I, Samurai. Review

I, Samurai.

Despite the well-chronicled fact that GR loves the undead, there’s one big problem

with them: they won’t stay dead, particularly the incredibly evil ones.

Take, for example, Nobunaga from Capcom’s

Onimusha series. He’s a tyrant warlord who went from being regular

dead to undead with the help of a little Genma blood. Now he’s back to his old

ways, unleashing zombie hordes, plotting the destruction of mankind and generally

being a really bad example of the kind of zombie we respect.

So what do you do when a 16th century demon goes buck wild? You call in The Professional

and turn the adventure into Onimusha

3: Demon Siege. Starring Samanosuke Akechi (from the original Onimusha

Warlords) and Jacques Blanc (played by none other than the “Professional,” Jean

Reno), Demon

Siege is the final chapter in the successful sword-slashing trilogy. It’s

got all the mystical weapons and demon busting of the past games with a time-traveling

twist this time around just to make things a bit more delightfully confusing.

When last we saw Samanosuke, he had just defeated Fortinbras, the King of Demons.

Now, he fights alongside his uncle to rid the land of the demon Nobunaga. But

unbeknownst to all, Nobunaga’s eccentric Genma (demon) scientist Guildenstern

built a time travel device and sent demonic forces into the future. Where did

they end up? Why, present day France of course! Freedom zombies! Eventually,

Samanosuke is flung into the future, Jacques is tossed into the past and a

Japanese Tinkerbell named Ako opens the lines of communication between them.

I told you it was confusing.

The basics of Demon Siege aren’t, though, as the game remains true to its predecessors with players using magically charged weapons to dispatch Nobunaga’s legions, upgrading said weapons with absorbed souls and solving various puzzles along the way. But don’t let outward appearances fool you; Demon

Siege has plenty of new powers tucked away.

The first change Onimusha vets will notice is an improved control

scheme. Rather than sticking to the classic Resident

Evil D-pad control, Demon

Siege includes a smooth stick option to go along with the D-pad control.

This scheme makes it a lot easier to move around rather than first spinning in

place to aim the right way. It’s also handy for evasive maneuvers in combat.

Speaking of which, Demon

Siege builds upon the original set of moves. You can still get through the game by sticking with basic attacks and the occasional special, but a host of other complex techniques can be learned along the way. As the power of your Oni gauntlet grows, you’ll be able to charge up your weapon with more power for extra damage. “One hit kill” counterattacks are also available, including the ability to chain them together. The learning curve for these deadly techniques is pretty steep, but those who wish to master the samurai arts will appreciate the added depth.

In addition to upgrading your magical weapons and equipment, you’ll also be on the hunt for hidden Eco Spirits, which will imbue various Haori (vests) for Ako with new powers to help you in battle. Obtain the proper Haori and Ako can heal characters, increase soul absorption and even suck the souls from living (or undead) enemies! Talk about putting Tinkerbell to shame.

The biggest gameplay change, however, is the time travel component that accompanies

the story. Players will take control of Samanosuke in present day France

and Jacques in 16th century Japan. Initially, the jumping back and forth between

characters is disruptive; you’ll start to get used Samanosuke’s sword attacks

or Jacques’ whip skills only to be yanked over to the other character. But

about half-way through the game, the time travel element starts to make sense.

Jacques’ actions in the past can affect what happens to Samanosuke in the future.

For example, while playing as Samanosuke, you run across a locked door. Just

send Ako back in time and take control of Jacques to open it. Pop back over

to present day with Samanosuke and voila, access granted. It’s a pretty interesting

sort of puzzle to work through and really gives the game some positive energy.

Another small change is the use of 3D backgrounds. It’s not as graphically impressive

as the 2D environments that the other Onimusha games employed,

but the 3D characters don’t look so out of place anymore.

However, one problem that has plagued the Onimusha series since its inception

is its often awkward fixed camera angles. Demon Siege doesn’t do much to change this, meaning you’ll still watch in frustration as offscreen enemies take pot shots at you. You’ll be able to work around it, but it’s still a noticeable irritant.

Equally

disappointing is Capcom’s audio dub decision. The first Onimusha had

the original Japanese audio – which rocked – while the

sequel took the less than impressive English dub route. Demon

Siege does a little of both, which is more than a little confusing.

Being a French guy in a French land, it’s pretty obvious that Jacques would

speak French. Not so obvious is the fact that Samanosuke, being a Japanese

guy in a Japanese land, only speaks English. Huh? That’s right, the 16th century

samurai speaks English while the 21st century Frenchman speaks French. Go figure.

To solve this linguistic conundrum, Ako eventually uses Rosetta Stone powers

to give everyone the ability to converse in English, but before then, it’s

almost a joke. Mercifully, the game’s

music and sound effects are fine.

After you’ve completed the game, there’s still some fun to be had with the game’s

extras. A couple of mini-games are available, including an archery game and a

mini adventure featuring one of the characters you’ll meet along the way. Not

a bad selection of end game rewards at all.

Onimusha 3: Demon Siege wraps up the trilogy in a nice, neat

package. The classic action/adventure combat, now augmented with time travel

and more ways to dish out punishment, will please fans hoping for a good ending.

There are still some lingering issues, but this old warhorse remains in top form.