Onimusha

Onimusha: Warlords (2001) brought the Resident Evil formula — fixed camera angles, puzzles, and survival-horror elements — to PlayStation 2, set in feudal Japan, where the hero Samanosuke Akechi battles demons using magic blades and a sword-based combat system. Capcom thereby fused horror atmosphere with a historical, supernatural samurai theme, and modeled Samanosuke's likeness on Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, an unusual pairing of film casting and video games for the time.

In 2002, an enhanced version, Genma Onimusha, arrived as one of the Xbox's launch titles, remaking the first game with new abilities and difficulty options. The same year brought Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, featuring a new hero, Jubei Yagyu, a more branching story, and a relationship system with supporting characters; the game also introduced the blacksmith Munetika, who let players upgrade weapons and armor using souls collected from enemies, a feature that became standard for the rest of the series. Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (2004) then expanded the series further with a crossover featuring actor and director Jean Reno (playing himself alongside his in-game alter ego) and moved part of the story to present-day Paris.

Thanks to its blend of action combat, Japanese history, and supernatural elements, Onimusha carved out its own place alongside Resident Evil in Capcom's action survival-horror lineup, and both in Japan and abroad it ranked among the most successful series on PlayStation 2. The series continued with Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (2006) before Capcom shelved the brand for many years, returning only with a remaster of the first game in 2019.