{"id":18606,"date":"2026-07-29T23:35:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18606"},"modified":"2026-07-29T23:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:35:54","slug":"capcom-says-onimusha-way-of-the-sword-being-the-pinnacle-of-swordplay-action-games-is-what-success-looks-like-after-a-20-year-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18606","title":{"rendered":"Capcom Says Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Being The \u2018Pinnacle Of Swordplay Action Games\u2019 Is What Success Looks Like After A 20-Year Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The last time a new Onimusha game launched, it was 2006. But now,\u00a020 years later<\/a>, Capcom is just months away from the release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and as a fan of those previous games, I\u2019m stoked \u2013 doubly so after playing the game for several hours and interviewing the developers for the latest\u00a0Game Informer<\/em> cover<\/a>, which\u00a0subscribers can read right now<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given the 20-year gap between Way of the Sword and the last release before it, 2006\u2019s Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, I was curious about what success for this new game even looks like to Capcom.<\/p>\n

\n\"Capcom<\/p>\n

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An enemy from the first game alongside a similar enemy from Way of the Sword<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve built this game with the intention of essentially creating a new swordplay experience \u2013 the pinnacle of swordplay action games,\u201d producer Akihito Kadowaki tells me. \u201cJust releasing [the game] and it being cool for [familiar] players is not quite enough. We want this to be accessible to as many people as possible. So, for people who are not familiar with action games, we want them to feel they can jump in, explore, and enjoy this kind of game. We created the modular difficulty settings for that \u2013 we have story, we have action difficulty settings, and even between those, you can change the settings [on a more granular scale].<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, we get as many people to enjoy the action and see the game through to the end because there are a lot of people that do pick up these kinds of games and then they can\u2019t see them through to the end because they\u2019re too difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kadowaki says that if the game can reach as many people as possible globally, introduce many new players to the action genre, and help them reach the end, the team would consider that a \u201cbig success for the series.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was somewhat happy to hear this answer, specifically in how it\u2019s void of any talk of sales numbers. I\u2019m sure there are those at Capcom with sales targets in mind, but I hope the publisher-developer isn\u2019t expecting Onimusha to compete with its other franchises just because Onimusha is also technically a franchise. With a 20-year gap between releases, Way of the Sword feels more like a new series than a continuation of one, though it\u2019s definitely still an Onimusha game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"Capcom<\/p>\n

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To put some of what I mean in perspective, Resident Evil has surpassed 200 million units sold across its many games; Monster Hunter sits at 127 million copies sold; and Street Fighter at 59 million. Onimusha has just barely eclipsed 9 million, so if Capcom plans to compare it to the aforementioned heavy-hitters franchises, there\u2019s no world where Way of the Sword lives up to expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be diving deeper into Capcom\u2019s return to Onimusha as part of\u00a0Game Informer\u2019s<\/em> month of Way of the Sword coverage. We\u2019ll be publishing exclusive gameplay and behind-the-scenes videos (including a Rapid-Fire Interview) on the\u00a0Game Informer<\/em> YouTube channel<\/a> as well. Keep an eye on the\u00a0Onimusha: Way of the Sword coverage hub<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n