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 Sasaki Ganryu, whom you'll fight during The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu.
Sasaki is still effectively part of the game's extended tutorial, so fortunately he shouldn't pose too much of a challenge. The main danger is that he feints before some of his attacks, which can make you raise your guard too early. However, he generally uses short combos with a slight delay before his strikes connect, making it relatively easy to time a Parry or Deflect and follow up with a couple of attacks. Be careful, though, because he'll counterattack after your third hit.
Always remember that unarmed attacks must be dodged rather than blocked. This is particularly important when dealing with his jumping attack, which has two different variations: if he jumps higher, he'll use a kick; if he stays lower, he'll attack with his weapon. Once you completely deplete his Stamina Gauge, you'll be able to perform a Break Issen, but the fight won't be over yet. He'll then gain a grab attack following his jumping kick, which once again must be dodged rather than blocked.
Other than that, watch out for sword clashes. Remember that if the clash begins with a horizontal strike, you should immediately answer with a vertical attack, and vice versa. If your blades lock together, rapidly press the attack buttons to overpower him. It won't take long before you can finish the fight with a second Break Issen.
