is a

tactical role-playing Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-bas ...

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developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

. A spin-off of the ''

Onimusha is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom. It makes use of the historic figures that shaped Japan's history, retelling their stories with supernatural elements. Most of the games are of the action-adventure genre, a combinatio ...

'' series, it is the first and only game in the series to be released for a Nintendo system. It does not follow the storyline of the previous

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

games and is considered a side story, but the game features a similar plot: a samurai who possesses the Oni Gauntlet can become the Onimusha and fights against Nobunaga and his army of genma.

Gameplay

The player is presented with a 3/4 camera view of a detailed gridded battlefield. The point of the game is to defeat the opposing team of opponents and improve the player character with

experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...

s gained in battle by defeating enemies. Such statistics include strength, which dictates attack power, speed which decides turn order, and others. The game allows the player to equip their warrior with katanas, spears, and other weapons.

Characters

The samurai is Onimaru, who is supported by a wide range of characters, many of whom are the same as their PlayStation 2 equivalents. There are some returning characters from other ''Onimusha'' games such as

Saika Magoichi , better known as , ( – ) was the name given to the leader of the Saika Ikki. He is famous for arming his troops with arquebuses and donning the yatagarasu as his family crest. There were three people known as Saika (Suzuki) Magoichi, inc ...

Ankokuji Ekei , he was a military monk and descendant of the Takeda clan of Aki province. He served Mōri clan and later Toyotomi clan. Biography Although it is certain that he was from the Aki Takeda clan, there are various theories about his birth year and ...

Fūma Kotarō was the name adopted by the leader of the ninja during the Sengoku era of feudal Japan. He was retainer of Later Hōjō clan. According to some records, his name was originally Kazama Kotarō (風間小太郎). The Fūma clan and Fūma Kota ...

, and

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

. Onimaru battles the genma until the players ultimately reach Nobunaga. New to the series are additional chosen warriors who receive the power of the

phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

and

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

to assist Onimaru. These animals correspond with the Chinese celestial animals that represent the

Cardinal direction The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...

s. This reference was also a puzzle in '' Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny''.

Reception

''Onimusha Tactics'' received "mixed or average reviews", according to

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Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Onimusha series 2003 video games Game Boy Advance games Onimusha Tactical role-playing video games Sengoku video games Video games about samurai Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Keiji Yamagishi Video games with isometric graphics Video games set in feudal Japan Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U Single-player video games