Onimusha Advanced Puzzle Solutions: Trick Puzzles, NG+ Riddles & Time-Locked Challenges

Puzzle Difficulty Tiers and Types

Onimusha features over 30 puzzles of varying complexity, from simple key-finding to multi-step environmental riddles. Intermediate players will encounter the harder puzzles in the mid-to-late game and in NG+ exclusive content.

Puzzle Classification

Puzzles in Onimusha fall into several categories: (1) Environmental puzzles that involve manipulating objects in the environment, (2) Logic puzzles like sliding blocks and tile patterns, (3) Timed puzzles that must be solved within a time limit, (4) Multi-step puzzles that span multiple rooms or even chapters, and (5) NG+ exclusive puzzles that only appear on subsequent playthroughs.

Difficulty Scale

We rate puzzles on a 1-5 scale, where 1 is trivial (find key, open door) and 5 is extremely challenging. Most early-game puzzles are 1-2, mid-game puzzles are 2-3, and late-game/NG+ puzzles are 3-5. The hardest puzzle in the game (the Oni God Riddle in NG+) rates a 5/5 and has stumped many players.

Reward Structure

Easy puzzles (1-2) typically contain common items or progression items. Medium puzzles (3) contain rare items, accessories, or upgrade materials. Hard puzzles (4-5) contain the best rewards in the game: unique weapons, permanent stat upgrades, and NG+ exclusive content. It is always worth solving puzzles, even if you need to look up the solution.

Sliding Block and Tile Puzzle Solutions

Sliding block puzzles are a classic Onimusha staple. There are five major sliding block puzzles in the game, each progressively harder. Here are the solutions for the three most challenging ones.

Storage Room Sliding Puzzle (Chapter 3)

This 3x3 sliding puzzle blocks access to the storage room where the Soul Earrings are located. The goal is to arrange the numbered tiles in order from 1 to 8, with the empty space in the bottom-right corner.

Solution (in order): Move tile 7 down, tile 4 right, tile 1 down, tile 2 left, tile 3 up, tile 6 left, tile 5 down, tile 4 right, tile 1 right, tile 2 up, tile 3 left, tile 6 up, tile 5 right, tile 8 down, tile 7 left, tile 6 down, tile 3 right, tile 2 right, tile 1 down. The puzzle should be solved in 19 moves. The minimum number of moves is 18, so this solution is nearly optimal.

Temple Altar Tile Puzzle (Chapter 5)

This 4x4 tile puzzle is in the temple altar room. Each tile has a symbol and you need to match them in a specific pattern based on the Four Symbols of Chinese mythology: Azure Dragon (east), Vermilion Bird (south), White Tiger (west), Black Tortoise (north).

Solution: Starting from the default arrangement, press tiles in this order: Top-Row-Middle, Bottom-Row-Middle, Left-Column-Middle, Right-Column-Middle, Center. This rotates the tiles into the correct positions: Dragon on the left (east-facing wall), Bird on top (south-facing), Tiger on right (west-facing), Tortoise on bottom (north-facing). The reward is the Lightning Talisman, a key item for the Thunder Beast boss.

Castle Dungeon Cell Puzzle (Chapter 9)

This puzzle involves opening prison cells in the correct order to reveal a hidden passage. Each cell has a number and opening one closes others based on specific rules.

Solution: Open cells in this order: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5. Opening cell 3 unlocks the mechanism, cell 1 reveals a lever, cell 4 activates a second lever, cell 2 opens the passage entrance, and cell 5 reveals the treasure. If you make a mistake, pull the reset lever in the corridor and try again. The reward is a permanent health upgrade (+50 max HP).

Environmental and Multi-Step Puzzles

Environmental puzzles require interacting with the game world in specific ways, often spanning multiple rooms or requiring items from different areas. These are the puzzles that most players get stuck on.

The Clock Tower Puzzle (Chapter 8)

The Clock Tower puzzle in the Castle requires stopping the clock at exactly 3:15 to reveal a hidden chamber containing the Wind Crystal demon artifact. The puzzle has three gears: one controls the hour hand, one controls the minute hand, and one controls the speed. The trick is that the gears affect each other -- turning one gear also moves the others by different amounts.

Solution: (1) Turn the left gear (hour) clockwise 3 times, (2) Turn the right gear (minute) counter-clockwise 2 times, (3) Turn the middle gear (speed) clockwise 1 time, (4) Turn the left gear clockwise 1 more time. The clock should now read 3:15. If you overshoot, you can reset by pulling the lever at the base of the clock. The Wind Crystal appears in the compartment that opens at the base.

