Yoshitsune in Onimusha Way of the Sword is worthy of a final boss fight, spread over three gruelling phases, with an especially tanky third phase where he only takes damage when you are in Awakened form. However, like in all bosses in Onimusha WotS, he has a well-defined moveset, and once you figure that out, the boss does become much less intimidating and much more manageable as you keep an eye out for those visual and verbal cues to separate out attacks to counter, and attacks to avoid.
In this guide, I have put up all moves for the boss across all 3 phases, what to do for each of the moves, and general preparations and strategy for taking on and defeating Yoshitsune in Onimusha Way of the Sword.
Preparations before taking on Yoshitsune
Consumables – All those consumables which you have either been ignoring, or hoarding up for a fight worthy of their use, now is the time to take all those out. These are what I would strongly recommend to equip:
- Stimulant – It gradually fills up the Awakening meter, a key requirement in Phase 3.
- Sundried Hozuki – Partially refills the Hozuki Pouch with 3 uses.
- Mirror of Revival – Revives you once if you die.
- Greater Defense / Greater Might Talisman – Increases defense / attack for a long duration.
- Heavy Restorative – Gradually restores health for a long duration
Oni Armaments – Switch between these depending on your priority at that point:
- The Two Celestials – in phase 1 or late phase 3 when you want to preserve health potions, or have run out of those
- Earth Shakers – Especially useful in phase 3 when you feel you can take out his balance stamina bar, do a break Issen, and get those precious Purple Souls.
- Still Water – In Phase 3, as the attacks that you land help fill up the Awakening Meter.
Yoshitsune Phase 1
The objective for you here has to be to end with max heals left, and preferably with high stamina and a full Awakening Meter for Phase 2. Let’s look at each of his attacks in this phase, starting with all his pink sword attacks.
3 Phase Pink Sword Slash attacks
He will have two swipes, followed by a third one where he kind of does a He-Man pose, holds the sword with his two hands, and then does a Spinning Slash. Dodge the first two, and Issen the third. If you are close to him, a Reflex Dodge on the 2nd attack opens up an opportunity to attack right away. You can also Issen the first two moves, just that I found the third pretty telegraphed and the easiest to Issen, hence. He sometimes does these attacks 2-3 times in a row, which is great for us, because this is his most punishable attack.
1 Pink Sword Spinning Slash
Sometimes he will just do the third attack of the combo and leave it at that. Nothing else changes, and the Issen opportunity is there here as well. Though, if you dodge that attack since you are used to dodge -> dodge -> Issen for the above 3 Pink Sword attack combo, that’s fine.
1 Red Sword attack
This one is critical to deflect, and is likely going to be the one attack that you will initially have a hard time getting it right, since you can misread it for the above two attacks. If you miss this, he will grab and beat out a good health chunk from you; so watch for the signs – a visual cue ‘Here it comes’.
Grab attack
This is the other move that you are likely to have a problem with, since the tell is very confusing, unlike other boss fights. What you have to watch out for is a blue flash, and then immediately press the dodge button. If you fail, again, you might lose a good chunk of your health.
Other chain attacks
He will tap on his shoulder, spread his arms, and then strike you in a flash. The moment you see him tap his shoulder, you should be ready to parry, this will be a chain of 2-4 attacks, and all can be parried / deflected. He will get staggered at the end, and is a good time to get in a few of your own attack combos.
Sometimes, he will also hold up his sword to defend all attacks, and that is the time to do the (Triangle + Circle) combo to break armor – and deal stamina damage.
Don’t be afraid to use either the Two Celestials if you want save your health potions, or Earth Shakers if you see an opportunity to wipe out the remainder of his stamina bar. If you have your Awakened Meter full, use it very early in the fight, so that your later hits refill this Meter by the end of Phase 1.
Yoshitsune – Phase 2
Easily the most difficult phase – since Phase 3 is essentially the exact same moves, this will have Yoshitsune jumping all over the place in what looks like a pretty confusing and difficult to discern pattern. However, that’s not the case. The way to look at his moves here is – a very clear and consistent starting move for this phase, and then 3 types (or directions of his jump – either backward, left or right). Here is a simple and easy breakdown of all his moves, and what you should do for each of those.
