How Capcom’s Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Remaster Enhances a Classic

Director Motohide Eshiro mentions that the game now truly shines with its unique visual style, thanks to the enhanced HD resolution and a steady 60FPS performance. “The swordplay feels more responsive now,” he says. With the shift to widescreen TV formats over the years, they’ve adapted the game’s visuals to fill these displays, offering a zoomed-in effect that amps up the immersion and excitement in battle scenes.

I couldn’t agree more. The sword fighting feels remarkably responsive, allowing me to strike and block with precision, creating an intimate battle atmosphere. This is particularly evident in the temple corridors, where enemies come at you relentlessly. Mastering the powerful issen counterattack amidst this chaos is thrilling, as is absorbing enemy souls to rack up experience points.

Eshiro also shares, “For someone picking up this remaster in 2025, the goal was for them to feel the same excitement players felt back in 2002.” They focused on maintaining the game’s core charm while upgrading key elements to meet today’s standards. Thankfully, the original game’s assets were of very high quality, something that was somewhat masked by the older standard-definition displays. With modern upscaling techniques, these assets now reveal their full detail. This upgrade extends to the dynamic backgrounds, making elements like flowing rivers come to life in a way we’ve never seen before.