The story of Momotaro is famous in Japanese folklore. It is the story of the boy born from a peach who traveled to the land of the demons of Onigashima to fight the evil that is there. History tends to be written by the victors, so we don’t really hear how the oni felt about this kid and his animal friends coming in and killing them all. Independent adventure title ONI: Path to be the most powerful Oni it aims to address this imbalance in the accepted narrative.
You play as Kuuta, an oni who has traveled from his home in Onigashima to the island of Kisejima. This island is a training ground for the oni, where they can gain power and strength by passing a series of tests. The challenges are not easy and many oni have fallen under his efforts, but Kuuta is determined to try.
The game starts as soon as Kuuta reaches Kisejima. You’re free to roam the island as you please, though wandering too much makes it clear that some areas are blocked off by magical barriers that need to be broken. This is achieved by completing battle challenges which are gradually unlocked throughout the island. In these challenges, the perspective changes, Kuuta takes off his backpack, and you defeat a series of enemies with your mace.
Combat is standard fare, with only one combo attack available to you. However, the game adds the conceit that enemies can only be truly defeated by destroying their souls. Souls will spawn when an enemy is killed. If you fail to destroy them in time, they return to their body, undoing all your hard work. If you manage to stun multiple enemies at once, Kuuta has access to a chain ability where he can dash to strike souls in a merciless combo.
Adding to the combat mechanics is Kuuta’s ghost friend Kazemaru, who you can control independently by holding down a side button and flicking the right stick. Kazemaru has the power to extract souls from enemies and later gains the ability to teleport Kuuta and heal him.
Using two characters in combat seems complicated, yet it works surprisingly well. Kuuta’s simple combat mechanics, along with all of Kazemaru’s shoulder button moves, mean he’s easy to pick up. Once you get the hang of it, you can quickly find yourself in a vast field of souls just waiting to be fucked. Chaining together a large number of souls at once is incredibly satisfying and always ends in a spectacular slow-mo zoom.
When you’re not in battle, Kisejima is free to explore, where you can enjoy the game’s atmosphere at your leisure. Visually, ONI: Path to be the most powerful Oni it’s simple, but effective. The character designs are expressive and charming, all paired with excellent animation. Kuuta running around the island on his little legs while carrying all his possessions on his back is adorable. In cutscenes, he usually expresses himself with exaggerated movements and expressions that make him extremely likable. The environment is also interesting, with hills and forests combined with magical floating rocks and other weird elements that add a lot of visual flair.
It’s a shame there’s so little to do in the exploration parts of the game. You can collect collectibles, including mushrooms that serve as currency or journal entries from past visitors to the island. You can also get spirits, which can increase your health if you can get them to a save point without getting caught by aggressive oni. That’s often all there is to find, and the game spins quickly as you find yourself picking up those things over and over again with no real variation.
The combat splitting into its own pocket dimension also adds to this feeling, as you can’t stumble upon a combat encounter while exploring. You have to enter it deliberately. Progression is based on completing these encounters, which also tend to recycle many of the same combat styles. The game offers a welcome break with one or two unique boss fights, but it’s an occasional treat rather than the norm.
There are also times when combat encounters can feel long with times when you just have to wait for an enemy to do something for you to respond. One boss, for example, became invincible and spun around a lot, when all I could do was watch and wait for him to finally reveal his weak spot.
The soundtrack doesn’t help the repetitive feel. There’s nothing specifically wrong with the hints themselves, it’s just that they rarely belong in this game or are used in a context where they wear out quickly. It often sounds like tetris effect The soundtrack was lost and entered by mistake. now i love it tetris effect soundtrack, but it’s much better suited to puzzle landscapes than a series of combat encounters, and that’s evident here.
It’s really a pity that ONI: Path to be the most powerful Oni is plagued with these issues, as it’s clear that a lot of love and care has gone into this game. not how she got there. They become friends despite the differences between humans and oni. These scenes are still beautifully rendered, with interesting visual effects using large text to represent Kuuta’s thoughts.
The game definitely aims to put an interesting new spin on a familiar old story, and it mostly succeeds. It has a lot to say about the nature of the fighting and the hate, as you explore Kisejima. Some of the notes left by previous fallen oni include simple, everyday things like shopping lists, and little touches like this highlight the pain this supposedly legendary hero has caused. All of this then contrasts with Kanna, who is kind and friendly, and the opposite of how Kuuta has come to view humans.
ONI: Path to be the most powerful Oni it’s a messy, but clearly heartfelt experience. There’s a lot to do here, between the gorgeous visuals, interesting mechanics, and great storytelling, you just need to browse through lots of similar content to access it all. It might be best experienced in short bursts.
ONI: Path to be the most powerful Oni is available for Nintendo Switch, PC and PlayStation 4 and 5.