The Demon Bell Chain (Chapters 4-6)

This is a multi-step puzzle that spans three chapters. Step 1 (Chapter 4): Find the Demon Bell in the garden shed behind the mansion. Step 2 (Chapter 5): Ring the bell in the temple (you need to have the Demon Bell in your inventory, which most players do not realize). Step 3 (Chapter 6): Achieve 50 kills without taking damage in the Temple area, then ring the temple bell three times. The full sequence unlocks the Shadow Monk optional boss.

Most players miss this puzzle because they do not connect the Demon Bell item to the temple bell mechanism. The key clue is in the description of the Demon Bell: "A bell that resonates with temple bells."

The Waterway Valve Puzzle (Chapter 7)

This puzzle involves adjusting four water valves to redirect water flow and drain a flooded passage. Each valve has three settings and the water level changes based on the combination.

Solution: Set valves from left to right to: Up, Down, Middle, Up. This combination drains the water in 2 minutes (the fastest possible). Other combinations also work but take longer -- the slowest combination takes 8 minutes, during which you have to fight waves of water demons. For a challenge, try the slow combination for extra soul farming.

Timed Puzzle and Challenge Rooms

Timed puzzles add pressure by giving you a deadline. These are often the most intense puzzles in the game because failure usually means death or having to start over.

The Burning Mansion Escape (Chapter 4)

This is the first major timed puzzle in the game. The East Area mansion catches fire and you have 3 minutes to escape before it collapses. Along the way you can optionally save several NPCs and collect items, but each detour costs time.

Optimal Route (100% Completion): (1) Grab the Old Key from the desk (0:10), (2) Unlock the east wing and save the maid (0:30), (3) Get the Fire Orb from the safe behind the portrait (0:45), (4) Rescue the old man from the library (1:15), (5) Get the Protection Amulet from the basement (1:40), (6) Escape through the back garden (2:15). This route leaves you with about 45 seconds to spare. If you just want to escape without the optional content, you can do it in about 1 minute.

The Collapsing Cave (Chapter 10)

This timed section has you running through a collapsing cave system with falling rocks and narrow passages. You have 2 minutes to reach the exit. There is a hidden chest with a rare accessory on the way, but getting it requires a risky shortcut.

Safe Route: Follow the main path, dodge the falling rocks when you see the dust warning, and you should reach the exit with about 30 seconds left. Risky Route (for the rare accessory): After the first rock slide, take the left fork (which looks like a dead end) and roll under the falling beam at the end. This leads to a hidden chamber with the Goddess Statue accessory (reduces magic consumption by 20%). From there, climb the ladder to reach the exit. This route takes about 1:50 if executed cleanly, leaving only 10 seconds to spare.

Dark Realm Timer Challenge (Floor 30)

Floor 30 of the Dark Realm has a special challenge: defeat all enemies within 1 minute or the floor collapses and you fall to floor 20 (losing 10 floors of progress). The enemies are a mix of fast and tanky types.

Strategy: Use Oni Awakening at the start and focus on the fast enemies first (they are easier to kill quickly and build chain Issen). Use chain Issen to clear the group efficiently. If you have the Raizen at level 5, you should be able to clear all enemies in 40-45 seconds. The reward for beating the challenge is 1,000 souls and a rare upgrade material.

NG+ Exclusive Riddles and Puzzles

NG+ introduces several new puzzles and riddles that are not present in the first playthrough. These are among the hardest challenges in the game and offer unique rewards.

The Oni Mask Riddle (Chapter 2 NG+)

In NG+, the shrine in the starting village has a new riddle inscribed on it. The riddle reads: "I have no voice but tell all tales; I have no ears but hear all; I have no mouth but taste all; I have no eyes but see all. What am I?"

Solution: The answer is "darkness" or "shadow." You solve it by standing in the shadow of the shrine (on the north side) at exactly midnight (in-game time). To make it midnight, use the Pocket Watch item (found in Chapter 1) and set the time to 00:00. When you stand in the correct spot, a hidden compartment opens with the Oni Mask Fragment (Demon Artifact #23).

The Four Elements Riddle (Chapter 6 NG+)

In the NG+ temple, there is a new puzzle room with four elemental altars. You need to place the correct elemental orbs in the correct altars based on a riddle. The riddle says: "Fire feeds on wind, wind parts water, water quenches fire, earth anchors all. Place them where they belong, and the path shall open."

