If Capcom is to be believed, Onimusha 3 Demon Siege will be the concluding chapter in the Onimusha saga. The PlayStation 2 has had an Onimusha game since about when the system was released, next year will probably see a new PlayStation console released, and this is really the crowning achievement of the series in terms of gameplay and visuals … so why not. There are too many sequels in the world anyway. Congratulations to Capcom for retiring a series while it is still good.

Onimusha 3 Demon Siege continues the story of Samanosuke Akechi, character likeness of Asian actor and pop star Takeshi Kaneshiro, as he continues the battle against Nobunaga Oda and the Genma demons in 16th century Japan. In a weird (and often logic-straining) development, Samanosuke is sucked through a time portal into present-day Paris where the city is under attack by more Genma demons. A new character, Jacques Blanc played by Jean Reno of The Professional and (I’m sure he’d like to forget it) Godzilla fame, is fighting off the demon attack and Samanosuko comes to his aid. Blanc is suddenly sucked through a reverse time portal to 1582 Japan where he is told he must help another Samanosuke (I told you it strained logic.) defeat the Genma and Nobunaga before he may return to his own time. The first Samanosuko is left in present-day Paris.

Capcom has highly touted the opening cinema of Onimusha 3. In this case, the hype is warranted. The quality is really outstanding and does set up the game well. It must be seen to be fully appreciated.

As one of our heroes the player will fight both in feudal Japan and in modern Paris. The story (Did I mention it strains logic?) is okay but of course it is mainly to give gamers a reason for all they do in the game – and what they do is a hell of a ride and lots of fun.

I’ve got to say up front that the controls on Onimusha 3 are tight and responsive. They are also intuitive and real easy to learn within half an hour of playing. The combat control is fast and furious and make for great Genma chopping fun. They are a vast improvement over the controls in other Onimusha games.

Graphics are outstanding. Some of the best I’ve seen on the PS2. Multi-platform gamers, you’ll swear you’re looking at an Xbox game. The water effects actually rival the Xbox, and that is saying something. Player-controlled characters look like the real-life actors who play them and their animations are fluid and natural. Camera angles still are a little problematic but are an improvement over previous Onimusha outings.

In addition to the grunt Genma that liberally occupy the levels, there is the occasional stronger, meaner Genma and of course the obligatory end-of-level bosses to fight. All the enemies look and move great. Don’t look too long though … they are also quite deadly.

Audio is very good with an understated music soundtrack. Weapon sounds nicely punctuate the action. The voice acting is also pretty good, but the English-language voices do not belong to either of the lead characters. It’s kind of a pity. Reno has done English-language films and Kaneshiro is fluent in English. It must have been a money thing.

Traditional Onimusha play mechanics of absorbing souls of fallen enemies to restore health, magic, and power up weapons and armor remain. Absorbing five of the large purple souls will allow Samanosuke or Blanc to transform into Onimusha mode which makes them invincible and a major butt kicker for a short time. There are still some puzzles to solve along the way too, but nothing that is going to strain the brain.

A new swinging system has been added that allows the Jacques Blanc character to use his whip-like weapons to swing from firefly icons that appear in levels, giving him access to hard-to-reach areas for exploration and goodie finding. The whips can also be used to lasso and throw enemies, and even some environmental objects.