Throughout the story of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, you'll face a good number of bosses that must be defeated in order to progress. In this section of our guide, we'll give you some tips for taking on Ifuu, Fearsome Gale. You'll face this boss during Windswept Kennin-ji.
The first thing you need to recognize is his two main ranged attacks. The first begins with a horizontal blast of air aimed at the ground. It won't damage you, but it will automatically push you away. Immediately afterwards, Ifuu will slam the ground and send a shockwave toward you, which you can send back at him with Deflect. The second attack is faster and is usually used as soon as he creates some distance, after a short backward hop. He'll launch a horizontal wind blade that can also be sent back with Deflect.
Deflecting his wind attacks back at him is very effective for depleting his Stamina Gauge, and it's fairly easy to learn the timing of these Parries.
Now for his close-range attacks. When he's far away, he'll approach while dragging his axe along the ground. He'll attack the moment he reaches you, so pay attention and be ready to guard. At close range, he has a fairly quick two-hit combo that will probably catch you a couple of times. The most interesting attack is the strike where he briefly spins the axe before swinging: if you manage to Parry it, he'll swing the axe behind his back and immediately follow up with a second slash, so keep watching him. Naturally, he also has a grab attack that's fairly easy to dodge and gives you a good opportunity to deal Stamina damage.
He also has a leaping charge attack that, to be honest, always seems to catch us by surprise.
The boss has a second phase with three new attacks. As soon as it begins, he'll use a spiraling charge to close the distance. Stay calm, because you don't need to block the spinning approach itself, but the slash that follows: once he reaches you, he'll swing the axe to land the actual hit. Next is an attack that creates suction and pulls you toward him. The suction itself doesn't deal damage, but once you're next to Ifuu, he'll leap into the air and follow up with a melee strike that you need to dodge.
The third attack is the most dangerous and is performed while he's airborne. He'll hover for a few seconds before sweeping the area in front of him with a tornado. You can avoid it by getting far enough away, moving underneath or behind him, or, even better, shooting the protruding pack above his head with the Oni Bow. This will knock him to the ground and give you enough time to land several sword strikes.
