Boss Guide (SPOILERS)

Video examples and text on how to defeat most of the Main Story Bosses. From my 2009 Playstation 2 playthrough.

Intro

The purpose of this guide is to help you defeat any boss that's giving you a tough time. I've played through Okami multiple times on Playstation 2 and honestly it's one of my favorite games of all time. This guide uses videos that I recorded and uploaded back in 2009. Though it's old quality the strategies have not changed.

This does not cover boss fights such as the Kusa 5, for example. But it does cover the ones important to progressing the main plot.

#1 - Waka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idBkWRNAIWM

Skip ahead to 2:35 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The first real boss of the game, Tao Master Waka. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's Divine Retribution as a main weapon and Devout Beads as the secondary.

Try to stay on the center Island and try dodge (or sidestep if you learned it) Waka's sword attacks. Sometimes when he's slashing at you with a combo, he'll lose color at which time you can Power Slash him with your brush. I found out that keeping a good distance away will make Waka throw daggers, which you should Power Slash back at him to knock him down. When he's knocked down (provided he isn't in the water) you can get in a combo or a Power Slash. If he's knocked out in the water, just Power Slash him with the brush. Keep repeating this strategy and it should be over quickly.

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#2 - Spider Queen

https://youtu.be/Gn9NXY_g4VI

Skip ahead to 3:20 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The second Major boss of the game, The Spider Queen. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's Divine Retribution as a main weapon and Devout Beads as the secondary.

Basically what you'll want to do is just keep running around her until you get a good view of the hooks on her ass, then draw a line from a flower bloom to the hook of your choice. You only need to snag 2 hooks with your Vine brush technique but you need to do it in quick succession. After that she'll open up her thorax and you can smash up the eyeballs that are inside but when she starts to shake, that means you better get the hell away and get ready to start the process over again. Once in a while this beehive looking thing (a cocoon perhaps?) will appear above her head and if you Power Slash it with your brush, you'll knock her out and make it that much easier to grab the hooks. Once all the eyeballs have been popped, a winner is you!

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#3 - Waka (Round 2)

https://youtu.be/JjRQjXYKnsk

Skip ahead to 2:10 to bypass the dialog if you want.
For the 3rd boss it's Tao Master Waka again. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's Snarling Beast as a main weapon and Devout Beads as the secondary.

The terrain has changed for this fight so you don't have to worry about falling into any water. The same strategy for beating him the first time can be used here with a couple exceptions. One exception is that he has a new attack where he spins around like a drill and chases you around the battlefield for a few seconds. You can evade that by sidestepping or jumping over him, he didn't do it in this video but I've seen him use it during my first try prior to recording this one. The last exception is that Waka has ALOT more life in this fight so you may find yourself running out of ink, in which case just run around and evade until some is replenished automatically. The best strategy would be staying as far away as you can and hitting his knife back at him with a Power Slash, then go in for a combo or Power Slash after he's knocked down.

You have to endure much longer in this fight than in the first encounter but I thought it was easier because I didn't have to worry about that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ water. Plus I realized I was screwing up when it came to doing the Power Slash in previous fights. I thought it could be a straight line from any angle but apparently it works best when it's exactly horizontal or slightly tilted. If not you get stuck doing Bloom brush strokes which doesn't help worth a damn.

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#4 - Crimson Helm

https://youtu.be/GLTGQWETtlY

Skip ahead to 1:27 to bypass the dialog if you want.
For the 4th boss it's one of Orochi's minions, Crimson Helm. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's Infinity Judge as a main weapon and Devout Beads as the secondary.

This fight is easier than I thought it was going to be because the Satomi Power Orbs will absorb the first 8 hits of damage. Thats pretty nice considering you may get hit alot in this fight. Some of his attacks will consist of charging at you, swiping wide with his sword and jumping up and crashing down that creates a shockwave you have to jump over. Keep away from his front and keep running around until you get a good view of his side or back end, thats when you attack. To beat him, you'll have to keep hitting him until is armor breaks, after that he'll appear as a firey skeleton. To get rid of the fire you'll have to use your Gale brush stroke. After the fire is gone just keep attacking him and eventually he'll get his armor back so you'll have to repeat the process. Thats the only real trick to beating him. After the fight you'll have to help Susano with some of your fancy brushword and you'll eventually be rewarded with a new rosary, Life Beads.

