Oni Hideout Walkthrough — Oni Bow, Floating Islands and Shizuka Gozen

The Oni Hideout is where Onimusha: Way of the Sword starts flexing its puzzle design — and hands you the tool that defines it.

The Oni Bow

Enter the hideout and unlock the Inner Hall save mirror first. Then:

1. Grab the small guardian talisman to the left of the temple.
2. Pass through the temple and open the chest for the Oni Bow — your new puzzle-solving and sniping tool.
3. Circle back to the gap behind the right-hand room. Shoot the door lock with an arrow, open the door, and loot the chest for cotton cloth.

The bow's signature trick shows up immediately: shoot the red orb on a cube-gate to roll it open. With that in hand, the road forward is linear — a few waves of basic enemies and standard pickups, no forks to worry about.

The Floating Island Arena

At the large clearing you'll trigger an ambush fight with a trick to it: shoot the glowing core stone beneath a floating island to drop the whole thing on the enemies below. You'll also need to drop one island deliberately to smash the wooden barricade blocking the road.

Past the arena:

• A chest sits on a ledge — shoot the grid switch on the right first, then climb up. It holds a strength stone.
• The path forks left and right. The left branch needs abilities you won't have until much later; take the downhill right route.
• A simple shooting puzzle follows (find the angle, pop the red orb), then you unlock the Temple Front save mirror.

Boss: Datsura

Walk forward for a cutscene introducing the Genma Datsura, and the fight begins.

Don't let the two-phase structure intimidate you — Datsura is a fundamentals check. His attacks are big, winded-up swings with equally long recoveries, and his moveset stays narrow across both phases. The one genuinely new threat is a blue-glowing grab attack added in phase two, so keep your dodge discipline when his hands start glowing. Punish the whiffs and this fight is over quickly.

Shizuka Gozen Awakens

Defeat Datsura and the woman inside the gauntlet finally stirs. She introduces herself as Shizuka Gozen.

Return to Rokudochinno-ji, where Ono no Takamura explains her origin: Shizuka was one of the Oni clan that once ruled the underworld. His task for you now — seal the Prison Windows near Rakuto and feed the gauntlet souls to speed her full awakening.

Next stop: Exploring Rakuto.

Note: Hyakue-style descriptive names pending official localization; strength stone / guardian talisman follow the Whetstone-style item naming.