Video Game / Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

aka: Onimusha 2

Ten years have passed. A new hero arrives with the power...

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is the second installment of the Onimusha series, released in May 2002 and acting as a sequel to Onimusha: Warlords.

After the events of the first game, Oda Nobunaga, the ruthless Daimyo, has taken control of the Genma and is now acting as the Demon King and using the demons to conquer Japan. Among the victims of Nobunaga's armies are the inhabitants of Yagyu Village, a village where some residents are descended from the Oni, the former arch enemies of the Genma. The Sole Survivor Juubei (Sekishusai) Yagyu arrives too late to save his companions but discovers that he has the blood of the Oni clan in his veins, and thus the power to oppose the Genma and stop Nobunaga. After finding an Oni sword hidden in the village, he sets forth in a long quest across Japan to find the Five Orbs created by the Oni to protect mankind against the threat of the demons. Along the way, he crosses paths with four other warriors journeying through the land for their reasons: Oyu, a beautiful and mysterious swordswoman, Ekei, a jolly Warrior Monk spear master who hides a dark secret, Magoichi, a skilled gunslinger and the leader of the Saiga-shu mercenaries, and Kotaro, a teenage ninja and the head of the Fuuma Ninja clan. With the aid of these warriors, Jubei searches for the Orbs, fighting Nobunaga's demonic lackeys every step of the way.

While the gameplay and controls are mostly untouched, the featured plot is much more vast, long and complex; you'll explore forests, towns, caverns, dungeons and castles as you proceed. There's also the complicated companion system which will determine the actions of the four major NPCs during the course of the game and can influence the story to an extent. This significantly adds to the replay value, as it's possible to have different events occurring on different play throughs, or to give focus to different characters and places. This system is controlled mainly by giving gifts to the four companions, as giving these gift items will raise (or, if it's not a proper gift, lower) the friendship score with that character. In return you'll possibly obtain items and treasures from them, open up different events, cutscenes, and sidequests, and finally determine which (or how many) of the four companion characters become playable during the course of the quest.

This game was eventually followed by Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, while the characters from this game (and others) are also playable in Onimusha Blade Warriors, and several are referred to (but do not actually appear) in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams.

---

This Game contains examples of:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Jujuhdormah is a disgustingly fat ugly crone of a demon who thinks she's the hottest woman ever and is madly in love with Nobunaga, who couldn't care less. She also shows some attraction to Jubei.
• Action Girl: Oyu, unlike Kaede, is an armor-wearing swordswoman of good skill, though sadly she's often accused of being a Faux Action Girl due to Cutscene Incompetence: in two occasion she's struggling with Tokichiro Kinoshita (full context unknown) and she's in need of rescue twice after she fell over (in once case, understandably enough, because the floor exploded under her).
• Actionized Sequel: Sort of, the Tank Controls are still there, but the game has a larger variety of weapons and new techniques to employ. Also, Chain Issen is seemingly improved so that's easier to do.
• Adaptational Villainy: Aside from the obvious, a document written by the Genma states that Takeda Shingen is on their side.
• Advancing Boss of Doom: The Golden Evil Statue, though the arena you fight it is, virtually, infinite. Too bad you cannot shoot while walking back.
• Affably Evil: Gogandantess is pompous, arrogant and vain, but genuinely brave, respectful and actually has some honor. While he's firmly on the side of the Genma, he does have virtues.
• Ambiguously Human: The Oda Soldiers and guards look perfectly human, safe perhaps for the deep voices, however in the opening cutscene one reveals itself as a demon after being wounded by a member of Yagyu village, and they all do release Genma souls all the same when killed.
• Anachronism Stew: This games has complicated machinery from both the Genma and the Oni, usually in the form of hi-tech (for the time)machines and even massive robots which can be fought as enemies.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: As mentioned above, Gogandantess does have some virtues, but modesty clearly's not among them.
• Automaton Horse: The second orb you obtain (by Oyu) is used to animate a giant golem horse to ride back from Gifu to Imasho.
• Badass Boast: When Ginghamphatts rethorically asks if Jubei thinks that a mere human like him is equal to one of the Genma, he retorts that he's not equal, but better.
• Badass in Distress: Happens to Jubei so that the other characters can become playable and rescue him. Namely:
  • Kotaro's side: Jubei is tricked by an illusion-generating Genma and is lost in the Mist Valley, and Kotaro has to find the Genma weaving the illusions and slay him to rescue Jubei.
