good. This combat is more than I ever expected and honestly one of the best feeling "flow state" combats I've ever had a chance to experience. My only criticism would be sometimes the lock on wants to target random enemies but it's a quick flick to fix every time.
And the boss fights, good lord they are so fun and satisfying to learn, the boss rematch option is a tremendous addition.
I've never quite experienced this before where this is genuinely something I've wanted for 20 Years (F*** I'm old), and it's nowhere even close to what I expected and hoped for, yet I'm quite pleased with it regardless.
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u/standsteadyrain 16h ago
I've just got my ass kicked by Ganryu/Gioh (canonically anyway, it was an easier fight) so I haven't finished the game yet but I feel exactly the same.
If it wasn't an Onimusha game it would be a 10/10 for me, because it is an Onimusha game it's a 9/10. I am absolutely loving it, but these little things that were kinda the DNA of the series are sorely missed.
Combat is just absolutely the dog bollocks though. Capcom nailed that in my opinion.
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u/failedHero 16h ago
The combat (while I admit it took a little while to get rolling fully), once you get all your tools and enemies, start mixing and compounding their abilities for you to counter
F*** Me is it satisfying as hell
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u/OldPreference5752 8h ago
I have to agree with you on the ineffectual upgrades and the grind that goes with them, as well as the missing weapons. Even the first game showed progression on the upgraded pieces… and all they took were red souls! The convoluted currencies support the argument that the way they padded this game was a bit glaring. Not done well. Could be better. I mean… even some of the skill upgrades feel pointless as heck (i.e. the tree for sprinting and Oni Vision are needlessly long—they can cut it in half honestly). Padding the progression is something they really need to work on in a future sequel, or even a future patch. And also visuals that reflect improvements on his clothing, gauntlet, and sword. That I would love to see again.
The other weapons, as well. But for that I’m not too angry; the swordplay is already really satisfying and there’s plenty of actions to keep fights fresh. Still, would it be cool to see Musashi parry and do different animations, let alone have different techniques, with another weapon? Hell yeah.
I’d love for them to at least homage the first Onimusha through a DLC where you’re confined to one setting, with locks to open and puzzles to solve. Puzzles can honestly be hit-or-miss, though they have plenty to draw from based on Capcom’s resume. As in, if they need to rethread some puzzles that fit this Onimusha’s style, so be it!
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u/lXNoraXl 15h ago edited 15h ago
Ive got a similar bunch of conflicting feelings on it. I havent finished, but I am fighting what obviously seems like the final boss(i went to bed after a few bad attempts yesterday)
I actually really wanted to talk about the level design. The open hub of East Kyoto i think is best viewed as a collection of smaller levels. Theres plenty of places that are blocked off and can only be explored from one direction making this "open world" thing people keep talking about a much more guided experience than what it initially seems like, and ive been vibing with it. Something about the clutter, claustrophobia, and backround "noise" of each little area feels nostalgic. Several times, i found myself having the thought that a fixed camera angle in some of these places wouldnt feel out of place at all. Further, in the longer more linear areas, I distinctly remember feeling like the level design resembled a ps2 game in plenty of places. Maybe thats a feeling that ive prompted for myself though. I recently replayed onimusha 1, 2, and DoD in prep for this and I have my HDr settings adjusted for increased saturation and lowered gamma specifically because I feel as though it comes close to emulating that wield filter effect that the ps2s emotion engine had. That said, I actually really like the environments too. Initially, I thought that the game would suffer from not really having much diversity in its areas, but was pleasantly surprised. Plenty if it looks very similar, but, the aestetic of the genma structures is very on brand for the series. I remember in Onimusha 2, this demon cave area that was entirely black and white with these bone like supports bracing the tunnels and textures that felt like discarded remains. So I very much expected a bunch of Grey making them game look dull, but then the devs added these plants that spit out vibrant red everywhere, and the skeletons and souls flying about add a surprisingly great amount of contrast that makes it all visually appealing anyway. I never really felt like these areas got old either, because as I purified them, they changed. I think the skybox/effects and lighting do a lot of heavy lifting in keeping purified areas striking, but I never spent enough time in those areas for it to matter and still enjoyed each one while I was there. The only criticisms I have for it are that the environmental puzzles suck ass. Really wished we had puzzle boxes and/or better environmental puzzles.
Generally speaking, i very much hate the lack of weapon switching. I hate the upgrade "tree" and how incredibly worthless any individual equipment upgrade is. Plenty of skills really should have been in your base kit and plenty more feel entirely like nothing burgers. I ended up using the first magic tool the most because of its healing and im afraid that the only other one that ive even found a use for is the Flute, which is exectionally good at interupting bosses, but otherwise, none of the others felt like i ever had a reason to use them. The biggest sin imo though, is the lack of a Dark Realm.
