Onimusha: Way of the Sword has a way of constantly making you prove just how good of a sword fighter you are. Much like Dohatsu-ten, the fight against Benkei is all about whether you can beat your opponent in a straight-up sword-to-sword battle.
Benkei Boss Fight Guide in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
This is how Benkei will sit back before his unavoidable attack.
Your first priority in this fight is to destroy Benkei’s armor. That can be a tough task because, obviously, you also have to make sure you don’t get hit while doing it. There are two different ways you can approach this fight, but no matter which one you choose, Benkei’s armor needs to come off first. Once his armor is removed, he actually starts taking damage fairly quickly and the fight ends not too long after. The real challenge is surviving long enough to break through that armor.
The first way you can approach the fight is by meeting Benkei head-on. Deflect his attacks, Reflex Dodge, parry, and do everything you can to wear down his armor. Whenever you deplete his stamina, target a piece of armor that’s still intact and focus your damage there. This method can definitely test your patience because Benkei’s armor is sturdy and he won’t exactly give you much breathing room. But if you’re tenacious enough and keep applying pressure, you’ll eventually break through and start dealing normal damage.
The second way you can approach the fight is a little faster, but it’s also more dangerous. If you create some distance and use your Oni Bow, you can specifically target the pieces of armor that are still intact and break them much more quickly. However, this can leave you in a vulnerable position because using the Oni Bow gives Benkei a chance to close the distance. I only recommend taking this approach if your Oni Bow is upgraded enough to deal worthwhile damage.
Using the Oni Bow to destroy Benkei’s armor.
During Benkei’s first phase, he has several attacks you need to watch out for. One of them has him lean back before swinging his staff around at you. This attack is always immediately followed by an unavoidable move, even if you successfully deflect the first attack. Benkei’s timing becomes much more predictable after a few attempts, but the best parry timing I found for the unavoidable attack is when he’s roughly three-quarters of the way through his swing. You also need to be especially careful during his first phase because if Benkei lands an unavoidable attack on you, he’ll absorb the souls you drop and immediately advance to his next phase.
Start of Benkei’s first unavoidable attack.
During his second phase, Benkei becomes slightly more aggressive and his combos get longer. His unavoidable attack also goes from a two-part sequence to a three-part sequence. He’ll lean back, swing the first unavoidable attack, and then leap into the air before bringing two weapons down for the second unavoidable strike. Keep in mind that the second unavoidable attack will still happen even if you successfully parry the first, so don’t relax after that initial parry.
Defeating Benkei is another major step forward in the game. His defeat begins Yoshitsune’s realization that Musashi is actually much more powerful than he may have originally thought.
As you continue climbing toward the big bad, you’ll eventually come back around to someone connected to an earlier fight: Ifuu’s brother, Burai.
Looking for your next action game? Check out our Everything You Need to Know About Nodusfall.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is available now on PC via Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.
