Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny preview — Classic Capcom keeps kickin’!

Capcom has always been a fan of capitalizing on work they’ve already done. With the updated Resident Evil releases, it makes a great deal of sense to strike while the nostalgic iron is hot. Enter Onimusha, another beloved franchise with its DNA founded in the Resident Evil genome. While it doesn’t have the gravitas of its present-day cousin, there’s no denying the affection fans have for cutting down Sengoku-era zombies. Now, 23 years after its initial release, the public can get its hands on the remastered version of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. Based on my time previewing the game, it’s going to be an experience that’ll make fans happy.

It’s a tale as old as time. Nobunaga had been slain and there had been some peace in the land for a time. So of course, leave it up to those pesky demons to resurrect the warlord so he can resume his conquest of Japan. The game opens with Nobunaga’s demonic army sweeping through the village of Yagyu, slaughtering everything in their path. Unfortunately for them, Jubei was gone when calamity struck. Upon his return, he finds everything razed. As he searches the village for survivors, he encounters a female oni who turns out to be his mother. She gives him a report of what’s happened, tells him how to defeat Nobunaga, and awakens latent demonic powers that will help.

Much like the Resident Evil games, you’ll have to work through a bunch of towns and dungeons, killing zombies and demons and solving puzzles along the way. You’ll even be using herbs to heal. Onimusha 2 allows players to collect the essence of fallen enemies and upgrade gear over time. The game even features a cast of supporting characters to interact with as you work to find five magical orbs and save the land.

While the game has been around for over two decades, let’s discuss what makes this version special. First, let’s address that this is a remaster, not a remake. Onimusha 2 didn’t get completely reworked like the Resident Evil games did. Instead, what they opted for was an approach that faithfully updates the original experience in some meaningful ways. The most obvious is an upgrade to high-definition graphics with the ability to swap between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios. The game now also features a whole gallery of content to peruse from concept art to the soundtrack.

There are some great quality-of-life upgrades here, too. Those who just want to experience the story can do so with Easy mode. For those who’ve seen them a thousand times or want to speedrun, cutscenes are fully skippable now. With the press of a couple of buttons, you can swap weapons on the fly. Finally (and perhaps most notably) they’ve added an auto-save feature so getting killed won’t be such a brutal punishment. Speaking of punishment, the hardcore folks who really enjoy a challenge can take on a new difficulty titled “Hell” mode where you’ll die with just one hit.

Some of the same problems that plagued older games like this are still present. It drove me almost batty to fight in some areas with the camera swapping or the enemy fighting from off-screen. That said, there’s a lot of fun to be had, too. I’ve had a fantastic time meeting folks, solving puzzles, and fending off zombies. My time previewing the game has done nothing but build more excitement for the final game. Thankfully, with the game launching May 23, 2025, we won’t have to wait too long to stop Nobunaga and save Japan in HD!