Samurai, horror, Japanese history and sword slinging action are everything a video game fan could need, and players could find all of that and more in the early 2000s when Capcom unleashed Onimusha onto the world. Onimusha would go on to become a series that synonymous with the PlayStation 2 era. In just five short years, Capcom released four major Onimusha games and two spinoffs that sold over eight million copies and brought a brand new franchise into its impressive stable of games alongside classics like Resident Evil and Mega Man.

However, since then, Onimusha has completely disappeared from the video game landscape. The series has remained dormant, with 2019's HD remaster of Onimusha: Warlords being the only recent release in years. But with the success of similar franchises and Capcom's own eagerness to resurrect its own properties, now is the perfect time for an Onimusha resurgence.

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Released in 2001, Onimusha: Warlords was about as big of a tent-pole release as you could get in the PlayStation 2 generation. Warlords featured gorgeous cinematics, tight gameplay, memorable characters and even had a protagonist modeled after famous Japanese-Chinese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, a move that was almost unheard of back then.

Warlords applied Capcom's signature pre-rendered backgrounds and tank controls from the Resident Evil series to feudal Japan to tell the story of Samanosuke Akechi, a samurai battling against the hellish forces of undead general Nobunaga Oda. Warlords mixed history with fantasy, using Oda (a real-life historical figure) to tell a story of ancient evil, resurrection and demons. Onimusha was challenging, fast-paced and, most of all, a blast to play.

Onimusha: Warlords proved to be a massive hit for Capcom, creating a series that continued to produce solid action-adventure/survival-horror titles for fans throughout the PlayStation 2 era. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, released in 2002, introducing a brand new protagonist in Jubei Yagyu -- another famous character from Japanese mythology.

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In 2004, Capcom followed this up with Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, which brought back fan-favorite Samanosuke and saw him embroiled in a time-travel story that also starred beloved character actor Jean Reno as Jacques Blanc, a modern-day French detective and second playable character. Finally, 2006's Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams was the last major release for the series, after which waning interest and sales caused the series to become dormant for years.

However, unlike so many developers that may throw away a once valuable franchise, Capcom is a company that knows how to evolve. For Capcom has continued to innovate and recreate its titles for decades now. When Resident Evil became an action-heavy stagnant mess with Resident Evil 6, it went back to the drawing board and brought fans Resident Evil 7, a critically acclaimed return to the series' roots. Furthermore, over the past few years, Capcom has shown fans that some of its beloved franchises haven't been forgotten, showing interest in utilizing these intellectual properties by investing in new releases.

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Capcom has done this most recently with the Resident Evil series, remaking both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 for modern consoles to massive sales and critical acclaim, particularly for the Resident Evil 2 remake. It also brought back Mega Man with 2018's Mega Man 11, another franchise that had laid dormant for years. The company even brought back Onimusha, albeit with the aforementioned HD remaster of the first game in 2019, proving that it hasn't completely abandoned the series.

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The Onimusha series still has diehard fans, and the Warlords HD remaster sales proved just that. Remasters are often a way for companies to gauge the level of interest in an old franchise without spending the massive amount of money it takes to develop a brand new entry. A recent example is the success of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy remaster that helped greenlight a brand new Crash entry with 2020's Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time.

Furthermore, the samurai and feudal Japan setting is one that continues to be popular with gamers today. Titles like Sekiro (which features a ronin samurai fighting against unspeakable horror) and Team Ninja's massive hit franchise Nioh (a series that is just as influenced by Onimusha as it is by Dark Souls), prove that there's interest in this setting. Nioh even features the protagonist fighting Japanese oni demons with designs straight out of Onimusha. Then, there is Sucker Punch's recent hit Ghost of Tsushima, which wowed fans and critics alike. Time will tell if Capcom resurrects Onimusha from the land of forgotten franchises, but it seems that now is the perfect time to bring back the series and its feudal demon-slaying action.

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