How to Beat Sasaki Ganryu in the Onimusha Demo
Pick one defensive lane, learn his six attack patterns, match Blade Barrage type, perfect dodge the grab, and break his hat for extra damage. Here is the exact fight flow that works.
Core goal: survive the duel at Kiyomizu, break his stance, and finish him without emptying your stamina or eating a late-phase grab. He shrugs off normal damage, uses feints and odd distance, and punishes people who treat this like a Souls boss. Watch first, parry while you learn his rhythm, then punish hard.
1Choose Your Defensive Lane
2Attack Patterns and Exact Responses
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1Three-hit poke comboTwo fast pokes, then a hard finisher that glows red and drains stamina.Parry all three. The last hit is the one that matters. Miss it and your stamina collapses.
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2Stomp then slashFoot slam into a cut.Parry both for a short stun. If the kick timing feels bad, dodge the stomp and counter the slash.
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3Blade Barrage (clash)He locks you into matching strikes.Match same attack type: one-handed vs one-handed, two-handed vs two-handed. Keep mashing that same button. Switching mid-clash cancels the barrage and he counters you. A clean barrage stance-breaks him.
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4Guard / turtleHe braces. Do not spam one attack type because he parries it.Mix one-handed and two-handed until the guard breaks, then grapple. Save Oni Armament for these over-defend moments.
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5Grab (around 50% HP)Perfect Dodge only. Regular dodge often still gets you. If he connects, he rips health, stamina, and Oni gauge.Default to Perfect Dodge until the grab animation is gone. You can counter out of some grabs if you react instantly.
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6Overhead / helm-breakerSlight pause before the downward slash.Easiest Issen or parry window in the fight. Wait for the pause, then strike or L1.
3Fight Flow That Actually Works
- 1First 20-30 seconds: do not attack first.
Parry or dodge while you learn the sway and feints. His distance is weird on purpose.
- 2After you recognize a combo, punish with 2-3 hits, then reset.
Stay on offense enough that he cannot refill stamina.
- 3When he clashes, match type and ride the barrage to a stance break.
Same attack type, same button. Do not switch.
- 4Between combos only: absorb souls to heal.
Never mid-swing. Yellow souls from Oni Armament also heal if you are out of items.
- 5At ~50%, expect grabs.
Default to Perfect Dodge until the grab animation is gone.
- 6Break his hat for extra damage.
Players noticed about 310 damage difference with the hat gone. Land Break Issen with the damage buff.
- 7Low HP: keep landing Issen or Break Issen.
Do not greed a long combo after a missed read.
4Video Demonstrations
Parry-only and dodge-only, same fight.
Issen-only no-damage run.
High-level no-damage duel.
Perfect-parry on Action or Hard difficulty.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Button-mashing and trading. He wins raw trades. Pick one defensive lane and stick to it.
- Switching attack type mid-Blade Barrage. It cancels the barrage and he counters you.
- Healing or absorbing souls during his swing. Only between combos.
- Using Oni Armament as opener. Save it for his turtle moments when he over-defends.
- Treating every swing as Issen on the first attempts. Learn normal parry windows first, then tighten into Issen.
- Ignoring the red-glow finisher. That hit is designed to empty your stamina. Parry it.