[section=Preface]

These notes are based on yorisiro's latest run. This guide is also dedicated to Normal difficulty.

Over the time, this guide will be updated adding different route that will help most runners to finish the run. This game is very easy to get familiar with the map layout compared to the first two. It's very straight forward to understand.

Onimusha 3 is much lighter version than the first two. Because your movement and combat is much more agile. The Issen mechanic in this game also became slightly easier than the first two. Especially with the chain timing and how much it could travel across the room. Onimusha 3 also brings back the upgrade route, mostly on Samanouske's side for game's progression. Upgrading weapons with Jacques is situational. You can always use the souls to upgrade armor for not dying so quickly.

Regarding bosses and enemies

• Take advantage of Onimusha 1 weapons
• Difficulties on Normal vary bosses behaviour and enemy spawns
• If worse comes to worse when failing Issen. Feel free to fight them normally
• Absorb the souls, if you got hit a lot or running low in magic
• Take advantage of your Oni form. When first starting the run for the first time
• The boss tutorial video will be released eventually as I start running this game

Onimusha Mode Much like Onimusha 2 enemies will release large purple souls when they die. Instead of entering supercharged state at the fifth absorption. You press R3 instead or N in keyboard to enter the mode.

Movement This game promotes having both Tank and Free controls. Thanks to that, this game has super fast movement technique. This can be done by pressing the D-pad repeatedly while tilting the left stick. See the demonstration below. (Many Thanks to yorisiro)

Issen chain You can't cancel charge attack in this game. The timing of chains does not change depending on the enemy/boss. The timing changes depending on the weapon. There are 3 different motions for each weapon. In order to chain, hit the attack button aiming at the moment when the character stops moving. The Issen chain in this game can be very handy on long movement section.

Ako A Tengu that is able to teleport between time, switching between both Samanosuke and Jacques during gameplay. She can also carry items the two give her, for the other one to use. Also, when they are found in the game, Ako can also wear different types of dresses that have different effects, which can help a lot for soul route.

[section=Segment I : Brainstern]

• Honnōji Head straight to the temple and beat Ranmaru using Onimusha mode
• Jacques Make sure to dash for cancelling recovery animation animation from P90
• Samanouske You are free to pick up Onimusha 1 weapon for back up
• Make your way to Tenso pick up
• There are two ways to approach Zaghat fight either you use Shippu for wind magic or parry issen chain
• Get back to the building and pick up the key as you go through the staircase
• 3-5 Genma will def blocks your way parry issen for upgrade
• In case of a back up. Get the free souls
• Brainstern: Break both arms by using one tenso magic and absorb it souls. You need to finish the boss with Issen for more souls to afford level 2 Tenso after sewers section

[section=Segment II : Jacques - Marcellus]

• Issen Gor or whip it
• Issen the next 2 zombie wave for fast movement
• Trigger Samanouske cutscene before fighting zombies
• Change the camera into the mini hallway to make more zombies spawn if cleared
• Go right and follow Oni bugs to get Medallion at the end of the area then head back and place the medallion in the monument to receive the Enja
• Head back to that second open area with the plans that block your way. Whip them with Enja to burn them, and then get the Door Key. Issen the rolling demon that stun locks you from getting them
• Go back to the monument, and take care of the plants to your left. Keep moving and you'll come across a gate. Use the key to open the gate. Head straight to the main building at the north to face Marcellus

[section=Segment III : Samanouske and the Boulder push]

