Onimusha: Warlords, released in Japan as Onimusha, is an action-adventure video game and the first entry of the Onimusha series, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. An updated form as Genma Onimusha for the Xbox was released in 2002. The original Warlords version was also ported to Microsoft Windows, although it was only available in China and Russia. A remaster for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows via Steam was released in January 2019
The game’s plot is set in the Sengoku period and focuses on the samurai Samanosuke Akechi who fights against the forces of Nobunaga Oda. After Nobunaga’s death in battle, Samanosuke goes on a quest to save Princess Yuki from demons working alongside Nobunaga’s forces. The player controls Samanosuke and his partner, a female ninja Kaede, in their fight against Demons.
While the game borrows elements from Capcom’s own Resident Evilsurvival horror series, such as solving puzzles and a fixed camera, the game is focused more on the action genre with Samanosuke possessing multiple weapons that can be upgraded by defeating several enemies. Capcom originally wanted to release the game for the original PlayStation but the close release of its next generation version resulted in the project being scrapped
Following its release, Onimusha: Warlords achieved high popularity becoming the first PlayStation 2 game to reach one million sales. Its sales eventually surpassed two million units worldwide. The game has been well received by video game publications and has been recognized as one of the best titles on the system. It also spanned two direct sequels for the same console and another three games within the franchise
