Onimusha Blade Warriors

Gamezilla!

The multi-tiered levels and layered fighting system helps create a game that, while harder to master, is certainly more rewarding to play.

eToychest

Many will tire of the repetitive game play involved in the single player modes long before unlocking all the secrets. And without friends to play with, there's a lot of content missing.

GameZone

The controls are decent, the game poses it's own unique challenges and the multiplayer is straight up fun.

Game Informer

If you've ever played "Super Smash Bros.," you'll immediately be comfortable here - even the fighter select screen is strikingly familiar. [Mar 2004, p.104]

PSM Magazine

It's not a true sequel, nor is it meant to be; it's more a kind of "Super Smash Bros"-type multiplayer madness. It's also good fun. [Apr 2004, p.37]

GamePro

The controlls are tight with crisp response for the most part...There are plenty of weapon skills and magic attacks to master. [Apr 2004, p.70]

Worth Playing

And there is no better battle for souls than in multiplayer, which I would say can be the heart of the game. There aren’t that many modes of play, but it can last a few hours with fellow friends.

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

A decent slash-'em-up but it'll disappoint Onimusha diehards thanks to a lack of the puzzles, plot and shopping for presents that made Onimusha 2 so brilliant. [JPN Import; PSM2]

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Light on story, this Onimusha saga spin-off is almost all slice and dice. Think of it as "Super Smash Bros." with Bushido instead of butt stomping - simple fun for four players, with strategy based not so much on how you swing your sword ("Sword Calibur" it ain't), but when. [Apr 2004, p.119]

GMR Magazine

A solid game that shines in multiplayer, Blade Warriors is a great take on the "Smash Bros." formula that would truly excel if it were applied to the entire Capcom roster. Imagine the potential. [Apr 2004, p.84]

Game Over Online

The superfluous story mode, unbalanced custom versus mode and technical issues relegate this title to a definite rent before you buy game.

IGN

You're meant to dig in, play it again and again, forage for new items and weapons, open up cool new (or old characters), and have a party with your friends in Vs. mode using the Multitap. In that light, I think you'll enjoy Blade Warriors in all its replay-heavy, smash-button glory.

RealGamer

Repetition and the simplicity of the gameplay may put off a few gamers but on the whole the game is good enough to go back to more than once enhancing its replay value with a good selection of unlockables.

TotalGames.net

Onimusha's stars aren't exactly in the same league as Dante, Jean Reno or Mr Viewtiful and B) The eccentricities of the series don't make for a beginner friendly combat game.

GameSpot

Extreme Onimusha fans will probably find something to like here, and anyone after a "Smash Bros."-like fighter on the PlayStation 2 will have some fun, but in the end, there simply isn't enough to Blade Warriors to keep anyone interested beyond the time span of your average rental period.

1UP

Since the combat already feels almost exactly like the standard Onimusha fighting style with the addition of jumping, it seems like it would fit right into a more robust game's engine.

Times Online

There is no getting away from the fact that this series is now showing its age. The linking video sequences are bland, while the colours jar badly.

Edge Magazine

Realistically, Buraiden's biggest appeal lies in the joyous anarchy of the multiplayer modes. Team up two-on-two, three-on-one or every-samurai-for-himself, replace any absent human players with the game's convincing AI, set the battle parameters, and prepare for the kind of balletic carnage that Tarantino will soon be ripping off for volume two of 'Kill Bill'. [JPN Import; Feb 2004, p.98]

Yahoo! Games

If only Blade Warriors was a better, deeper, more fun game -- then it could really deliver for fans of these characters.

Boomtown

Blade Warriors could have been a simple guilty pleasure, if it didn’t insist on constantly reminding us that there are better games to be played.

GameSpy

No matter how badly Capcom wants it to be true, the cast of Onimusha just doesn't cut it when it comes to this kind of game. This is primarily why Onimusha Blade Warriors feels so half-assed and contrived.

GamerFeed

The single player aspects are only entertaining for a short period of time, and even in multiplayer the game can't compare to "Super Smash Brothers." It can be a worthy purchase, but only if you have a group of friends, a multi-tap, and no GameCube.

Total Video Games

Sadly there’s just not enough depth to the combat system, whilst the woeful presentation lets the side down.

AceGamez

Very much like the Resi gun games, it's a disappointment.

GameShark

Everything that worked in the "Smash Bros" formula-- a huge cast of very different characters, big cartoony action with lots of goodies, and a lighthearted sense of fun-- is missing here.

Play Magazine

As pretty and nice as the surface is, the gameplay beneath is surprisingly shallow. [Apr 2004, p.60]

Gamenikki

Capcom may be good at 2D fighters, but when going to 3D, controls matter all the more.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Incredibly shallow and boring. [Apr 2004, p.102]

Playboy

Considering the series this game is based on, we expected something with more edge. [Feb 2003, p.32]

Cheat Code Central

Don't confuse this Onimusha Blade Warriors a sequel to Onimusha 2 or 3. This is just a fighting game and has only a little bit more in common with the series than a kart racer.

Game Revolution

Repetitive combat only provides gamers with a taste of the original Onimusha flavor and the absence of any real story or unique features leave this samurai wandering the battlefield without much fight left in him.

RewiredMind

So limited in multiplayer, fairly pointless in single player and far from anything that could be termed as “technically excellent”, Onimusha: Blade Warriors is a missed opportunity. What could have been a fantastic multiplayer game has ended up as a bit of a lame duck.

G4 TV

But character-based fighting games using characters no one cares about is never a good idea, and Blade Warriors is nowhere near as fun or deep as its inspiration.