Onimusha 2 came out shortly after I bought Genma Onimusha. I expected relatively the same gaming experience as in the original game. I was almost right. Though the fighting and the upgrading was similar (just a little improved), the game itself had several really great elements that weren't in the original game. They really wouldn't have fit in Onimusha, but made Onimusha 2 a just that much better. I'll wait to speak about specifics until the actual reviewing. Speaking of which, let's get started.

I was greeted by a familiar "This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore" message that I have scene in many Capcom games. I don't pay much attention to the message because I'm not a moron. I new what I was getting into before I played it, but I do give kudos to Capcom for the warning. I'm sure not everyone looks at the rating on the case and reads the summary. I then went into the familiar title screen, but there was an unfamiliar addition. "Special Features" was the final option. I went into it and found that there wasn't too many features here, but I assumed that you could unlock a bunch more. I was right. I admit, I did have a slight issue with the main character. Jubei Yagyu is a cool samurai and all, but he's no Samanosuke Akechi. Now, after I heard about Onimusha 3 starring Samanosuke, I no longer had an issue with that. I actually kind of prefer Samanosuke taking a small break and letting Jubei take the reigns.

The graphics in this series are always good. The cg movie is amazing. ROBOT is incredible. It isn't only SquareEnix that can do great cg movies. The in game graphics rival that of any game. This is a true piece of art. This is what a developer should do, choose one system to put the game on and maximize the game to use the full potential of that system. Onimusha 2 truly looks amazing. The backgrounds are beautifully rendered and the character models are stupendous.

I had a big problem with the removal of the option to switch to japanese vocals. The english voice acting was very well done, but I really wanted to check out the japanese voice acting too. The music was very similar to the original Onimusha score. It was still incredible. The sound effects were fairly close to perfect. I don't what else to say. It was good.

Ah, this is what makes the Onimusha series a great series. The gameplay is always incredible. From taking on hordes of demons to trying to figure out fun puzzles, the games got plenty of punch. One of my favorite additions to the gameplay is the buddy system. This game allows you to give gifts to four people. This gets your friendship higher and allows you to access different twists in the plot in order to be able to play the game multiple times and get different experiences each time. The scenario route is great because it allows you to see which scenarios you've seen and how many more are left to go. Getting them all gives you a neat little trinket. You also have a bunch of great stuff and difficulty levels that you can unlock. Not to mention two really fun sub games that you can get after beating the game once. This is a great game and adds a lot to an already great series.

The controls are almost exactly the same as Onimusha: Warlords. Considering there are some new abilities, there are some more button functions as well. I thought that it might be difficult to go from Genma Onimusha's controls to Onimusha 2's controls because of them being on different systems, but it was really easy. The controls felt natural for the controller. In short, the controls still rock. They didn't change a thing.

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is a great addition to anyone's game collection. The graphics are great. The audio is good. The controls and gameplay are incredible. Buy this game. You won't regret it.

• + Several different types of weapons, not just swords.
• + Storyline alters depending on the choices you make
• + Not very difficult but still incredibly fun
• + The Buddy system
• + REKKA-KEN!!!!
• - The game still tells you that you need easy mode
• - the voice acting needs some work
• - You can't switch to Japanese vocals
• - Many of the badass enemies in the prior game have been tamed
• ? Why not let you go into all the phantom realms no matter who your friends with?

Overall (not an average): 9/10
Such a good game...took quite a few hours of my life...