Miyamoto Musashi is Japan’s most famous samurai. Presumed to have been born around 1583 (though the history surrounding his origins are murky at best) Musashi is famous for an undefeated record of 62 duels, the birth of dual-wielding Japanese swords in the katana and wakizashi, and for being the legendary figure at the heart of various movies, manga, novels, and more. He is now also a protagonist in Capcom’s Onimusha series, finally returning after a 20-year hiatus, with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which is the latest game to grace the cover of Game Informer.
Game Informer video editor Eric Van Allen and I flew to Osaka, Japan last month to visit Capcom’s headquarters and learn more about how and why it was finally time for Onimusha to return. We played roughly three hours of the game, experiencing an extended demo of the “open-town” section of the game’s Edo-period Kyoto, where we eventually faced off against the terrifying Rasho-gan, the Wish Warper, before heading deep into an underground lab where we fought back against the sinister Genma creations of the demented Dokyo. We also interviewed various leads behind the game, including director Satoru Nihei, producer Akihito Kadowaki, art directors Hiroyuki Nara and Hiroshi Yugen, and lead writer Hiroshi Yamashita. Fresh off a replay of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, I also got the chance to discuss the game (and its recent remaster) with its director, Motohide Eshiro. Leaving no stone unturned, Eric and I also went to a local arcade to play Onimusha VR: Shadow Team and traveled to Kyoto by train to check out the real-life locations that appear in Way of the Sword.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, Japan
You can expect a lot of Musashi in our coverage hitting the site over the next few weeks, starting with your first look at the Onimusha: Way of the Sword cover featuring the man himself. In the art, Musashi is pictured armed with an Oni Gauntlet and determination in his eyes, ready to defeat the surrounding Genma as Kyoto burns around him.
Perhaps I’m biased, but this is one of my favorite issues we here at Game Informer have made in a minute. That’s in part due to Onimusha: Way of the Sword being on the cover, yes, but also because the magazine is jam-packed with incredible writing. Contributors include JJ Bersch, who wrote an excellent retrospective on Kirby Super Star for its 30th birthday, Hayes Madsen, who chronicled the success of Capcom in recent years, and Luis Gutierrez, who went hands-on with The Blood of Dawnwalker and detailed why he’s so excited for more after three hours. We also have a big roundup of upcoming games from small teams with big potential, and it’s sure to make your wishlist grow three times as large. Plus, editor-in-chief Matt Miller went deep on Crowsworn, an upcoming action platformer you need to keep an eye on, and associate editor Charles Harte traveled all the way to Paris to play Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse in a deconsecrated church.
That’s not even half of the goodness you’ll find in this issue, either. We have previews of exciting upcoming games like Orbitals, Signet City, Resident Evil Veronica, Erosion, Fable, Clutch, ILL, Gen Atlas, Echo Weaver, Crossfire, and more, as well as reviews of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven Groove, and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. We tapped contributors Connor Trinske, Jay Guisao, and Danreb Victorio to review Gothic 1 Remake, EA Sports College Football 27, and NBA The Run, respectively, too.
All of this is to say this issue is an incredible one, and hey, guess what? You can read the digital edition right now! Physical versions will be arriving in your mailboxes mid-to-late August, just in time for some Onimusha reading before the game’s September launch. You can find the issue in bookstores and newsstands globally around the same time, too. Be sure to subscribe today to receive 10 Game Informer magazines a year (physical and digital) and get the Onimusha: Way of the Sword magazine as your first issue.
