Onimusha, Stranger than Heaven, and Homage to Deceased Actors

This has been on my mind for several months now and it's especially present now that I am playing the recently released Onimusha: Way of the Sword. We are in a particularly interesting time when it comes to paying homage to performers that have passed away. Technology has gotten to a point, with video games in particular, where companies can take the likeness of one who passed away and put them in a modern story. As the title mentions, I wanna talk about Onimusha and Stranger than Heaven. 

Onimusha Way of the Sword is a samurai action game featuring the likeness of Toshiro Mifune (passed away in 1997) as Miyamoto Musashi. I'm a few hours in and I am absolutely loving the game. It's a ton of fun. What particularly impressed me was the performance on display and just how much respect is put on representing Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi. 

In the mid 50s, Toshiro Mifune played Musashi in the Samurai trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. Mifune also started in many of Akira Kurosawa's films, most notably Seven Samurai, High and Low, Rashamon, and Yojimbo. Recently I found myself getting familiar with Mifune's work as a performer. Particularly in Seven Samurai, he gives a standout performance as a rough, wild samurai. Having this knowledge when jumping into Onimusha has made the experience that much enjoyable. 

Onimusha, before anything else, is a love letter to Toshiro Mifune as an actor. Capcom spent several years getting approved from his estate and they are showing nothing but respect and care to how he is portrayed in this game. The team clearly had a distinct vision for how they wanted this version of Miyamoto Musashi to be portrayed and Mifune's likeness was very key to that. It feels like the team studied his mannerisms and acting to get it all in the game. Beforehand I was skeptical of using a deceased actor in a video game, but now that I've seen what they're doing and what they're going for, I am more accepting of it as it comes off as an homage to the actor rather than a cheap marketing stunt. 

This isn't the only example though. Stranger than Heaven by RGG Studios features the likeness of Bunta Sugawara (passed away in 2014). 

Much like Mifune, Sugawara is an icon in Japanese cinema. His most famous role was in the Battles Without Honor or Humanity series in the 70s, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. These movies show a gritty and grounded portrayal of underground criminal organizations in a post-WWII Japan. 

This was interesting to me. Stranger than Heaven is a story about a half Japanese half American immigrant going to Japan and trying to start a life in a country that's rejecting him. It takes place across decades of his life, from the 1910s all the way to the 1960s. My initial impression upon learning about Bunta Sugawara's inclusion was similar to Toshiro Mifune in Onimusha. There's a thematic and artistic vision with the likeness used and I thought it would be more of an homage to the actor. One could probably say I'm coping by spinning it like this, but I also took the opportunity to learn more about classic Japanese cinema as I've been exposed to the filmography of an icon I had never heard of before. I bought the collection of BWHOH from Arrow Video. 

Unfortunately what makes Stranger than Heaven differ from Onimusha is the other likeness used. It's time to address the elephant in the room. 

Tupac Shakur being in this Japanese developed and set game that takes place before he was even born just feels wrong. One difference that makes this unlike Sugawara and Mifune, there's no connection between what this project is and the legacy Tupac left behind. Music does play a core aspect of the game and that's definitely apparent by the mechanics as well as the inclusion of Tori Kelly, Ado, and Snoop Dogg, but that's a loose reason. Another is the character Tupac will be portraying is not him. From what I've read (not 100% sure) his character's name is Amaru which is Tupac's middle name so it could be something more direct, but to me that's still not really enough because again, Tupac wasn't alive in 1910s Japan. 

The biggest problem with all of this though is the nature of Tupac's estate. There's a lot of details with this that I won't go into, but it's not clean and it's not as simple as "oh his estate approved it." Tupac's family is not involved with the estate, and while RGG claims to have contacted them, it still doesn't wash away how unfitting it all feels. 

This is all so disappointing. After that first, amazing trailer, I was so excited for this game. It's an extremely interesting premise and I really wanted RGG Studios to get back some good graces after not only LAD8 and Pirate Yakuza being personally disappointing, but also the casting controversy with Yakuza Kiwami 3. That's a whole thing I won't go into. 

I didn't want one bad fuckup to undo the decades of entertainment provided and passion I have for their games. I was very open to this game being RGG's "We're so back" moment. Unfortunately I don't see it happening now. 

At the end of the day, I still haven't fully decided if I'm going to play this game. I could get it used or something but I don't know. This is the most ambitious looking game Sega has had since Shenmue 1. I really can't deny how curious I am. 

What do you think? How do you feel about Stranger than Heaven and Onimusha? Do you still listen to that banger song? Let me know. 

Had to get these thoughts out. Thanks for reading this far.