Way of the Sword — All Bosses and How to Beat Them

This page collects every Way of the Sword boss in one place. Pre-release coverage named several of them; launch guides now document the full 18-fight roster, listed below.

The 18 main boss fights

PowerPyx’s launch boss guide documents 18 main boss fights, listed here in Boss Rematch menu order. Individual fight guides on this wiki: the Sasaki Kojiro boss guide, Shuten Doji, Ifuu and Burai, the Minamoto no Yoshitsune final boss guide, the Dokyo boss guide, the Benkei boss guide, the Rasho-gan boss guide, the Dohatsu-ten boss guide, the Nue boss guide, the Daidara boss guide, and the Byakue boss guide:

Two structural notes from the same guide: bosses are dynamic — dealing heavy damage early pushes them into their enhanced states sooner — and the in-game Boss Rematch sub-menu lists every fight in this order for replay, which is also where the all-bosses trophy is earned (see the difficulty guide).

The tracker lists every boss guide this wiki has verified — check one off each time you win, and come back after the next kill. Guides without a dedicated page yet live in the roster above.

Confirmed bosses

Sasaki Ganryu (recurring antagonist)

The historical Sasaki Kojiro (1585–1612) was the rival of Miyamoto Musashi and is most famous for their duel at Ganryu Island in 1612. Way of the Sword reimagines him as an Oni Gauntlet wielder under the official name Sasaki Ganryu — granted his Gauntlet by the Man in White, and returning after his first duel transformed by forbidden Gauntlet practices. This makes him mechanically different from regular Genma: he can parry you back.

Strategy: Patience. Sasaki Ganryu punishes mashers hard. Wait for his attack animation, parry at the last frame, and don’t extend your own combo beyond two hits. His stamina gauge takes longer to empty than a regular boss; treat it like a chess match, not a sprint. For the full breakdown, see the Sasaki Ganryu boss guide.

Ifuu and Burai (Genma siblings)

Officially named in Capcom’s 6th trailer, The Challenges That Await, alongside battles against previously revealed bosses. PowerPyx’s launch guide lists the siblings as fights 13 through 15 — Ifuu solo, Burai solo, then a combined Ifuu and Burai encounter. See the Ifuu and Burai profile.

Shuten Doji (Genma of Mount Oe)

Official Capcom lore describes Shuten Doji as “a large Genma found within a fortress atop Mount Oe, whose heinous acts know no bounds,” and explicitly teases a connection to the legendary Oni king of the same name. Fight specifics are pending play verification — see the Shuten Doji profile for the official lore and the legend behind the name.

Genma commanders (rotating)

The launch-documented roster above now names every main fight, ending with Minamoto no Yoshitsune at fight 18. This section will grow into per-boss breakdowns — location, phases, and rewards — as each fight is verified by play. In the meantime, the series overview on the Genma gives you the lore context.

Boss strategy principles

Every boss in Way of the Sword follows the same core loop:

1. Open with Break Issen. Don’t try to win by raw damage — the boss will out-trade you. Parry to drain stamina instead.
2. Two-hit rule. After a successful parry, you get a small window for two attacks. Take them and back off. Greedy three-hit combos will get you hit.
3. Watch for the unparryable. Some boss attacks have red visual indicators — these cannot be parried. Dodge them, don’t try to break-issen them.
4. Spend the execution window. Once stamina is empty, don’t ignore the prompt. Choose heavy damage if the boss is close to death, more souls if you need resources.

How to actually win tight boss fights

• Pre-fight farming: before any boss, spend 10 minutes in the previous stage farming red souls. Upgrade your katana at the Oni Gate shrine. The damage difference between an upgraded and un-upgraded weapon is the difference between a one-cycle kill and a long, drawn-out fight.
• Stock Oni Armaments: enter boss fights with at least 2 Oni Armament charges (blue souls). They are the panic button for breaking boss momentum.
• Save the scythe, not the meter: if a boss is at 30% HP but you’re at one yellow soul, run away and farm. Don’t burn your last heal on a coin-flip attempt.

For the broader strategy picture, see the Issen / Break Issen explainer, the soul farming guide, and the Oni Armaments tier list.