Bungie's Oni turns 20 this week! *GIVEAWAY OVER*

[Gloam]

Feels like yesterday. Really liked this game, big ambition. The way the combat worked is almost a proto-Urban Chaos/Batman type of system. Remember reading that all the levels were designed by a REAL ARCHITECT which sounds cooler in theory than practise most of them felt like you were running around aircraft hangers.

 

[Deleted member 1102]

Oh god I had this game as a kid

 

[Vinimaw]

Completetly forgot that it was a Bungie game, loved it back in the day.
Clearly a potential for a remake some day.

 

[Ravelle]

The combat was crazy for that time. It was also the first game I bought that came in a dvd case

 

[FinFunnels]

I've always wanted to play this. I would stare at the box in GameStop/EB Games all the time, but never did buy it :(

 

[Abylim]

I played this at or around launch. I got a ps2, Oni and Evergrace. I played the shit out of Oni. It was an amazing game. I was blown away by the combination of shooting and melee fighting. It felt like I was playing an anime

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I've always wanted to play this. I would stare at the box in GameStop/EB Games all the time, but never did buy it :(

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The box for PC was really pretty, I think the whole thing was holographic from front to back and side to side.

The PS2 box I don't recall but I think the cover was also holographic.

I played this at or around launch. I got a ps2, Oni and Evergrace. I played the shit out of Oni. It was an amazing game. I was blown away by the combination of shooting and melee fighting. It felt like I was playing an anime

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I liked how you could jump kick an enemy while holding a gun.

Or disarm someone with a weapon and use that weapon against them.

Then pull out the spin kick when your surrounded.

 

[Cat Party]

I bought this game at a CompUSA based on the box alone. Loved it.

That was such a great age of PC gaming.

 

[deathsaber]

Heh, yeah, that was one of those early PS2 games you bought because you played all the good launch stuff, and were just STARVING for content on your new console that you would buy almost anything slightly notable.

To be fair, it wasn't the worst game even, but it wasn't particularly good/great, either. As others have said- the packaging was the best thing about it.

 

[Thug Larz]

This is such a cool thread, OP! Thanks for putting it together.

Was a bit before my time at the studio, and I'm ashamed to say I never played it. At some point, I plan to remedy that.

 

[DangerMouse]

Loved this game. I still remember it and especially the artwork.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

This is such a cool thread, OP! Thanks for putting it together.

Was a bit before my time at the studio, and I'm ashamed to say I never played it. At some point, I plan to remedy that.

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Whoa, thank you so much! I never thought someone at Bungie would reply to my thread, it really makes my day and the effort well worth it! :]

I hope you can get your hands on a copy! I'd really love for you to play it. I play the Oni Anniversary Edition on PC, so I have a few mods installed like higher resolution textures and other cool things the community made.

 

[Deleted member 17210]

Heh, yeah, that was one of those early PS2 games you bought because you played all the good launch stuff, and were just STARVING for content on your new console that you would buy almost anything slightly notable.

To be fair, it wasn't the worst game even, but it wasn't particularly good/great, either. As others have said- the packaging was the best thing about it.

Click to shrink...

This is how I felt. I ended up trading it for Super Bust A Move.

 

[Tolby]

The AI pathfinding was so advanced for its time. It was a big deal back then. Love Oni so much, still play it every 2-3 years.

I sometimes used Oni's moves as online names back in the day. They're catchy!
If you ever played Sven-Coop 20 years ago with someone called DevilSpinKick, RisingFury, StrikerSlam, NuclearTackle or TenShadowPunch that was probably me.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that "shapeshifter" is probably the best cheat code I've ever had the pleasure of using in a game. Every single NPC can be your player character, even the bosses. Crazy amount of replay value right there.

 

[Thug Larz]

Whoa, thank you so much! I never thought someone at Bungie would reply to my thread, it really makes my day and the effort well worth it! :]

I hope you can get your hands on a copy! I'd really love for you to play it. I play the Oni Anniversary Edition on PC, so I have a few mods installed like higher resolution textures and other cool things the community made.

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My pleasure!

Yeah, my plan would be to try the PS2 version just to see what it was like at the time for the console audience.

