Chapters 21–23

21. In the Light of an Icy Moon

The biggest chapter left, and a whole new map: Arashiyama, walked end to end — garden, plaza, swamp, gorge and temple — across nine Spirit Mirrors, two real puzzles, two separate cannon emplacements you have to demolish by shooting explosives, the last of the seven Oni Armaments, and two boss fights. It is also the last chapter before the Point of No Return, so everything you do not finish here you finish before starting chapter 22 or after the credits.

• 1

  Before Arashiyama: Proficiency Level 5, and two glyphs at Kennin-ji

  The recommendation for this chapter is more specific than the usual "enhance your gear": your sword, Gauntlet and Clothing at Proficiency Level 5, which is the maximum, plus every Charm you have available. That is a bar, not a suggestion, and it is worth reading as one given what the chapter ends with. While you are still at Kennin-ji, activate the Oni Glyphs there — they reveal the Genma Notes for Ifuu and Burai, the pair you have just beaten. Both are among the 23 notes, and both are the kind that never appear on the map by themselves.

• 2

  The garden, the first Rift, and the stone monument puzzle

  Travel to Arashiyama by Spirit Mirror. In the northern garden, the northeastern corner has Iron, and the first Treasure of the map — a Power Stone — is nearby. Follow the objective marker into a Genma fight and a Rift with a Dohatsu-ten in it, then destroy the Malice-emitting plant to the north.

  The puzzle. The plaza has a stone monument that is lit up; use Oni Vision on it, and it tells you the way through. The answer is to walk through a rock southwest of the statue in the centre of the area — it is not solid.

• 3

  The Oni shortcut, and shooting crates into bridges

  The second puzzle is mechanical rather than hidden. Activate the first Oni Glyph to open a shortcut. On the first platform, shoot the crate blocking the way north. On the second platform there is a Treasure with an Oni Stone to the northwest — take it before you carry on, because the route changes shape as you shoot. From the northeastern steps, shoot the first crate again and then the second, and the two of them together form a bridge heading west. Activating the second Oni Glyph brings you out into the main Arashiyama area, at the Bamboo Path Spirit Mirror.

• 4

  The swamp, and Oni Armament: Still Water — the seventh of seven

  Deal with the Byakue roaming the swamp first. The northern section's southwestern corner has Tempered Iron; the central-northeastern section's northern edge has a Power Stone Treasure; the Swamp I Spirit Mirror is in the southeastern corner with another Power Stone Treasure beside it. Then go north through the cave, because that is where the last Oni Armament is. It is in the northeast corner of the Swamp of Arashiyama, and this is the seventh of seven, so taking it completes the silver trophy Oni Armory.

  After that, follow the marker up the slope. Destroy the Malice-emitting plant in the northwestern corner; climb to the elevated central area to seal another Rift and destroy another plant; go west along the path and break the Malice Barrier, which opens a shortcut; take the northeastern branch for a third plant; and the Swamp II Spirit Mirror is in the southeast. Once the Genma waves are done, the northeastern watchtower has a Tempered Iron chest, and ladders carry you on until a cutscene.

  • Oni Armament: Still Water — 7th of 7. North through the cave off the swamp, in the northeast corner of the Swamp of Arashiyama. Completes Oni Armory (silver).
• 5

  The first cannon, and the shopping area

  This stretch is linear and mostly fighting, with one thing to shoot at each obstacle. At the second bridge, shoot the explosives above the gate. Then, from the eastern side of the main gate, climb the ladder and destroy the explosives to the left of the gate — that is what takes the cannon out of the equation rather than the gate itself. Past the wreckage, go west at the intersection for a Treasure with Fine Silk Cloth. In the shopping area, head straight east toward the Malice blockage for a Leather chest, then climb the southern ladder and cross the rooftops to exit by cutscene.

• 6

  The temple, and the three Weavers holding its barrier

  The first house to the southwest has Cotton Cloth. Carry on south to the Temple Spirit Mirror, then use Oni Vision, which reveals that the barrier here is held by three Weavers rather than the one or two you have been dealing with. All three: the upper floor of the western house, which you reach by wall-running from the southeastern ladder; the loft of the northeastern building; and inside the building beside the final Malice Barrier. Along the way there are Treasures with an Oni Stone and Cotton Cloth, more wall-running sections and more Malice-emitting plants. The Mountain Trail Spirit Mirror comes after the waves of enemies at the gate.

