Oni: the best melee combat game ever
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- Опубліковано 24 вер 2020
- Modern games beat 2001s Oni in most ways, but few games can match the over 50 moves players could dish out on their enemies in hand-to-hand combat. Moves the player had total control over!
RELATED LINKS:
Reddit: What game has the best melee combat system?
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OniGalore - An Oni fansite
wiki.oni2.net/Oni
A list of Konoko's moves and combos
oni.bungie.org/onishots/moves/... - Ігри
Best Ghost in the Shell game that wasn't even really a Ghost in the Shell game...
Dude i kept thinking wow she looks so much like "The Major", even to some degree in her hand-to-hand combat style/technique, that iconic purple hair tho...makes me nastalgic all over. Lol, given the sci-fi nature of the games story, themes, atmosphere etc. Wouldnt surprise me if the characters developement or appearance rather was intentional an meant to serve as a gesture of appreciation, nod/tribute expressing the developers admiration, inspiration an influence from the aforementioned instant classic 1980's masterpiece, still to the day unrivaled in not only anime but science fiction furthermore film in general, we've seen many great additions to the genre primarily in fellow anime. live-action an/or american cinema far and away less frequent, (remember were the guys that put Micheal bay in charge of an age old classic series an uhg what an abysmal failure that was an continues to be, for many in the states thats what they consider or regard as science fiction sadly, an whats worse they "success of the Transformers franchise due only to prepubescent children watching it a multitude of times in theaters will unfortunatly more then likely lead to a trend in dumming down, nosensical, special effects showcases all filler no substance) this is why the world looks at the US an its ppl as very dumb an stupid w/below average intelligence. I DIGRESS, I'd suggest one most recent accomplishment of american sci-fi being the sequal to Blade Runner franchise which embarassing enough as it is I cant recall the actuall full title of said film atm it escapes me for some unknown reason Blade Runner 00/00/0000 lol. personally I thought it was excellent, very well done, especially considering the pressure fans must have put on the studio, production, cast, an Director first an foremost not to tarnish the rep an legacy of the original. A Scanner Darkly being another absolutely astonishing modern classic of sci-fi film, even tho it was originally shot live-action the fact that in "post" or whatever edititing process they rendered the film in its entirety with a type of cell shaded filter, (a very modest description of technique they used) watching some of the bonus features it was an extremly sophisticated albeit taxing, ardouos task however such efforts paid off in the end, having seen the finished product numerous times the effect is so fitting I cant imagine them shooting it any other way, that said idk if it counts as live action or otherwise...coincedentally A Scanner Darkly is based off of a book by the same name and the same Author Phillup K Dick of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" the book by which Blade Runner is based for those possible select few remaining youngsters who dont know, an again my opinion P.K.D. is one of if not the most skilled and talented sci-fi author's of this generation. I really went off the rails there, my original point being as some skeptics might see the striking resemblence of the character as maybe plagiaristic in nature, I see it more as commemorative, I manor or way to memorialize, an Ode to the famously beloved character near an dear to us fans hearts Major Motoko Kusanagi. In a nutshell I would have to agree with your observation very strong resemblance, apolagies for carrying on at such length clearly I'm fairly passionate about the subject matter an had a distinctly nerd out kinda moment there, lol. Thanks for allowing me my tangent an plz at the same time try if you would to also forgive me for it, Peace.
This
This game need a remake it was so good
what it needs is some similar game but improved. not a remake.
I was gonna comment the same thing
@@H0MY911 I'd really like to see Oni's combat system mixed with an Online RPG game. Imagine The Matrix Online + Oni's combat improved and diversified with different styles and weapons. Idk it's such a shame that we didn't ever have any other game like Oni, it's the only game of it's own kind, first and last
YES , need
Would like similar game like it but it's a FPS with 3rd person melee like Oni,maybe weapon melee similar to Jedi knight?
A complex combat system made out of very simple command combinations. Such a rare feature in modern day games.
For Honor
@@balakay2830 Congrats, you managed to name a single game. This is what "rare" means.
I agree.
@@schibleh531 now, Wanted: Dead
@@schibleh531 devil may cry, monster hunter, literally any game made by platinum.
5:10 A little mentioned thing is that the stepping disarm, if you have no weapon, ends with the weapon in your hands and the animation as can be seen, automatically aims for a headshot, which you can do before Konoko steps off, for the ultimate in stylish executions!
I did not know that.
Thanks for showcasing Oni! Bungie West worked inhumanly hard on it, and it's a unique game that deserves to be remembered. I do want to mention that there was a sort of New Game+, in that beating the game unlocked cheats. The most famous cheat is the one named at the end of the game's credits, "shapeshifter". Entering this on the Pause/Diary Screen lets you play as any of the other characters in the game, and many of them have a unique moveset that's as complete as Konoko's.
As you said, Konoko's own advanced moves continue to be locked each time you progress through the game, unless you install the Anniversary Edition fan mod framework, which unlocks them all from the start (this was somewhat controversial, and we'll be making it optional in the future).
