Onimusha: Warlords

The other guide didn't help much but watching a solid strategy for every level got me through it on the third try.


not my vid no credit

Just got this last night after about 2 or 3 hours of trying. This is not so much a detailed guide but just some pointers since there's currently not a guide here for this at all.

There are 12 stages, you need to complete them all.

Basic idea is that each stage has x amount of pots/vases and these will contain y amount of souls. You do NOT need to actually absorb the souls, you just need to break the necessary amount of pots. On some stages this can be tricky since there are enemies as well and they will break the pots, which will NOT count towards your goal. You can usually afford to have the enemies break some of them, except for a few stages where you have to break them all.

You do not need to actually kill anyone to progress, although on some stages it is worth it to clear some space or pick up some magic orbs.

Your life will drain constantly, enemies will sometimes drop health orbs to absorb but these can mostly be ignored since you'll be pressed for time on a lot of the stages. You can find some herbs in some of the treasure boxes and I would recommend using these as needed if your life gets too low, you only get 4 or 5 herbs but that should be plenty.

Your life will refill each stage, and stops draining as soon as the final pot is broken. If you think you got them all but your life is still going down, then look around since you probably missed one.

Some enemies will drop magic orbs when killed. You seem to have about 4 magic uses with each weapon but having some saved for the last few stages is very helpful. If you're low on magic but still have a decent amount of health left, try to avoid breaking the last pot so that you can kill an enemy or two and refill your magic. Fire and wind magic are most important, thunder not so much.

You start with your basic sword and not much else. Most stages have treasure boxes lying around (usually hidden under a pot), try to get all of these if you can since the items will help. After breaking the last pot you will have a few seconds to run around so you can try to get them during that time, but try to get them as you move around the stage just to be safe.

Stages 1 and 2 are pretty simple, just run around breaking the pots before the enemies do. Stage 2 has the thunder sword in a chest on the left side, make sure to get that and equip it.

Stage 3 is also pretty simple but make sure to pick up the matchlock (gun) from the chest as this is almost required for Stage 6.

I honestly can't remember much of Stage 4. I think the fire sword is here in the bottom-right corner, make sure to get that.

Stage 5 was a bit of headache. There are 2 tall samurai enemies on the left and right sides and they seem to care more about breaking pots than they do about going after you. I would start this stage with the fire sword equipped and immediately use the fire magic on the right-side enemy. This should knock him down and break some pots at the same time. Once he's down I would run up the middle just a bit and then use another fire magic attack on the left enemy to knock him down as well. This should buy you enough time to clear out most of the vases in the bottom half of the stage. Once the stage is complete, open the menu and equip the gun with the burst rounds in preparation for Stage 6.

Stage 6 has 6 pots and you need to break all 6. The 2 enemies in the back will likely beat you to the pots if you try to run to them. Instead, you should immediately hold the right bumper and fire off a shot from the gun. If you're lucky, this should hit both enemies and break 3 or 4 pots, if not then fire a 2nd shot as fast as you can to knock down the other enemy. If you can get them both down then you have plenty of time to break the last 1 or 2 pots with your sword.

Stage 7 has the wind sword in the middle, try to get to that and equip it right away as it is fast and has decent range around you, which makes it easier to clear out more pots per swing, especially when they're bunched together. I honestly don't remember much about this level so it can't be that hard, I think I used a wind magic attack here to clear a bunch of pots but that's probably not necessary.

Stages 8 and 9 I don't remember much either. Sorry.

Stage 10 was a roadblock for me. I believe this also has 6 pots and you have to break them all. I would start with the fire sword equipped and immediately launch a fire attack on the 1 enemy in the back. That should knock him down and break the 2 pots in the middle. Once you've done that, quickly switch to a faster sword and break the 2 pots at the bottom, then run up and try to break the two in the back. Be careful, since once you get about halfway to the back, 2 more enemies will drop and they seem to go after the remaining two pots instead of you, so you need to be quick, and the downed enemy will also be getting back up around this time. Most of my runs failed at this point. Actually this might be Stage 11? I'm not sure.

Stages 11(?) and 12 I only did once so I dont remember much about them. My first run where I cleared Stage 10 (or 11?) was the run that I completed this on.

Make sure to save at the results screen.

A lot of this is going to be trial and error but it's perfectly doable once you get a feel for each stage.

Hope this helps!