Summary
- Most game features are unlocked from the start, including multiple difficulties and bonus modes - great for both veterans and newcomers.
- Improved controls with option for stick play, quick weapon switching, and Onimusha mode for strategic gameplay.
- Quality of life improvements include the ability to skip cutscenes, increased save slots, an autosave feature, and an Honors system for replay value.
It’s hard to believe that Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny was released in 2002 on the PS2, and now it’s finally back after two decades. It took Capcom a long time to make another remaster in this franchise after Onimusha: Warlords received its remaster in 2019 in North America. Not only that, they’re also making a new game, Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
Onimusha 2: Beginner Tips and Tricks
Onimusha 2 is an excellent action-adventure game that drops players right into the deep end, so here are some tips to make things easier.
It’s a good time to be an Onimusha fan, and this remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny has some nice quality-of-life improvements. There is one immediate downside, though. There is no attract mode trailer featuring the amazing song "Russian Roulette" by Tomoyasu Hotei, which was in the original. Give that a listen and then find out what makes this remaster good.
6 Most Things Are Unlocked From The Start
From Difficulties To Modes
The original release was barebones when players started, but after at least one completion, things unlocked. Now, most of those things are unlocked from the start via Special Features. The most important option has to be the base five difficulty modes: Easy, Normal, Hard, Critical, and Hell.
It’s a bevy of content for fans to dive into for those who want a challenge or newcomers to ease themselves into this horror-filled samurai experience. There’s also a variety of bonus modes, including The Man in Black, Team Oni, and Puzzle Phantom Realm. All of which will unlock additional content upon completing them. There are outfits for Jubei and Oyu, along with artwork, too.
5 Controls Like A Dream
And Quick Switching Weapons
Even though the PS2 version had analog support since that’s what the system launched with, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny had to be played with the D-Pad using tank controls. The tank controls still exist for those who want to experience them in the remaster, but it’s a lot better to play the game using the sticks. The remaster still has fixed camera angles, so it can be confusing when scenes change, but it’s easier to manage without actual tank controls.
Every Onimusha Game, Ranked
The Onimusha franchise has been put on hold by Capcom, but it still features an impressive roster of some truly outstanding titles.
Another control fix is the ability to switch weapons while playing faster. Players can hold down L2 and then use the left D-Pad to switch between ranged weapons and the right side to sift through the four main elemental weapons. It’s not perfect, but it is better than what came before, and the menu is still an option, too.
4 Onimusha Mode
Holding Off On A Good Thing
Players can absorb red souls used for upgrading, blue souls to replenish magic, and yellow souls to heal. They can also absorb giant purple souls, and five will transform Jubei into his Onimusha form. Acting like a Limit Break, players can activate it by pressing the L2 and R2 buttons simultaneously.
Whatever weapon players are holding will get increased damage, and they can also shoot purple orbs at enemies, which will hone in on them. The meter will deplete quickly, but it can certainly give players an edge in boss battles. In the original version, collecting the fifth orb would transform Jubei automatically, but now players can strategically hold onto it.
3 Skipping Through Cutscenes
Also, A Warning System
There’s nothing worse than wishing to pause a cutscene for whatever reason, only to have it skip instead. Most modern games will pause the game and then offer players a button to skip if they wish. In the original version of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, most cutscenes were not skippable, and if they were, one wrong button push would go through it.
In the remaster, every cutscene can be skipped, but to administer it, players have to hold the start button, which is a better warning system than before. This option includes skipping past mechanics like if a door is opening or a ladder is slowly descending down a hole. To be clear, no one should skip Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny’s story the first time around as it’s one of the most bonkers and cheesy narratives on the PS2, but the option is nice for future playthroughs.
2 The Save Options
Automatic Checkpoints
Gone are the days of having to worry about buying memory cards for systems. The original version of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny allowed players to save ten times per memory card, so theoretically it could be infinite, albeit expensive. The remaster has twenty save slots, which is more than enough.
Some fans like to keep their favorite parts in a game a save click away without having to replay an entire campaign, which is why this feature is nice in the remaster. Besides the manual saves, players now get an autosave feature. It’s a good way to checkpoint players in case they die before a save point, or in extreme circumstances, the power goes out.
1 Honors And Trophies
Another Reason To Replay
Depending on the difficulty mode selected, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny may take players anywhere from six hours to nine hours, and that’s not even including the extras. It’s a breezy campaign that just goes, and unfortunately, there isn’t a New Game+ mode, although it does track progress between playthroughs. It’s hard to explain without spoilers, but there is a system at play, so it’s a good idea to replay the game at least once.
Trophies in modern games are another reason to replay games a few times. In Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, they are known as Honors, and they are easy to track in the options menu without having to backtrack to the system’s homepage. This applies to all versions and not just PlayStation, of course.
