Onimusha: Way of the Sword offers collectibles that can be found during quests or general exploration. After completing certain quests, you will receive Charms as a keepsake reward. But charms offer more than that, and they can supply buffs to Musashi when allocated.
Luckily, none of the charms are missable, and you will probably end up finding all 15 of them as you progress through the game. In case you are missing out on a few, here is a quick guide to help you locate all available charms in the game and how to use them.
All Charms and Related Side Quests in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
In case you haven’t encountered some of the quests or side quests yet, I recommend progressing the main game until the quest is activated in the log. Collecting all of them will give you the Charmed Life trophy/achievement. Here’s the entire list, and the quests which unlock these Charms for you.
| Charm | Unlocked by |
| Charm of the Healer | Main story progression |
| Charm of Zeal | Chance Encounter – Pale Lights in a Night Sky |
| Sadist’s Strength Charm | Chance Encounter – Clear Space, Clear Mind |
| Charm of Stamina | Chance Encounter – The Growling Ghost |
| Reaper’s Charm | Chance Encounter – An Ugly Business |
| Charm of Dexterity | Chance Encounter – Noisy Neighbors |
| Charm of Enticement | Chance Encounter – The Odd Couples |
| Charm of Awakening | Chance Encounter – A Fishy Story |
| Charm of Oni Power | Chance Encounter – Restless Spirits |
| Charm of Purification | Mystery of Kyoto – The Blessed Man |
| Blazing Charm | Mystery of Kyoto – Worm-ly Ways |
| Oni Strength Charm | Mystery of Kyoto – Some Unfinished Monkey Business |
| Charm of Protection | Mystery of Kyoto – The Night Parade |
| Inner Strength Charm | Mystery of Kyoto – Something in the Water |
| Fencer’s Strength Charm | Mystery of Kyoto – The Faceless |
How to Upgrade Charms in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Upgrading charms will increase their abilities and enhance buffs when equipped. To upgrade charms, you will require Favor and Red Souls. Red Souls are easier to gather, since you get them from defeating various Genma enemies around the lands. Favor, on the other hand, requires trading items at Enma’s Hall.
Some ways to find items that can be traded are:
- Rewards from rescuing citizens.
- Investigating treasure chests.
- Picking up shiny items from the ground.
- Purchasing items from Yorimasa’s Monument.
- Purchasing items from merchants.
I recommend using the Oni Vision to help you locate some of the more hidden items in the game. Then, visit Enma’s Hall shrine once you have some Favor and Red Souls and select the Make Offering option after picking a charm. In case the option doesn’t appear, you need to complete the quest The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu to unlock the Enhancement option.
In total, you will require 135,000 Red Souls along with 150,000 Favor. Charms can be upgraded in two tiers; there are Level 2 upgrades and Level 3 upgrades. Here is a breakdown of the amount of Red Souls and Favor required per charm upgrade.
- Level 2: 3,000 Red Souls and 3,500 Favor per charm.
- Level 3: 6,000 Red Souls and 6,500 Favor per charm.
The best part about enhancing charms is that their upgraded stats and abilities do carry over to NG+. Even if you haven’t completely upgraded all 15 charms, you can still try to do them in your next run if you want to get the trophy.
