{"id":18647,"date":"2026-08-09T02:05:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T02:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18647"},"modified":"2026-08-09T02:05:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T02:05:56","slug":"how-capcom-created-its-own-version-of-legendary-samurai-miyamoto-musashi-in-onimusha-way-of-the-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18647","title":{"rendered":"How Capcom Created Its Own Version Of Legendary Samurai Miyamoto Musashi In Onimusha: Way Of The Sword"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I traveled to Osaka, Japan, back in June to visit Capcom\u2019s HQ and learn more about\u00a0Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a>, which is\u00a0the latest game to grace the cover of\u00a0Game Informer<\/em><\/a>. You can read that cover story right\u00a0here<\/a> if you\u2019re a\u00a0subscriber<\/a>, but alongside that feature, I\u2019m posting exclusive stories for the next couple of weeks based on my various interviews with the leads behind Capcom\u2019s return to the Onimusha series after a\u00a020-year hiatus<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of those interviews was with Way of the Sword animation team lead Hiroshi Yugen, who explained how the studio created its own version of Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary samurai in Japanese history and the game\u2019s protagonist. He says the fables, legends, and real stories about Musashi influenced a lot of the game\u2019s take on the swordsman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a lot of influence from those real stories that went into creating the action [Musashi] uses in the game, both in terms of his reputation as a sword master and him being very skilled with multiple weapons,\u201d Yugen says. Musashi won\u2019t be utilizing his famous dual-wielding style as he\u2019s still early in his journey \u2013 in his 20s \u2013 and hasn\u2019t yet discovered\/created it at this point of his life in Way of the Sword. \u201cWhere Musashi is set in this game is before he\u2019s really mastered that, so there\u2019s more focus on that one-sword action, but we did want to include elements of his familiarity with other weapons, which is why we have the Oni Armament skills that come into play.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

During my time playing Way of the Sword, I used two different Oni Armaments. The Two Celestials are small blades that deal straight damage, while the Earth-Shaker hammers I later unlock in my playtime inflict heavy stagger damage. Equipping different Oni Armaments based on the enemies before you is a crucial part of Musashi\u2019s combat kit. During a fight with the Nue, which consisted of two Chimera, mythical beasts inspired by various animals, using the Earth-Shaker hammers was key to my (eventual) victory against them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yugen says stories about Musashi tell of how he used whatever means necessary to achieve victory, which is why his kit includes more than just a sword. You can parry enemies into torches, setting them on fire as a result, or flip tables to use as large shields \u2013 after you\u2019re done using it as a shield, you can throw it into enemies, too, knocking them off balance. \u201cThese are all elements that were kind of inspired by the real stories of Musashi,\u201d Yugen says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some stories of Musashi, who is famous for an undefeated record of 62 sword duels and traveling around Japan specifically to reach that number, tell of an attitude somewhere between confident and cocky. That\u2019s apparent in Way of the Sword\u2019s Musashi, who is also searching for the next duel \u2013 in fact, he wants to get rid of the Oni Gauntlet on his arm because he feels like using it is cheating in these duels, a far cry from the likes of Samanosuke or Jubei, who want to use their Oni powers to save the world in\u00a0Onimusha: Warlords and Onimusha 2: Samurai\u2019s Destiny, respectively<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"How<\/p>\n

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Yugen says he and the team stressed this confidence\/cockiness to the motion capture artists Capcom hired to perform the actions of Musashi and his enemies. But, given how early in Musashi\u2019s journey Way of the Sword takes place, they also took great care to make his action \u201ca little rough around the edges\u201d and \u201cnot quite as defined,\u201d according to Yugen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One thing that helped was to imagine each fight in the various scenarios Musashi finds himself in as a Street Fighter bout. Leaning on one of Capcom\u2019s other franchises, Yugen says the Street Fighter angle helped them define what Musashi would be thinking about as each fight begins, how he would walk up to enemies and approach them with sword in hand, and more. \u201cIt was towards the end of the project that we really started introducing those elements to flesh out the uniqueness of him, even down to the way he walks,\u201d Yugen adds. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want him to walk with this tension; he has a bit of swagger to him, and that\u2019s something we really paid attention to in design.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continuing, Yugen says, \u201cMusashi doesn\u2019t really hide his feelings. He\u2019s very blunt, he\u2019s very direct, and when something is a pain in the ass, he\u2019ll say, \u2018God, this is a pain in the ass.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of that is apparent in the Way of the Sword demo that you can play right now, and a lot of that was apparent in my extended hands-on time with the game. I look forward to seeing how Musashi grows as a swordsman and a man in the game when it launches next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll continue 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