• Backtrack to the subway station, and then pick up the key that's lying near the entrance. You can use it on the door that is right in front of you.
• Push the slime away that blocks your path to control room kick it
• Pull the lever to activate the power then go outside to lower the bridge.
• Take Ako Red Vest: From the door take a left and follow the hallway down to a red chest along with the stone that is required for vest to be avaliable
• Go to the locked door the code is 3:1:4
• Go through the door, and down the ladder. Ignore fish demons. Keep moving forward and you'll eventually reach another ladder with the crank.
• Before heading back to room you are free to solve the puzzle that gives you magic jewel
• Head back to the previous room to put the crank into the machine (ladder climb), and activate the power generator
• Before you use Iron Handle, shoot arrow to get another stone for Ako's red vest. Use the stone to have access for red vest.
• Very important Kill two slime with Issen and get the souls for one bar. If the third one is nearby chain it to get +1000 which should net you 2 bar in total thanks to Ako's red vest.
• Head outside and lower the bridge. Cross over to the save point, and then head up the ladder to drop the giant boulder.
• Very important for soul wise route. Keep pushing the boulder with Michelle and keep blocking Zaghat's attack until second one comes. The moment they try to attack you block issen chain. Do that about 3 times then you should have 5 soul bar at this point
• On the next room ignore Zaghat (or kill it) and interact with the Soldier

[section=Segment IV : Jacques - Heihachi]

• Head into the shop with the two tigers in the front
• Talk to the kid near the entrance to the town and then talk to the man selling watermelons to exchange it with the kid by using the Item menu.
• Use the Oni bug to glide to the top level. Drop down and get the door key. Go outside
• Head to where the man selling the watermelons was, and keep going to the next door. Get through the narrow passageway Ignoring everything in your sight. Use the key to get inside the blacksmith's shop. Go inside and you'll get the Raisen. There is also free full hp restore pick up for back up here.
• Go to the harbour and open the sealed door. Retrieve the books in red box and Samanosuke will show up. Head outside go towards the harbour.
• Gor blocks your way. Knock it down with Raisen magic grab.
• Heihachi: Luckily he is one of those bosses that you can parry into Issen. He should die in 10 hits
• Once you are on the ship, head inside the ship and down. You'll have to open a treasure chest behind Guildenstern frame that will release a little demon (RNG time). Fight it to get a key into the control room.

[section=Segment V: Samanouske - Notre Dame]

• Mandatory: Upgrade your tenso into Lv2
• Head to the altar. On the right side of the altar, you'll see a switch. Use it and you'll be able to get into the depths of the church
• Go through the door and you'll be in the first trap room. There are blades that circle the entire length of the room, but it's easy enough to spearhead thanks to your movement. -Follow one of the blades closely to get to the other side of the room, where a switch for the door in the middle of the room resides. Use it to open that door.
• Inside the middle room, avoid all the enemies and pick up the document that's located at the apex of the two paths. A Dark Charm
• Head back to the statues, and stand in front of the one that has only one set of candles burning. This should be the first one you run into.

[quote=Kuga Puzzle]Absorb the darkness like you would souls, until light shines from the statue. Run quickly to the next statue, which is directly opposite the first statue. The next statue is the one beside the first one, and the last one is opposite the third one. Once you have done that, the statue holding the white orb will grant you the Kuga, a new weapon for Samanosuke, which you can use to open the sealed door underneath Notre Dame.[/quote]

• While you are making your way to the sealed door, Issen the army of bazu for souls. You can absorb the souls if you don't feel comfortable about your current soul count.
• Behind this sealed door is another trap room, this time with two blades following each other very closely. Run to the other side of the room to get a Rope Ladder.
• Go back to the room with the two paths. Use the ladder rope and go down to get a Gold Skull. Do not kill enemies yet.
• If you can chain I seen everyone in your sight for faster movement.
• Equip Tenso before you use the skull in the second trap room to unlock the door.
• Two Doldow. Luckily, you can parry Issen them. Very important for currency. Get through Time folder after you kill them.