 

[Deleted member 12009]

such a cool game even though the art is often deviantart tier.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

My pleasure!

Yeah, my plan would be to try the PS2 version just to see what it was like at the time for the console audience.

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I'm curious how much PS2 copies are going these days. Hmm, seems ebay has some listings between $10-$25.

I actually did a search for PC copies too, the price doesn't seem too bad but I never bought "used" PC games before:

Amazon.com: Oni - PC: Video Games

Amazon.com: Oni - PC: Video Games

www.amazon.com

The AI pathfinding was so advanced for its time. It was a big deal back then. Love Oni so much, still play it every 2-3 years.

I sometimes used Oni's moves as online names back in the day. They're catchy!
If you ever played Sven-Coop 20 years ago with someone called DevilSpinKick, RisingFury, StrikerSlam, NuclearTackle or TenShadowPunch that was probably me.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that "shapeshifter" is probably the best cheat code I've ever had the pleasure of using in a game. Every single NPC can be your player character, even the bosses. Crazy amount of replay value right there.

Click to shrink...

Shapeshifter is definitely one of the coolest cheat codes I've ever seen in a game, that's for sure. I always loved playing as the SWAT looking TCTF guys.

Lion Axe! Lion Fist!

 

[Praedyth]

Have they expressed any interest in revisiting their pre-Halo/Destiny IP's? I can recall a rumour (though no idea how valid it was) about Marathon but nothing more since then.

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I think they talked about Marathon at an anniversary, but nothing about a new game. They'll probably mention Oni's anniversary in the next TWAB and that's it.

 

[blamite]

Have they expressed any interest in revisiting their pre-Halo/Destiny IP's? I can recall a rumour (though no idea how valid it was) about Marathon but nothing more since then.

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afaik, the Marathon rumour popped up because at around the time the Activision Destiny contract came out there were a couple Bungie folks helping out in some way with the iOS ports of the original Marathon games. As far as I'm aware, since then there hasn't been any reason to think old IPs are being revisited.

 

[Erpy]

The AI pathfinding was so advanced for its time. It was a big deal back then. Love Oni so much, still play it every 2-3 years.

I sometimes used Oni's moves as online names back in the day. They're catchy!
If you ever played Sven-Coop 20 years ago with someone called DevilSpinKick, RisingFury, StrikerSlam, NuclearTackle or TenShadowPunch that was probably me.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that "shapeshifter" is probably the best cheat code I've ever had the pleasure of using in a game. Every single NPC can be your player character, even the bosses. Crazy amount of replay value right there.

Click to shrink...

Yup and the Anniversary Edition made it even better since it loads in all models rather than just the ones that appear in a level, meaning you can now play every level with every character rather than just the ones that Bungie added into specific levels. And the Jetpack cheat allows you to get through areas where jumping is needed without having to briefly change back to Konoko.

 

[HanSoloCup]

This was my desktop wallpaper for most of my junior year of high school. Nothing but great memories from this game.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

This was my desktop wallpaper for most of my junior year of high school. Nothing but great memories from this game.

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Nice! Though, it appears low res on my screen.

I managed to find a higher res version. :]

 

[Baalzebup]

A true gem of a gem. I've gone through the PS2 version quite a few times over the years.

 

[Tolby]

Does anybody know what the deal was with Konoko having longer hair in the anime opening?
Was her design changed because long hair looked bad during gameplay?

 

[Ashlette]

I would love to buy an HD remaster of this game. It's one of those titles that would look great with cel-shaded visuals (genshin impact, xenoblade chronicles remastered, etc).

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Does anybody know what the deal was with Konoko having longer hair in the anime opening?
Was her design changed because long hair looked bad during gameplay?

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I never thought about that! I was talking to Iritscen again, the Oni historian, and tells me that Alex Okita story boarded the intro and AIC made the animation.

https://wiki.oni2.net/File:Konstart1.jpg

AIC stands for "Anime International Company", and they animated Bubblegum Crisis.

You might have noticed I mentioned Lorraine and Alex Okita in the OP, they were part of the Oni dev team.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

This game was made by Bungie West, a separate studio formed in San Jose (IIRC) by Bungie (in Chicago).

