Oni II: Innin Densetsu

Description

Oni II: Innin Densetsu is a story sequel to Kijinnō Kōmaroku ONI, although its systems are heavily reworked from the first game. The protagonist is Takayamaru, a young demon-slayer who leaves training, accepts a request to deal with a yōkai possessing a princess, and becomes caught up in a wider mystery involving Shuten-dōji, legendary figures, and the hidden “Oni” record. The setting begins in a Japanese period-fantasy world but later expands beyond Japan into China and otherworldly areas.

The game moves closer to a standard command-based RPG than its predecessor. The first game’s one-character structure is replaced with a party of up to four characters, with enemies appearing in groups of up to three and battles using top-view command menus. It adds three save slots, free saving while moving, dungeon treasure chests, separate handling for event items, a party consultation command, and an “auto” command for quick normal attacks during routine battles. Magic and item categories are marked with icons, making the interface clearer than the earlier game.

Its role in the wider series is important because many systems introduced or formalised here carried into the later entries. At the same time, it is unusual within the series because it removes the “tenshin” transformation system that had been a distinctive feature of the first game. This removal was criticised and that transformation returned in the following entry. The game is generally remembered as a stronger and more playable sequel than the first ONI, but also as an uneven one, with rough battle balance, no item use during combat, complex dungeons, awkward late-game design, and some messy scenario handling. Finally, a quick note about the product ID, many sites and databased list it as DMG-02J because of the typeface used on the product, but it is DMG-O2J.