Anyway, I'm impressed at how you recreated the Diary Screen pages for your video. That must have taken some work!
Thanks. I actually captured the Diary Screen pages directly from the game and cut them out in Photoshop. I played around with "shapeshifter" a little back in the day. I didn't occur to me to regard it as NG+ but it's a valid point. I did not know about the mod that unlocked all her moves from the start. I should install it.
I have happy memories from this game back when it was still defensible to be a "mac gamer". I was also at the Macworld Expo where it was demoed! Huge lines! I remember finishing the game but had no idea about the shapeshifter thing, damn!!
Didn't you guys also hire a real architect for the level designs??
@@pmarreck Just to be clear, I didn't work on the game, but yeah, they hired two architects fresh out of school to design the levels. It sort of backfired when they designed overly realistic spaces and had to take out a lot of detail later :-)
I'm jealous that you got to see Oni at Macworld. I was there at least one year that it was being shown, but never saw the booth for some reason. It kills me that I missed seeing their multiplayer feature before it was cut.
@@Iritscen it’s too bad they cut the multiplayer because it was hella fun! and that’s why there was such a line! Macworlds were magic, I miss them muchly
I love this game. Its took the fighting of a great 2d side scrolling fighting game, like double dragon or SoR, figured out how to do it in 3d and added guns. And I loved the anime style.
i guess it's kind of randomly asking but does anyone know a good place to stream new series online ?
@Brodie Jake ehh try flixportal. You can find it on google:D -oakley
@Oakley Anderson Thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) Appreciate it!!
@Brodie Jake you are welcome :D
I adore this game and people that criticize it never seem to bring up the amazing gameplay. They just whine about the weapons being underpowered, not realizing that this is to encourage the use of hand to hand combat. Many have also criticized the graphics for not having complex and detailed environments, again, not realizing the gameplay benefits of not having cluttered environments that otherwise could cause the player to get snagged on something at every turn with little room to breath that can become a very frustrating experience. I know this video also briefly pointed out the dated graphics, but in a time when playing old games is the norm, this "problem" is now irrelevant.
yup and the stealth mechanics you have insta takedowns in the back for heaven's sake the weapons themselves have their uses (yo guys those are the dude's that gave you Halo so it is a given) and can help you turn the tide in battle if you know when to use them! They are nicely worked into the hand to hand combat disarming baddies and taking out them with their own guns never gets old! And the environments! You can use them to your advantage as well lure your enemies towards an upper floor and then throw them down or dodge as they try to hit you and fall.
@kulturpyro You're right, those aren't really underpowered, but they do eat through ammo like crazy.
If there was ANY one single game I would keep returning to, it would be this. The combat system is so satisfying that replaying individual levels became like an Arcade mode. For all the game's flaws, I must agree with you that I too have yet to find another game where a combat system would be so addictive.
Not sure if you know it but The Matrix: Path of Neo also has a really cool combat system, and it's an old game
This game was so versatile and unique for its time, with (light) parkour elements, great (as you mentioned) battle system, interesting boss fights, creative levels (dream level for instance) and ending depending on a moral choice! Still in 2021 I will gladly replay the final brawl between the TCTF forces and Muro's gang. Imagine a game where friendly npcs are actually helping and fighting instead of standing around like furniture *cough cough* ASSASINSCREEDVALHALLA *cough*
I hated the dream level for 2 reasons.
1. It started with the world's longest unskippable cutscene.
2. It was freaking hard! You had to go through Muro and 2 cloaked ninjas before getting any hypos. And the rest of it wasn't a cakewalk. Completing the dream level, I'd be exhausted and would have to take a time out.
@@MediaKitGamingyes unskippable scene haha you can drink some water or go toilet first
@@MediaKitGamingI beat this level just with run and tackle, I do it again and again until this level finish 😂
So happy we finally have Sifu as a great contender in the melee combat side for third person games. Hoping we get to see more like Sifu and Oni in the future.
I don't consider games like them as Third Person combat. They're more of automated second person combat. They do not contain the freedom of Third Person movement during combat, it locks into the enemy and you just press necessary buttons in the correct timings.
@@ahlatagaci2018Spine from Nekki has some potential. Time will tell but little bits of gameplay that ARE out there show it to be a gun fu sifu type game.
@@PaRadaRada yeah. When it was first announced, I remember it was supposed to be something like action 5v5 Multiplayer PvP and PvE game with third-person camera combat. Then it turned out to be another average game. Honestly I'm very tired of pressing few buttons and watching Kung Fu animations forever or doing the same thing again and again or doing things that feel really fake. A real combat with direct and true actions would be infinitely replayable and fun, + and that is exactly why Shadow Fight 2 is really loved for it's combat. So I expected Nekki to surprise us with some unique gameplay again.
Edit: Added sentence +
"An action game like no other"
For anyone interested Oni isn't a demon of Japanese folklore it is a type of Yokai (strange spirit) and isn't exclusively evil. A demon is Akuma or Majin (evil spirit).
