Onimusha: Way of the Sword — Best Order to Do Things

Quick Answer

Our suggested order is controls → basic defense → current story objective → available upgrades → nearby useful side content → next boss. Learn each new action before adding another. Choose upgrades from the options your save has unlocked, and revisit blocked paths when the required ability becomes available. Use the Walkthrough when you need a location or mission route.

Start with: Controls and defense
Upgrade rule: Solve a current problem
Explore when: The route is accessible
Before a boss: Review recovery and loadout

A suggested order for the opening hours

Use these steps as a decision guide as new systems become available. Your progress matters more than a fixed number of hours: take extra practice time where you need it, and move on when a step feels repeatable.

First-playthrough priorities
Step	What to do	Ready to move on when…
1. Set up	Read the active controls and test camera movement.	You can reach defense and evade without looking down.
2. Learn one response	Practice guard, then a timed parry against a familiar attack.	You recognize the attack and can answer it deliberately.
3. Follow the story	Use your named objective and learn each technique as it opens.	You reach the next objective or a new upgrade opportunity.
4. Review upgrades	Inspect available skills, equipment and their actual costs.	You can name the problem your next purchase will solve.
5. Take a useful detour	Choose an accessible quest reward or nearby collection goal.	The task is complete, or its next requirement calls for story progress.
6. Prepare for the boss	Review healing, loadout and the route back.	You are ready to learn the encounter without changing several variables.

Learn defense before chasing a perfect counter

Begin with an attack you can recognize. Guard to observe its rhythm, practice the timed response, then add a short attack during the opening. Keep Deflect practice separate until you can produce its input reliably. Trying every action in the same exchange makes it harder to tell what went wrong.

Add Issen once the basic sequence is comfortable. Pay attention to the enemy's movement and the prompt or opening for the technique you are using. A missed counter is a reason to simplify the next attempt, not to press faster. Against a new boss, spend the first exchanges identifying which attacks leave room for a response.

Use space and nearby objects to keep a group manageable. Avoid locking yourself into a long attack while another enemy is approaching. Collect souls when you have an opening, then return to a position from which you can see the next threat.

Choose your next upgrade by what is stopping you

At an available upgrade menu, inspect the unlocked options and their requirements. For every purchase, ask what it changes in the encounter you are playing. An improvement you can use now is easier to evaluate than saving blindly for a skill that still has a prerequisite.

Keep skill purchases, equipment enhancement and charms as separate decisions. They do not all spend the same resources. Review the selected upgrade's cost before committing, then test the result in an encounter you know. A new appearance is a separate choice from improving combat statistics.

Suggested upgrade decisions
Current problem	Review first	After the change
You struggle to survive a mistake	Available clothing improvements, recovery options and equipped charm effects	Check whether you can recover from the same exchange.
You survive but deal too little damage	Sword or gauntlet enhancements and a skill that fits your attack openings	Use the same safe opening and compare your progress.
Groups interrupt your attacks	Available crowd-control or environmental options	Practice making space before committing to another combo.
An exploration route is blocked	The obstacle's requirement and your current story objective	Return when the required traversal or Oni ability is available.

Explore around your current route

After reaching a new objective or return point, check the nearby paths you can actually enter. Complete a short detour while you are already in the area. If a route needs an ability you do not have, record its location and the obstacle, then continue the story instead of repeatedly testing the same blocked entrance.

When a new ability becomes available, revisit the specific obstacles it can solve. Do not assume that every dead end needs the same power. Use the location guide to identify the area and the puzzle guide when you are stuck on an interaction rather than a fight.

Keep combat and puzzle work separate where you can: deal with the immediate threat, inspect the room, then try the next interaction. If a sequence fails, change one step and observe the result before restarting everything.

Choose side quests by availability and reward

For a first story clear, begin with an available activity that gives you something you intend to use. Check the Side Missions list for its unlock stage and the Charm Locations guide for the reward. This keeps a late-story reward from turning into an opening-hours shopping list.

Group nearby objectives into one visit. Finish the conversation or final interaction, check that the activity is complete, then review your equipment. Acquiring a charm and equipping or enhancing it are separate steps.

If your goal is full completion, review the remaining activities before entering the final sequence. Keep a separate save when the game warns that you are about to leave normal exploration, and use Ending & Postgame to choose between cleanup and a new run.

What to change when progress stalls

Missing a familiar input: review the current controls and simplify the sequence before changing your build.
Losing to the same attack: learn its tell and recovery, then test a different defensive response.
Arriving with little recovery: review the preceding route and avoid spending healing to force the same mistake repeatedly.
Finding no accessible detour: return to the named story objective and check the next unlock stage.
Overwhelmed by upgrade choices: choose one problem, one available improvement and one encounter to test it in.

Difficulty Guide: choose the challenge that fits your run

Direct answers

Frequently asked questions

What should I do first in Onimusha: Way of the Sword?

Check the controls, practice basic defense, then follow your current story objective. Review upgrades and nearby side content as those options become available.

Should I finish every side quest before moving on?

For a story-focused run, prioritize accessible rewards you will use. Some activities open later, so keep advancing the story when your next target is unavailable. Use the mission lists for a completion-focused run.

Is there a fixed Eye, Arm and Leg upgrade order?

Use the abilities and upgrades available on your save. Check story requirements and the obstacle you want to overcome before planning a purchase or return trip; this route does not require one universal Awakening order.

How is this different from the Walkthrough?

This page helps you choose what to prioritize. The Walkthrough points to specific missions, locations, puzzles and boss routes when you need to know where to go.