It's true that Capcom once claimed Onimusha 3 to be the final game in the series. But as it turns out, it was actually the final game in a trilogy. Dawn of Dreams is a series rebirth, in a manner of speaking, picking up a number of years after the death of villainous mainstay Nobunaga Oda. But that hasn't done anything to the game's plot. You'll still slice through hordes of demons while collecting their souls to upgrade your powers.

A Little Help from Your Friends

The biggest change in this latest Onimusha is the inclusion of five playable characters. You can mix and match them at your leisure, and bring one along on certain missions. The key here is that each of your comrades comes complete with unique abilities, and thus you must employ them to solve various puzzles along during the quest.

Most of these puzzles are alright, though some are really stupid. Things such as needed a specific character to cut through a rope using his gun, because for some reason lead hero Soki's razor-sharp sword is no match for the strands of woven cord.

Your partners aren't too swift, either. As the console will control whichever character you aren't (you can swap between characters at will) you'll sometimes find your friend running headlong into a wall, or simply ignoring any commands you give them to join the fray.

Still, the basic battling is a lot of fun, so these issues don't usually hamper the experience too much.

Pretty Pictures

No, the sometimes braindead A.I. and strange logic issues aren't really the biggest issues faced by Dawn of Dreams. The most irritating aspect is the nearly non-interactive backgrounds Soki and friends traverse in each level. It's so strange that the player can't, say, climb any ladder they want. Rather, only if a little blue "interactive" blob appears at the bottom of a ladder, or at the end of a particular bridge, or in front of a particular door, can you actually do anything in that spot.

It's a throwback to the days of the original Resident Evil, where the environments feel like nothing more than wallpaper. It's really a tad disappointing, despite looking so pretty. Apparently graphics as nice as those found in Dawn of Dreams come at the cost of an immersive world.

Return to the Well?

That's not to say Onimusha doesn't have a few more improvements, as well. Besides the extra characters and their special abilities -- which in turn requires you to backtrack to earlier areas if you want explore every nook and cranny of the game -- the soul collection and upgrade system is much deeper and more fulfilling now.

You can upgrade both your abilities and items, which can lead to learning even more special moves and attacks. There are literally dozens of weapons and armors to find and improve, so you can customize your character more than you ever could in the previous three titles. It gives the whole thing a more epic, RPG feel.

A New Beginning

When Capcom backpedaled on the whole "last game in the series" bit, it was a bit scary for fans of the series. Another sequel smacked of creative bankruptcy -- an excuse to farm a bit more cash from an aging cow. But Dawn of Dreams is a good jumping-off point for a whole new story line in the vein of the original series, and offers just enough new mechanics to make it worth a play for both fans of the series and Onimusha virgins alike.