Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, released in Japan and Europe as , is a hack-and-slash action-adventure video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the third game of the Onimusha series and was released for the PlayStation 2 on April 27, 2004. It was later ported to Windows on December 8, 2005. The story focuses on the returning hero, swordsman Hidemitsu Samanosuke Akechi, who is in his quest to defeat his nemesis, Nobunaga Oda, who wishes to conquer Japan with his army of demons known as Genma. However, Samanosuke changes places with a French officer from the future named Jacques Blanc, and both have to adapt to their new worlds to get rid of Genma army and stop Oda Nobunaga's ambitions to conquer the world. The game retains elements from previous games in the franchise including the use of multiple special weapons in order to fight enemies and absorb their energy to enhance the weaponry. This time the player primarily controls both Samanosuke and Jacques in separate scenarios. The two are able to exchange items in order to solve puzzles. The development from this game started after the release of the PlayStation 2 which allowed the team to work on a 3D engine to design 3D backgrounds. In order to appeal to the Western market, the team set this game in Paris and chose French actor Jean Reno to portray Jacques. Onimusha 3 has been generally well received by publications for video games. Most of the writers' praise focused on the improved controls and the use of a 3D engine that allowed better combat and visuals, respectively. Critics also highly praised the CGI intro cutscene. The game also generated good sales with over 1.5 million copies sold as of May 2008. Gameplay Onimusha 3 is played in a real-time environment instead of pre-rendered backgrounds, although the camera is still controlled by the computer. Gameplay alternates between Samanosuke fighting in modern-day Paris and Jacques fighting in feudal Japan. Samanosuke fights using close range weapons, while Jacques uses an energy whip, which can also be used at certain points to swing across gaps. While Samanosuke cannot swing like Jacques he is able to use a bow in order to perform long-range attacks. Both of the characters also have defensive skills known as Issen that allows them to instantly kill an enemy by attacking just before the enemy makes contact with its attack.