Onimusha: Way of the Sword Has Musashi Miyamoto as the Protagonist to Appeal to a Wider Audience

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With the 2026 release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword approaching, director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki have explained why they chose Musashi Miyamoto – portrayed by actor Toshiro Mifune – as the main character. In a conversation with Automaton Media, Nihei and Kadowaki shared that their initial ideas didn’t feature Miyamoto as the protagonist of the game.

Instead, Kadowaki explained that the choice was made because Capcom aimed to reach players worldwide with Onimusha: Way of the Sword. To achieve this, the development team opted to feature one of the most well-known samurai from history.

“To be honest, we didn’t initially intend for Musashi Miyamoto to be the main character,” explained Kadowaki. “Our original plan was for a ‘nameless samurai’ to take the lead. But, because we wanted to reach a wider, global audience, we needed to make the game’s most interesting aspects more easily understandable. After talking with Nihei, I decided to use the name of the famous Musashi Miyamoto.”

Kadowaki pointed out that because Miyamoto was a very well-known character – thanks to appearances in various media like films – featuring him as the main character could help the game appeal to players outside of Japan. He believed this would make the game more approachable for a wider audience.

Kadowaki explained that he is a very well-known person. He shows up as a character in many famous fictional stories, and his book, The Book of Five Rings, has been translated into other languages and is now being read in other countries.

Regarding the choice of Toshiro Mifune to portray Musashi Miyamoto, Nihei explained that they drew inspiration from traditional portrayals of the character seen in Japanese films. Ultimately, the team selected Mifune because his appearance and demeanour while playing Miyamoto closely aligned with the studio’s vision for the character.

Nihei and Kadowaki previously discussed the difficulties they faced securing the rights to use Toshiro Mifune’s image in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. They shared that it took Capcom around two years to perfect Mifune’s likeness, and also confirmed that work on the game began as early as 2020.

“There are a lot of existing depictions of Musashi Miyamoto,” explained Kadowaki. “So, we really focused on creating a fresh take on the character with our new protagonist. We were completely set on using Mifune’s likeness to bring him to life. Considering how much attention we paid to every detail, we believe he’s become a truly outstanding lead for the series.”

When a trailer was released in February, it confirmed that Mifune’s portrayal of Miyamoto would be the main character in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The trailer gave viewers a look at many aspects of the game, including how the combat works and its setting in traditional Japan.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2026. You can find more information and see the game in action by watching a video of the complete demo playthrough from Gamescom 2025. Don’t forget to also check out the trailer that was released last month.

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2025-10-03 16:41