Onimusha 3: Hands-On & Direct Videos

The third and final chapter of Capcom's venerable Onimusha series is nearly here. We pull ourselves away from the game to bring you impressions and direct feed videos.

It's the year 2004, and Paris is under siege from demonic forces, which is obviously a great shame. Taking no prisoners during their relentless assault, the citizens of Paris are brutally slaughtered by the invading demons (amazing footage!). Unbeknown to him the crisis that just occurred, French army officer Jacques Braun (Jean Reno) receives a distress call and soon joins the other troops in their valiant attempt to defend the city.

However, the overwhelming assault of the demons leads to the quick annihilation of the French troops, leaving Jacques to fend for himself in an impossible situation. Fortunately for him, before he has a chance to meet with death, Samanosuke - who gets whisked through time - appears and saves the day. After the two meet, Jacques mysteriously vanishes and reappears in feudal Japan - sometime in the year 1582.

There's no time for sight seeing however as the evil Nobunaga Oda is still lurking about, causing havoc in both time periods. It's up to this Japanese-French duo to work together in order to put an end to the demonic infestation happening in both eras and send Nobunaga a one-way, non-refundable ticket back to hell via coach class.

Reprising his role as Samanosuke, Takeshi Kaneshiro's samurai character is teamed up with gun toting bad-ass Jacques Braun (who's played by French actor Jean Reno of Ronin and Mission Impossible fame). Jacques packs a mean whip attack and the likeness of the character model to the actor is uncanny as all of the actor's facial features - including his hook shaped nose and the bags under his eyes - were recreated quite accurately.

The gameplay features excellent controls and highly addictive play mechanics that have you solving puzzles while slicing and dicing demons all across feudal Japan and present day France. Onimusha 3 plays pretty much like its predecessors which means you can perform various combo attacks using different swords, whips, and other types of weapons that can be upgraded with the demon souls you absorb into the gauntlets that reside on the arms of Jacques and Samanosuke.

Utilizing a 'dual hero system', Onimusha 3 allows players to control Jacques and Samanosuke in two different time periods and as well as two different parts of the world. The coolest part about it all is that both characters can help each other by sending items back and forth to each other through time. For example, if Jacques has trouble with a certain puzzle and Samanosuke happens to have the piece needed to solve it, it's just a simple matter of teleporting said item to him. There are also times when solving certain puzzles or performing certain tasks will produce effects that apply to both time periods, providing the characters with access to areas that were previously inaccessible. When you really think about it, it isn't all that different from the partner system used in Resident Evil Zero and adds a great element of play that keeps the game from becoming stale too quickly.

While Onimusha 3's gameplay has remained top-notch so far, with a great balance of action and puzzle solving elements that propel it ahead of its predecessors, the game also shines brightly in other areas that help it stand out as one of the more impressive PS2 offerings.

For one thing, the graphics look stunning! Onimusha 3 sports some awesome 3D backdrops complete with a few interactive elements, great camera work and some beautiful lighting effects. The non-interactive pre-rendered backdrops of Onimusha 1 and 2 aren't even worth comparing to the amazing graphical showcase that is Onimusha 3. And as if the great in-game graphics weren't enough, there are a variety of spectacular CG cutscenes shown throughout the game that need to be seen to be believed!

The epic soundtrack that fills the air also deserves special mention as there are a good number of wonderfully orchestrated tracks throughout the game that really enhance the gameplay experience. While the Onimusha series have traditionally been known for their great music, Capcom has definitely gone all out with the Onimusha 3's soundtrack and it shows with every beautifully orchestrated passage played throughout the game.

Overall, Onimusha 3 turned out much better than we ever dreamed, and after the bad taste left from Konami's Cool Girl (aka CY Girls), was just what the doctor ordered. Combining a great storyline with excellent graphics, sound, and gameplay, Onimusha 3 serves as a fitting swan song to one of Capcom's greatest series.

Take a gander at the awesome CG intro video below, along with a number of gameplay and cut-scene sequences, and expect a full review as soon as we wrap up the game to send Nobunaga to his final resting place once and for all...

Joseph Jackson
Staff writer, Kikizo