Ever heard of "Super Smash Bros.?" The premise behind the series is simple yet elegant; gather up all the iconic Nintendo franchise characters, and have them beat the snot out of each other with fancy weapons in exciting four-player, free-for-all matches. Don't think about it too much, because you'll ruin the fun of making Donkey Kong pound Pikachu into a pale yellow mist.
Apparently, so many people love these games that Capcom executives have taken notice and said, "Let us make a similar game using characters from one of our own franchises! We will now buy suitcases to fill with all the money we're going to make!" Apparently, it would have been too easy (and make too much sense) to create a four-on-four "Street Fighter" or "Marvel Super Heroes" game. Instead, we get a fighting game based on one of Capcom's most unlikely properties -- "Onimusha." Join us on this episode of "X-Play," as we take a hack at Capcom's latest.
Kaede is looking quite smashing
First off, you may be surprised to find that the characters and environments don't look quite as good as what we've seen in other "Onimusha" games. Most of the time, you'll have a zoomed out perspective that doesn't give you a good look at character detail, but once the action comes in close, you'll find that there isn't much there worth considering. Magic and special attack effects are passable, and inoffensive, but like the rest of the game's visual presentation, nothing really grabs at you. The environments are drab as well, although they do provide for good staging points for action. The soundtrack is charged and provides a solid backdrop for the swordplay, but the tame voice work isn't up to snuff.
Who are these people, errdemons?
"Onimusha: Blade Warriors" pits the characters from the "Onimusha" series against each other, so you can finally answer the burning question, "Would Samanosuke beat the tar out of Marcellus if he had a machine gun?" Don't consider this a true venue for competition, because there are ridiculous arms littered about each stage for your use, including over-sized mallets o' bashing, and laser rifles o' blasting. If this doesn't excite you to the point of bursting, then you may be pleased to find that with some diligent play time, you can unlock a slew of bonus characters, including Mega Man. Although the roster is quite sizable once unlocked, the characters don't play in a sufficiently unique manner to merit spending undue amounts of time earning them all. Still, if figuring out the nuances of each character's attack timing and combo chains gets you excited, and you have a lot of time on your hands, then you will have countless hours of diversion here.
Duel to the death
While you can't separate the gameplay from what you've seen in "Smash Bros.," Capcom has added greater depth to the action that can't be found in Nintendo's fighter. Each character is capable of striking with weapons, or firing off a kick, and these attacks can in turn be used in combos or modified with a shoulder button. Properly guarding and deflecting attacks are also required skills for more challenging levels of play.
I want your soul
One of the signature aspects of the Onimusha series' gameplay remains intact -- feeding on souls. When downed, enemies release brightly colored spirit orbs representing their souls, and when absorbed, they can grant your character increased power, speed, and other bonuses. You'll also need to absorb these souls to win certain game types, so get used to it. In fact, "Onimusha: Blade Warriors" will drop you into quite a few scenarios with different win conditions, but there is nothing groundbreaking or original here.
Get over here! today, please?
Movement isn't on a single 2-D plane, but instead on three-tiered planes, which you can move back and forth between with a double-tap up or down on the control pad. In this way your characters can jump onto rooftops and onto other pieces of scenery, in true Crouching Tiger fashion. But unlike the silky smooth characters of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you won't be able to use swift foot speed to get across each stage towards your opponents. Characters move sluggishly, and can only make a brief dash forwards, so it takes quite a while to close the gap at times.
One can be fun, but four is more
There are a few different game type options available to players, including a lackluster story mode, where you can build up your characters over time, earning new outfits, weapons, and characters. The cutscenes aren't up to snuff with the standards set in previous "Onimusha" games, and most will find that the versus mode is more than satisfactory in comparison. It's best played as a four-player fighting game with a PS2 Multi-tap, but lonely gamers can substitute AI bots if live competition is nowhere to be found. The AI puts up a good fight, and makes use of all the tools available, just as a seasoned opponent would, only these opponents you can't kick out of your house for using dirty tactics.
Seppuku!
Perhaps you will absolutely love "Onimusha: Blade Warriors" if the series holds a special place in your heart, or have always wanted to play "Smash Bros." without buying a Nintendo console. But character-based fighting games using characters no one cares about is never a good idea, and "Blade Warriors" is nowhere near as fun or deep as its inspiration.
"Onimusha Blade Warriors" (PS2)