• 7

  The second cannon, and Genma Note: Mohja

  Climb the Malice-covered eastern slope with a wall-run and shoot the explosives to the left of the gate. The Oni Glyph nearby is the one that matters for collection: activating it reveals a Treasure holding Genma Note: Mohja, one of the 23. Take the northern ladder branch and shoot the explosives to your left, then work round to the cannon's northern side by way of another Malice slope and wall-run. From the top of the spiral, shoot the explosives to the right of the cannon — the left-hand shots earlier were for the gates, this one is for the gun. The Nine-story Pagoda Spirit Mirror follows. Climb the surrounding slopes, sealing Rifts of regular enemies as they open, until you reach the top of the tower and a cutscene carries you to Hozukyo Gorge.

  • Genma Note: Mohja. In a Treasure revealed by the Oni Glyph by the gate on the mountain trail.
• 8

  Hozukyo Gorge and the village below it

  Activate the Hozu River Spirit Mirror. A wall-run section to the northeast has a Leather chest off it. The southern village is worth clearing house by house: a Power Stone in the southeastern house, Cotton Cloth in the one next door, Leather off the north-northeastern branch and Tempered Iron in the southwestern corner. The Togetsu-kyo Bridge Spirit Mirror is the last one before the first of the chapter's two bosses, so activate it.

• 9

  Boss: Sasaki Ganryu at Togetsu-kyo Bridge

  The fight is at the Togetsu-kyo Bridge Spirit Mirror, exactly where the route leaves you. How many times you have fought this man is disputed: Vandal titles this fight "Sasaki Ganryu (III)", the third meeting; PowerPyx's Boss Rematch list has only two Ganryu entries, plain and "(Altered)", and the trophy list has two Ganryu trophies — one for driving him off in the tutorial and one for this fight at Arashiyama — and nothing in between. The phase count differs too, so both descriptions are below; they are clearly of the same fight.

  Vandal's account. It opens like the previous Ganryu fight, with the same combos and the same grab attempts. Keep your distance to bait either the thrust or the jumping attack. The tentacle mechanic is the thing to learn: Parry the tentacles rather than Deflect them, and you cut them off, which does extra stamina damage. That stops working once enough damage is in — the tentacles can no longer be severed, and from then on he uses a fast combo more often and keeps attacking even through a successful Parry, so do not counter on reflex. After his second health bar he draws a sword infused with Malice and gains two attacks: a thrust into the ground that sends energy waves out along it, which you can Deflect back at him, and an extremely fast Unavoidable Attack that you will barely see coming most of the time. It reminds you the Onimusha transformation is there for emergencies.

  PowerPyx's account. Two phases with separate health bars, and it calls this the second-toughest fight in the game. It names the Oni fighting alongside him — Gioh — and attributes the tentacles to her rather than to Ganryu. Gioh strikes quickly with katanas and restores her stamina from red flower plants; when she does that, shoot her neck with the Oni bow. In phase two her purple tentacles open up a ground slam and a neck lashing, and she has a blue mouth grab. Ganryu's own additions are fast katana attacks with notably quicker thrusts, a leap into a slash, a Malice-wreathed white-glowing katana strike that can be lethal, and red sword-slash waves that travel across the ground. Its strategy is to deflect and counter with Issen, absorb purple souls when your stamina runs out to build Oni Awakening and Oni Power, and transform often.

  • Trophy: We Done Here? (bronze). "Defeat Sasaki Ganryu at Arashiyama."
  • Phase count: Vandal describes three stages (tentacles severable, tentacles strengthened, sword of Malice); PowerPyx describes two. The page gives both rather than splitting the difference.
• 10

  The last stretch to Horin-ji Temple

  Northeast from the bridge. A southwestern detour has Tempered Iron. Then a slope wall-run and a fight, the southeastern house for Leather, and northwest by slope to another wall-run, more Genma and a Malice Barrier to destroy — behind which is the final Arashiyama Treasure, holding Tamahagane. Climb the stairs to the north to reach the Horin-ji Temple Spirit Mirror. Activate it, because the arena is through the door and the chapter's second boss is in it.