[section=Segment VI: Samanouske & Jacques - Underwater Temple]

This is a very long segment so it will be divided into three parts

Part I: Hyosai

• Head into the next room. You will find Teleportation Mirror. This mirror is used to warp Ako to different locations, as well as giving her items to swap between Samanosuke and Jacques
• Before going to Jacques, get the yellow disc and give it to Ako so he can enter the yellow tower
• You can't afford to mess up Issen chain here. Very important for Jacques to go fast.
• Use the Oni bug to fly over the water. Enter the room with all the neat little inventions, and pick up the Book and Ancient Slab that are near the pedestal that's guarded by energy

[quote=Math Puzzle]Head down the elevator in the same room. Don't worry about the guy who is spawning.Use the Ancient Slab to solve the puzzle. The solutions you can use are either "5 x 4 + 3 + 1 - 2 = 22" or "4 x 5 + 3 + 1 - 2 = 22." It doesn't matter which one.[/quote]

• The right path will release an Oni bug, where you can get the Left Broken Horn.
• With the Broken Horn, go back to where the water resides, and use it to drain the water. Switch to Samanosuke
• Head back to the same room with Samanosuke for blue disc
• Genma Ranmaru: The way this fight works is bit strange, but you can circle around him so he can randomly whiffs with his attack or fire ball that gives you free Issen chains. You are free to magic spam against him as well
• Give blue disc to Jacques and go to the blue tower room
• Another wave another big cash chain issen until you kill the ogre.
• Make your way up the stairs and into the next room. Issen the wisp here, and then use the Oni bugs to cross the chasms
• Continue onwards and use the last Oni bug to get the last Jacques' weapon Hyosai

Part II: Chigo

• Go back to previous room and open the seal. Do not enter that room but go back and switch to Samanouske.
• Go the room where Jacques opened the seal and get the Oni bug wings then go upstairs smash the boxes and retrieve the Right Broken Horn. Use this item on the device near the entrance to the room.
• You should clear 2xZagat and 1xDoldow spawn with issen for safety soul route
• 3 red wisps = 3 big souls. Issen 2 of them and magic the last one. You should get 6 bar at that point then you are safe to unequip red vest since you completed the soul route.
• Give Oni bug wings to Jacques
• Go back to the Genma Ship and use the Oni bug you first discovered to make your way back. Simply use the Oni bug to get to the top of the ship, and you'll notice that the area is the same as where you picked up your new weapon. Once you are in the room with the pillars, use the Oni wings to revive the Oni bug, and fly over. Grab the Power Crystal, and all the machines will cease to function.
• Backtrack to the main hub. You see a Dongorr and Zombie Axe wave. Chain Issen to kill Dongorr then Issen the rest of the wave.
• Give Samanosuke the Power Crystal and make your way to the same room
• You can try to kill more red wisp If you did not finish the route yet.
• Use the newly powered elevator to go to the lower level to get Samanosuke's last weapon Chigo.

Part III: Boss

• Once you have done that, go through the yellow corridor go back to where the math problem was
• Unseal the door and get Red disc. Switch and give the disc to Jacques
• Guard dog: RNG factor depends if you have Onimusha form ready. The fight ends if one of the helmet breaks. It's much recommended to break the thunder one. You use uppercut attack a lot to half break both of the helmet. If you have the Oni form transform and hit the magic 3 times then both of the helmet should break. Otherwise fish for Issen and keep damaging the thunder helmet till it breaks.
• Once you have defeated the dog, the scene will shift back to Samanosuke. Equip Kuga then go through the same red corridor

[section=Segment VII: The Boulonge Zoo]

Part I: Michelle

• Go to the room where Samanouske went to Underwater Temple using Time folder.
• You fight against two Doldow. Parry Issen them or 2x grenade then pick up the item in the hidden room.
• Once in the zoo, walk up the staircase. You should see a save point to your right. Head to the left and over the bridge. Go into the building and continue to the left, since you can't open the sealed gate in front of you. Head to the aquarium. There are four switches here. Use the second one which will give you a key.
• Head back to the zoo entrance. Get to the river and onto the boat, and use the key.
• Use the one shot grenade set up that kills both of the genma
• Head into the building. From the door, move bit forward on the left edge then start throwing 4 grenades to damage the plant enough then shoot till it dies.
• Go past through the door then you'll find Henri and Samanosuke. You can either fish for Issen or spam grenade. Use the lever after that.