Haha. Oni was a great game and never forget its multi ending discovered accidentally :) . So I was frustrated to fight again the final boss. It was a huge monster, really strong and I went back to the earlier level to learn to be better before facing him again. I ended up done the level where you hunt down the Police chief but this time I didn't shoot him, just dropped my gun and went out, though the game will not be progressing but wanted to load back the save to practice jumping anyway, but it did and oh well I paid no attention... until the end when I prepared for the boss final transformation and its... it's not happened. IT was totally different. The police chief arrived with his men's and joined me to fight, the big baddy had no chance to turn into the monster, he brought more henchmen in but that was something I easily could handle :D and the feeling was so intense I saw the story actually turned into this. I loved it and this game always remain in my memories :)
Wow just came to know this game had so many secrets after reading the comments. I loved this game and played it through so often.
Finished this game at least 5 times, never gets boring. You can even mod the hell out of it if you'd like. I also really love the setting and soundtrack. Story isn't all that bad either imo
the fact that if you chose to kill the baldie it changes the ending
I bought this game on a whim when i was a kid.. Still one of my favorites ever every once in a while i get an urge to go back and play thru. Wish they had finished oni 2
You forgot to mention that You can shapeshift into your opponents and You will have their moves!
I still love this game and yes - community made a multiplayer for it.
But only by cheat
yeah, but to be able to use it You have to finish game first.
@@hakeryk Wish there was a better system for that. Spamming f5 to change was boring
@@dukkemonterier3429 Some years ago, i found a mod or some kind of add on for oni that give a simple fighting room and you can choose character you want to play. Some people say it is the unfinish suppose to be multiplayer part of the game. I dont remember the detail, but it is something like that if i'm not mistaken.
Shooting the screaming at long ranges and watching it seeking and killing enemies on its own, breaking the enemie's columns in a stealth way, doing a perfect combo... This game can keep you entertained for days, even weeks. I finished it several times and i have never been bored. It seems like every re-run is somehow different, it's insanely enjoyable. AND THE COMMUNITY IS STILL ALIVE AND MODDING THE GAME!
A key component of Oni as a whole is its combat system. I've just started playing/streaming this game again and I can safely say that the hand-to-hand aspect is way ahead of its time. Totally agree with your thoughts here.
This title honestly deserves way more recognition than it ever got!
Def Jam Fight for NY had a pretty crazy complex combat build system. they has Street,Boxing,Wrestling,Some kinda karate and somthin els I think, you got to choose one style as your main then add parts from other styles to make really unique fighters
This game was so far ahead of it's time it never had a chance. I learned WADS movement from this game.
So good. It deserves way more love.
One of my favourite childhood games. Absolutely loved the combat. Always wondered if there were any other games with better combat. I guess now I know the answer.
Some respondents have suggested Seeping Dogs. There's a fair argument to be made there and I'll be dedicating a future video to the combat in that game.
One of the best games ever made. All it needed was a patch or two to iron out some minor issues, add New Game+ and cutscene skipping and it would've been a perfect game. It's essentially the Dark Souls before Dark Souls, only instead of tons of weapons you had different moves. The boss fights in Oni are some of the most satisfying ones I've ever played, and the game has an excellent difficulty level.
Finally someone talking about it, it puts games nowadays to shame honestly, it was too awesome
When I was younger I spend money for 3 things - food, alcohol and books (yes the 3rd one is not spelling error). First time I play pirate version of Oni and when I finish it, I collect my money for the month, cut booze and books, half the food spending and bought my first legal copy of video game. Worth every cent, I keep it till this day when I no longer have cd on my PC to even start it :)
There was many great games, wild known at that time frame. But Oni was even then different and unique for me. Like a hidden gem, kept in secret and talk only with special few.
This was my first ps2 game and I only appreciate nowadays some in depth fighting mechanics
Man, I really wanna replay this one. Thanks for this blast from the past man!
Running Lariat, I did this all the entire game with almost every enemy that was possibile on xD Oh god, how I loaved this game, it was just way a head of it's time, wish it would be re-released for steam or at least for gog. ♥ :3
Besides that game God Hand from Clover Studios has probably one of the best brawler and melee mechanics (but it painfully hard and non-forgiving).
The fact that we never got a sequel series of this amazing game, is a crime.
this was an awesome video. would love more like this
The phrase 'git gud' didn't exist back then but that's exactly what the game required and it's so satisfying once you master it.
Be right back, I gotta reinstall something really quick...
This is a classic, nice coverage! hope your channel grows! C;
Would Ya believe that this is the kind of combat I've always wanted to see more of in video games, so simple yet creative! Will definitely have to check this out when I can!
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is on a somewhat similar road. Definitely recommend checking that one out.
Great video, I just recently heard about this game, and was looking for a good one that discussed the combat system itself, and this video was right on the money.
Thank you. Glad it helped.
