“The game’s distinctive visual style has been taken to a whole new level with the bump to HD resolution and a fluid 60 frames per second, making the swordplay more reactive than it’s ever been,” says Director Motohide Eshiro. “As TV screens have shifted to widescreen over the years, we’ve adjusted the game’s display to take full advantage of these larger screens. The image is zoomed in to better fill the space, which I believe amps up the intensity and excitement of the battle scenes.”
I couldn’t agree more. The swordplay really shines with this upgrade. Striking and blocking feel effortless and effective, and the battles themselves are incredibly engaging, particularly in the narrow temple corridors. There’s nothing quite like fending off a horde of demons, perfecting my timing for that powerful counterattack, the issen hit, while absorbing the souls of my defeated foes for experience points.
Eshiro continues, “Our goal was for newcomers picking up this remaster in 2025 to experience the same thrill that players felt back in 2002. This meant keeping the heart and soul of the game intact while polishing certain aspects to meet today’s gamer expectations. We had access to the original game assets, which, to the team’s credit in 2002, were excellent in quality. The limitations of the old standard-definition CRTs masked their true potential, so we’ve used a suite of modern upscaling and enhancing techniques to showcase every detail on today’s HD screens. This includes updating moving video elements in backgrounds, so scenes like flowing rivers are now more vivid and impressive than ever.”