Part II: Samanouske

• Go back to the sealed gate that you have encountered before as Michelle to pick up the key. Don't forget to upgrade Kuga first.
• Go back to the same room where you fought the big plant as Michelle. Open the locked door that is guarded by Doldekko
• Go through till the end of Hallway
• Guildenstern: Use Kuga magic at the initial dps. Switch to Tenso once you get it. He will start summoning wisp. The whole idea of this fight is that you push guildenstern slightly far from you before he spawn the wisp. Align yourself properly before you procced to chain Issen. The perfect pattern if you get hit to guildenstern twice with Tenso uppercut which is 3 critical hit. Make sure to dodge the AoE when he tries to send you back to the start of the fight. The moment he fails, you can final blow him.

[section=Segment VIII: Mount St. Michel]

Part I: Red eye stone

• You'll start off with Samanosuke here. Use a Teleportation mirror.
• As Jacques you fight Heihachi again. He is the same as your first encounter
• Once you beat Heihachi, kill the demon bird that is holding Oni bug Use Raisen Magic

[quote=Flame Torch puzzle]Equip Enja and light the four torches. It's ideal to light one of the two closest ones to the moving thing in order to run in there quickly after lighting them. Get in and get the Key and then light the torch in there at the right time for it to stop itself and let you out[/quote]

• Go to the other side of this area and go in the door. Leave the garden and use the Oni bug to get to the next platform. Switch to Samanosuke and teleport the key you found.
• Use the key on the door at the end of the road. At the end of this path, you'll fight a giant plant. Take it out with Issen or magic and open the chest behind it to get the Sun Crest.
• Gor blocks your way easiest way is to pick kuga and slice it in a half with your magic
• Use the crest to open up the door to your left. Get the Red Stone Eye here and send it back to Jacques
• Open the gate with Jacques and place the Red Stone Eye on the statue

[quote=Moon Star Sun Puzzle]You need to step on the tiles in the correct order, and you can only walk straight or to your side. No diagonal movement.The first puzzle goes "Star, Sun, Moon". The second puzzle is "Sun, Moon, Star", and the third puzzle is "Moon, Star, Sun". Be Careful on using fast movement here yet to confirm if the pattern is random or consistent[/quote]

• Take the stairs up and smash the box to reveal the Oni bugs. Switch back to Samanouske

Part II: Time travel

• Go through the yellow door that was once unreachable. Inside you'll be in some sort of lab. Go into the black hole in the middle of the room.
• You're back in an alternate version of Paris
• The only mandatory kills are Giant plant and slime that block your way. Get the souls if necessary
• Make your way up to the same spot where you beat Brainstern. You'll find a door key
• Switch to Jacques, along with the door key. Go to the locked door that was on the second level after the bridge. Use the Oni bugs to reach it. Use the door key here, and you'll meet Heihachi once again, and he'll give you another door key.
• Go down to the train area, and use the new door key to unlock the locked door. Pick up the Plant Seeds from the floor, and then approach the right wing of the garden. There's a place to use the plant seeds here.
• Switch to Samanosuke and crawl down the tree. Smash the boxes here to get the Gear that you need to open the centre gate. Switch back to Jacques and give him the gear as well.
• He will open the gate in his time. Go inside and Ignore the giant plant here. Go inside the left door to find a passageway downstairs. He will be trapped.

Part III: Saving Jacques and beating the guard dog one last time

• You'll have to use Michelle for this next sequence. Head inside and defeat all the enemies here. Since you can’t progress without Henri at your back. Luckily, you can skip the second wave by going past the giant plant. Kill the enemies with a grenade as you make your way to Samanouske’s checkpoint.

• In this next sequence, Henri will input some codes, and you have to mimic what he presses. There's a time limit here. The code sequence will always be the same. Up, Down, Triangle, X, O, Down, Up, Square, Left, X, X, Right

• Once you're finished this. You'll have to fight that 'guard dog' again. This fight is the same, but the only difference is that he has a lot more energy. This tweet should cover everything on how you approach this fight

This marks the end of Teleportation mirror mechanic.

