{"id":18667,"date":"2026-08-13T03:05:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18667"},"modified":"2026-08-13T03:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:05:48","slug":"heres-what-the-genma-are-up-to-this-time-in-onimusha-way-of-the-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=18667","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s What The Genma Are Up To This Time In Onimusha: Way Of The Sword"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After a 20-year hiatus<\/a>, Capcom\u2019s samurai action series Onimusha is back. Well, almost \u2013 the next installment,\u00a0Onimusha: Way of the Sword, launches next month<\/a>. Ahead of its release, I traveled to Capcom\u2019s Osaka HQ in Japan to play never-before-seen parts of the game and interview the team making it for\u00a0Game Informer\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0latest cover<\/a> (and\u00a0you can read the cover story right here<\/a>). I\u2019ve been writing exclusive features, interviews, and more from my time with Capcom, and you can read them all in the\u00a0Onimusha: Way of the Sword hub<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite having played the demo a few times and playing through roughly three hours of the game within Capcom\u2019s main development building in Japan, I still wasn\u2019t quite sure what the Genma, the demonic enemies that plague\u00a0early Edo-period Kyoto<\/a>, were up to in Way of the Sword. So, I asked lead writer Hiroshi Yamashita.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"Here\u2019s<\/p>\n

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\u201cTo set the scene, we obviously have the Genma in [this game\u2019s] Japan, but we have the other realm in Hell, which is ruled by the Oni,\u201d Yamashita says. \u201cAnd within that space, the Genma also exist, and the Oni have kept them in place, but in the living world, from people killing each other and committing crimes, it generates this negative energy, this malice that you see in the game, and [that attracts] the Genma to the living world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamashita says the Oni are meant to contain the Genma, but because of the growing malice happening on Earth, \u201cand for certain reasons\u201d he didn\u2019t share due to spoilers, mysterious rifts appear in Kyoto that allow the Genma to seep into the real world and invade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, for the Genma, at a very basic level, their objective, their motives are pretty much just killing and eating \u2013 that\u2019s what drives them,\u201d Yamashita continues. \u201cThey\u2019re these menacing invaders, but they\u2019re only thinking on instinct. Within the Genma ranks, though, there are specific Genma who are maybe a little different and do have their own motivations and objectives. So, whilst the main Genma might not really have a specific objective because they\u2019re just killing and spreading chaos, those others are more like scheming Genma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"Here\u2019s<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat do they get out of the Genma invading and doing all this chaos? Killing does create more malice, and as the malice builds up, it\u2019s building toward allowing these specific Genma to do something. That\u2019s going to be the main driving force for Musashi \u2013 working to try and stop them from completing this objective.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Yamashita wouldn\u2019t spill any more on what that objective might be, but I did learn on this trip that Nobunaga, a recurring villainous figure, is not returning\u2026 so it\u2019s safe to say the Genma aren\u2019t trying to resurrect him (again).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Previously showcased Genma that rank higher than the standard killers include Dokyo and Rasho-Gan, pictured below. Dokyo, especially, is in a Genma league of her own. Not only does she have a terrifying screen presence backed by a standout voice performance (from what I\u2019ve heard so far), but she has a \u201cspecial\u201d and \u201cunique\u201d place in the wider story of Way of the Sword. But Yamashita says we\u2019ll have to wait until the game\u2019s launch next month to learn more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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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\u00a0<\/p>\n