Starting Move
The Phase 2 starting move is always the same. A slam, followed by a stomp. If your stamina meter is full, you can simply block both – it will take out a chunk of your stamina, but not damage your health. You can do this for the first couple of times till you get the measure of this attack – after that it becomes easier to dodge both the initial jump and then the stomp
Arrows
If he jumps backward, then he will first shoot a set of arrows at you, and then a 3 sets of arrows that will reflect back from the pillars in the boss arena at you. You should be able to deflect them back for health and stamina damage. The 3rd set comes at a much faster pace after the 2nd set, so keep that in mind when deflecting. Be ready though, he generally transitions into the next moveset very quickly after this.
The Pink Sword Slashes (same as Phase 1)
These remain exactly the same as the 1st Phase – but here, he will, in most cases, stop after the 2nd slash, and not move into the final 3rd spinning slash. Try to reflex doge and get your attack through after the 2nd slash; since this is a moveset you would be most comfortable with – having seen a lot of it in Phase 1.
Jumps Towards the Left
Here, if you see him land with a flip, that means its the dive + stomp attack. If you see him land directly without the flip, he will either do a thrust that can be parried, or a kick that can be dodged or blocked.
Jump Towards the Right
If you see him jump towards the right, he will either follow up with two slashes that can be deflected, or a jump back into the arrow combo. When engaged in melee combat, you will get opportunities for Blade Barrage, and Break Armor, so take those whenever the game offers them.
Grab Attack
The most difficult attack, even more so than the 1st phase. When you are up close, and dishing damage, or when he has just finished his slashes or thrust attacks, he will mix in a grab. The tell remains the same – a blue glowing flash to then deal damage.
Swipes
Occasionally he will pull out two unarmed swipes, one horizontal, and one vertical. Reflex Dodge them to get in a few attacks of your own after this.
Yoshitsune Phase 3
With Phase 3, you are almost at the end of your ordeal, and for the first couple of times, you can treat this as practice for clearing Phase 2 in subsequent fights with minimal damage, since the moves remain exactly the same – no change whatsoever.
What does get added is 1 move – and how you handle that is central to how quickly you can complete this fight. This is because, in this phase, Yoshitsune will take health damage only when you are in Awakened Form. What that means, is you have these 3 options:
- Chip away at his stamina bar till you can perform a Break Issen, and fill up your Awakening Meter
- Counter that specific Phase 3 move (I have explained it below)
- Use Stimulant to gradually fill up the Awakening Meter
The new move here is when he will start pulling you towards him. Hold L2 to absorb souls and fill up your Awakened Meter. In the end, Yoshitsune will do the Iai Slash equivalent of Nioh; or the Unsheathe Ash of War equivalent of Elden Ring. The moment his sword glows, is the moment you either deflect, or dodge. Do this successfully and your souls, and more importantly, your Awakened Meter stays intact; botch this and you take health damage and your Awakened Meter drops; while Yoshitsune’s stamina, which you have been chipping away steadily, fills up.
Once in Awakened Form, the final R1 will take off a BIG chunk of Yoshitsune’s health, and with a fully upgraded Gauntlet, it should take not more than 2 or max 3 such attacks. Hence, it is so critical that you enter this phase with a fully Awakened Meter, so that you can get the 1st attack in right away.
Final Tips & Things to Keep in Mind for the Yoshitsune boss fight
- If in Phase 1 or 2, Yoshitsune absorbs souls, his sword will turn red, and his damage will be amped up. Don’t worry too much about this, the movesets, and what is to be done in each remains unchanged.
- Play Phase 1 aggressively, but in Phase 2 – it has to be a pure defensive play. Do not get greedy, only land attacks where you are confident. React to boss moves, and let him lead the fight.
- Finishing Phase 1 with max potions intact, and Phase 2 with Awakened Meter intact has to be your goal in these phases.
Hopefully this helps finish off Yoshitsune, to then decide whether you are up for another playthrough of this fantastic game, in the merciless Carnage Mode.
