Onimusha Way of the Sword puts you in the shoes of Miyamoto Musashi in Kyoto during the Edo period, hands you a sword, and then lets you do a lot of things with it that are the staple in action games – blocking, parrying, and deflecting – but there is one that is unique to Onimusha games, and which, when pulled off perfectly gives you a feeling of being a master swordsman like no other – and that is Issen.
However, like in all high risk and high reward tradeoffs, pulling this attack is not the easiest. In this guide, I have explained exactly how to master this move, when to execute, and when to avoid this in a fight in Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
How To Issen in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
You execute the Issen ability when you press (light or heavy attack) the moment the enemy attack lands. Think of it as an alternative to the reflex dodge – which you do by pressing (circle). Here, you don’t just dodge, but you move aside and execute your own devastating counter-attack on the enemy. It is difficult – since muscle memory from playing so many souls-likes will have you default dodge, or, if you are used to parries – try and go for either a parry or a deflect.
This ability is available right from the tutorial, so there are no additional unlocks in the skill tree required – just practice for both the timing, and judging the right move to execute Issen.
Which Enemy Move to Issen
Telegraphed, single-hit attacks from enemies are the best moves to Issen. The game does have enemies with at least one telegraphed move – bosses in Onimusha WotS will have one where they jump from a distance with an overhead sword slam; and so do common mob enemies – where they run towards you with swords raised to deliver one blow.
Multi-hit combos are best avoided as are the red attacks – since they can only be parried or deflected.
What is Chain Issen
Chain Issen allows you to finish off multiple enemies with Issen – but what it requires is for you to press the (light or heavy attack) the moment your first Issen strike lands, to then take down the next enemy. You can extend this to include more enemies as part of skill tree unlocks in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The window to get it right here is even tighter, and it does not help that the camera zooms in as you land your Issen. There is a visual cue, though – your sword glows white. When timed correctly, this can wipe out entire mobs in a flash, and, of course, looks incredibly sleek and super satisfying.
Chain Issen unlocks once you get 2 Power Stones, and can be obtained pretty early – though I would recommend upgrading other parts of the skill tree first with the Power Stones you get, and then come around to Chain Issen.
What is Break Issen
This is essentially the hit that you pull off once you have completely depleted the stamina bar of the enemy, and wipes out a nice big chunk of the enemy health, at the same time, releasing a lot of souls of all types for you to absorb.
Against bosses, it gives you an option targeting a specific part of the body, with these tradeoffs:
- the red-colored one wipes out a bigger chunk of the enemy health, but does not give any souls in return
- the purple- colored one does relatively lesser damage, but gives you yellow and blue souls in return.
I have often gone for the purple colored one instead of red – this gives health and your special attack refill – especially useful in frantic boss fights where you just don’t get a window to down a health potion flask. However, if the enemy health bar is almost depleted and you are feeling good about your chances to finish him off, that would be the time to select the red one.
