Why Onimusha 2 is a Remaster and Not a Remake

Over the past few years, Capcom has released several highly successful Resident Evil remakes. Some may be curious, then, as to why Capcom remastered Onimusha: Warlords in 2018 and Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny for May 2025, instead of remaking them. Capcom is also having to rebuild the structures of these Onimusha games in RE Engine since the original games were built to run on the PS2 console.

The Best War Games recently spoke with Onimusha 2 director and Capcom producer Motohide Eshiro (via translator) about this upcoming remaster, including why the team did not want to make a remake. There were a few reasons, according to Eshiro, but there was also "no heated debate" over whether it should be one or the other. From the onset of the project, the ultimate goal was clear: "bring out the greatness of the original game and deliver that to more and more players."

Remaster Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

Eshiro believes that the overall design of the original Onimusha 2 is complete. That doesn't mean there aren't any changes, as the graphics have been greatly improved and the tank controls replaced with modern controls, but Eshiro and the team saw no reason to change any of the core systems or experience. There are a few new features added to Onimusha 2, including a Gallery mode to look at early sketches of the game and a Hell Mode to make it even more difficult. There's also a Gallery mode for players to get a glimpse at some of its original, early development.

But as to the core experience—the characters, the gift, the gameplay, the critical attacks—Eshiro wanted to remain faithful because it was already good. Onimusha 2 is considered one of the best in the Onimusha franchise, after all. Per the translator, Eshiro said,

"The overall game design of the original Onimusha 2, he thinks, is really complete. It doesn't feel like there are many things he should add or change. For the Onimusha 2 remaster, he just focused on recreating the gameplay of the original, but they also couldn't just bring it to modern consoles as is. He played the game again before working on it, and he realized the tank controls are a bit outdated. He thinks players would find difficult with those controls, so he decided to add stock controls so that players can easily get into it. The original title is great as is, so he wanted to focus on making the game more comfortable and easy to get into."

The goal was never to deliver a brand new experience, but an authentic one. Beyond that, Eshiro and his team worked to make the game more approachable due to the original's platform limitations and outdated features. Eshiro described the Onimusha 2 remaster as "nostalgic" for fans because of their memories with, but also as a "fresh" experience because of these minimal changes. At the heart, at least, it is still very much Onimusha 2.

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