HISTORICALLY
WARPED
LAST
MINUTES OF
ODA
NOBUNAGA'S LIFE
in Onimusha
3: Demon Siege RPG
© 2004, 2005 Sony Playstation
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| In June 21, 1582, the Akechi army breaks into the Honno temple guarded by just a few of Oda soldiers. (RPG wars are so very inconvenient because everybody looks alike, as computer-generated images are bound to be -- they just yield clones.) Your goal in this game is, whoever you be, to kill Oda Nobunaga even if you have absolutely no idea who the guy really is. |
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| Akechi Mitsuhide is some place else in the thereafter, and Akechi's nephew Samanosuke is involuntarily time-kicking way beyond the entire Warring States Period altogether, though fortunately this involves landing in some primally-charged spot of Paris. And he is 100% modelled after the coolest actor in Asia, Kaneshiro Takeshi. (Click the pic if curious about him.) |
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| Akechi Samanosuke was whisked away by sinisterly magical something, just when he almost got Oda Nobunaga to bleed. Oda, of course, is the satanic king surrounded by demons of his own creation -- the usual imagery. With or without Kaneshiro, the purported uncle's army still arsons the temple anyway. |
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| And
what is supposed to be Akechi's job is splendidly taken over by..... the French veteran actor Jean Reno. |
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| So
they team-up, and if Jean Reno can't whack Oda Nobunaga off, the assumption you must adopt is that no one could. |
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| Notice
that Kaneshiro Takeshi here is clutching the famous Akechi Mitsuhide's
spear when running along the Honno temple corridors -- in place of the real-life Akechi, not Samanosuke but Mitsuhide, of 1582. |
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The demons all look like Himura Kenshin's second challenger in Watsuki Nobuhiro's manga Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (1994 onward); the decidedly obnoxious and inconsistently square Udo Jine. But these explode. That's the upside of fighting computer-generated demons. By the way, the Chinese master of real-life and silverscreen kick-and-slash, Donnie Yen, directed the fights here.
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| Just to get thru the outmost gate of the Honno temple alone Akechi has to slay hundreds of exactly-lookalike demons. I wish the real-life Oda Nobunaga had these critters around on June 21, 1582! |
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| Kaneshiro
Takeshi lamentably also must kill Mori Ranmaru first. That crouching thing at your left side is supposed to be Mori. |
REALITY CHECK: Akechi Samanosuke's real armor kept at the Osaka Museum today. |
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F
A N |
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Meet Akechi Samanosuke, a hyperreal 16th century samurai, based on no 16th century historical figure whatsoever, but his name is a real samurai name of that era -- and his looks are borrowed from 21st century. | And Kaneshiro Takeshi, a 21st century Japanese actor who habitually unintentionally hearthrobs, whose face and voice are totally hired by creators of this game to be Akechi Samanosuke's. |
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HISTORICALLY-CORRECT CHRONOLOGY OF ODA NOBUNAGA'S DEATH