Wow thank you so much for showcasing Oni, for us the old community it makes us happy to see that this game will never die, beacuse he is so great and ppl still playing it for years and years (ofc I did either)
Note- if you interested you can showcase the AE- (anniversary edition)
Which can give you new levels such as
Wilderness preserve (which was very high detailed- it's the map that been mentioned from the scene of the level- "dream diver"
In addition, you can unlock all skills and even new skills can be installed from the AE launcher, new characters and even logistical stuff such as- (new hit boxes- walls and floor, blood, and etc)
Just found this CD-ROM in my basement, one of my favorite games growing up. Thanks for the refresher and info on how to play :)
Man, it is so amazing to see that this game isn't as obscure as I thought it was. I vaguely remember the day I got it, ps2 old school blue disc and a Holo cover art.
I never knew people loved this game just like I do I have beat it 100 times and now even having a ps5 just bought a ps2 just to get oni and play and this game just hits the nostalgic spot on me I could never explain it just makes me feel some sort of way
alternate timeline: Bungie releases Oni 4
Such a classic. It's worth saying there is an anniversary edition mod out there I think that is a suite of mods with various improvements, such as allowing all the moves to be available in any level, and improving the input timing to be a bit smoother. It's worth checking out.
I'm mindblown by the number combos and the simplicity of their execution
This looks amazing! I'll have to check it out. Lately I've been looking into more into games with deep combat (anything that allows you to get creative with different attack options, animation cancels, etc, while keeping you mindful of defense). I'm already aware of the obvious Platinum Games (Bayo 1-2, MadWorld, MGR) and Clover titles (Viewtiful Joe, God Hand), the God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, Streets of Rage, and DMC series, Jedi Knight 2 and Academy, etc, and have played a lot of them (and they're all awesome!). Also enjoyed Shenmue's deceptively deep VF-lite combat despite the game suffering from the late 90s 3D era growing pains. Anyway, I remember seeing ads on PC Gamer magazine for Oni, but never actually gave it a try... it's always so good to find out about these hidden gems. Thanks for the video!
Enjoy man Oni is a great title
You might be interested to know there are a couple other crouching moves. If you tap crouch and punch at the same time, she does a two-fister that knocks down enemies. If you hold crouch, forward and then punch, she does a sweep with her fist that also knocks them down. Crouch and kick simultaneously does a slightly quicker variant of the usual crouch, and then kick sweep.
I appreciate that. I don't think I knew about the double fist punch. The others moves I knew, but used them so seldomly that I forgot to include them. I also forgot to include kicks and punches while she's in the air. That's just a glaring oversight. This game makes it hard to catalog ALL fighting moves - and that's what I loved about it.
STILL, the best combat. And this video does a phenomenal job of cataloguing the moves.
One of the reasons I never got into fighting games is because they require you to break your goddamn fingers anytime you wanna execute a full combo. Y + X forward followed by B followed by A + Left Bumper but not too soon or else you won't catch em in the air and shizzle like that.
Oni has got 2 buttons, your input is relating to movement. Your opponents has a full moveset as well, which makes them really fun to play around with when ya shapeshift into them after unlocking cheats at the end of the game.
It's an intuitive combat system that is easy to get into as you don't need to remember a whole lot, the moves make sense. You're also not locked onto your targets in anyway so you freely get to aim your kicks and punches. We need more of these kinds of combat systems, especially nowadays when everything that isn't a fighting game simply gets turned into another boring soulslike.
“your input is related to movement” 👍
“the moves make sense” 👍
“not locked onto your targets” 👍
“everything… gets turned into another boring soulslike” 👍
Yup! Right there with you. I'm trying to build up courage to take on Sifu. I may be wrong about this, but the inputs don't appear as intuitive as Oni's were. I also hate games that require lock-on!
@@MediaKitGaming Oh I started Sifu recently, I got my butt kicked a lot but I always felt like there was something I could've done to prevent it. I finished the first level, enjoying it a lot so far. Be brave, I reckon you can make it!
I also really liked Absolver, made by the same devs which is PvE, PvP and co-op. It's also quite unique in that it allows you to build your own moveset. Heavily suggest you check that out if you haven't already. Only downside is that the games PvE content is short, but with such a well designed combat system it's fun to come back to from time to time, just like with Oni!
Thanks for the encouragement. I do plan to return. I’m just not looking forward to training myself on a new combat system. Thanks for the Absolver tip.
youtube recommended and now i have to play it. the combat looks frickin sweet
This and "The Bouncer" were my first PS2 Games. And I still come back to Oni at least once a year. It was a very interesting title back then and now I really appreciate how unique it is
I only played the demo at the time but I still remember it fondly. A game that has pretty good melee combat that I've played is Saint's Row the Third. It has more moves than you'd think.. They're easy to pull off but can make you feel like a badass.
I'm 27 years old and living in Turkey. When I was 8-9 years old I got demo version of Oni from a gaming magazine. I remember it, first time i play it I lost my mind. Graphics, actions, etc. it was very exciting for me. Last week I started to play again. Truly masterpiece
Ah Sweet memories!! One of the earliest games I played and one of the best too. very very underrated. Bungie do something with it for the new era of gameplay!!!
