Onimusha: Way of the Sword — All Bosses & Rematches

Onimusha Showdown

Sasaki Ganryu — first duel

Overview. The opening duel against Sasaki Ganryu (~3.5/10) — a pure one-on-one that teaches the whole game. Patience over aggression; read his delays and punish recoveries with Issen.

Quick piercing strikes & delayed wave attacks. Deflect on the telegraph — the delayed ones bait early inputs, so wait for the flash.

Leap stomp. Dodge, or meet it with an Issen counter.

Blue left-hand grab. Tap Circle just before it lands to break it (you can't block it).

Trophy · Bronze

Onimusha Showdown — Win the opening duel against Sasaki Ganryu at Kiyomizu-dera. A pure 1-on-1 — use it to learn Deflect Issen: block his strings, then counter the recovery. Story-unmissable.

Get Stuffed

Daidara

Overview. Daidara (~3/10), a heavy bruiser in the Oni Refuge. Gimmick: he siphons blue souls you leave lying around and grows stronger each time — so grab reds and deny him the blues. He enters an enhanced state when his belly glows red.

Polearm strikes. Heavily telegraphed — deflect and punish.

Full-body jump slam. Issen it or dodge.

Sprint charge. Dodge on reaction.

Phase-2 blue hand-grab. Counter with Circle before contact.

‘Mace lick’ then swing. Don't try to trade — just avoid it; it hits like a truck.

Trophy · Bronze

Get Stuffed — Defeat Daidara in the Oni Refuge. A heavy bruiser with slow, telegraphed swings — deflect the wind-up and Issen the long recovery.

Twisted Fates

Rasho-gan

Overview. Rasho-gan (~4/10, two health bars), unlocked after you recover the three statues. Gimmick: he's tethered to a cord — reveal it with Oni Vision and shoot it to weaken him.

Katana strings. Deflect on timing.

Rapid Malice orb volleys. Hold L1 to parry the stream; bubble Malice orbs — pop them with the Oni bow.

Gut-punch grab & cord reel-in grab. Counter the punch on timing; dodge the reel-in grab.

Leap / spin attacks. Deflect both.

Phase 2. Tree throws — dodge with distance or a perfect dodge; cord-arm attacks — dodge primarily.

Trophy · Bronze

Twisted Fates — Defeat Rasho-gan in Kyoto (unlocked after you recover the three statues). Chip its stamina, then finish a stagger with a Break Issen on a glowing part.

Howling Wind

Ifuu

Overview. Ifuu (~4/10, two bars) at Windswept Kennin-ji — a fast wind duelist who gains fire in phase 2. Don't try to out-button him.

Close axe swings & ranged wind-slash gusts. Deflect.

Weapon ground-thrust. Parry while angling the stick in the thrust's direction.

Blue leap grab. Dodge before contact. Fire breath — interrupt it with an Oni bow shot. White reel-in grab — parry/deflect only.

Phase 2. Spin charge — deflect; frequent shoulder charges — adapt spacing; bladder suction can't be countered, so shoot the balloon on his back with the bow; when he launches into the air, shoot the balloon to drop him.

Trophy · Bronze

Howling Wind — Defeat Ifuu at Windswept Kennin-ji. A fast flurry-duelist — don't trade buttons; Deflect Issen his combos and counter between strings.

Dokyo's Fixation

Greater Nue

Overview. The Greater Nue (~5.5/10), a big beast that gains lightning in phase 2. Do not sever the tail — it regenerates and damages you during the animation.

Opening white tail swipe. Deflect/parry only.

Claw mauls. Deflect. Shoulder charge / sprint / leaping slam. Dodge (Issen the leap if you're confident).

Blue mouth grab. Counter with Circle. Tail shield — break it with Triangle + Circle.

Phase 2 (lightning). Imbued melee — deflect as normal; lightning-bolt rain can't be deflected — sidestep it; the larger white tail swipe — deflect, then avoid the lightning orbs that follow; grab — counter with Circle.

Trophy · Bronze

Dokyo's Fixation — Defeat the Greater Nue in the Oikeniwa Pond Garden. A large beast with wide sweeps — dodge the swings, break its stamina, Break Issen the openings.

Benkei: Out, but Not Down

Benkei — first encounter

Overview. Benkei (~3/10, two bars) on the bridge. Gimmick: you can't hurt him until his armor is stripped — deplete his stamina, absorb the red souls to knock off a piece, and repeat across several pieces. (Issen still lands health and stamina damage on his jump attack.)