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#5 - Orochi (2 Parts)

PART 1

https://youtu.be/L0j3xHcVDyo

Skip ahead to 5:30 to bypass the dialog if you want.
For the 5th boss it's the big demon dragon himself, Orochi. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Infinity Judge as a main weapon and powered up Life Beads as the secondary. As with my other boss videos, my strategy isn't absolute and I wouldn't mind other effective strategies or advice posted as comments

I'm splitting this battle into 2 videos because it's really long (10 minute upload limit back in 2009) and because Orochi has 2 phases. This will cover his first phase. Orochi has 8 heads that do different attacks, but I only focused on three of them in this video.

I started with the head that appears in from of Ammy and went to the heads on the right. The initial head spits fire (dodge the flames), to the right, the head that spits buds (The buds will spew a cursed fog if left alone, meaning you won't be able to use your brush for a short time) and to the right of that, the head that creates tornados (use your Gale brush stroke to overpower the tornado). In a previous try I noticed that some of the other heads need Power Slashing in order to cancel their attacks. So anyways, each head that's right above Ammy will use said attacks and then roar, while roaring you need to bust out your brush and draw a Waterspout line from the gold pool of sake to the heads' mouth. When you do that to the same mouth twice, it'll get drunk and get the spins. You only need to sauce up 3 of the heads with sake and then Orochi will take a nap. While he's sleeping off his hangover, run up the neck closest to you and give the bell a good banging with your weapon. Use a Steel Fist Sake and smash that bell to pieces as fast as you can because if you don't break it in one attempt, you'll have to get 3 heads drunk again and repeat (which will really hurt your time bonus). For the next half of the fight, refer to part 2.

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PART 2

https://youtu.be/m0XxxFfX7qo

The second half of the fight will take longer than the first because now you have to wipe out all 8 heads. Orochi's protective barrier is gone now so it's time for Ammy to get down to business! Take on whatever head you want now since they've lost their special attacks that they used earlier (I think). Just make sure you do one at a time and when you're in front of a head, stand back a ways because the neighboring heads will swing and hurt you if you're too close. The head in front of you will pause for a moment and then lunge at you really fast, which can be easily avoided with good timing and a sidestep. After the big lunge, it'll recoil and roar...you know what that means, get it blitzed with some more sake! After that it'll turn purple and fall to the ground so start clobbering. Beat it to a pulp with your weapon and Power Slashes, if your using a weaker weapon and can't kill it in one go then repeat the process and finish it off. After you defeat 4 heads, fireballs will rain down from the heavens so do your best to avoid those as you go along especially if you're going for a high no damage bonus. Repeat your drunkening and massacre of all 8 heads to finish Orochi off, then it's time for another Susano-Style mini-game, a new Divine Instrument and a nice plot twist.

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#6 - Blight

https://youtu.be/rXrPCpZxv30

Skip ahead to 2:15 to bypass the dialog if you want.
This 6th fight is against a boss named Blight. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Infinity Judge as a main weapon and powered up Snarling Beast as the secondary (and the God skill that increases damage when two reflectors are equipped).

Blight is not overly difficult but can be a bit tricky. You'll be using your newfound Mist brush stroke quite a bit in this encounter. Sometimes he'll stop for a moment and reach for his sword, when he does that, use your mist stroke to slow him down and dodge. He'll pause and lose color at which time you can attack him and knock his sword away. Use a Steel fist Sake and pound away at the sword itself to do some major damage but be careful because after a few seconds the sword will hurt you with a small poisonous shockwave before returning to it's owner. Sometimes he'll also summon a bunch of swords that will swirl around him, when he does that use Mist again and Power Slash the blue sword so you can smash it up. Watch out though because the remaining swords will still come at you so jump over them. You'll learn that hitting the blue sword itself when it's knocked out will be the most effective way to kick this guy's ass. That's pretty much it. Rejoice because once you beat him, you'll get a new rosary.