I remember my cousin gifting it to me on a CD back then. I didn't know it would be such an interesting game. As usual after sometime the CD got scratches and I couldn't play it anymore. Glad to see it on youtube getting recognition. People didn't believe then that there was a game where you could do use guns like in Delta Force and fight combos like in Tekken.
So, this game had the technicality of a fighting game, but in an action game setting? Neat. Would be cool to see more deep combat systems like that in Action games, I'd say the closest we'll ever get is from titles Platinum Games create, but they're more flair and style, than grounded combat, like this seems to be.
I am still wondering how such a wonderful combat system has not been implemented in any other game. I really like how replayable Oni is due to it. You can always give yourself a challenge, like using no hypos, playing with one of the civilian characters, or just straight out speedrunning the rooftops as a ninja.
I don't care as much about graphics and how breathtaking some games' visuals can be as to whether they could capture me with their gameplay mechanics as Oni did. If I come upon such game, I am surely adding it to my collection!
Since making this video, I've encountered some really good combat systems and I've made videos about them. Hard to say if any of them are actually better than Oni… probably not but some come close.
I did a video on *Sleeping Dogs:*
ua-cam.com/video/h2y_H9Tp9DU/v-deo.htmlsi=UaWs6aWo_PL4pZKL
and one on *Kena: Bridge of Spirits:*
ua-cam.com/video/OzoZSveulUA/v-deo.htmlsi=S2_2jl-bdqEnqGhM
I think Sifu warrants a video in the future… but I have to beat it first… which means I have to start it. 😋
Thanks for the recommendations! I have already checked out Sleeping Dogs and Sifu, but I haven't seen any gameplay for Kena: Bridge of Spirits besides the trailer. I will see your impressions on the video you made for it.
@@FrostarmyN7 Some other games with combat mechanics that may be fun or interesting that i could mention, would be God Hand, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (and perhaps the Zeno Clash series at large), and Kya: Dark Lineage.
God Hand is all combat, and pretty tough at that. Attacks can be collected and fully customized, there's three different directional dodges (forwards ducking and weaving, backflip, and sidestep), and there's a unique difficulty system where the better or worse you do, the more... "XP" you gain or lose, and with each level the enemies get more dangerous. Goes up to three levels, with the final one being Level Die.
The mainline Zeno Clash games are first-person brawlers, and are a bit jank though people still speak fondly of the gameplay. First one's quite short, about four or five hours.
Honestly though, it's the world, art direction, bizarre creatures and general atmosphere and feeling of Zenozoik that people remember the most. And for good reason.
Now, the most recent addition to the series, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, is played from a third person perspective, slightly over the shoulder. And what makes *that* combat system tick is a form of customization of its own.
For in the world, you can find different Combat Stances and Special Attacks, of which you can equip any two Stances and three Special Attacks at any totem or training dummy, and quickly swap between the stances even mid-combo.
A Stance always consists of:
-Main combo string
-Attack from a charge
-Attack from a jump
-Attack from a run
-Attack from a directional dodge (Forwards, Backwards and Sideways)
And all stances have different animations, specialties, and ways to look for how moves can flow into one another.
Finally, Kya: Dark Lineage. May actually be the roughest one of these recommendations, because it's more of a 3D platformer venture and wasn't specifically designed for combat.
But what it does have, is surprisingly quite deep. Moves have to be unlocked from shops as you go along, and more shops open up the more enemies you defeat in combat and Exorcise.
These shops sell magic Bracelets that add extra movesets onto your already present arsenal, and offer stuff like
-basic set of Kick and Punch combos (including an uppercut and a straight kick to cannon an opponent away)
-Advanced kicks, different ones depending on the positioning of the left analog stick (Backwards Triangle + Triangle is a double flip kick for example, whereas Downward Triangle + Triangle Triangle becomes a leg sweep that flows into a double kick from a hand stand, ending in an axe kick)
-Various grabs, the type of grab differing depending on Kya's position relative to the enemy, with the most significant one being grabbing an opponent's tail to kick them into their friends or swinging them around like a flail
-some evasive moves, mainly a Quickstep sideways as well as a move to jump over or *onto* an enemy, to then make them careen into their friends as you sit on their back
and more.
Far from perfect and has some PS2 jank, but still worth checking out. And there's definitely more going on in the combat front than "Button mashing works just fine" or "convoluted combo system" as some have claimed it to be online.
@@jurtheorc8117 Thank you very much for the recommendations and detailed explanation of the combat system for each! I have already added Clash: Artifacts of Chaos to my wishlist, but I haven't checked the others yet so I will definitely see what they are about!
Oni is a really experimental 3d beat n up. But I also would recomend other action games like God Hand, Bayonetta and DMC
From the way you explained how combat works it also reminded me of Nanobreaker melee combat system, I remember having to do 7hit combos to do level 3 combos, that game had level 5 combos but they were tough to memorize
Oh woah, cool to see someone mention Nanobreaker! I don't fully see how it ties into Oni's combat, but then again, i've never played it myself. I mainly know of it through a decent variety of videos that looked at it more in-depth.