It was indeed supposed to be an homage to Ghost in the Shell, but it was also plagued by development troubles and got dumped to market when Bungie was acquired by Microsoft. It's heavily stripped down from things the team said they wanted to do at the time. It's a ghost of a shell of a game.

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I knew I was forgetting something very important, thanks for reminding me. I've updated the OP with Bungie West.

As for the final product, it indeed had some missing things like the Iron Demon seen in the trailer, and the mysterious orange haired character the community has named Casey, who is seen in the splash screens.

Luckily, some really cool modders in the community added those in Oni AE via mods.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I would love to buy an HD remaster of this game. It's one of those titles that would look great with cel-shaded visuals (genshin impact, xenoblade chronicles remastered, etc).

Click to shrink...

I don't know where this image came from, could be a from an old version of Oni or someone from the modding community was messing around with the idea but it gives us a look at what it might have been like with cel-shaded graphics. :]

 

[Deleted member 51248]

Getting some Crackdown 1 vibes from it.

 

[Toa Axis]

Very detailed, OP. The effort is greatly appreciated.

I've always been eager to try this one out. One of the few Bungie games I haven't touched.

Rockstar owns the IP nowadays, so the prospect of a re-release or sequel is pretty slim, unfortunately. I'd love to see either happen, though.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Getting some Crackdown 1 vibes from it.

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Very detailed, OP. The effort is greatly appreciated.

I've always been eager to try this one out. One of the few Bungie games I haven't touched.

Rockstar owns the IP nowadays, so the prospect of a re-release or sequel is pretty slim, unfortunately. I'd love to see either happen, though.

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Thanks! This game means a lot to me, I hope you can get your hands on it someday.

I know in the OP I stated the dream would be a GOG release, but honestly any release is welcome. There's so many old CD-ROM games that never got any sort of re-release and as time goes on they will eventually be forgotten.

I don't think Oni should be forgotten, it was flawed I know, but it left behind a very fun and interesting take on combat. In the vanilla version of the game, you unlocked moves as you progressed into the levels but in Oni AE, the community modded version of the game, you start with all the moves right from the start which is a welcome change.




As for who owns the IP, I wanna say Take-Two owns the IP now these days but they probably don't even know or remember that they have it either.

Feels like yesterday. Really liked this game, big ambition. The way the combat worked is almost a proto-Urban Chaos/Batman type of system. Remember reading that all the levels were designed by a REAL ARCHITECT which sounds cooler in theory than practise most of them felt like you were running around aircraft hangers.

Click to shrink...

That's correct, some stages were rather massive in size, while others were shorter and more linear but there were some great scenarios.

Like this one for instance; at the end of the Bio Manufacturing level, you spawn at the lower level of the building with TCTF allies patrolling the lobby. Then all of a sudden Syndicate goons start opening fire on everyone from the balconies above. I played this particular stage a lot back when I was still in middle school, along with the TCTF HQ level.

Not to mention I liked how the devs hid away items in certain parts of the levels that made you go "Huh, how do I get over there?" or "Oh! An item!".

 

[FFNB]

Oh man, this brings back memories. It was one of the first PS2 games I bought back when I was finally able to snag one (about 6-8 months after PS2 launched?).

It was janky as fuck, but enjoyed it. So many fond PS2 memories...

 

[GiftBot]

Giveaway

Restrictions:

Hello, I am bot! I come bearing 5 gifts from Shinobido Heart!

This is a three-day raffle that will expire in 72 hours. The winner will be drawn at random! Any prizes leftover after the deadline will become available on a first-come first-serve basis.

Shinatama: Konoko, it's time for a giveaway.
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Konoko: A giveaway? What for?
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Shinatama: Today's the 20th Anniversary of Oni, Konoko. It's not like you to forget...
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Konoko: ...20 years?! Has it really been that long?
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Shinatama: Yes, today is January 29, 2021. The day Oni released in North America!
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Konoko: I see... but what are we giving away, Shinatama?
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Shinatama: We're raffling away five $20 Steam Wallet Codes to celebrate the occasion!
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Konoko: Five $20 Steam Wallet Codes?! Sounds Exciting!
-

Click to shrink...