  • Ekei's side: Jubei, after using a magical one-way portal, is stuck inside a locked tower in Gifu Castle, and Ekei agrees to search for the required key to rescue him.
  • Magoichi's side: Jubei is turned into stone by Tokichiro, and Magoichi has to explore the caverns under Gifu to find the antidote and save him.
• Big Damn Heroes: Often, the character with the highest friendship value will appear in combat to help you if you're in trouble. Outside of combat we have Oyu throwing a rope ladder at Jubei to help him escape Gogandantess in the first encounter and Gogandantess himself saving Oyu from a crevasse.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Jubei and Oyu near the end, if their relationship score is high enough.
• Big Fancy House: The Yagyu mansion, which you visit twice. It also includes a secret dungeon room which leads to a mystic valley.
• Big Red Devil: Nobunaga's demon form for this game roughly resembles a winged, tailless one, brandishing a massive sword and sporting five more eyes on his body.
• Bittersweet Ending: On an ever bleaker note: Jubei slays Nobunaga and Odani Castle is saved, but since he lacked a Oni Gauntlet, Nobunaga is free to reincarnate and return, while Jubei is forced into hiding and separated from Oyu. Oh, and depending on Relationship Values, both Kotaro and Ekei may die just before Jubei's final confrontation with Nobunaga.
• Bloody Bowels of Hell: Nobunaga's hideout is seemingly composed of bulging, demonic flesh.
• Bonus Dungeon: The Dark Realm returns. This time, there are two optional realms to visit to get the best accessory and weapon (the Green Realm and the Purple Realm), as well as the much shorter Red Realm and Blue Realm only avaiable to Kotaro.
• Boss-Altering Consequence: Having the closest relationship with Magoichi out of the four allied NPCs will result in him showing up during your final encounter with Recurring Boss Ginghamphatts not long after the fight begins, and then casually blowing Ginghamphatts away, saving you the trouble of a boss battle right before Nobunaga, the Final Boss.
• Bullfight Boss: Ginghamphatts' second encounter has him jumping in the woodlands on the sides of the road and run back and forth. If he gets struck in a tree, you are free to whale on him.
• Cain and Abel: Oda Nobunaga, ruthless Demon King, and Oyu/Oichi, brave swordswoman of justice.
• Call-Back: Gifu Castle is Inabayama Castle from the first game, which includes the locations of the first game. You can even find the remains of the Portal to the Genma World.
• The Cameo: Osric, Hecuba, Marcellus and Guildenstern from the first game are seen in a scroll in the intro, witnessing Nobunaga's resurrection.
• Cleavage Window: On Oyu's otherwise realistic armor. Possibly justified by her blocking position, in which she holds her buckler at chest level.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Aside from the elemental weapons and Mazins (Purple for Lightning, blue for Ice, green for Wind, brown for Earth and red for Fire), this extends to your companions (Oyu's path is red, Kotaro's blue, Ekei's yellow and Magoichi's green).
• Cutscene Incompetence: Oyu, normally good in the player's hands, is endangered (twice) by Tokichiro offscreen. Also happens to Jubei, who's sneak attacked and petrified by Tokichiro in Magoichi's sidequest.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Black Necklace allows you to turn all your attacks into a Issen, but each strike is Cast From HP.
• Demon King Nobunaga: This time around, he's the boss of the Genma and Final Boss, complete with demonic form.
• Disney Death: Oyu seemingly falls to her death during the fall of the Oni Genbu (after losing her balance), but she appears inside the main tower later on alive and well.
• Downer Beginning: The game opens up with the Yagyu village massacred by Nobunaga, with Jubei being too late to save anyone.
• Dull Surprise: Jubei is kinda infamous for this in the English dub of the game.
• Elaborate Equals Effective: This applies to both the Oni Weapons and to Jubei's coat and armor as he powers them up.
• Elemental Powers: A staple of the series, this time the series add two more weapons to the arsenal, resulting in five elements and Oni Weapon.
  • Shock and Awe: Buraito (Thunder Dance Sword), Jubei's take on the previous game's Raizan.
  • Hyoujin-Yari (Ice Blade Spear), a lance with ice powers useful to attack a single enemy multiple times.
  • Blow You Away: Senpuumaru (Whirlwind Blade), essentially this game's answer to the Shippu.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: Dokotsui (Earth Barren Hammer), a giant, long-handled sledgehammer with the power of earth, capable of hitting all enemies on screen at once, but also slow and cumbersome.
  • Playing with Fire: Rekka Ken ( Raging Fire Sword), a giant broadsword which is, essentially, the lovechild of Enryuu and the Bishamon Sword.