A very good game when it comes to mechanics and gameplay, but it felt unfinished, the interiors lacked details and the world felt empty, I liked it a lot but something about it felt really off.
True..😅 it was weirdly empty..but I enjoyed
Excellent video on an excellent game!
Loved Oni, played it again and again and I kind of want to play it... Again :D
I randomly came across this video, and I love it. Your explanations are simple and comprehensible, and the editing's *tight*-- you really went out of your way for those extra explanation graphs on the weapons and button/keyboard inputs for the individual moves. They don't go unappreciated in the slightest, they helped very much in clarifying what you meant.
It's just nice to have the thing being explained, line up with what is being shown.
The way Oni works reminds me of a game that got released somewhat recently, by name of Clash: Artifacts of Chaos if you've ever heard of it. It's VERY much worth looking up, just for the art and art direction alone. Music, voices and characters as well.
It's got basic combo strings, charge attacks, jump attacks, attacks performed during dodges or performed faster *right* when a previous attacks connect with an enemy, attacks from a run and Special Attacks.
Here's the thing: you can find and "equip" different Stances and Special Attacks. You can do stuff like two attacks from Spear stance and end with the massive two-handed haymaker from the Mammoth stance, or performing the Running attack from Mammoth stance and immediately return to Boxing stance.
Special Attacks can also be found and "equipped", though three at any time instead of two.
And individual Stances and Special Attacks can be upgraded, too.
In some regards, it's similar to God Hand for PS2, if you've ever heard of that one. instead of stances, it's mainly individual attacks that you can find (or buy, in GH's case) -- and can assign to many different button inputs. It's fascinating.
Finally, i'd like to bring one of my favourite games to your attention, a PS2 title by name of Kya: Dark Lineage. It's an odd beast: appears to be rather like a 3D platformer with an art direction like Rayman, and platforming/navigating around itself ranges from basic jumping and climbing, to freefalling and navigating through wind currents, to sliding down long ramps and riding on the back of a vaguely raptor-like creature, of which you can stand on its back while it is running.
But the combat itself operates kind of like a Mini-Tekken (or so i've heard), and has faintly reminded me of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within as well. That little trilogy of games might also prove interesting to explore, but that's beside the ppoint for now.
You see, enemies in the game double as the main collectables. They're cursed natives of the world (called Nativs), transformed into monsters called Wolfuns. So you have to fight Wolfun to knock them out, then exorcise them.
After saving certain amounts of Wolfuns, new shops open up in the hubworld that offer quest-important stuff, powerups and/or a new color bracelet.
These bracelets are what give all the combat options, for every new color bracelet offers a new moveset to add onto your already existing one.
Bracelet 1 gives your basic Kick-and-Punch mixups.
Bracelet 2 offers advanced Kick combos, where depending on the position of the analog stick while pressing the Kick button (Up, Down, Left and Right) before inputting a second, third and perhaps even fourth button press, Kya will perform a different kick for each direction.
Bracelet 3 offers all grab moves. These are all performed with a singular button, but depending on your positioning in relation to the enemy, Kya will perform a different grab/throw.
That's just below half the bracelets that offer new moves that are on offer in Kya, and i'll keep the rest secret for now to make you curious to explore the game for yourself, if time and interest allows for it.
There *is* a moveset video up on YT, but i recommend checking that one out *after* you've obtained all bracelets in the game for yourself.
The enemies are quite solid in my opinion, too. They're like if the Hoodlums from Rayman 3 were lycanthropes.
It's not explicitly explained in the game itself, but there's about three main types:
-Scrawnies
-Grunts
-Kronos
and the Scrawnies and Grunts can come in ranks, denoted by the color of their clothing (Blue, Yellow and Black) and wield a weapon or not.
Now, Wolfun tend to learn from what moves you use the most. If you use certain moves or combos too much, they'll block against it more, so you have to switch up moves, or catch them during their own attack animations with quick attacks.
On top of this, the higher the color of a Wolfun's rank, the quicker they learn from what combos you use most, and may even have access to moves that lower-ranking Wolfun of the same subtype don't.
And it speaks for itself that weapon wielders have a different moveset of their own compared to the unarmed ones.
For the final variety, the Kronos, there's only about 7 or 8 of them in the entire game. VERY dangerous, and not just because of their power and amount of health-- but because they are immune to a powerful repositioning move thanks to a special evade move of their own, as well as grabs from behind, thanks to having cut off their own tails.
However, if a Kronos performs this special evade move, I think you *can*, if you're fast enough, immediately counter them with a grab attack. A few times i tried deliberately baiting them too by using the basic three-punch combo on them, where upon the third hit they'd do the evade, and then i'd IMMEDIATELY perform the grab.
Of course, i could have also simply grabbed them while they're defending. Grabs are hard counters to blocking in Kya: Dark Lineage, for both the Wolfun and the player character.
