Chain Issen and Environmental Combat — Cleared in One Official Showcase

Published 2025-11-07Updated 2026-09-183 min read

Capcom details Chain Issen — chain counter to counter across multiple enemies — plus tactical use of tatami shields, push carts and everything else in reach.

One flash, then the next — the counter that refuses to stop.

Two of Onimusha: Way of the Sword's flashier systems got an official pre-launch showcase: the Chain Issen, and fighting dirty with whatever the room is made of.

Chain Issen: Counter Into Counter

The Chain Issen extends a successful Issen into the next enemy. Land the first counter precisely and, at the moment it connects, press the follow-up input to flow directly into another Issen on a second target. Strung together, one well-read crowd becomes a highlight reel — and crowd encounters stop being chipping work and become tempo puzzles. The base Issen windows apply, so drill timing before you chain.

The Room Is a Weapon

The showcase also stressed using the environment when the odds turn ugly: raise a tatami mat as a makeshift shield to eat an attack, shove a hand cart as a ram, and treat furniture as tactical material rather than set dressing. The message is explicit — survival in Kyoto is about using everything on the stage, not only the sword.

Both habits pay off most where the game crowds you: the ambush corridors of the castle revisits and the open-field brawls around Arashiyama.

Related: defense fundamentals

Related Guides

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Sequel Teased by Producer After Ending CluesOnimusha: Way of the Sword Review — All Thrill, Some FillerOnimusha: Way of the Sword Tops Famitsu Chart With 96,029 First-Week CopiesOnimusha: Way of the Sword Steam Peak Tops 81,500 Concurrent PlayersOnimusha: Way of the Sword Ships One Million Copies on Day OneFree Monster Hunter Rise Crossover Gives the Oni Lady a Hinoa OutfitOnimusha DLSS 5 Mod Tested on RTX 4090 — 33 to 43 FPS at 4KChinese Players Top 50 Percent of Onimusha Steam Audience, Say AnalystsOnimusha: Way of the Sword Trophy List — 52 Trophies, Platinum in 40-60 HoursOnimusha: Way of the Sword Length Explained — 20h Story, 60h+ PlatinumOnimusha: Way of the Sword Steam Reviews Climb as Simplified Chinese Score DoublesHow Onimusha Rebuilt Its Combat — Inside Capcom's Animation-First ReworkSemi-Open Kyoto: How Onimusha's Side Quests and District Exploration WorkSasaki Ganryu Revealed — Onimusha's Rival and His Unreadable RhythmOnimusha: Way of the Sword Is a Standalone Story — With Deliberate HomagesWhy Onimusha Dropped Weapon Swapping for a Single Katana — Director ExplainsOnimusha: Way of the Sword Release Date Moved Up 20 Days to September 4Parry Explained — Onimusha's Core Counter and How the Demo Taught ItOnimusha: Way of the Sword Platform Targets and Official PC RequirementsDeflection Mechanic — Turn Enemy Attacks Into Weapons in OnimushaSoul Absorption and the Special Gauge — Yellow, Blue and Red Souls ExplainedIssen, Deflect, Parry and Flame State — Capcom's Official Combat Moves PrimerNew Genma Revealed — the Soul-Stealing Kubiakari and the Ever-Hungry Datsura