I was more than a bit wary when I first heard about Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. At first I was disappointed that it would be taking place several years after the events of the last game in the series, meaning that the story wouldn't focus on Samanosuke, the hero of the first and third entries in the series. I was also a bit suspicious when it was mentioned that Dawn would be a sort of "rebirth" for the series. I really liked Onimusha the way it was -- why did it need a rebirth?

It turns out that all my worrying was in vain, as Dawn of Dreams definitely lives up to its predecessors, and the whole "rebirth" thing simply means that Capcom added some features that enhance what was already there. As I mentioned, this game takes place well after Samanosuke's defeat of Nobunaga, and it introduces a brand new enemy as well as a new cast of heroes to fight him. The past Oni games have featured multiple playable characters, but Dawn goes all out with the concept, sporting five characters to choose from and something that Capcom calls the "Allies System."

Allies System is just a fancy way of saying that the computer controls a second character for you while you're running around slashing up evil Genma warriors. The d-pad can be used to give orders to your AI partner, although I found that they weren't always the most responsive. There were quite a few times when my buddy would become trapped behind a wall or fence blasting away at nothing while I was on the other side doing all the dirty work. Occasionally, they would even just hang out in a corner doing nothing, even though I had clearly given the "follow and attack" signal.


Dumb Demons

Not that the enemy AI was all that better. I found myself able to easily defeat lower grade enemies by having my partner "wait and recover." This command forces them to stand still, not attack, and have their health slowly regenerate. During this period of inactivity, many foes would crowd around my inert pal and only occasionally attack. My partner wasn't taking enough damage to really matter, and it gave me plenty of opportunity to get in a few quick hits and back off. Of course, this tactic wasn't quite as effective against higher level enemies, especially the bosses, who were all quite challenging (and rather fun) to fight.

As you fight, you're also able to change which of the two onscreen characters that you're controlling. A quick press of the L2 button zaps you over into your buddy's body, and the game takes control of your old character. Considering that each of the five characters have very different fighting styles, you'll need to do this rather often. Jubei, for example, is a fairly petite young woman and is able to cross narrow pathways and crawl through small holes (and yes, she's the granddaughter of the Jubei from Onimusha 2). The fighter Roberto is able to move heavy objects that the others can't budge. Nankobo, the mysterious monk, can talk to the dead, and Ohatsu utilizes a grappling hook and her collection of explosives can clear blocked doors. The main character, Soki, may not have any special abilities, but he is the best all around fighter. The constant back and forth between characters is necessary to get past multiple environmental puzzles, and you can even backtrack to earlier levels once you recruit all the characters in order to reach places (and treasures) that you couldn't before.