How to solve the mask puzzle in Onimusha Way of the Sword
Overview & Key Takeaways
In this guide, you learn how to solve the mask puzzle in Onimusha: Way of the Sword during the "What Lurks in the Shadows" quest
Solving the mask puzzle in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is required to continue your exploration of Nijo-jo Castle in the "What Lurks in the Shadows" quest. With the help of Okuni, Musashi finds a way to the gates of the castle, where he is trying to find the girl's friend, Hinagiku. Once you're inside, looking for a key that will let you reach the room where Dokyo escapes, you will eventually reach a room with a locked door which has a smiling face on it.
To open the door and learn what happened to Hinagiku, you must figure out how to solve the mask puzzle in Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
[Ed. note: This guide contains spoilers for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, so continue at your own risk!]
How to solve the mask puzzle in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
As you follow the only available path after the locked door next to the Underground Level Three Spirit Mirror, you will eventually reach a room with four masks hanging from the ceiling. Beside the entrance, you will find replicas of the same masks on four windows. If you just want a quick answer to this puzzle, we recommend jumping to the next section where you give you the answer. However, if you want just a few hints on how to solve the puzzle, here's what you need to do.
Image: Capcom via Polygon
Your goal is to fire arrows at the hanging masks in a specific order. If you get the order wrong, the masks will return to their original positions. The first hint you have — and the most important one — is the masks. Don't worry about looking for hints in other parts of the room. All the information you need is provided by the masks.
Image: Capcom via Polygon
If you have been staring at the masks for a while and haven't figured out the answer, don't worry. Here's another tip! Focus on the masks on the wall beside the entrance. To find the answer, try looking at them from a different perspective, and you will see that the spotlights shining on them highlight a unique feature of each mask.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword mask puzzle solution
Image: Capcom via Polygon
The solution to the mask puzzle in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is the number of orifices that each mask's shadow displays when you look at the ones in the windows from outside the room. The number indicates the order you should hit them with your bow, from first to fourth.
The order you must shoot the masks, from left to right, is:
- The third mask (green mask with wavy red stripes)
- The fourth mask from (red mask with black details)
- The first mask (yellow mask with wavy purple stripes)
- The second mask (purple with yellow wavy stripes)
If you're struggling still, here's the masks with the order you should hit them in:
Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom
Hitting the masks in the correct order will prompt the cage below them to open, allowing you to remove the Unsettling Mask, which you must place in the door's mechanism near the Spirit Mirror to unlock the path.
