Onimusha: Way of the Sword Bosses and How to Prepare

Start with what can be confirmed

Official demo material and gameplay footage confirm six major opponents: Sasaki Ganryu, Daidara, Byakue, Rasho-gan, Ifuu and Burai.

CAPCOM’s character page also has a formidable foes section, but it does not give a full order there. So this page does not print a tidy boss order that is really a guess.

Confirmed opponents

Official lists also name Dokyo, Greater Nue, Shuten Doji and the White-Clad Man. Where they sit in the story and how they fight should come from the game and official pages; this page does not guess strength from a name.

Get defence fluent first

Boss fights ask you to parry, deflecting, dodge and Issen in the same exchange.

Xbox Wire notes that Deflect cuts enemy stamina and handles some ranged attacks. IGN and GamesRadar both treat reading attacks and timing feedback as the core experience.

Practising how to identify an attack type before choosing a defence beats mashing the attack button.

A general preparation checklist

1. Sort healing items and Oni Armament resources at a Spirit Mirror.
2. Watch the boss’s unblockable, grab and ranged moves first.
3. Practise Parry for sword attacks; prepare dodges for grabs, punches and kicks.
4. Use Issen only once you can read the wind-up. On a miss, fall back to a safe defence.
5. When you need souls, pick a suitable Break Issen weak point instead of always chasing maximum damage.

A way through the final stretch

What players mention most after launch is the rhythm, not the health bar.

A steadier approach: treat one failed attempt as an observation run and only watch wind-ups and combo starters. Track unblockable attacks and grabs separately. Only throw Issen once you read them reliably, and stay on block and Parry the rest of the time.

If you are underlevelled, farm souls and healing resources instead of replaying a move you still cannot read.

These reports come from player experience, not official difficulty data.

Spoilers and unknowns

Demo bosses, late-game foes and the full order come from three different sources.

One final boss clip cannot prove the order, health values or weaknesses of the retail version.

Names, numbers and patch changes should come from official pages and the copy you own. Mid-boss and enemy order can also differ between saves and difficulties, so this page does not crown any single order as the answer.

Sources

CAPCOM’s official demo and character pages, the PlayStation Blog, IGN, GamesRadar and gameplay footage.