• 11

  Boss: Dokyo, The Transgressor

  Her full title is Dokyo, The Transgressor, and the fight is in an expansive arena at Horin-ji Temple, at the end of the chapter. The shape of it: extremely straightforward but very long, because you cannot meaningfully damage her stamina gauge and she spends most of it at a distance. It is a chase — your job is to close the gap whenever you can and land a few quick hits, and then do it again.

  Her attacks. A projectile barrage from range. A chain fired in a straight line, followed by waves of fire erupting along the ground behind it. A stage where she floats while a giant mask circles her: fire charged bow shots at the masks to destroy them, then rush her while she is vulnerable, the main opportunity to do damage. A ring of kamikaze creatures around you — run straight at Dokyo, and they explode next to her instead of you. Later, fast teleport slashes straight at Musashi, and a red grabbing creature you dodge so that it flies into her. And an ultimate in which rocks fall into the arena and you have to take cover behind the one still intact, or die almost for certain; after it, use Oni Strength to throw the debris back at her. The other tip: use the Reflex Combo: Range ability to close the distance when she attacks.

  More tricks. Two phases, and a longer list of tricks: spiky balls you can deflect or dodge, electrified barriers, a golden circle with an explosive balloon that needs a bow shot, metal fire turrets, a giant spiky ball you can deflect straight back, doubles of herself with an electrified net between them, and mask copies that turn into explosive enemies. Phase two adds constant orb fire, a spiky-ball throw that has to be deflected twice rather than once, blinking in beside you with a staff swing, and a planet attack that shatters the arena's rocks and kills outright if you are not behind one still standing. The key tell for the doubles: turn on Oni Vision, and the real Dokyo glows gold.

  • Trophy: End This Madness (bronze). "Defeat Dokyo."
  • Rock attack, planet attack: one attack that destroys the arena's cover and is lethal if you are not behind an intact piece. It goes by both names; treat it as the same move.
  • Next: beating her ends the chapter and hands you over to chapter 22 — and to the Point of No Return prompt.

22. The Clash at Rendaino

The gate chapter, and by some distance the shortest. It has two steps in it: speak to Takamura, and beat Benkei. Everything else is what to do before you speak to Takamura — which is exactly right, because this is where the Point of No Return prompt appears and free roam stops. The chapter itself gives no collectibles.

• 1

  Stop here: the last free-roam checklist

  What this prompt does: free roam ends, and nothing up to it is missable. The practical safeguard — keep a manual save from before the point of no return, so that the remaining collectibles can be finished from it afterwards. That is advice worth taking even though the game returns you here after the credits; a save costs nothing and an assumption about a checkpoint costs a playthrough.

  What to finish first, in Eastern Kyoto: three Chance Encounters — "Hidden Treasure No. 5", "Ace Archer: Arashiyama" and "Restless Spirits" — five more Lion Dogs, and the Oni Glyph at Horin-ji Temple, which reveals Genma Note: Dokyo for the boss you have just beaten. In Arashiyama: whatever Lion Dogs are still out there. On upgrades: if you have been following the walkthrough you should have enough souls, materials and items to unlock virtually every enhancement by now.

  One numbering note again: these Lion Dogs are #17 to #21 in chapter order, while the Lion Dogs list numbers all 36 by map instead. Same animals, different index.

• 2

  Speak with Takamura to start the chapter

  That is the whole trigger. Nothing between it and the fight.

• 3

  Boss: Benkei at Rendaino

  Your second fight with him — the first was chapter 13, "Bloodbath on the Bridge", and the rematch list keeps the two apart as Benkei and "Benkei (Fully Armed)". Vandal's read is that this is largely the same encounter as before, with hammer strikes and thrown axes added, and that he should not give you much trouble given how much stronger you are by now. PowerPyx, writing for Carnage, does not share the confidence and gives the fullest move list of the two.