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#7 - Evil Rao

https://youtu.be/HOViLnqdgOw

Skip ahead to 4:30 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The 7th fight is against a boss named Evil Rao. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Infinity Judge as a main weapon and powered up Snarling Beast as the secondary (and the God skill that increases damage when two reflectors are equipped).

I didn't record the fight against the foxes in the Water Dragon's stomach. It seemed more like a mini-boss fight to me so I left it out just like the fights against the Canine Warriors. As for this video, the fight isn't all that long but the dialog takes up the majority of the video.

Right away you'll notice that Evil Rao is pretty agile and if you attack her head-on, she'll sometimes counter attack you if you're fighting close range. She'll do alot of jumping around and she'll even summon floating swords that will home in on you. They can be easily avoided by running and double jumping though. Once in a while she'll do a divebomb attack which can be dodged with good timing and a sidestep, after that attack she'll be stunned for a while and you can hammer away at her with a good combo and a Power Slash. As long as your good at dodging her attacks, you shouldn't have too many problems although I did have a few of my own in this video.

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#8 - Ninetails

https://youtu.be/gHZzNrlAvco

Skip ahead to 2:00 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The 8th fight is against a Demon Fox named Ninetails (Naruto anyone?). This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Infinity Judge as a main weapon and powered up Snarling Beast as the secondary (and the God skill that increases damage when two reflectors are equipped).

The most difficult battle I've dealt with so far, and rightly so. You won't be able to hurt ninetails right away so for now just keep dodging his attacks, sometimes he'll use his tails to shoot acid around you or create spikes that home in on you. My reflexes were crappy in this fight and I had a really hard time dodging the forward charge attack Ninetails does throughout the battle. Normally you can just double jump over it if you're quick enough. Anyways for the other attacks I mentioned above, you can just simply run around and dodge them. Once in a while Ninetails will raise up a sword at which time you should use your brush and zap it with your Thunderbolt stroke (be quick because Ninetails has a brush too and will try to cancel your strokes). This will cause Ninetails to burst into smaller individual beings that represents one of it's tails. Kill them as fast as you can (use exorcism slips if you don't want to be mobbed) and Ninetails will come back together again (notice it loses tails when one of those lesser beings is killed) in which you should repeat the whole sword zapping process over again until finally only one tail is left. Ninetails will turn orange and can now be injured by your attacks. It will charge at you much faster than before so do your best to dodge it. After the charge attack, counter it with your Mist Veil brush stroke and get a combo and a Power Slash in before it wears off. Keep on doing that until finally Ninetails takes a dirt nap.

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#9 - Oki

https://youtu.be/7qj-ikBys6s

Skip ahead to :38 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The 9th fight is against the Oina Tribesman, Oki. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Blade of Kusanagi as a main weapon and powered up Snarling Beast as the secondary.

This is a hell of alot easier than the fight against Ninetails in my opinion. Oki has 2 phases in this battle. The first phase involves his human form which to me seemed like an upgraded form of Waka. Like Waka, Oki will throw some swords at you and also like Waka, you should Power Slash one back at him to stun him so you can get in a good combo and Power Slash. He will also shoot cold air at you which will freeze you temporarily so do try to avoid that. Anyways once you beat the crap out of him he'll turn into his second form, a wolf.

During this wolf form (second phase) of his he's much more agile, has better defense and more hit points so use a Steel Soul Sake if you have some. For one his attacks he'll stick his sword in a ground which covers a small area around his body, if you're hit you'll take damage and freeze. Once in a while he'll summon 2 dopplegangers of himself which can be easily dispelled by the upgraded Inferno Tech if you got it (draw the infinity symbol). Watch your Ink meter though because that stroke alone takes up 3 bottles. Occasionally he'll summon a buch of icicles to throw at you but you can't hit them back. Also like the previous canine warrior fights (which I did not bother recording because they're mini-bosses) he'll do a forward charge attack and a claw combo all of which can freeze you. This claw combo is different though, he'll cover more area with it plus he'll finsh it off with an air to ground spin attack in which you should attack while he recovers from doing it. He'll also use said spin attack without doing the full combo so watch out for that when he just randomly jumps in the air. Use Mist Veil if you're having a hard time but I think the best chance to attack is after he uses his spin attack since he can't do anything for a few seconds afterwards.

