My exposure to Capcom games as a kid was largely limited to Resident Evil. So when I got the opportunity to check out the 2025 remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. As it turns out, it’s a blend of classic survival horror elements with satisfying 3D sword combat that felt oddly comforting, even for someone who’s never played an Onimusha game.
This remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny enhances the 2002 classic title to make it more palatable for a modern audience, but you need to be willing to meet it on its own terms.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny doesn’t waste any time. You take on the role of Jubei Yagyu, whose village has been razed by Nobunaga Oda’s men. He then encounters a female Oni who reveals herself to be Jubei’s mother, and he gains the ability to use his own latent Oni powers to fight against Nobunaga.
From then on, the plot moves forward at quite a clip. You’ll visit different locales from the Sengoku era, meet a variety of different characters who can also join your quest, and fight a whole ton of bosses.
As an action game, I found that Onimusha 2 held up decently well. The early hours take a little bit of getting used to, as you’re forced to deal with fixed camera angles which can make movement feel rather confusing. Once you get used to it, though, it’s a blast. In fact, it didn’t take long for the action combat to become even more nuanced and involved. You could just button-mash your way through the story — made even easier with the remaster’s inclusion of Easy Mode — but you’ll get more satisfaction out of your experience if you take the time to learn Jubei’s skills and get to grips with the counter system.
The counter system works exactly how you’d expect. If you attack right as an enemy lunges towards you, you’ll see a bright flash for just a moment before Jubei insta-kills the foe. You can even chain counters when you’re surrounded by multiple enemies; in these cases, Jubei just straight up plows through the entire group with parries. It sounds simple, but Onimusha 2‘s parries are incredibly satisfying and it’s one of the most rewarding combat systems I’ve ever encountered.
Over the course of your journey, you’ll come across hidden scrolls that unlock new moves for Jubei as well. Onimusha 2‘s combat system never gets quite as fast-paced and frenetic as something like Devil May Cry, but these scrolls certainly help to shake things up. Eventually, you’ll gain access to a variety of weapons including a bow and arrow and a rifle, as well as the ability to transform into an Onimusha.
Previously, players had no control over when Jubei could transform into an Onimusha. With the remaster, you can do it with the push of a button, allowing you to use his powers more strategically. The remaster also lets you swap between weapon types with a button press — a drastic improvement over having to switch them out in a menu, disrupting the gameplay flow as a result.
As far as remasters go, Capcom certainly got it right with Onimusha 2. Even as someone who’s never played the original games, it’s easy to see how much love and care went into making this game look as good as possible. There are, of course, a few rough edges here and there. While most of the developers’ time and focus went into making the main cast look pretty, the unimportant NPCs look, well, not so pretty.
Please see Exhibit A down below.
There are also several aspects of Ominusha 2 that don’t hold up quite as well. The main love interest, Oyu, is presented as a capable warrior who can fend for herself. But in true early 2000s fashion, a female character in a video game needs to appeal to the male gaze as well, hence the skimpy outfit and the fact that she’s introduced in a scene that involves her getting sexually harassed by a bunch of drunk dudes. Onimusha 2‘s depiction of Oyu is outdated and occasionally classless, but thankfully things get much better once we get deeper into the story and watch her relationship with Jubei develop.
Despite the attempts at modernization, I can still see Onimusha 2 being a bit of a tough sell for today’s audience. Fixed camera angles are very much a thing of the past that may not resonate with new players, and despite the actually decent story on display here, the dialogue and delivery are incredibly stilted, making it feel comedic and unserious, which I’m not entirely sure is the vibe Capcom was going for.
Because of this, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is very much a game you need to be willing to meet on its terms. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed Samurai’s Destiny as my introduction to Capcom’s classic series. I’m a sucker for campy dialogue and presentation — which would explain my love for old-school Resident Evil over the modern games — and the fact that a combat system from two decades ago still holds up so well today is genuinely impressive. Capcom should consider me a convert at this point as I’m officially excited to see where they take the series next with Way of the Sword.
Most of the rough edges from the original release have been sanded off and polished, though it’s very much still a beloved relic of the past. Regardless, this 2025 package is officially the best way to experience Capcom’s action classic, for both new players and long-time fans.
A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. You can check out our review policy here. Reviewed on PC.
