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GBA

North America

Onimusha Tactics

by Mike Sklens - October 15, 2003, 2:05 pm EDT

Capcom's bringing samurai and demons to the Game Boy Advance, but will they stand up against the quickly crowding Tactical RPG genre?

Capcom is taking on the tactical RPG genre with their own title, Onimusha Tactics. Based on the Onimusha series, this game follows the story of Onimura. He is a descendant of the Oni clan, which has fought the demons from hell for centuries. Nobonaga, the demon king, is back with a new army trying to take over feudal Japan. It’s up to Onimura and his own band of rag-tag crusaders to fight back.

Onimusha Tactics plays similarly to other tactical RPGs, most notably Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The biggest difference is that instead of characters moving based on speed, the two opposing forces take turns. One army moves all of its units, and then the other army gets a shot. This setup changes the strategy quite a bit. While it’s possible to deal a ton of damage all at once, defense is also a consideration. If you leave yourself open, then you’ll be hit hard. Winning is a matter of destroying the enemy army. But, the enemy usually only has to kill one of your plot-centric characters to win.

Combat takes place on an isometric grid. Characters can move, attack, use special attacks (magic) and items, and sometimes they have the option to take up a counter-strike stance. Unlike Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the direction you attack from does not matter. After selecting a target, it will automatically turn to face you. Characters are stuck in their pre-defined roles, and as such they can’t switch “jobs.”

While Onimusha Tactics may not be as complex as some other tactical RPGs, it certainly isn’t any less fun. The story skews a little older than other games in the genre. There is some mild cursing, and the subject matter is darker all around. The game is full of Onimusha flavor, so fans of the series should love it. Plus, the difficulty ramps up fairly quickly. Some missions will require multiple plays through to learn all their nuances. The sprite art is nice, but the real graphical star in this game is the character art. The portraits are wonderful. Onimusha Tactics looks to be a great tactical RPG to pick up when it releases later this year, just in time for everybody to finish FF Tactics Advance.

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Genre Strategy
Developer Capcom
Players1 - 2

Worldwide Releases

na: Onimusha Tactics
Release Nov 11, 2003
PublisherCapcom
RatingMature
jpn: Onimusha Tactics
Release Jul 25, 2003
PublisherCapcom
RatingAll Ages
eu: Onimusha Tactics
Release Dec 05, 2003
PublisherCapcom
Rating7+

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