I'm in the US out here in FL.
I didn't know about Tactics at all! Now I will be on the lookout for it. Funny that I remember playing and loving the first 2 Onimusha games back in the day but going back into them has made me appreciate them even more. The combination of action, puzzle and that resident evil type gameplay has been really fun to get back into. Just learned today of all things that the main protagonist for Warlords was based on some good looking actor/singer from Taiwan called Takeshi Kaneshiro:
And supposedly the series makes use of the historic figures that shaped Japan's history, retelling their stories with supernatural elements according to Wikipedia.
Yep! Same for the lead of Onimusha 2 also (obviously a different actor), and of course Takeshi Kaneshiro back in 3 alongside Jean Reno. Everyone is in their respective roles again in Blade Warriors too. Which incidentally seems to have a real cool story mode with cutscenes and voice acting!
Always liked that it took real historical characters and events through Onimusha 1-4 and put a supernatural spin on them all- even if it meant odd endings like Kaedes in Oni 1 "she went on a mission and unfortunately died" hahah. Wow game, deep cuts.
I have a soft spot for Onimusha, as one of the earliest decent exclusives for PS2, even with the awful PAL port and the shortness of the game it was a hella fun time. Kinda like a middle ground between RE and DMC.
I tried Rumble Roses earlier. Id never played it but heard it was a fun time, even if it was especially lewd for the time. And it kinda is? You can pretty much tell its a game by Yukes, as it plays so similar to the early Smackdown games. But the graphics are really good, it has a 60hz mode, everything is bright and brash and colourful, and the brawling is Smackdown-ish and so naturally quite fun. Glad I picked it up on a whim with the rest as you rarely see it, and seems a blast.