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#10 - Nagi

https://youtu.be/DXmYGDZN5fc

Skip ahead to 2:10 to bypass the dialog if you want.
This 10th fight is The Legendary Hero, Nagi. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Blade of Kusanagi as a main weapon and powered up Seven Strike as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

Much like Waka, Oki and Blight, Nagi has an attack where he summons and throws numerous daggers. Unfortunatley you can't Power Slash these back at him. Now Nagi isn't all that hard if you have some Steel Fist Sake and use the Veil of Mist brush stroke. Fireburst can also distract him for a short time. Other than throwing daggers, he's sort of agile and he has a few quick sword attacks that can be dodged with good timing and a sidestep. Other than that, there isn't much else to say.

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#11 - True Orochi

https://youtu.be/AmbH8xQzA9s

Since this video was going to run over 10 minutes, I already cut out the dialog scenes. The 11th fight is a rematch against Orochi. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Eighth Wonder as a main weapon and powered up Blade of Kusanagi as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

If you're interested in my strategy against Orochi, please read the descriptions for Boss #5 parts 1 and 2. Orochi's attack patterns haven't changed but there are some things different from the last fight. His attacks are more powerful and he has more life and defense in the 2nd phase. Using Steel Fist Sake is highly recommended to speed things up. Also during his second phase, fireballs will start raining down immediately (at least they did for me) but you shouldn't have to worry about them at all since you can equip the Fire Tablet.

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#12 - Nechku

https://youtu.be/QOG8hJnXytM

Skip ahead to 1:55 to bypass the dialog if you want.
This is a pretty much a story battle and you can't lose unless you try, even so I left it in anyway cause I like the scene. Plus you get to see a fully powered Shiranui. The 12th fight is a story battle against the Silver Demon, Nechku. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Thunder Edge as a main weapon and powered up Eighth Wonder as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

For the fight, even if you don't do anything Shiranui will pretty much win this for you. But if you want to try your luck, Nechkku will shoot projectiles which you should hit back. Also Shiranui will also use brush strokes on your scroll if you have it open.

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#13 - Lechku & Nechku

https://youtu.be/8O9HkwzDT0M

Skip ahead to 1:10 to bypass the dialog if you want.
The 13th fight is against the Gold and Silver Demons, Lechku and Nechku. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Thunder Edge as a main weapon and powered up Eighth Wonder as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

The last video against Nechku sort of gave you a taste of what to expect in this fight. Now you're in for some fun. The trick to bringing these guys down is to hit their attacks back at them until they're stunned. However they have quite an array of attacks. You can power slash all of the attacks except the ice shards, the bombs and the flower bud. Dodge the shards, use Inferno or Fireburst on the bomb, and Bloom the bud for some extra health. Lechku (the brown colored one) will hold up a sword once in a while which you should use Thunderbolt on. You'll have to explode the bombs Nechku uses and Power Slash the brown looking thing Lechku uses while it's over their heads or as close to them as possible. Once in a while they'll do a divebomb attack which can be avoided with a well used sidestep but the real damage it does is screw up the camera angle. Anyways once you've hit back enough of their projectiles, one will get stunned and Oki will run back towards Ammy and offer himself to be used as an arrow. Get close to Oki and hold the triangle until Oki has been fully loaded and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ back onto the bow. Let him fly! After Oki has been shot out and is clawing away, you need to double jump and knock the demon down and out. You'll now have a few seconds to do some major damage before you have to repeat the whole grounding process again. Use Steel Fist Sake to do more damage or Vengence Slips if you're having problems.

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#14 - End Boss (3 Parts)

PART 1

https://youtu.be/SjTq1jOj3w4

Skip ahead to 5:30 to bypass the dialog if you want. This is a boss you can make real easy or real hard depending what you use or don't use. You can basically choose your own hard difficulty here by not healing, not using Vengence Slips and not using Steel Fist Sake. I did it the easy way though because I wanted the Yen bonuses. The last fight is against the first 2 phases of the Lord of Darkness, Yami. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Thunder Edge as a main weapon and powered up Eighth Wonder as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