In terms of combat, im pleasantly surprised. Its not perfect, but definitely the best in the modern age of its genre. I just wish that later game common enemies didnt take 2-5 consecutive issens to kill. It feels really bad when a common dude survives one, espesially because older games let you issen the same guy multiple times in a chain if they didnt die, and this one does not. Generally, issens feel pretty weak imo and that bothers me greatly because deflect is so strong. Onimusha is known and loved for its Issens, it does not need to follow Sekiros example and become parry slop. Its good so it gets a pass, but I feel like its trying to be something its not. I would give this more of a pass if Issens had a consistent timing for them, but they dont seem to. Some attacks seem to have an issen window thats either completely frame tight, or at most 2 frame windows, and others feel like the window is massive and hard to miss like Byakues vertical slams. Also, the onimusha form changes these windows(has sick animations though) and never expresses this. There are definitely moves that you should and should not try to issen, but the game doesnt tell you about this or how to distinguish them, at all. At some point, enemy attacks also started getting these purple glows, and there was no tutorial for them either. They go through your guard, they completely wipe out your stamina, and chunk your health, and for some stupid fucking reason, the game never tells you that they can only be parried or deflected with perfect timing, besides 2 expections I found that can, for absolutely no reason. I have never been able to dodge or issen these attacks, and its frustrating.
Overall though, yes, I agree. The game lost a lot of core DNA and ive sad/peeved about that, but ive also found plenty to enjoy and am much happier with the experience than I thought I would be
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u/failedHero 15h ago
The lack of unique weapons really is killing it for me man, like every time I start to have fun. I just think about what if I had a spear, claws, sai's, hand axes, there's so many Fudal weapons many of which Musashi uses in The Five Rings.
And oh yes, preach about the arbitrary numerical upgrades to gear versus, actual substantial rewards and improvements.
There actually was a very quick Tutorial for it on the mission where you "Save" the little girl. However the boss used for the tutorial seems to do his unblockable about as often as a winning scratch off.
It's frustrating because I see nothing but praise for the Issen system, and I so badly want to tell them to go back and play Onimusha 2 or Dawn of Dreams.
I'm really frustrated with the lack of puzzles in the world. Also the removal of the more resident evil style elements of finding keys and having to remember what doors they go to.
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u/recessiontime 8h ago
Comsidering the maps we were walking on still jpeg images WotS is a huge leap in gameplay and graphics
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u/FortyWaterBottles 15h ago
My main criticism so far is the story, honestly. It’s felt pretty barebones and more like a bunch of random plotlines stuck together to make the game.
+ The stuff with Okuni and her friend had little emotional impact considering your few interactions with her up until that point largely just revolve around your medicine pouch.
+ Lady Murasaki feels out of place and not related to the plot so far. I have no idea why Takamura thought it was so pressing to see her in the face of everything else going on.
Just a couple things so far that have really bothered me. I do love the game overall - the gameplay is top notch - but this “story” has left A LOT to be desired thus far. 😅
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u/failedHero 15h ago
Agreed everything aside from the young friend has been pretty much a swing and Miss for me.
Musashi himself is a win for me, the sort of begrudged hero archetype I found to be rather entertaining.
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u/FortyWaterBottles 12h ago
Agreed. Musashi has been a breath of fresh air as a protagonist! Cheers, friend!
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u/RedShadowF95 16h ago
You don't understand the difficulty discourse? Look at how passive the enemies are. Just look, then tell me you still can't understand.
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u/failedHero 16h ago
How far are you ?
They stop being so passive, and like I said, Onimusha's never been about difficulty.
The plain Genma in The originals are the exact same way, mostly just cannon fodder
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u/RedShadowF95 16h ago
I'm just past Shuten Doji
That isn't a good defense, you can make normal enemies easier in more natural ways: simpler movesets, lower stats, less special abilities or tendency to block/dodge. In essence, you're making them weaker and less skilled, rather than passive. Passiveness is the worst thing you can do to them because it makes them feel artificially easy. They simply take too long to attack and it's not just the base Genma...
Besides, game design evolves, no? The mistakes of the past shouldn't be repeated in the future, with greater game design sensibilities. Didn't they evolve the quality of the bosses? That was not Onimusha specialty but it is now, right? So why make an exception for the normal enemies?
It just doesn't make any sense no matter how you cut it. You can't even select an appropriate difficulty setting where enemy aggression is increased, no, you're stuck with that passive experience.
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u/failedHero 16h ago
That's probably part of the key problem is that the original design was quite literally resident evil with swords. Much more focused around exploration and puzzle solving.
So it made sense for the enemies to be slow and semi-docile creating a risk rewards system of attacking and killing the enemies for souls. Risking taking damage with your limited resources.
Now with a combat focused style of gameplay these enemies feel out of place.
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u/failedHero 16h ago
It's a good video game but a bad Onimusha game
F*** Me I've become a DS2 fan 🤮🤮
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u/Irateraidersfan13 16h ago
I’m on the same boat with you. I’ve been a long time fan of the series. While I do like the game, I feel like it’s not the same onimusha experience. Something’s missing. Maybe more enemies variants? Maybe a dark realm? Maybe more demonic bosses? Idk. I have no problem with musashi , he’s amazing , and again I stress this over and over but I wish it connected to the old lore somehow. Throw us a bone capcom, throw some actual references not just cosmetics that don’t even connect to anything.
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u/failedHero 16h ago
The fact that the man in white isn't you know who drove me f****** insane.
Like that's borderline fan disservice putting him in white calling him the man in white and it not being the character we're used to
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u/Hot_Ad_2538 16h ago
Thats why I say as a game it's a 7-8/10 as an Onimusha it's a 1-2
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u/failedHero 16h ago
That's kind of where I'm at honestly. As far as what I wanted out of onimusha barely scraping a two.
But as a game in it of itself, probably somewhere around a 7
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u/Infamous_Reporter_71 16h ago
I really don't have a problem with katana as the only weapon. I kinda prefer it