Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
PAL region cover art
Developer(s)	Capcom Production Studio 2
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Koichi Kimura
Producer(s)	Yoshinori Ono
Programmer(s)	Osamu Ikeda[2]
Writer(s)	Hiroshi Yamashita
Composer(s)	Hideyuki Fukasawa Jamie Christopherson
Series	Onimusha
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	JP: January 26, 2006 NA: March 7, 2006 PAL: March 17, 2006[1]
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, released in Japan as Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (新 鬼武者 Dawn of Dreams), is a 2006 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 2. It is the sixth and final installment of Capcom's Onimusha series, while being the fourth and final game in the canonical main series. It was released in Japan in January 2006, followed by North American and European releases in March. The plot is set in medieval Japan decades after the events of Onimusha 3: Demon Siege and focuses on Soki, a warrior who possesses Oni powers. Soki is on a quest to stop Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who has unified Japan in league with his demonic army of Genma after the death of Nobunaga by the hands of Samanosuke, and he also joins forces with several allies who all share the same goal in stopping the demons and Hideyoshi plans of wanting to conquer the world.

While the game retains the action elements from the previous Onimusha, it offers a more varied amount of different attacks, weapons, and the option of going back to previous stage to unlock new content (although there are points in the game where the players can no longer return to certain area due to the plot moving to a different area of Japan). The game also introduces a 3D camera (although there are small areas that still retain the fixed camera of older Onimusha games) as well as the ability to continuously fight alongside AI controlled characters who move depending on the player's orders (the player can switch between characters with a push of a button). Dawn of Dreams was announced by Capcom due to high fan demand and several Capcom members realizing they could expand the action elements from Onimusha after working on Shadow of Rome. The game was designed in order to appeal to skilled gamers rather than the general market which resulted in appealing designs rather than realistic.

Following its release, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams received good critical response. Writers praised the action, graphics, characters, and exploration elements but also criticized some elements from its presentation including its dialogue and English voice acting. The game however generated poor sales. Dawn of Dreams also received a film adaptation (consisting of in-game footage and cutscenes) and two manga spin-offs. This is also the first Onimusha where the main character is not based of an actor's likeness.