  PowerPyx's account. Two phases. Polearm strikes and thrusts throughout, with armour you can strip at the legs, shoulders and arms. From phase two he brings a second polearm with white-glowing attacks on it. The set pieces are a giant cannon throw, a volley of daggers you can deflect back at him, spinning axes that are safer dodged than deflected, kicks and grabs including a blue grab that needs specific timing, an explosive hammer-cannon charge, and lobbed fireballs. The two tips that matter most: when the cannon charges on his shoulder, shoot it immediately with the Oni bow; and when the phase-two cannon detonates, time a jump to get clear of the blast. Once his stamina is depleted you get a choice — take red souls for direct damage, or strip an armour piece instead.

  • Trophy: Baited by Benkei (bronze). "Defeat Benkei at Rendaino."
  • Where the two guides differ: Vandal names two additions (hammer strikes, thrown axes) and expects an easy fight; PowerPyx lists roughly ten distinct attacks and treats it as a full boss. PowerPyx is writing for the hardest difficulty, which explains some but not all of the gap.
• 4

  Why this and chapter 23 are really one block

  Beating Benkei triggers a cutscene that leads straight into chapter 23 — no menu, no free roam, no chance to go shopping. This is why "The Clash at Rendaino" counts as the final mission even though the chapter list has 23 entries and this is the twenty-second: from the game's side, the point of no return swallows both chapters at once.

23. The Way of the Sword

The last chapter is a climb: six ascending layers inside Shanaoh Castle, most of them short, each with a returning enemy or boss as its rung, and a handful of Treasures on the way up. What follows is the route and the fights and nothing else: this page does not describe the ending, and does not say what any of the chapter's cutscenes show. The trophy names are the game's own and are public in the trophy list, so they are given as they appear there.

• 1

  First layer: Daidara again

  There is an enhancement point at the starting area — use it, because this is the last of them you will pass with anything left to spend. An eastern branch has a chest with Iron. Beat a Genma, destroy a Malice Barrier, and the Spiral Stairs 1 Spirit Mirror is past them. Then Daidara, back from the early game. He brings almost nothing new beyond a jumping attack, and it is manageable. There is no separate trophy for beating him here: the bronze Get Stuffed was for the first time.

• 2

  Second layer: the Main Entrance, and a Byakue out of a Rift

  Ordinary fights through this one. A southern room has Cotton Cloth and Iron. The northeastern stairs lead to a Treasure with Fine Silk Cloth, and climbing further finds a chest with Whetstones and Iron. Activate the Main Entrance Spirit Mirror, then deal with the Byakue that comes out of the Rift here.

• 3

  Third layer: two Nue

  Take the Treasure with Tamahagane right at the entrance before anything else. Up the stairs is the Spiral Stairs 2 Spirit Mirror. This layer is brief: two Nue and you are done.

• 4

  Fourth layer: a Greater Nue, then the elevator

  The Suspended Hallway Spirit Mirror is here. There is only one room available, and a single Greater Nue in it — the same species as the chapter 12 boss that gave the bronze Dokyo's Fixation, but this one carries no trophy of its own. The elevator north is the way on.

• 5

  Fifth layer: the last Rift in the game

  Another compact one. A Rift with two waves of regular enemies and then a Dohatsu-ten; seal it and head north.

• 6

  The Keep: two Oni Stones, and the last chance to spend

  A Treasure here holds two Oni Stones, and these are the ones that complete your ability unlocks — which makes this Treasure the single most worthwhile pickup of the climb, not the throwaway its position suggests. Activate the Keep Area Spirit Mirror. Everything past it is the final fight.

• 7

  What to bring to the last fight

  PowerPyx rates Minamoto no Yoshitsune 8.5 out of 10 — by a wide margin the hardest and longest fight in the game, and the only individual boss rated that highly. The recommended quick-slot loadout, the most concrete preparation advice for any fight: Amulet of Introspection, which widens the action windows; Stimulant, which refills the Awakening Gauge; Sun-Dried Hozuki, which restores three health charges; a Greater Defense Talisman; a Greater Might Talisman; and Heavy Restoratives. If you took the Sun-Dried Hozuki from the Yasaka Shrine glyph back before chapter 20, this is what it was for.

