There are many hidden tricks to Onimusha combat that might feel insignificant to learn, but they will be very rewarding against common enemies and bosses. Blade Barrage happens to be one of the techniques that you must master, especially if you are planning to go all the way to the Carnage Mode. While on the surface, the technique comes off pretty simple, it is also easy to mess this one up, and there are many ways to get this technique wrong, and you will end up taking a hit in combat. Here, I will help you perform the Blade Barrage move better in combat and the ways to improve and identify it in Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
How to get Blade Barrage right?
Instead of pressing the same button that initiated the Blade Barrage, you must press the other attack button to win the Blade Barrage.
After Musashi and the enemy or boss enter the Blade Barrage, the best thing to do, and the only thing you should do, is to hit the attack that you didn’t use before. So, if you entered Blade Barrage using your one-handed attack, then you must use a two-handed attack after the Blade Barrage to win the battle. Similarly, if you used a two-handed attack to enter Blade Barrage, then you must use a one-handed attack to win the fight.
What if you forget about the attack, which can happen during rough boss battles? Here, you must rely on the indicators to spot the attack. If the clash ray is horizontal, as shown in the image above, then your previous attack was a light attack, which means you must use a heavy attack to win. If the clash shows a vertical ray, as seen in the image above, then the previous attack was heavy, and you must use a light attack to win.
You can also parry and deflect during Blade Barrage to make the attack even stronger. Since parrying can fill up the meter and deflecting can deal stamina damage, you can incorporate all of these mechanics during Blade Barrage to make it even more effective than before.
What is Blade Barrage?
When both enemies and Musashi hit each other at the same time, it will end in a sword clash, where both will start hitting each other with sword slashes; this is called Blade Barrage. People who follow combat fighting games will be much too familiar with this sort of mechanics, where a clash between two characters in the middle of the battle always ends in an action sequence, where the game shows a mashing button prompt on the screen to win the clash.
In Onimusha: Way of the Sword, things are handled a bit differently than in a common fighting game. The worst thing you can do right during the Blade Barrage is mashing the button, as it’s a sure-fire way to lose the battle and take hits – the game favours focused, clean and patient strikes than frantic action and button mashing; and Blade Barrage is one of the strongest ways that the game attempts to nudge you to this gameplay style.
