At the Game Awards 2024, a lot of trailers and games were shown that you can play in the future. In addition to big games like The Witcher 4 or Elden Ring, there was also a rather inconspicuous trailer from Capcom that makes MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes quite happy.
Which trailer is it about? Capcom had 2 surprises at the Game Awards 2024. There was no Monster Hunter, but the announcement for Okami 2 and even more bizarre Onimusha: Way of the Sword. If someone had told me that beforehand, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Onimusha started in 2001 with Onimusha: Warlords on the PS2 and was basically a Resident Evil with Samurai
. As Samurai Akechi, you had to face Oda Nobunaga, who had gathered an army of demon zombies.
The series has had several sequels and spin-offs and became quite absurd at times. In Onimusha 3, for example, you play a police officer played by Jean Reno in a time travel story. Of course, Oda Nobunaga is the villain again.
The 4th part was released in 2006 on the PS2, but afterwards it was quite quiet. A HD remaster was released in 2019, but it apparently fell short of Capcom’s expectations (via GameRant). The new announcement shows, however, that Capcom wants to show love to their old series as well.
You can see the trailer for Onimusha: Way of the Sword here:
Love for the Past
Why does this make me so happy? Since 2017, Capcom has been highly regarded by players. The 3 major brands of the studio in recent years have been Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Street Fighter. In addition, Capcom has also tried out fresh ideas with games like Exoprimal or Kunitsu-Gami. This is pleasant for the gaming landscape, even if not always the big hits are included.
They have also shown much more love for the past than other traditional developers. Regularly, collections of old classics like Ace Attorney or Mega-Man have been released. However, these are all brands that are still known. In the past, Capcom had some quirky series that I would love to see return.
The latest announcement shows me that Capcom is quite aware of their somewhat forgotten game library.
With the new Onimusha, Capcom also has to show that they can bring old ideas into the modern age. A Resident Evil clone with fixed camera perspectives would hardly work today. However, the trailer still leaves me quite positive.
The footage from the gameplay reminds me of modern Souls-likes. This fits the dark Onimusha universe and with Nioh they had a similar theme. Of course, one could argue that we don’t need the next Souls-like, but Capcom stands for perfect and well-feeling gameplay.
And just the sound design in the trailer makes me feel positive about it.
One Thing Worries Me
Even though it sounds strange: The trailer seems a bit too serious for me. Onimusha and even Resident Evil were often quite silly and exaggerated at certain points despite their serious themes. However, in the trailer, it doesn’t seem like that is present. The trailer shows a rather grounded, mystical world within Japanese folklore.
But I am also quite optimistic that the actual game has more to offer in this area. Resident Evil or Monster Hunter always show quite serious trailers. In the game itself, there are always silly or exaggerated moments that bring a smile to your face and lighten the atmosphere.
I don’t necessarily need Jean Reno as a police officer right now, but occasionally absurd nonsense does some good.
If you’re already bringing back Onimusha and Okami, then you can also bring back 3 other series. Capcom has a great, diverse library of games, and this announcement gives me hope that other quirky series will also return.
I immediately think of the survival horror adventure Dino Crisis or the 3D brawler Power Stone. But what would really bring back my childhood is a new Marvel vs Capcom. But before I get too carried away, I’m just looking forward to diving into the world of Onimusha: The Way of the Sword in 2026. The new trailer for Borderlands 4 also made me very happy: Borderlands 4 probably continues the story that was promised to us 10 years ago