Polearm strikes. Deflect — no big white attacks in phase 1.

Jump body-slam. Issen or dodge.

Phase 2. His gear ignites at the transition; white double-polearm strikes — parry/deflect only.

Trophy · Bronze

Benkei: Out, but Not Down — Defeat Benkei during ‘Bloodbath on the Bridge’. Break his guard first, then his stamina, then execute.

Crashing Lightning

Burai

Overview. Burai (~5/10), a lightning striker who telegraphs his big hits — watch for the tells.

Close slashes/thrusts. Deflect. Kick — dodge or Issen.

Lightning-orb array. Sidestep, then hit the exposed eye for blue souls. Overhead lightning crosses — run to either side.

Right-leg-raise tell (close range). Stop attacking and back off immediately — a dangerous follow-up is coming.

Phase 2. The leap → lightning-bolt → ground-slam combo — dodge before the slam lands (an instant kill on Carnage if missed); mace spin with ground orbs + shockwave — dodge the moment it starts.

Trophy · Bronze

Crashing Lightning — Defeat Burai at the temple. A lightning-fast striker — deflect cleanly to build Blazing State and punish each gap with Issen.

Wide Awake

Shuten Doji

Overview. Shuten Doji at the end of ‘The Demon on the Mount’ — a fire Genma with a huge health pool (~84,600) that heals from his gourd. Fire is his damage type, so equip fire-resistance charms/consumables first.

Don't parry — dodge. Most of his kit is hard to parry cleanly and a whiff costs a big chunk; dodge by default and only Issen the clearly-telegraphed hits.

Stop the healing. When he drinks from the gourd, burst him or shoot the gourd with the bow to interrupt — every miss is HP handed back. (Mid phase 1 the bottle catches fire, unlocking fire attacks; sidestep the fire trails and bow-interrupt the fire breath.)

Phase 1. Delayed greatsword strings, bottle ground-slam and leaping ground-pierce (dodge/Issen), the odd kick. The white reel-in + greatsword strike — parry/deflect only.

Phase 2. His severed head joins in — keep lock-on on the body but watch the head's spinning ranged charge (dodge with Circle); on the four-hit combo, deflect/parry/Issen the final fire attack; shoot the head-balloon inflation to interrupt. Save Oni Awakening for here and chain Issen.

Trophy · Bronze

Wide Awake — Defeat Shuten Doji to end ‘The Demon on the Mount’. Large and aggressive — make Break Issen windows and save Oni Awakening for its rage phase.

The Perfect Storm

Ifuu & Burai — tag fight

Overview. Ifuu and Burai together (~6/10). Don't lock the camera — keep it free so you can see both, and whittle their health down at roughly the same rate (dropping both staminas together opens them both up).

Solo movesets carry over — use the same counters from their individual fights.

Shared ‘Let's end this!/Together!’ lunge. Deflect on the callout.

Phase-2 coordinated storm (they meet in the center, rise, rain lightning and wind, then dual swoop-ram). Parry/deflect the final ram or it's an instant kill on Carnage. Shoot Ifuu's bladder when he's airborne; counter Burai's lightning as normal.

Trophy · Bronze

The Perfect Storm — Beat Ifuu and Burai together in ‘Storm Chaser’. It's a 2-on-1 — keep moving, isolate one target, and pop Oni Awakening to even the odds.

We Done Here?

Sasaki Ganryu — Arashiyama

Overview. Sasaki Ganryu at Togetsu-kyo Bridge, Arashiyama — the second-hardest fight in the game (~7/10), now backed by his Oni ally Gioh. Gimmick: Gioh siphons the red flowers to refill Sasaki's stamina — shoot her neck with the Oni bow to interrupt it.

Fast katana thrusts & leap slash. Deflect with precise timing.

Gioh's tentacle strikes. Deflect or Issen. Gioh's blue mouth grab — counter with Circle on the beat.

Phase 2 (‘Smash him flat, Gioh!’). Gioh's tentacles turn purple with new attacks; the Malice-wreathed white katana is the biggest threat — deflect it; deflect/dodge the ground Malice waves.

Plan. Farm purple souls to keep Oni Awakening and Oni Power topped up, and transform into an Oni whenever it's available.

Trophy · Bronze

We Done Here? — Defeat Sasaki Ganryu again at Togetsu-kyo Bridge, Arashiyama. A faster, tougher rematch — everything from the first duel still applies.

