Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams

Cheat Code Central

It's a welcome change and breathes new life into the Onimusha franchise. [JPN Import]

PSX Extreme

It's fun, lengthy, beautiful, and really, really satisfying.

BonusStage

The franchise’s grandest adventure yet, hands down. A few minor quibbles are the only flaws in what is an absolutely masterful action-RPG/adventure epic.

AceGamez

A triumphant return to top form for the series and a very successful reinvention, making it arguably the best Onimusha yet.

Gamezilla!

By stepping from an action packed exploration and puzzle game into a full blown action title, Dawn of Dreams has managed to breathe new life into this series. I heartily recommend it.

GameSpy

With a lengthy quest (about 20 hours), a fun multiplayer mode, and scores of unlockable goodies (including some of the coolest alternate costumes ever), there is a lot to enjoy here. And don't let any talk about rejuvenating the franchise scare you away. This game more than lives up to the Onimusha name.

Yahoo! Games

With plenty of action, great visuals, lots of replay value and overall refinement, this is a winner both for newcomers and fans of the series. And while the game wraps up pretty cleanly, there's plenty of material for another adventure.

GamePro

Even with these few select caveats, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams is a stellar addition to the series and a new beginning for Capcom's fourth largest franchise. One has to wonder with all the multiplayer RPG aspects, will there be an online Onimusha title on the horizon.

Deeko

The story itself is pretty good and is even more fantasy based than before (the first three Onimusha games actually had more historical basis to them), though it does suffer a little bit from lack of clarity every now and then. [JPN Import]

Pelit (Finland)

A great samurai action-adventure. It is fast, stylish, entertaining and has a good story to boot. What more could you ask? The camera is far from perfect, though. [Feb 2006]

Game Informer

As a whole, Dawn of Dreams is a truly skillful entry in the series. It's a great fresh start with new characters, gameplay, and ideas. [Mar 2006, p.102]

TotalPlayStation

Better than the games that came before it, and I don't make that statement blindly. The move towards an action RPG with more characters, a more twisty storyline with more threads and action that helps refresh the stuff that was starting to feel just a little stale in the past games (though slicing demons never really gets old) all add up to an adventure that I'm grateful actually happened.

Play UK

The combination of great visuals and a sweet combat system is hard to top and this combines the two oh-so well. [Apr 2006, p.82]

GameZone

Quite possibly the best game in the series, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams delivers an enjoyably deep and epic action-adventure game fans new and old will relish.

GameBrink

Great, fast gameplay, good story, nice cinematics, a wide variety of characters, and much more. The game is good at every level. [JPN Import]

IGN

Action hounds, for instance, should go crazy over its combat, cool combos, and boss battles, while proper Onimusha fans should dig it because of improvements to the puzzle and camera systems.

Play Magazine

Onimusha was one derivative sequel away from entering the "Tomb Raider" spiral of franchise death. Instead a timely revamp has sent the series in a promising direction and given it more momentum than it's had in years. [Apr 2006, p.55]

eToychest

Boasting two discs worth of content, this is the longest offering yet from the Onimusha team, and there’s a lot to like about it. The only caveat would be that gamers tired of the series won’t find much to rekindle their interest here. It’s bigger and a bit more complex than before, but it’s still Onimusha.

Game Revolution

Though the formula for destruction is basically the same, there's enough new material here to please fans of the series and newcomers alike. Who knew this old samurai could cut so deep?

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

All that killing feels perfect; combat is tight and satisfying, especially once you begin to master your MP-consuming special moves. [Apr 2006, p.86]

PALGN

One for the fans. Despite some issues, it's damn good action game as well.

Games Radar (in-house)

The progression of nearly every story element is handled with almost mathematical precision. The results are gaming-by-numbers, but the whole is a hell of a lot of fun.

GamerFeed

It could've used some touching up with the AI and a couple of tedious puzzles, but no matter. These samurai are back on track to deliver a thrill ride.

