This Needs A Remaster

Onimusha is a game that aged well in some areas and not so in others. Still it's hard to believe it was a launch title for the PS2 considering how bad games are in this generation.

The in-game graphics hold up really well but unfortunately not for the CG cinematics. Thankfully the CG was only used sparingly in this game. Even the subtitles doesn't have the usual jagginess you get when watching SD on LCD TV. Somehow the subtitles are missing during the CG making it hard to play in Japanese. I certain don't remember this problem until I started playing it again.

The part that didn't aged well is how you can't switch weapons without going back to the menu. And the game forced you to switch up the weapoons quite a lot to face different enemies and open doors. It's also a lot harder than most newer games but still fair enough so you don't complain. Problem is I don't have the tendency to save often anymore with how lenient games tend to be these days. So I had to replay a lot as it's hard to unlearn what you learnt over the years.

I took 5 hours plus to finish what it roughly a 3 hours game. It wasn't pretty, I felt like Kobe trying to survive in the NBA at his current age.

Lost for words

In the wake of Capcom's disappointing showing of quality Wii software during Captivate 08, i have started looking at possible PS3 titles that might interested me instead.

While MGS4 and DMC4 are sure to keep me occupied once i get my hardware, the truth is there are other titles that i would rather play first before moving on to those. Top on my list would be Lost Planet, a Capcom action adventure game that was ported from the XBOX360. The port received its' fair share of flak for not taking advantage of the delay and PS3 hardware in improving the visual and experience but despite all that, i would still very much want to play that game. I remember Onimusha being the first game i ever played on my PS2 and to me, Lost Planet is very much the Onimusha of PS3. Both games were produced by the father of Megaman, keiji inafune and featured the likeness of an asian celebrity, in this case lee byung hun.

Also playing a new game is always more rewarding than sequel, though sequels have their own charms as well. But unfortunately with the MGS4 release only days away and my hardware arriving bundled together with the game, it looks like i may very well have to play MGS4 first to keep up with my friends.


Looks like my encounter with the lovely Luka will just have to wait...

CERO to zero

I have a, some might say rather odd preference for japanese imports when it comes to games, given the fact that i hardly know any japanese at all despite attempting to learn the language twice. I guess it started way back when i got my Gameboy while i was with my dad on assignment in Japan and the japanese games came in cute little boxes (with better cover art too) compared with the rather clumsy US boxes. Even during the 32-bit era, one of my early favourite games Biohazard had the full uncut intro on the japanese release which sadly never made it to western shores after so many iterations including the most recent Deadly Silence on the Nintendo DS. Onimusha also lost a crucial scene and frankly, some of its' atmosphere when it was localised for the Western market. That was then this is now, things has certainly changed since CERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization) took charge of the age rating for the video games distributed in Japan. Biohazard 4 was one of the first games to suffer some cuts under CERO as the decapitation scenes were deemed too violent and had to be censored from the japanese version. In a reverse of fortunes, Resident Evil 4 was passed through without any of these cuts in the US, making the japanese version slighty inferior. I also recently had a unpleasant surprise when i played the US version of Dracula X Chronicles on my PSP upon finishing the japanese version earlier and discovered that some footage off the openning CG intro was cut! No doubt the work of CERO again, the shot of blood trickling off the coffin of Dracula onto his forehead was missing from the japanese version.

Play-Asia just had another Easter clearance sale where everything in-stock was going for 20% less and here i was facing the dilemma of whether to order the US, Asian or japanese version of Devil May Cry 4. All three were discounted and only a few dollars set them apart, after much thought i ended up ordering the japanese import as i heard you get a slighty different intro music on the openning cutscene of the japanese version. Some things never change i suppose....

The Good Ole' Times

They just don't make them like they used....the same goes with games. Many long time gamers who grew up during the 8/16-bit era will tell you that despite the improvements in visual and audio storytelling of games, the games of today just doesn't match up to the games of yester-years. Playing Dracula X the last two days has certainly rekindled a lot of fond memories of the 8/16-bit era, and while i can't attest to the fact that games back there weren't better than the ones now, I certainly remember them being a lot tougher. Then it got me thinking some more, were games back then intentionally made harder because they weren't half as long as games these days? Sure players moaned nowadays if a game can be completed in less than 10 hours but back in the 8/16 bit era, save for the Zelda games, most of them could be completed in one day if you really sit through it on a Sunday afternoon. Well if that myth is true, it certainly worked because i could remember some of these games better than the games of today which i completed over the last few years. Load up the ole Castlevania and i could still remember some of the more tricker level layouts and where exactly Simon Belmont should stand when the ole' Count is about to strike during the grand boss fight. The levels were much shorter and many times, player had to replay the level if they died at a boss fight...so we would play it again and again and again...

You will die a lot in this game.......

I'm afraid i can't say the same about recent games, I can hardly remember any of the boss fights from the last three Onimusha games and probably not even some of the level layouts too. Kinda sad don't you think? They just don't make them like they used to...or are we gamers getting too soft?

Are games today getting too soft?