This was a SERIOUSLY big comment, but if you took the time to read through it all: thank you for doing so, and I hope you found the comment interesting. Heck, i hope you'll find the games on offer here interesting whenever time and interest may allow for checking them out.
And thanks again as well for making this video, as well as the Sleeping Dogs one. I find clearly explained deep dives into the melee combat systems of games very interesting, and i'll be looking forward to more from you. Be it the games I mentioned (for I would be most interested to hear your thoughts on them), or others.
Wish you well, and take care as well as a cookie when nobody's looking.
Thank you for your detailed look into games I've missed. I don't own any consoles, current or legacy, so I can only play and talk about games I can access on PC. Right now, I'm working on a video comparing Kena: Bridge of Spirits to God of War… which may piss some people off. I'll have to choose my words carefully. Thank you for the heads up on Clash: Artifacts of Chaos.
@@MediaKitGaming (sorry for the late reply)
That's fair. Are there any other games that would interest you in seeking out a console and a way of capturing footage, if it's alright to ask?
Oh dang, i've heard of Kena but never really looked into it super much. I'd be interested in seeing how GoW has similarities to Kena, so i'll be keeping an eye out on that video! Wish you fun and good luck on making it, as well as other projects, both on YT and outside of it.
You're welcome, the Zeno Clash franchise as a whole is interesting to check out-- perhaps most of all for the bizarre art direction and world. Same for Kya: Dark Lineage, if opportunity and interest allows for checking it out.
@@jurtheorc8117 There’s low chance of me picking up console.
1) my wife likes to play on her Switch and I don’t want to take the TV from her
2) I don’t like controllers. I put 30 minutes into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and haven’t been back.
3) If I were gonna drop $600 it’d be on a new video card for my comp.
I'm desperate to play Horizon Forbidden West, but I’m patiently waiting for the PC port. In the meantime, my backlog includes The Witcher 3, Prey: Mooncrash, Cyberpunk 2077, XCOM 2… to name a few. I'm currently making my way through Death Stranding. As a UA-camr, I put too much effort into my essays and post too infrequently for my YouTubing to be anything more than a hobby. If I were gunning for clicks… I’d be doing something very different. On the plus side, I can still reply to everyone.
Thanks again for the game ideas.
My favorite game ever. Thank you for the video.
I remember playing through the game as different characters using the games cheat codes. It added a whole new depth because nearly every type of enemy has a lot of unique combat moves as well. I enjoyed playing as a ninja the most.
I have the NCP combats are pretty good too. Get yourselves the Anniversary Edition and you can unlock (by command code) other NPC and bosses. Fighting as Mukade is awesome, he was the best fighter.
i remember playing this game for hourssss. Def needs a remake or Sequel.
I always loved this game as a kid and I still own it and play it every now and then. I loved the fighting in the game. I like the weapons too but the gunplay is defenitley weak but the melee is so good and fun. I love all the special moves and little throws and back and neck snaps. And all the rne.y types and their own special moves.
This is more hand to hand combat than general combat, but I love it :)
I agree. No other action games give me that feel of combat like Oni. Oni has its very flaws in narratives but very fun to go around punching, kicking, grabbing and throwing opponents.
Ah ONI,My 1st PS2 game and man was it amazing,it was pretty hard last I remember,and messing around with cheats such as playing with different characters such as Muro was a blast.
My god!! All Oni lover is here. We need remake ASAP
Best melee combat game to me is God Hand, seen nothing like it at all.
Oni has a lot unigue combat styles and one best combat gameplay there is almost no game you can compare it with, but with God Hand you have more similar games that can be compare with and Oni is 2001 and still to this day gameplay feels great and doesnt feel that much outdated. God Hand is also great game but i find Oni overall better and one best games that i ever play
no way this game came out 2001 wtf, I would have loved this as a kid and damn bungie really did make a sleeper bangers
You say that "no game matched Oni's potential" and how you'd like if "other games provided even a tenth" of what it had to offer. I'm honestly both surprised and shocked that you haven't heard of a franchise called Devil May Cry. Absolutely give DMC 3, 4 and 5 a go (no need to play 1 and 2 as the story in those is irrelevant and combat is not developed) and if you still need more after that, there's also a reboot.
Oh and, cool video btw :)
I disagree with your assessment about DMC 1 (that one's also worth playing imo) but otherwise, I second this notion.
Regarding potential, the video is talking about what the game manages to do with just a few buttons. Oni has punch, kick, jump and crouch - there are no 'different styles' or unique melee weapons. It manages to fit in more than 16 directional attacks + combos and finishers with only two attack buttons. There is no need to go into a menu or press a third or fourth button to switch between move sets.
This is from a fighting game fan, but you can't really compare the two, in Oni you get a punch button and a kick button but if you pay attention most of the attacks and combos are mostly manual, DMC's are mostly auto combos, no input directions to change the strings and you get a launcher that converts a ground combo to an air combo but the combo system itself is very basic the only semblence of the depth you get in DMC comes from switching weapons and combining with styles, the famous "Trick sword Trick Sword gun Trick Sword" it may look extremely tough on the fingers and it is... But you're using cancels to cancel out of mostly auto combos and animations, no manuals there.