• 11th-Hour Superpower: Jubei's transformation into his true Onimusha form in time to battle Nobunaga's Golden Evil Statue. Arm Cannon included.
• Elite Four: Big Bad Nobunaga has at his disposal four deadly servants consisting of: Gogandantess, the "greatest swordsman of all demons" who also has a magical barrier around him that makes him almost untouchable, Ginghamphatts, the largest, strongest and most brutal of Nobunaga's lieutenants; Guildenstern, the Evil Genius who made Gifu Castle and the Golden Evil Statue; and Jujuhdormah, only woman of the group, who uses trickery, traps, and assassinations to serve her Evil Overlord. There's also Nobunaga's Non-Action Guy lackey Tokichiro Kinoshita, but surely he won't be important...
• Empathy Doll Shot: In the opening FMV, there's a shot of Nobunaga's pet snake breaking a toy while the massacre reaches its peak.
• Essence Drop: This time, enemies will also release once in a while a bigger Purple Soul: finding and collecting five allows you to briefly transform into Onimusha, complete with devastating boost in power, invincibility and ki blasts.
• Everybody Has Standards: Magoichi is actually on Nobunaga's paycheck as a mercenary, but when he finds out that even Saiga Village is next on the list, he deserts.
• Face–Heel Turn: Ekei sides with Nobunaga if your relationship score with him is too low.
• Fish People: The newly introduced Battochyka and Battobone are fish-like Genma found in watery areas. They can blast you with water.
• Guide Dang It!:
  • The relationship values are truly complex and difficult to learn: each gift has a different value, and depending on the current relationship level, it affects which item you may obtain. If you want to seriously do this, you'd better have a guide on hand and save frequently before handing out gifts.
    • Especially complicated is getting the fossilized bones needed to unlock the black necklace. (The black necklace turns every attack into a critical, and is a vital tool for the late sections of the game on the difficulty where enemies and bosses can only be killed with critical attacks.) In general one needs mediocre gifts to the companions to possibly get a fossilized bone in return, but whether you get one in return for one of your gifts is random, and how the companions feel about you overall can change how they respond to gifts. (So for example if they already have a high friendship level with you, what would otherwise be a mediocre gift might be treated as a good one instead.) And just to add to the difficulty, in the third and final time of hanging around in Imasho, the characters express an interest in different things than usual, and will react to gifts differently than the other two times you're in town.
  • Though no one tells you this, if you talk for long enough (three times) to certain people in Imasho during certain parts of the game, you can obtain certain objects from them.
• Guns Are Worthless: Averted again with the matchlock being both Jubei's secondary long range weapon and Magoichi's main weapons, the main and unique disadvantage is the harder time in making multiple Issen.
• Guns vs. Swords: In one of Magoichi's sidequests on Onigashima, he will challenge you in a Genma-slaying minigame to see which weapon is better.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Jubei himself is the son of Takajo (a woman from the Oni clan) and a human, hence his supernatural abilities.
• Healing Factor: Equipping the White Necklace nets you a slow one, which only works if you stay still.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The first and second battles against Gogandantess. In the first one you cannot even hit him!
• Infinity +1 Sword: Rekka Ken, the only optional Oni Weapon, is obtained from a chest inside the Dark Realm, is already fully-maxed and, unlike the Bishamonken, holds the element of Fire.
• Hypocrite: Gogandantess constently proclaims to be "The GREATEST swordsman of all demons" and seems intent on having an honourable duel with Jubei, all the while having an indestructable energy shield around him at all times, making him impossible to hit, not exactly the sort of thing a so-called "honourable swordsman" would have, although it is implied as a subversion, by his joyous reaction when you take the shield away, that this was something he was born with and not something he made or can control.
• Karma Houdini: Tokichiro escapes unharmed again.
• Killed Off for Real: Due to the games many possible branches, it's possible for either Kotaro or Ekei to die in the finale.
• King Mook: Barawassha returns as bosses for the secondary characters. Gifu Castle has the airborne Gyaran Queen, a larger, red version of the Gyaran monsters (the purple floating skull masses).
• Land, Sea, Sky: Subtle but present, three of the Orbs are used to animate three machines: a golem horse (travels through land), a mechanical swordfish-thing (travels across the ocean) and finally a flying machine (to reach the Oni Genbu in the sky). This also includes the settings in a way (A forest in the middle of a rocky valley with a cavern for Land, Oni Island as Sea and the flying Oni Genbu as Sky)
• Large Ham: Gogandantess is one of the hammiest characters the franchise has to offer. He's even introduced jumping from nowhere on his sword as soon as it falls tip-first into the ground, giving an Evil Laugh and announcing his name and title before challenging Jubei to a sword fight.
