HomeGames Text

’Onimusha: Warlords’ Reminds Us of the Power of Small Stories

AnonymousGames2025-07-038968

Games like Onimusha don't get made anymore.

The underrated 2001 Capcom classic is somewhere between an arcade brawler and Resident Evil. Creeping slowly through rooms with fixed, often askew camera angles, sword drawn, the samurai protagonist hacks his way through hordes of undead demons, solving small puzzles and soaking in the ambience. It's slow, stiff, and tense. Now, remastered for modern consoles and PC as Onimusha: Warlords, it shows all the marks of age. The movement is awkward, as is the combat. The voice acting gives the game the mood of a badly dubbed import action movie. Enemies hit hard—honestly, probably a bit too hard.

And yet I adore Onimusha: Warlords, and it has me reflecting on the direction action games have taken in the decade and a half since the its initial release.

Related Stories

GamingThe 15 Games We're Most Excited to Play in 2019Julie Muncy and Peter RubinYear in ReviewThe 10 Best Games of 2018'and Yes, They're RankedJulie Muncyenter the battleSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate Is a Massive Monument to ItselfJulie Muncy

The lineage of Onimusha is an odd one: its work is clearly influential for later games like Devil May Cry, which pushed the genre in more acrobatic, superhuman directions. Instead of standing and slashing with a sword, DMC's hero jumps, flips, and spins, juggling sword and guns in combat that quickly becomes as much dance as it does action setpiece. As time went on, that tendency grew more and more pronounced, and action heroes in games grew more and more powerful. Consider Bayonetta, significant chunks of which take place on falling debris in mid-air—a game that infuses its lead character with such a sheen of warrior cool that her weapons literally materialize out of her own body.

Onimusha, as an action game created by Capcom in the years prior to Devil May Cry, stands as a foundation for what would later be called the "character action game." And yet it is so early in the subgenre's history as to be nearly unrecognizable next to its descendants. Onimusha's power is in its striking deliberateness—the frantic straightforwardness of combat, the satisfaction of slow, simple puzzles. Its hero, Samonosuke, is not a superhero. He has limited supernatural powers, but most of the game's verbs are incredibly basic. You walk, you investigate, you slash your sword, you block with your sword, and you run away. As a protagonist, he has a wonderful averageness to him. He's a good fighter, sure, but he's entirely unqualified to be dealing with the demonic nonsense before him. He's just squaring his feet, lifting his weapon, and going to fight.

Why Seattle built—then buried—a part of its new tunnelThe FTC thinks you pay too much for smartphonesYouTube Boomers show #VanLife isn’t just for MillennialsThe 14 most promising midseason shows to watch on TV👀 Looking for the latest gadgets? Check out our picks, gift guides, and best deals all year round📩 Get even more of our inside scoops with our weekly Backchannel newsletter
Post a message
Nadia

‘Onimusha: Warlords’ reminds us of the subtle beauty and profound impact that personalized stories can have, underscoring how even a single tale holds immense power to engage our imaginations.

2025-07-10 11:04:29 reply
Leighton

‘Onimusha: Warlords’ serves as a poignant reminder of the immense impact that small stories can have – whispering afraid yet stirring epic narratives into our hearts.

2025-07-10 11:04:44 reply
Hux

’Onimusha: Warlords’, though a game steeped in epic battles and historical intrigue, ingeniously reminds us of the profound impact small stories can have on our hearts through its well-crafting character arcs.

2025-07-15 07:03:25 reply
Kimber

In the retelling of 'Onimusha: Warlords', we are reminded that it is in small, intricate stories where true emotional resonance and historical impact can be found.

2025-07-15 13:58:26 reply
Ignatius

The nostalgic charm of 'Onimusha: Warlords' underscores the enduring importance and impact a small-scale narrative can have on both reliving historical moments in an imaginative manner as well aspiring to inspire vast ambitions within its players.

2025-07-17 01:51:51 reply
Nathan

‘Onimusha: Warlords’ serves as a poignant reminder of the profound impact that small stories can have, displaying in microcosm how each individual's journey contributes to shaping history and world-changing events.

2025-07-18 14:28:40 reply
Ewan

Onimusha: Warlords' careful attention to small, intricate stories resonates in a powerful way with players today - proving enduring influence through the lenses of character and narrative.

2025-07-25 12:06:03 reply
Dylan

Onimusha: Warlords highlights the profound impact small, personal stories can have in a world dominated by grand narratives.

2025-07-25 12:06:17 reply

您暂未设置收款码

请在主题配置——文章设置里上传