One advice check out the Gundam versus series. Watch how a simple combat system can turn auto-combos into manual combos.
This part and the dream level make me want to play this again!
great video!
Freaking loved this game when I was a kid, played it recently, still love it. Best 3d combat I ever experienced.
Right on! 🤘
This is so true when I first played Oni, I was telling everybody about it that it has shooting and fighting style combat.
Legit one of my favorite games of all time. Glad I still have my copy on Ps2. Love how different it is to all of Rockstar's other games. It always is something I bring up to newer gamers lol.
rockstar? its a game from bungie...
@@alphaomega887654321 You can easily look it up. It is developed by both. PS2 is Rockstar. Which is the one I have and play.
@@KindredDoomBot rockstar only ported the game from pc to ps2 but they dont did anything gameplaywise or storywise. Was all by bungie west. You can read that ;)
@@alphaomega887654321 I can read that Rockstar is credited for being a dev so... ;)
@@KindredDoomBot yeah wikipedia is a little bit strange and a lot of informations are missing haha
oni was such a good game. one of my favourite childhood memories, next to ultimate spiderman and gta
This is incredible! Imagine if a modern game had these combat controls with even more moves?
It would be like the mikiri counter/jump attack in Sekiro, but instead of just those two, you get to use lots of more moves depending on the enemy's action. It would be difficult at first, but soon after lots of git gud, you would be fighting like a pro player like Sekiro.
If you're looking for good and diverse combat, check out Kena: Bridge of Spirits. I did a video on that game too. It really delivers. I also hear Sifu is good, but I haven't played my copy yet.
I managed to find a physical in stores and snagged it up so fast
Dragon's Dogma is one game that I felt had an excellent melee combat system.
It was so good. I played the hell out of the demo. I think I had the game itself but I can't remember.
FINALLY
I was looking for a 3rd Person Fighting game that had really innovative combat to play and test as I'm thinking of developing my own (its a stretch, I'm just one dude with big unrealistic dreams but I hope I can do it) and this is great inspiration
I'm definitely gonna check this out
If you're not familiar the with the melee combat in Sleeping Dogs, it has a great system. I'm working on that video right now. Stay tuned.
I played this back in 2001, I played this 10 years later. I finally played this half year ago. This game is amazing, it's one of a kind. Sad that there aren't more games like Oni.
this game transfixed me as a kid. i wasn't able to play it till years later but i read articles, had a poster of the cover art, and was obsessed with the art style. it needs a remake.. just dont destroy strip it down to an arkham clone for god sakes
Love this game, soo many memories!
You could also fire with Barabas 's gun.
That thing was super cool.
True.
Agreed about the combat system. I thought Enter the Matrix gave it the old college try with its combat as well in ways similar to Oni like directional attacks, unique disarms, and throws, etc.,
Wall-run attacks were super cool, despite being frustrating to get to work.
A game like this needs to be made today - something that makes use of natural movement and deliberate attacks.
I don't see why we don't have more of these. A character like spider-man would be perfect for this style of combat
This is so cool. Perfect system
Had this game for ps2 back in the late 90s early 2000s ish
This should have set the standerd for all action games and expecially alot of ARPGs.
I'd like to add another unique thing ONI did compared to games of the same type
Your ammo was tied to the clips and not just another number on the side, meaning you had to use up the whole clip before reloading.
My childhood game, I remember playing this in early 2000-2001 on CD from a friend on Pentium 3 was my favorite game along with 5discs of FF 8, and mdk 1 and 2 the trio of the scientist dog and the human were amazing childhood games 😍😍😍
more oni videos please!
I used to play this a lot back in the days, really glad to see this game reviewed again, i hope bungie makes a spiritual successor to this game, or maybe a sequel?
Wish it had a parry mechanic. Someone should mod this game though; it does have a lot of potential
There is an active modding community for Oni.
facebook.com/groups/oni.ae
love this game, thank you for reminding me that it existed lol
I still play the game til this day
Remember owning this game as one of the only 3 I owned. I never knew anyone else who even heard of it. It was SUPER HARD (for me anyway) Simply cause there were sooo many options. My friend and I liked it a lot for that reason but it was just too hard. You found yourself planning areas out with ninja precision. Every move like a rock climber maps a wall.
I love this game so much 🥰. I still have the disk but I have trouble getting it to play on modern systems and my old computer has just gotten too worn out ☹
Dunno if these would fit your criteria or not but....What about character action games like Devil May Cry 5, Bayonetta 2 and Nier Automata? These are not PURELY melee as they have long range options...
smash has long range options too
You mean spectacle fighters?
Their melee combat(No-weapons/hand-to-hand) is nowhere near Oni's godlike prowess.
But aside from the melee part, the weapon mastery of DMC is out of this world
Oh my god i remember seeing this box art and wanting to play this. Had no idea the halo makers made this!
Devil spin kick was always spammed. that whirling ghost yeeeeeeh sound was memorable XD