End This Madness

Dokyo

Overview. Dokyo at the end of Arashiyama (~2.5/10) — less a duel, more a chase built on gimmicks. Core loop: dodge, close in, land a few hits, repeat.

Projectiles & spiky balls. Dodge/outrun; the giant spiky ball — deflect it straight back. Electrified spinning barriers — weave through the gaps.

Golden-circle balloon. Shoot it with the bow before it detonates. Vertical fire-turret line — stand between the turrets to dodge the fire.

Double-summon + electrified-net charge. Use Oni Vision to spot the real Dokyo (she glows gold) and shoot her. Mask-lock + blue explosive enemies — run behind Dokyo so they blow up on her.

Phase 2. Dodge the constant orb barrage to charge your Square attack; the returned spiky ball must be deflected twice; shoot the red detonator enemy on the mask attack; the sky ‘planetary absorption’ is an instant kill on Carnage — get behind the uncracked rock, then grab the shard to hurl back at her.

Trophy · Bronze

End This Madness — Defeat Dokyo at the end of Arashiyama. Deflect his strings, break stamina, and finish with Break Issen.

Baited by Benkei

Benkei — Rendaino

Overview. Benkei fully armed during the finale, ‘The Clash at Rendaino’ (~5/10, and on Carnage he hits hard). Phase 1 already uses his old phase-2 moves.

Cannon throw. Dodge the cannon, then jump before it detonates. Dagger volley — deflect back at him.

Spinning axes. Dodge (safer than deflecting). Standard kick/grab — dodge; the genuine blue grab — dodge with Circle + stick right.

Shoulder-mounted hammer-cannon charge. Shoot it immediately with the Oni bow — on Carnage a clean bow hit here is an instant kill. Cannon fireballs — keep max distance or dodge.

Trophy · Bronze

Baited by Benkei — Defeat Benkei again in the final mission, ‘The Clash at Rendaino’. A harder second bout — same plan, tighter timing.

Truly, Thank You

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Overview. Minamoto no Yoshitsune — the final boss and the hardest fight in the game (~8.5/10): two health bars across three phases. See our dedicated Yoshitsune deep-dive for the full phase-by-phase.

Loadout to bring. Amulet of Introspection (widens the Issen/parry window), Stimulant (refills Awakening), Sun-Dried Hozuki (restores your pouch to 3 charges — carry 1), Greater Defense & Greater Might Talismans, and a Heavy Restorative as a fallback. Hold every item until the back half of phase 2 and all of phase 3.

Phase 1. Deflect his katana strings; perfect-dodge or Issen the double aerial kick to knock him down; the white three-slash combo — dodge from range or deflect up close. The shoulder-tap on his katana is the key tell — a lightning dash-thrust follows, so parry instantly. His delayed grab is high-risk (a hit siphons your souls and enrages him).

Phase 2 (armored — normal hits bounce). Sprint away from the opening aerial slam + ground crack; favour deflects over Issen; deflect the aerial arrow barrages (sometimes both sides) and the razor three-chain white strikes (a miss is near-death on Carnage); sidestep the ‘Shatter’ reality tear and ground crack before they trigger. Farm purple souls (your Oni Armament nets more).

Phase 3 (immune unless YOU are Oni Awakened). Build souls with Chain Issen, or parry to fill Blazing then attack in Blazing to pull blue → Oni Power → purple. When the soul-pull locks you, grab the souls yourself then dodge/Issen the arena-sweep slash that follows (a hit is game over). Transform the instant your gauge fills, land max Issen, and delay the R1 finisher until the gauge is nearly spent — it lands far more hits.

Trophy · Bronze

Truly, Thank You — Beat the final boss, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, across his three phases. Keep a Hozuki Pouch and Oni Awakening ready and Break Issen each phase break.

Serves You Right

Byakue — Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Overview. The Byakue at Kiyomizu-dera (~2.5–3/10) — a Chance Encounter, so you have to seek it out. Simple rule: dodge when he isn't swinging his axe, deflect when he is.

Axe swings. Deflect and punish. Shoulder charges & sprints — dodge only.

Blue talisman-hair attack. Tap Circle before it connects.

Enhanced below 50%. Jump before the Malice-wreathed axe slam lands, and keep your distance from the Malice pools it leaves behind.

Trophy · Bronze

Serves You Right — Defeat the Byakue at Kiyomizu-dera Temple. It appears as a Chance Encounter, so you have to seek it out — it isn't on the main path.