Onimusha Way of the Sword Unlock Issen and Chain Issen
How to unlock Issen and Chain Issen from the skill tree in Onimusha Way of the Sword. Power Stone locations, timing, chain mechanics, and mistakes to avoid.
Players want Issen and Chain Issen because they turn messy group fights into one-hit cinematic kills and let you farm the Flow State trophy (50 Chain Issen kills) plus extra souls. The full versions are skill-tree locked; you only have limited Break Issen early.
1 Reach the unlock point
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Play the story until you clear the Malice blooms in Eastern Kyoto
Then start the main quest "The Oni's Apprentice". This happens at the Spirit Mirror in Rendaino Temple after you talk to Shizuka Gozen (roughly 3 hours in). That quest opens the Basic Skills tab.
2 Buy the skills
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Open the skills menu at any Spirit Mirror
Buy Chain Issen for 2 Power Stones. It is available the moment The Oni's Apprentice starts. Also grab Reflex Combo (2 Power Stones) if you have extras.
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2
Collect Power Stones from chests and exploration in Eastern Kyoto
Later upgrades (Chain Length 1/2) cost more Power Stones after Oni Portals and let you hit 4-5 enemies.
3 How to perform Issen
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Press light attack (X/Square) or heavy attack (Y/Triangle) just before an enemy's strike connects
Musashi sidesteps and delivers a high-damage slash that kills most regular Genma instantly and drops extra souls.
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Watch the enemy's swing animation, not your own
If your attack animation starts, you were too early. If you get hit, you were too late. Practice on basic katana Genma first.
4 How to Chain Issen
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After a successful Issen, press light or heavy attack the instant your slash lands
The moment of contact, the white slash line, the brief slow-mo is your cue. Musashi will leap to a nearby enemy and Issen them.
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Repeat for each extra target
The window gets tighter with every extra hit and resets when the chain ends. You cannot Issen the same enemy twice in one chain. Keep enemies clustered.
Common Mistakes
- Button-mashing after the first Issen — you must time the press to the exact landing frame, not spam.
- Trying to chain when enemies are spread out — Chain Issen needs clustered targets or Musashi has no one to leap to.
- Confusing Break Issen with True Issen — Break Issen is the limited early version; the full skill-tree version is the one that chains.
- Wasting early Power Stones on non-combat skills — grab Chain Issen first before spending on convenience skills.