GameSpot

Offers a lengthy new quest, five different playable characters, and a good amount of replay value, not to mention that distinct anime-meets-soap opera style.

games(TM)

If you’re after a fair few hours of well-presented violence combined with a surprisingly interesting history lesson, then look no further than Dawn Of Dreams. [Apr 2006, p.118]

PSW Magazine UK

Ultimately this is a game that knows what its fans want and delivers it to them in spades with plenty of style and confidence. It isn't as difficult as the prequels, but makes up for this with a surprisingly deep and flexible character upgrade system.

G4 TV

A good jumping-off point for a whole new story line in the vein of the original series, and offers just enough new mechanics to make it worth a play for both fans of the series and Onimusha virgins alike.

VideoGamer

Series heritage aside, this is a pleasingly lengthy adventure spread across two DVDs that's most definitely worth a look.

Sydney Morning Herald

The hellish enemies may be fearsome, but the one true villain here is the stubborn game camera that tends to pan away from whatever it is you want to look at. Apart from that one flaw, this is an absorbing tale.

IC-Games

All told this is a quality game, offering very real value in terms of detail, variety and length.

GameCritics

It may not be the most original or inspired product I've seen, but there's something to be said for nailing the content and pulling it off beautifully.

Gaming Target

It's longer, it's deeper, and it's got plenty of variety thanks to 5 playable characters, so series fanatics should be happy, long as they're still into the Onimusha formula and can mind the slower pace.

Digital Entertainment News

Dawn of Dreams is a superior title from a graphic standpoint, but lacks its own identity, and recycles more bosses from earlier games than most fans might like.

PSM2 Magazine UK

Fundamentally decent, but it's still the poorest full-size Onimusha game yet. It's hard, but it's also unyielding and sometimes a bit dull. So be wary. [Apr 2006, p.48]

Gaming Age

The animations are excellent, smooth and great to look at. Combined with a combat system that's just as smooth, Dawn of Dreams is nicely polished fun.

PSM Magazine

Dawn of Dreams mostly succeeds in further extending the series before moving on to the next generation. [Apr 2006, p.68]

1UP

Dawn of Dreams is a solid action game with a lot more play in it than its predecessors. More importantly, it's a title that shows that Capcom isn't afraid to mess with the formula.

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

Will appeal to first timers, butthe changes made will alienate many of Onimusha's staunchest fans. A grower, but vintage 'Musha it ain't. [Apr 2006, p.97]

GameShark

Onimusha definitely has what it takes to be a fun game, but I think the developers dropped the ball in a couple of areas - especially with the absence of any kind of multiplayer, and the lack of graphical enhancements.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Dawn's unlockable goodies will give "Street Fighter" fans a surefire boost, but anyone simply looking for an evolution in Onimusha will leave feeling shortchanged. [Apr 2006, p.103]

Edge Magazine

For a reinvention, it has an almost parodical lack of surprises: You’ve seen every abandoned village, sacked castle and anachronistic laboratory before, with the more striking imagery suggested by the game’s plague of tainted cherry blossoms all but ignored until the final stage. [Apr 2006, p.80]

RewiredMind

While it is playable – Onimusha enthusiasts will still probably enjoy it – there isn’t a huge amount here that you won’t find in previous instalments. And that’s it; ultimately there just isn’t anything here that hasn’t been done better by another game.

Eurogamer

The combat's fluid, relatively deep and involving once it gets going, but it's also a wholly repetitive game that's been surpassed in so many meaningful ways that you can't simply be content with 'more of the same' anymore.

Boomtown

It’s horribly unbalanced (you can walk out of one boss fight straight into another with no save ability in-between). It’s still a goof game on a purely destructive level – where the hacking and slashing is as good as the series has to offer.

3DAvenue

There comes a point in playing Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams when you realise that it's been somewhat lengthened via regrettably cheap tactics -- things like recycled game bosses, repetitive game sections and even some backtracking for the sake of making each of the game's chapters longer.