These are our awesome prizes:

• Steam: $20 Steam Wallet Code - Won by Gouf (20 entries)
• Steam: $20 Steam Wallet Code - Won by Dukie85 (19 entries)
• Steam: $20 Steam Wallet Code - Won by Brunire (19 entries)
• Steam: $20 Steam Wallet Code - Won by NCartwright15 (19 entries)
• Steam: $20 Steam Wallet Code - Won by Springy (19 entries)

This raffle has ended. Any remaining prizes can be instantly claimed by entering.

 

[Tuorom]

This game is pretty neat and I had a lot of fun with it growing up (in fact I still have the PC disc here beside me).

The levels were pretty sparse but the combat is stellar and there is nothing like it, even today. The soundtrack was sweet too. Hit me perfectly when I was in that ninja/great warrior phase haha. I also loved the Mercury Rifle sound effect so I'd always use it when I could.

R I S I N G F U R Y

 

[Deleted member 25870]

Incredibly generous of you Shinobido Heart. I would totally take part if I had a system that could currently run anything noteworthy on Steam.

 

[KORNdog]

I remember it being incredibly boring despite giving the impression it was going to be some cool ghost In the shell shooter/brawler. It was just Box rooms with dumb AI and simple combat. It always reminded me a lot of fighting force 2 (which was also awful)

Bungie certainly have come a long way. But this is one I think I'd sooner forget. I'd be interested to hear what they think about it looking back.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

The celebrations aren't over yet! Be sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to get a $20 Steam Wallet Code!

Incredibly generous of you Shinobido Heart. I would totally take part if I had a system that could currently run anything noteworthy on Steam.

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I wanted to do something extra special, to make this moment really something. :]

 

[NeoKnight]

I loved Oni so much back in the day. Trailer still looks great, and those HD screenshot make me so sad ya can't find it anymore. So glad I found this thread, bookmarked.

 

[Pororoka]

I played this game back then on my iBook. Can't remember it well since I was playing GitS:SaC back to back. Still, I remember having some fun with the melee more than in GitS. An updated version would be great!

 

[hikarutilmitt]

I'm wondering if this is actually another child of Lost Source Code, because other than maybe distribution rights issues, I can't imagine this being hard to get a weird port or even just a GOG release.

 

[Kaji AF16]

I loved the demo and played it to death but for some reason I never got to purchase the full game. That trailer music (which I eventually learned was called Konoko Chase) sounded in my head for two decades.

I had never played something like that at the time. I remember the combat system was extremely satisfying.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I loved Oni so much back in the day. Trailer still looks great, and those HD screenshot make me so sad ya can't find it anymore. So glad I found this thread, bookmarked.

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I'm glad you liked the thread!

I've been working on putting this thread together since early December of last year, all for this day. :]

I'm wondering if this is actually another child of Lost Source Code, because other than maybe distribution rights issues, I can't imagine this being hard to get a weird port or even just a GOG release.

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That's a really scary thought, I hope that's not the case. :[

 

[Stone Ocean]

This is one game I've always wanted to try but never really got the opportunity to do that. Hopefully we can get a rerelease someday.

 

[Htown]

I remember liking this game. Combat was good, level design felt boring. I remember wishing the game was better than it was, because the core gameplay was so fun.

 

[Bladelaw]

The thing I remember most about this game besides the ending is that the running neck breaker was OP as hell and I abused the shit out of it.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I'd be interested in a remake or spiritual sequel—the gameplay seemed like a relatively unique mix of hand-to-hand and shooting

 

[theSoularian]

I remember playing the PC demo at the time. the GITS influence was why it caught my interests. I also like the promo artworks...I felt like the capture the style/essence of anime art styles from the 90's - early 2000's.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I remember this game well and it always stock out when looking at the shelves / market stall.

This is the cover I remember having. I remember getting it around the same time as the ZOE Metal Gear Solid 2 demo.

 

[orlock]

yeah, super fond memories of this game and i never understood why developers never really tried harder to capitalize on the "anime" style of art or narrative the way Oni and Shogo tried to (with varying degrees of success), at least at the time.

 

[MrCinos]

Great game with one of my favorite real-time combat systems. I wish someone copied/emulated it. The game was relatively popular here in Russia or at least I think so judging by my circles.