• Lizard Folk: In lieu of zombie mooks, this game has Jaid, which fans nicknamed "alligator men". They come in green, gray, red and blue variants.
• Lost Superweapon: The Oni Genbu, a colossal, flying battleship hidden somewhere on Oni Island. It's activated and stolen by Tokichiro, and a small part of the game takes place on the ship.
• The Lost Woods: The misty valley where Jujuhdormah has her lair. The woods specifically hides a phantom-like insect Genma who tries to imprison Jubei into an endless loop of illusions, and must be destroyed before he vanishes.
• Love Potion: One of the possible items, it will increase the relationship values with the other character.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Oyu's equipment include a round buckler on her arm, which she actually uses in her parry animation.
• MacGuffin: The five Oni Orbs which are required to proceed in the game. The first unlocks the door to Ginghamphatts' lair in Imasho's mine, the second, third and fourth allows you to use Oni machines to progress on your journey and the final one is used to reach Nobunaga's sanctum.
• Made of Iron: Jubei, in the cutscene with the Oni fish gets dragged through an underwater cavern, smashing through rocks and breaking through the walls to get out, but survives all the same. Must be the Oni blood...
• Magic Square Puzzle: You have to solve a magic square puzzle to open the chests containing the proper trinket twice.
• Master Swordsman: "Jubei" is actually the title of the best swordsman in Yagyu Village. On the villainous side there's Gogandantess, (THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN OF ALL DEMONS!).
• Mistaken for Gay: Downplayed, one of the prostitutes in Imasho will asks you if you don't like women if you talk to her, apparently showing little interest.
• Multi-Melee Master: Despite being a Master Swordsman, Jubei is shown to be skilled with a spear, a double-sword thing and a giant hammer. The latter two are less realistic as samurai weapons...
• Ninja: Kotaro Fuuma, head of the clan in spite of his young age. He's an incredibly cheerful and carefree boy who loves rare items, but is also incredibly distrustful of women, because of his Missing Mom.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After completing Oni Island, Jubei and Oyu awaken the Oni Genbu... which allows Tokichiro to hijack the airship and turn it against Odani Castle.
• Noble Demon: Gogandantess, hammy buffoon or not, is honorable and can be surprisingly kind for a Genma.
• One-Hit Kill: Issen returns from the previous game, and this time you can also perform multiple Issen so to attack nearby enemies as well. When used against bosses, it allows you to strike them multiple times for massive damage.
• One-Winged Angel: Oda Nobunaga turns into a massive horned demon with five extra eyes, and then incarnates inside the Golden Evil Statue to fight you in a demonic dimension.
• Orcus on His Throne: Justified Trope: Nobunaga is busy working on his Golden Evil Statue, imbuing it with demonic energy for his plans of conquest.
• Paper Talisman: Ekei's throwing weapons are buddhist paper tags that explode after hitting the demons and stun them.
• Peninsula of Power Leveling: Imasho mines, after Inabayama Castle: more powerful, soul-spitting enemies, more gold to be found, with some skill you can obtain a generous amount of souls to improve your equipment.
• Permanently Missable Content: The items (including gifts) you can find in the Yagyu Village and Mansion (act one) and in Imasho are lost for good if you don't pick them up asap.
• Recurring Boss: Ginghamphatts is fought and killed three times during the course of the game. Gogandantess is encountered three times as well, but the only proper boss battle is the last one.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ekei is the boisterous, fat braggart monk who excels at spear-wielding and loves to drink and eat. Magoichi is the refined, quiet, book-loving mercenary armed with modern muskets. Unsurprisingly enough they are rivals.
• Religion of Evil: Nobunaga plans to use the Golden Evil Statue to force humans to worship him as a God, so that the Genma will be able to harvest consensual humans for their plots and larders.
• Resurrective Immortality: Ginghamphatts seemingly has this, unexplained ability. Finally kicks the bucket after falling into a massive bonfire (or when Magoichi blasts him into oblivion with the newly-built Kunikuzushi cannon)
• The Reveal: Oyu is really Oichi, Nobunaga's sister and wife of Nagamasa Azai, lord of Odani Castle.
• Rooftop Confrontation: The battle against the Gyaran Queen takes place on the rooftop of a tower, the Queen floating around the area.