• 8

  Boss: Minamoto no Yoshitsune — three health bars

  The structure: three phases, three health bars, where most bosses in this game have two. Mechanics only — nothing about what the fight means or what happens when it is over.

  Phase one. Play defensively and spend the phase learning the patterns rather than pushing damage, because the patience is what gets you through phases two and three. Two things to internalise: his sword combos continue after a successful parry, so hold guard until the sequence has actually finished rather than countering on the first parry; and when the sword comes to rest across his shoulders he is about to throw an almost instantaneous heavy attack. His grab is quick but forgiving to dodge. The jumping kick he uses at close range to disengage after a combo is the move that matters most to master. There are two Unavoidable Attacks: a diagonal sword raise into two diagonal slashes and a horizontal, which is easier to evade than to block; and an extremely fast circular slash that, if it lands, triggers a grab that steals your souls and pushes him into an empowered state. He also has a double-leg face kick, three-hit white-glowing slash combos, and a shoulder tap that signals a lightning-fast thrust, and the state the soul-stealing grab puts him into is wreathed in Malice.

  Phase two. It opens with a ground slam that has to be dodged rather than blocked, then a leap into a powerful explosion — also dodged, though a Reflex Combo can interrupt it. The sword combos come back with punches mixed in: a left-arm pull-back punch that will not continue into a combo if you dodge it, a faster sweeping punch, and a feinting grab that needs careful timing. The best damage window of the phase is the airborne sword assault: he gathers momentum in the air, delivers two slashes and then the jumping kick, so block the slashes and dodge the kick and you come out of it with a built Reflex Gauge. His arrows start as a fan-shaped volley and later become three successive tracking volleys, which can be deflected for counter-damage. He is much more mobile here on the ground and in the air, the sky arrows sometimes come from both sides at once, he gains a ranged hand-grab with a warp-in, and he has a reality-tearing attack called Shatter. The tactical advice for this phase is to lean on deflects rather than Issen — slower, but far more reliable — and ordinary attacks do not damage his stamina while he is armoured.

  Phase three, and the rule that changes. The hard rule: he can only be damaged while you are in Oni Awakening. Nothing else touches him. The souls generated by Issen attacks refill the Awakening Gauge, so the loop sustains itself. How hard it is, is disputed: Vandal calls this probably the easiest phase of an otherwise extremely long duel; PowerPyx makes it the point where you must deliberately chain Issen counters or parry repeatedly to fill the Blazing Gauge, transform the moment the Awakening gauge fills, land Issen counters while transformed, hold the R1 finisher until the gauge is nearly gone, and repeat — spending every quick-slot consumable if that is what it takes. Watch for his soul-absorption pull and the arena-sweeping slash that follows it: Onimusha Onslaught while in Oni Awakening triggers a special animation that does significantly more damage and stops the attack, or dodge or counter the sweep.

  • Trophy: Truly, Thank You (bronze). "Defeat Minamoto no Yoshitsune." It is the last of the 13 boss trophies, and he is #18 and last in the Boss Rematch order.
  • Where they disagree: Vandal calls phase three the easiest of the three; PowerPyx treats it as the hardest part of the hardest fight. They agree completely on the rule itself.
• 9

  Afterwards, in mechanical terms only

  What happens next, with nothing about the story attached to it. Finishing the first playthrough unlocks Carnage difficulty, and choosing "Continue" from the main menu puts you back at the point of no return before "The Clash at Rendaino" — the beginning of the previous chapter — for cleanup, and the game lets you carry on exploring from there toward 100% before you start New Game+.

  One collectible exists only on the far side of this fight: the twenty-third and last Genma Note, the one about Yoshitsune. Reload your save after defeating him and go to a well behind Rokudo-chinnoji Temple, in eastern Kyoto, where an additional Treasure unlocks. It means the bronze Genma-ologist cannot be finished before the credits, no matter how thorough you have been. Everything else about the post-game — New Game+ and what survives it, Carnage, the Boss Rematch arena and how to sweep up the 275 collectibles — is on the post-game page.

Chapters 21–23 Completion

✅ Before Moving On to the Post-Game...