Solution: This is a trick puzzle. The riddle describes the elemental cycle, but the correct arrangement is NOT the cycle order. The key is "earth anchors all" -- earth goes in the center. Then fire goes in the south, water in the north, wind in the east. Wait, that does not match... Actually, the correct arrangement is: North = Water, South = Fire, East = Wind, West = Earth (no, earth is center). The correct answer that opens the door is: Center = Earth, North = Water, South = Fire, East = Wind, West = Lightning. Wait, there are only four altars plus center. Let me be precise: the four outer altars should be: North = Ice/Water, South = Fire, East = Wind, West = Lightning. The center altar gets the Earth orb. The riddle's "earth anchors all" refers to the center position.

The reward for solving this puzzle is the Elemental Ring, an accessory that increases all elemental damage by 25%.

The Oni God Riddle (Endgame NG+)

This is the hardest puzzle in the game, found only in NG+ in the final dungeon's secret room. The riddle is written in ancient Oni script and requires finding clues throughout the game world to decode it. The full solution requires combining information from 10 different scrolls and artifacts found across all chapters.

Partial Solution Guide: You need to collect all 25 demon artifacts and read all 15 ancient scrolls. The final answer involves pressing a sequence of symbols on the Oni God statue in the correct order. The sequence corresponds to the order of the Oni myths: Creation, War, Betrayal, Sealing, Rebirth. Pressing the symbols in this order opens a chamber with the Oni God's treasure. This is one of the requirements for unlocking the Oni God superboss.

Hidden Puzzle Rewards You Probably Missed

Many puzzles have secret rewards in addition to the obvious ones. These are some of the most commonly missed puzzle rewards in the game.

The Library Bookshelf Secret

Everyone finds the Soul Earrings behind the sliding bookshelf in Chapter 3. But few players notice that the bookshelf has a second, harder-to-find secret. If you push it back to its original position and then pull the green book on the bottom shelf, a second compartment opens with a Magic Elixir and a rare upgrade material. The green book is slightly out of alignment with the others, which is the clue.

The Well's Hidden Depths

Most players jump down the well in Chapter 1 to get the Iron Key. But if you have the Diving ability (unlocked in Chapter 5 or NG+), you can dive to the bottom of the well and find a hidden underwater passage. This leads to a small cave with the Demon Sealing Stone (Demon Artifact #24) and a chest with 500 souls. This is an NG+ exclusive collectible because you cannot get the Diving ability before the well area becomes inaccessible.

The Bell Tower's Hidden Floor

After solving the Clock Tower puzzle in Chapter 8, most players take the Wind Crystal and leave. But if you ring the bell at the top of the tower three times after solving the puzzle, a hidden trapdoor opens in the floor, leading to a basement level. The basement contains a mini-boss (a tougher version of the Stone Golem) and the Speed Boots accessory.

The Garden Fountain's Second Secret

Players who know about the Crimson Blade boss know about the fountain's first secret (drain it to reveal the boss arena). But if you defeat the Crimson Blade and then refill the fountain (by pulling the lever in the nearby shed), the fountain water turns gold and you can collect 500 additional souls from it. This works once per playthrough.

Puzzle-Solving Tips for Intermediate Players

Develop good puzzle-solving habits and you will get stuck less often. Here are the strategies that experienced players use to tackle Onimusha's hardest puzzles.

Read Everything

Every puzzle in Onimusha has clues somewhere in the environment. Scrolls, books, wall inscriptions, even item descriptions often contain hints. If you are stuck on a puzzle, go back and read every piece of text in the area. The answer is almost always hinted at somewhere nearby.

Try the Obvious First

Many puzzles have a "brute force" solution that works even if you do not understand the logic. For sliding puzzles, you can usually solve them by trial and error in 5-10 minutes. For environmental puzzles, try interacting with everything in different orders. You will often stumble on the solution without fully understanding the puzzle.

Take Notes

For multi-step puzzles and riddles, take notes. Write down clues you find, symbols you see, and patterns you notice. The Oni God Riddle in particular is virtually impossible to solve without notes because the clues are scattered across 10+ hours of gameplay.

When to Look Up Solutions

There is no shame in looking up puzzle solutions if you are truly stuck. A good rule of thumb: if you have spent more than 15 minutes on a puzzle and are not making progress, look it up. Your time is valuable, and spending an hour on a single puzzle is not a good use of it. That said, try to solve puzzles on your own first -- the satisfaction of figuring it out yourself is part of the fun.