[section=Segment IX: Jacques - Azuchi Castle]

• Chain Issen to kill purple Gorr that is holding Oni bug to get to the other side

[quote=Auto-Scroll Iceberg]The next sequence is pretty cool and straight forward. You'll be using the Oni bugs to fly from iceberg to iceberg. Soon enough you'll have to choose between two paths. Take the top-right path, since it gives you a better item. Once you have finished this swing-a-thon.[/quote]

• Inside this building, demons will continually respawn. Run all the way to the last room by using the red bug to open the door. You can skip this whole sequence with Black Vest route. However, that route is not optimised yet.
• There's a blue bug inside here that will open blue doors. Ignore the closest blue door and backtrack as far as you can. Use the red bug again to go into the first room, and then into the blue door here to grab another bug.
• Head back to the last room to use the blue bug on the door. Jump down into the hole and kill the two demons here using double Hayosai magic and double Raisen, then use the bug to get into the next sequence.
• Ignore the horde of Genma warriors and get straight to the castle.
• Go up the elevator and go through the window. You fight Marcellus again. He is still the same. It's highly recommended to use Enja against him to interrupt his extra attacks. Once you are done equip Raisen.
• Go into the window and then up the stairs, and prepare yourself for fight against Vega Donna
• Wait for her to attack and then either side step and counter or use a couple of Issen attacks. She does have a certain pattern to her as well. If she jumps on the railings, knock her down with Raisen magic. Once you are finished with her, go up.

[section=Segment X: Samanouske - The Eiffel Tower]

• Head into the door by pressing the red switch right beside. Once you are in, beat the genmas and press another red switch, and then one near the ladder, and then climb up.
• This sequence is a chore. You'll have to make your way up the tower while avoiding the time folds that randomly appear on the level.
• To play safe kill off all the enemies before progressing, instead of trying to run by them
• You don’t have to fight Brainstern. Instead, destroy the power core damage it with kuga magic first before you approach it. (From the left corner of the room. Hopefully you have Onimusha mode ready) and get the right exit.
• More stairs. It's pretty much the same idea. Although, there are more enemies to deal with. Once you reach the balcony, hit the switch near the elevator to activate it (equip Tenso and kill Doldekko with your magic attack) . Once you get to the top, you'll have to fight Genma Ranmaru one more time. Same techniques as before. Just watch out for his new unblockable attack. There are 5 frames for grace. The "Issen" timing of the accumulated attack is to aim at the moment when the attack comes out, that is, just before Ranmaru moves.

[section=Segment XI: Honnōji Incident]

• It's pretty much the start of the game, but with Jacques instead of Samanosuke. Head to the same place as before. you get to fight Nobunaga.

[quote=Jacques vs Nobunaga]The strategy is pretty funny. You go full aggressive against him. He will keep blocking and eventually tries to parry Issen you. You can actually time that and counter him with your Issen chain and keep doing that till he dies. Use magic if necessary[/quote]

[quote=Samanosuke vs Nobunaga]Nobunaga’s first phase will pretty much die in 5 cycle from 3 hits of regular attack followed by his special attack. However, Issen chain is much faster, so go for that instead since Nobunaga can’t hurt you and every single hit that he attempts to land ends up getting parry animation which is free Issen.

Nobunaga will transform into his Genma form. This is the hardest fight in the game to get through fast. Because, you have a time limit to damage him in the first phase. Your special attack is one of the most reliable ways to damage him. If you get enough Issen hits, then you get to skip his phase 2 and even kill him before he does his things in phase 3.

Final split once you strike the last blow against him.[/quote]

[section=Conclusion]

Hope that serves as an idea of how routing this game works. Much thanks to hinge and yorisiro for making this happen.

Use discord to have an answer for the majority of the questions that you might have.

Will be listing adjustments made to the guide here.

** 6/3/2020 ** - posted guide ** 11/29/2020 ** - Some quick adjustment for first segment ** 4/17/2021 ** - Removed unnecessary back up and reviewed the guide for a new draft