There are alot of details to cover for this fight. Yami goes through 4 phases at first, then there's a long scene before his final, 5th phase. This video covers some dialog with Waka and then the first 2 forms of Yami. Before the fight, make sure you're stocked up of lots of Vengence Slips and Steel Fist Sake. So to start off, Yami saps Amaterasu of her Celestial Brush techniques so you'll start off without being able to use any ink or techs. Yami will roll around the arena, smashing up the floor. Dodge what you can for now and then what you'll wanna do is use a Vengence Slip and a Steel Fist Sake, then attack Yami until it coughs up your Rejuvination Tech, then you'll have your weapons back. Use your Rejuvination tech to repair whatever holes are left in the floor so you don't fall, and then attack Yami with your weapon when you have the opportunity. Throughout the fight you'll get back your brush strokes. Once you get one back, you'll most likely want to use it right away on Yami or else you might not be able to hurt or knock him down until you use the right stroke. So anyways keep on beating him up until he moves onto his 2nd phase, the green ball. He's usually covered in flames from the get go and you can't do anything about it except dodge. He'll stop for a while so you can pummel him and eventually you'll get back your Bloom stroke and your Waterspout stroke. There are water spouts on the edge of the arena you can use to put out his fire with that stroke. For other information, please watch the video.

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PART 2

https://youtu.be/0zPtyxhv-4s

This is a boss you can make real easy or real hard depending what you use or don't use. You can basically choose your own hard difficulty here by not healing, not using Vengence Slips and not using Steel Fist Sake. I did it the easy way though because I wanted the Yen bonuses. The last fight is against the 3rd and 4th phases of the Lord of Darkness, Yami. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Thunder Edge as a main weapon and powered up Eighth Wonder as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

In his 3rd phase he's now blue and he has suddenly become a death dealing slot machine. Equip the fire tablet for starters if you haven't yet. He'll open up which will show 3 different slots, take out your brush and Power slash all of them. The only way you're going to do any damage in this form is to hit the projectiles back at him with Power Slashes. Eventually when you take off a certain amount of damage, he'll give you back a brush stroke which you'll need to ward off some more of his attacks. Do your best to survive and beat the crap out of him and eventually he'll move onto his 4th phase. This is the one I hate the most because it can be really frustrating until you get back your thunderbolt tech. You'll want to dodge his combo attacks and at times you'll notice his core is exposed. Don't try using your brush on it or it'll close up and you'll miss your opportunity to attack. Instead just bum rush it with your main weapons and attack it. Keep repeating that process until you get your Thunderbolt tech back. When Yami raises 2 swords up the air, use thunderbolt to zap them and you'll knock Yami's core out, making it much easier to damage. Keep repeating that

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PART 3

https://youtu.be/UuGS6et6sio

Skip ahead to 7:00 to bypass the dialog if you want. This is a boss you can make real easy or real hard depending what you use or don't use. You can basically choose your own hard difficulty here by not healing, not using Vengence Slips and not using Steel Fist Sake. I did it the easy way though because I wanted the Yen bonuses. The last fight is against the final phase of the Lord of Darkness, Yami. This strategy is based on using Amaterasu's powered up Thunder Edge as a main weapon and powered up Eighth Wonder as the secondary (and the skill that increases damage when two Glaives are equipped).

After an almost 7 minute long scene of dialog (kinda reminds me of the Earthbound final battle) Amaterasu will now be at the peak of her power. In this very last form of Yami, he'll attack you with everything he has and some moves are nearly if not impossible to dodge. The core will now be on the big hand and you have a really small window of opportunity to attack it. Use your Vengence Slips and Steel Fist Sake and get as close to the core as possible and wail away on it. There really isn't much more to it than that except don't try using your brush strokes on it because like in his 4th phase, the core will close up once you open your scroll. If you're really really fast with your brush you may be able to Power Slash the core once or twice but I don't think that is the best method.

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Outro

Well that's it, all the important story battles I recorded. if you found this guide useful, rate it up and consider subscribing to my Youtube Channel. If I made any mistakes, post below. And feel free to post your own strategies in the comments as well!

[Phoenix]

Shiranui isn't doing anything during the Nechku fight, any idea what it might mean?

[ArtificialRaven]

I noticed the embeded vids were broken due to using Steams easy formatting. It's fixed now, every video should play properly.