“Onimusha Tactics” is a game not unlike Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Tactics Ogre, but set in the universe of the Onimusha games. “Onimusha” is set in a semi-historical Japanese setting, with Samurai, Ninjas, and the like. However, there are also things like monsters, zombies, and demons. The main character is Onimaru, a young swordsman-in-training who lives in a village with his sister Tsubame. One day, his village is attacked by evil demons under the command of the evil lord Oda Nobunaga (who was a real person in Japan, but not an undead demon-guy). Onimaru, Tsubame, and some of the villagers are forced to run away, but not before Onimaru’s teacher tells him of Onimaru’s past and of the power of the Oni Gauntlet, which Onimaru has had since he was found in a basket by the villagers. Apparently the Oni Gauntlet can take in the souls of defeated demons. These souls can then be used to upgrade magic weapons and armor. The wielder of the Oni Gauntlet is supposedly the only one who can defeat the evil Nobunaga. Along the way to Nobunaga’s castle, there are many new allies that Onimaru and friends encounter, such as the leader of a clan of mercenary gunmen (who won’t join Onimaru at first because, well, he wants payment, and Onimaru has no money) and a Kabuki actor who is also pretty handy with a sword.

The graphics and sound are about average for a game of this type. The gameplay, while good, is nowhere near games like the aforementioned Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Tactics Ogre. There is no sense of freedom of choice for where you want to go. You just progress from battle to battle, with breaks only to save and for cut scenes. There aren’t any extra modes (at least not in the beginning), so there’s not really any change in what you can or can’t do. While this is a good game for fans of the series, fans of turn-based tactical games should look elsewhere. The Japanese setting, which may have drawn some people to it (including myself) doesn’t actually mean a whole lot. There are few actual Japanese-type things, and for the most part the historical accuracy is lacking.

Overall, this game is, well, average. 6/10.

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