Oninaki Review: Brilliant combat, but a bloody bad game

Embark on a journey through the realms of life and death with our in-depth exploration of Oninaki. Developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, this captivating action-RPG plunges players into a world where the boundary between the living and the deceased is blurred. In this review, we delve into the game's narrative, fluid combat system, and hauntingly beautiful aesthetic, offering insights into why Oninaki stands out as an oddly weird title for fans of the genre.

Battle System - 9.5

Oninaki is my favorite top-down action RPG hack-n'-slash combat of any game I've played. The gist of it is that the main character, Kagachi, can take on the abilities of various Daemons, with four being assigned to him at any time and a grand total of 11 to recruit. Each Daemon plays entirely differently, with their own skill trees and skillsets! Each Daemon has a different weapon type, and each weapon can be upgraded and given innate skills via Skillstones. Now, I'm going to run through each Daemon to let you know how epic and underrated this game is...

Customization System - 9

There's Aisha, a speedy swordsman with the ability to dash away from attacks and dish out an insane amount of damage. There's Zaav, a long-range melee attacker with attacks that always keep Zaav at a decent distance while jumping around to avoid attacks. There's Dia, who attacks at range with a crossbow to dish out massive damage while floating through the air out of enemy reach. There's Wil, a heavy-hitting tank with charged attacks and AoE capabilities that can defend oncoming damage well at the cost of speed. There's Izana, a fast AoE attacker who focuses on inflicting debuffs, warping around the battlefield, and draining HP from the enemy party. There's Zephyr, a weak yet speedy attacker that specializes in hit-and-run tactics, as well as clearing lots of ground with its double jump ability. There's Lucika, who uses her first to dish out fast AoE damage while utilizing barriers for defense and devices for stat buffs. There's Gavod, who dishes out slow yet strong melee and ranged attacks while utilizing a versatile shield. There's Rigon, who uses quick counterattacks and evasion to get the better of enemies. And, last of all, there's Jex, who can take on the skills of other previous Daemons and unleash the most powerful special attacks. Ultimately, while Oninaki suffers significantly in its ability to be a fantastic game, its combat is immaculate.

Music - 5

Unfortunately, none of this game's music stands out—it all practically just, well, exists. I have beat this game, and I can't remember a single song! I don't remember disliking the music at all, but in the realm of gaming, there's just a whole lot of tough competition.

Story - 4

This game's premise of tackling death and the afterlife is intriguing and commendable but not executed quite so excellently. I wanted to love this game's story, but the farther I got in the game, the more I was tempted to start skipping cutscenes altogether. As much as I wanted to love the narrative, I just couldn't.

Characters - 2

Kagachi is a rather badarse character but other than his character, there's not much memorable here—even most NES games have two or three unforgettable characters. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. It's better than nothing, but not spectacular.

Sidequests - 3

This game has a couple of sidequests, but like everything else, the only great things are based on combat. The boss battles are fun. Getting some secret Daemons is good. However, there's really nothing too memorable here, so it deserves a low score.

Locations - 3

In all fairness, the locations here are little more than eye candy that serves as a conduit for combat. I like switching between the natural world and the spectral world, but ultimately, I'm not going to pretend—the locations here aren't great.

Art & Graphics - 9.5

This is a gorgeous game with a beautiful user interface and a unique stylistic approach! There's nothing quite like the artistic conveyance of a Tokyo RPG Factory game; as much as they aren't always the greatest in other categories, they make stunning experiences. Oninaki has an unmatchable style that deserves a near-perfect score.

Quality of Life - 10

Finally! A Tokyo RPG Factory game with all the brilliant quality-of-life upgrades of modern RPGs! This game has practically no issues. However, if I had to make one complaint, I would wish the difficulty could be changed at any time, like in Lost Sphear, instead of just at save points. Otherwise? I've got no issues here.

The Verdict

Fun Factor: 7
Overall Score: 62%
Letter Rating: B

Oninaki is a profound yet poor RPG with excellent battle gameplay. It is undoubtedly the weakest RPG from the studio, but if you are into 2D, top-down action RPGs, you'll certainly find quite a few things to love here. If you play RPGs for combat, buy this as soon as possible. If you play them for story? Avoid this like the plague, as promising of a premise it had.

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