Responsive controls, flashy graphics, fluid animation and great presentation makes Onimusha 4 another success for Capcom
So what's so great about this game then? Well, a lot of people thought that this game is going to be just another clone to it's predecessor…Onimusha 3, but guess what: Capcom has made another big makeover for the Onimusha formula and the result is another smash hit.
The first thing you'll notice is the nice introduction sequence that'll show off some of the games features like the larger number of characters to be seen in an Onimusha game yet, the high quality FMVs and the great graphics, you get five playable characters in this game each with individual attacks, special moves, and unique abilities, for example: one of your characters can swing on poles, another can use his great strength to open metal doors, and so on…, at the beginning of the game you play as the main character Soki, but soon you'll be joined by four other partners, just keep in mind that only one of them will be joining you at a time, but you can switch the controllable character between Soki and his partner any time by pressing the L2 button, and having said that you'll still be able to give commands to your partners by pressing the directional buttons to issue four different commands at any time, this is great in fact because it helps you in battle and especially in solving puzzles in order to advance in the game, and just as mentioned above each character will use his/her special ability to help you out, and believe me: you will. Of course different obstacles mean different abilities possessed by different teammates and for that you'll be changing them frequently, and thankfully it can be done at the enchanted mirrors which you'll find scattered around the whole levels.
The levels are diverse and they all look nice although some of them look suspiciously borrowed from Onimusha 3, but thankfully they have been redrawn in order to look fresh and new, but still…there are new levels and they're fun to explore and see, item boxes and puzzle boxes are scattered throughout and the puzzle boxes are easier and more fun to solve than the ones in previous games, you don't have to solve them in order to advance in the game, but they hold valuable items so it would be worth trying to open them( you can always break them but it's more fun to try to solve them). A new feature that you can also get valuable items or should I say weapons is the test of valor which are very short missions in which you have to meet a certain requirement in order to win and get the weapon, this is new and a refreshing addition to the game.
The fighting itself is very fun, and there's a large number of enemies to try out your fighting skills at, and speaking of which…all characters can level up their fighting skills and all of them level up generally after collecting enough experience, you can also level up their weapons and armor manually at enchanted mirrors. And all of these fighting skills will be tested in the battle field upon different kinds of Genma, which are more diverse than any found in previous games, some of them you'll find your self familiar with, and others are totally new. Control over these characters is very responsive and enjoyable which help the fighting in becoming more intense and it rewards precision and timing although at the beginning of the game you can slash away randomly but later on you need to learn more moves than simply slash, dodge and block, for more difficult enemies are waiting at later stages in the game, they're even more difficult than most bosses which are still very fun to fight with.
Another new feature is the hideout which is an area that you'll find yourself in between the different chapters in the game, there you can talk to your teammates to get more information on different locations, events, or characters , you can also ask them to make useful items for you by combining items collected during your journey, there is also the ability to revisit areas you have already explored in previous chapters, doing so will enable you to check on areas you might have missed or was unable to reach because you lacked the ability to get to it, you can also shop to buy or sell items, and also visit the dark realm which is a much improved version than the ones found in previous Onimusha games, there your battle skills will be tested in a One Hundred Floors stage that gets harder and harder the more you progress from one floor to another, you can leave any time after you have cleared a floor , which is a good idea if your not very well prepared, but it's entirely optional.
As I mentioned before the graphics are really sharp and clear, the characters and backgrounds look great and the animation is fluid and the controls responsive. The audio isn't half bad either: the sound of slashing is really satisfying although it's mostly taken from previous Onimusha games and so is the music which really fits the mood and add up to the action perfectly.
The story itself is very good although it's filled with clichés and weak plotting segments, but at least it's fun and presented pretty well. There are some references to previous games and the characters themselves are based on actual historical characters.
When you finish the game there is the option of replaying it keeping all your gained abilities and levels from your first play through, which is really great especially if your planning on taking the dark realm challenge. There is a number of extras in there but it's really the option of playing the game again keeping your stats from the previous play through is what's really interesting.
Some thing else worth mentioning is that even with the US and European version of the game the main menu is presented in Japanese, but there is the option of changing them to English . Obviously this was made to fit the Japanese setting of the game.
Onimusha 4 is a great game that does it all well, great graphics , animation, responsive controls and suitable audio, in addition to great improved game play and deep solid story, make this the best in the Onimusha series, if you’re a fan…you're gonna love this, and if not, then it's definitely worth playing.