• Route Boss:
  • The player character Jubei is assisted by four supporting characters, (Oyu, Magoichi, Ekei, and Kotaru) and if your Relationship Values with the supporting characters are high enough, there will be a segment where you play as those characters, in a side quest or sequence that isn't otherwise available, facing different mini-bosses and challenges along the way that you wouldn't encounter without a high relationship with those characters.
  • If Magoichi is your best friend of the four supporting characters, he'll allow you to skip the last of the boss fights with Ginghamphatts, who you otherwise have to fight on all story routes. Shortly after the boss fight begins and you've done a little damage to Ginghamphatts, Magoichi will show up, casually blow Ginghamphatts away and let you proceed on your way to face Nobunaga.
  • If your relationship with Ekei is low enough, he'll decide to take a job working for Nobunaga, and fight you as a duel mini-boss just before the game's final sequence.
• Sad Clown: Ekei's jolly façade hides the terrible pain for the loss of his wife and baby daughter in a fire. Kotaro, deep down, has a lot of mommy issues for being abandoned as a child.
• Say My Name: Gogandantess' Running Gag. Takes a much more serious tone when Jubei mortally wounds him and the demon, as his Last Request, ask Jubei to say his name. Jubei, out of respect, complies.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When cornered by Jubei, Tokichiro opts for jumping out of the Oni Genbu, using some folding wings as a parachute to make a safe landing.
• Shout-Out: According to the producers, the raining scene in the beginning is a nod to Seven Samurai.
  • Gogandantess navigated to Oni Island with three other Genma and defeated all the Oni there. Sounds familiar if you're acquainted with Japanese folklore.
• Sidequest: Having a certain Relationship score with a character will result in optional sidequests involving said characters, which can give you nice items if you succeed.
• Snake Person: Takajo, the only Oni in the series to make a physical appearence, has the lower body of a purple serpent.
• Sole Survivor: Jubei is this for the Yagyu village, though given that, in the future games, the bloodline has been restored, there were others.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: By the end of the game, Jubei and Oyu have become this.
• Stealth Pun:The description of the Stag Beetle mentions that it loves melons. It's one of the best gifts for Oyu, which has quite a nice rack...
• Spikes of Doom: The entryway of Takajo's nest has a puzzle which involves putting the three statuettes of Nobunaga in the right order. If you do it wrong, you get impaled by the spikes on the walls.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: On the sides of the enemies, Jaid, Musaid and Gaidoros/Zedan for Zombies, Three Eyes and Longarms. As for the weapons, Buraito, Senpuumaru and Rekkaken for Raizan, Shippu and Enryuu.
• Super Mode: This game introduces the Onimusha Mode, a transformation which turns Jubei in a Oni like being, with stronger attack, invincibility and magic attack in the form of a shower of ki-blasts. Unlike other games though, Jubei automatically transforms into his Onimusha Form upon collecting the fifth Purple Soul, which can be quite an inconvenience, since Purple Souls drops randomly.
• Taken for Granite: The caverns under Gifu have a lot of poor workers turned into stone statues by Tokichiro's powder, and must be rescued to proceed and obtain healing items.
• Taking You with Me: Genma Robots (Gaidoros) explode upon defeat, which can damage Jubei.
• Threatening Shark: Subverted, an Easter Egg in the Oni Temple: there's a window on the sea, with fishes swimming by, and if you keep pressing the Absorb souls button in front of it, a shark will appear from nowhere and eat the fish, releasing yellow souls.
• Villainous Virtues: Gogandantess works for the Genma, and has slaughtered countless Oni and probably just as many humans, but he's a man of honor, who shows respect to a potential Worthy Opponent, and is chivalrous, even if he's also a little chauvinistic.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Ginghamphatts, round one. Slow moving, telegraphed attacks, hits like a truck but not too difficult to deal with. He's also somewhat easy to attack with Issen.
• Warrior Monk: Ekei is one, though a fallen monk who indulges in food, alcohol and women.
• Waterfall Shower: In a Fanservice moment, Oyu is first seen taking one during the intro cutscene, with her Toplessness from the Back to the camera, before donning her armor.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Downplayed, Ekei and Magoichi's introduction has Jubei scolding them for starting a duel for trivial reasons in public.
• Worlds Greatest Warrior: Gogandantess is the strongest warrior of all the Genma race, and even without his Barrier Warrior status, he's a force to be reckoned with.
• You Don't Look Like You: Mazin in this game do not grow on doors, but are pulsating spheres surrounded by rotating spiked rings, and they block passages. Only a Oni Weapon of the corrispective color can break them open (in the first game you only had to have the required weapon at the required level).