{"id":18651,"date":"2026-08-10T02:20:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T02:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18651"},"modified":"2026-08-10T02:20:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T02:20:57","slug":"onimusha-2-samurais-destiny-director-motohide-eshiro-on-onimusha-way-of-the-swords-resurrection-of-the-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18651","title":{"rendered":"Onimusha 2: Samurai\u2019s Destiny Director Motohide Eshiro On Onimusha: Way Of The Sword\u2019s Resurrection Of The Series"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a> is\u00a0the latest game to grace the cover of\u00a0Game Informer<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> As part of my cover story trip to Capcom\u2019s Osaka HQ, where I played the game and interviewed the team making it, I also got to speak to Motohide Eshiro, the planner of Onimusha: Warlords and director of\u00a0Onimusha 2: Samurai\u2019s Destiny<\/a> (and its\u00a0recent remaster<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

I published an in-depth retrospective about Onimusha\u2019s success, its \u201cSengoku Biohazard\u201d origins, and more based on my interview with Eshiro,\u00a0and you can read that right here<\/a>, but I also spoke to him about watching this series return after a\u00a020-year hiatus<\/a>. Though he\u2019s not officially working on Way of the Sword, he works at Capcom in a producer role, supporting up-and-coming producers working on various projects at the publisher-developer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"Onimusha<\/p>\n

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Game Informer<\/p>\n

Motohide Eshiro<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Sitting beside Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei, Eshiro tells me he\u2019s been \u201cvery surprised and impressed\u201d with the way video game graphics, particularly across the Onimusha series, have evolved alongside the action genre over the past two decades since Onimusha\u2019s start. He also believes Nihei and the rest of the Way of the Sword team have nailed the swordplay action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that one of the strengths of it is the swordplay,\u201d Eshiro says. \u201cIn particular, I found it was quite an interesting evolution from the base game, but also, maintaining elements like the Issen, that satisfying feel of pulling it off, and the back and forth of Japanese swordplay \u2013 I feel they\u2019ve done a really good job of capturing that feeling and creating a bit more of a realistic start of the swordplay action.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a clear but polite embarrassment in the room from Nihei, as he listens to Eshiro discuss Way of the Sword\u2019s strengths, and it\u2019s endearing to see. Nihei refers to Eshiro as a legend and is happy to hear he thinks Way of the Sword is satisfying in its action. \u201cWhen we have legends like [Eshiro] check out the game, I definitely feel nervous,\u201d he says. \u201cAre they going to be like, \u2018What are you doing here?\u2019 There\u2019s definitely a bit of pressure, but obviously I look forward to hearing what they have to say about the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"Onimusha<\/p>\n

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Delving further into his impressions, Eshiro says he is very impressed by what the Way of the Sword team has accomplished with today’s technology. \u201cComing from someone involved with the past titles, I am very impressed with that and am really happy to see the project in good hands,\u201d he adds. \u201cI\u2019m very excited for people to get their hands on the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ever the studio man, Eshiro closes out his thoughts by saying if someone is excited about Way of the Sword and wants to learn more about the series, \u201cI would love for people to check out the Onimusha 1 and 2 remasters to see how the series has changed over these 20 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n