Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s Combat Feedback Was Inspired by Super Mario Odyssey, Says Director

In a recent interview with Swedish publication FZ, Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki shared unexpected details regarding the inspirations behind Capcom’s latest action title. When asked about games that influenced elements of the new samurai release, Nihei pointed to Nintendo's platformer Super Mario Odyssey rather than genre contemporaries like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Ghost of Tsushima.

“Super Mario Odyssey. It’s an action game that is basically very easy to get into, but at the same time contains lots of more dynamic and challenging parts, something that Nintendo is very good at,” Nihei explained through machine translation. He noted that actions like jumping feature immediate physical reactions, such as gravity and landing, which inspired him when trying to achieve a similar tactile feeling with sword controls in Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

Meanwhile, producer Akihito Kadowaki credited other titles for influencing different aspects of the production. While briefly mentioning Silent Hill f, Kadowaki cited the Gundam series—specifically the PlayStation 4 title Gundam Versus—as a major influence on the game's character design. Kadowaki noted that the Gundam universe features charismatic and deep characters that drive the story forward, a quality he wanted to bring into the revival of Capcom's classic franchise.

The creative decisions and development challenges appear to have paid off for Capcom. Following its successful launch, Onimusha: Way of the Sword surpassed one million copies sold on its very first day, pushing the overall Onimusha franchise past the 10 million sales mark. This commercial milestone has driven Capcom's shares to a new year high and inspired the company to focus on re-activating dormant intellectual properties that have not seen a new title launch recently.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword follows the lone samurai Miyamoto Musashi as he takes on hordes of Genma on his quest to become one of the best swordsmen in the world. Developed using Capcom's versatile RE Engine, the game is currently available on Windows PC via Steam, the Microsoft Store, and the Epic Games Store, alongside the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 platforms.