Bakumatsu Kourinden ONI Secrets & Hidden Mechanics

Kongouyasha’s two questions

At the Kongouyasha Shrine in Ezo, talk to the priest, then stand before the altar. The god asks two questions and checks your answers against flags the game has been quietly setting all along.

Two quirks. The Izumo Power Orb and the Ruins Village chests cost karma but are not on Kongouyasha’s list. And sparing the Ayashibi in Beppu sets the same flag as robbing the Edo savings jar, so a finished Youkai Village makes the god count you as a thief. One more theft check in his list is never set anywhere in the game: probably a theft spot that was cut before release.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 16

The hidden bushido quest

A ronin in Kyoto lectures anyone who passes: “A man lives by bushido!” Talk to him and he asks you to find his eight pupils, each preaching a different virtue somewhere in Japan. Visit all eight, return to him, and you earn +7 karma. No quest log mentions it, and neither old guide found it. Pupils attack instead of talking when your karma is below 20.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 3 (the master)

How the Youkai Village fills up

Say Yes to Tanukichi in Beppu and he founds a village for harmless youkai on Shikoku. From then on, youkai you spare across Japan move in. They unlock in four stages, and each stage is started by one “key” youkai. Starting the next stage removes the unrecruited youkai of the previous one, so order matters:

1. Stage 1 (after Tanukichi): the Kappa in Rokkou, the Tsurube-otoshi in Hachinohe, Bakebi in Umibe. Key: Korobo in Nikkou.
2. Stage 2: Kooni in the Iida storehouse, Ayashibi in Izumo, Pokkun in Herai, and (optional) the Running Jizo in Hakodate. Key: Tsurube in Takachiho.
3. Stage 3: Tanujou in Iida, Yukihime in Toyama, Kaparou in Yamashiro. Key: the Kappa at the Kourai shrine, who wants to see a Ranjatai.
4. Stage 4: the Ayashibi in Beppu, Tanumi in Nikkou, the Ayashibi in Okayama, Korori in Umibe.

With all sixteen required residents, Tanukichi gives you Furinkazan. Most friendly answers are worth +2 karma. The Ranjatai can be bought in Kyoto for 50,000 gold before you are wanted, taken in Abashiri afterwards (theft, −5), or bought in Ihika Village late in the game.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 15 (full list with every answer)

Wanted by the Shogun

When you return from America, the Shogun ambushes you outside Yokohama. From that moment you are wanted in Japan for the rest of the game; nothing in the script ever lifts it.

• Most weapon, armor and item shops in Japan refuse you (“By order of the Shogun…”).
• Twelve innkeepers call the officers instead of renting a room: a battle, and a game over if you lose.
• Still open: Abashiri’s left-hand item shop, the Yokohama travel-goods and ship-shell sellers, and every shop abroad.
• New things open too: the Ranjatai in Abashiri can be taken, Sora in Kyoto will join, and new events play in Ezo.

Before you sail home, buy anything you still need from Japanese shops: the Hozutsu for Richard (Kyoto or Edo) and the Magoroku for Takeaki (Yamashiro).

At the ambush, answering Yes to “Return to the Shogun?” costs 5 karma, and a second Yes ends the game.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 22

The gods who visit a sinner’s home

Resting at home with Mayuki is more than a free heal. With karma below 21, Binbougami, the god of poverty, appears in Yamato’s dream; at exactly 0 it is Yakubyougami, the god of plague. Both visits are warnings with no other effect. At the other end, karma 100 turns the same rest into Mayuki’s blessing and the Seven Gods summon.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 1

Saizou’s hide-and-seek

The ninja Saizou in Yamashiro only shows himself if Densuke, Kanpei and Kouryu are all in your party (the old guide names only two of them). After you first talk to him, he hides again every time you enter the village, on one of two rooftops chosen at random.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 13

The Treant’s pineapple lottery

A Treant in the Niji Forest trades a reward for every Pineapple you bring. The script rolls a random number: a Gods Charm or a Rice Ball, 50/50. There is a third branch that would give a Kongoujou, but it needs a roll the game never makes, so older notes promising a Kongoujou here are wrong.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 19

The Hiramitsu Tower seal

Once you seal the Spirit Hole beneath Hiramitsu Tower, an escape begins and every floor above 1F is sealed for good. The tower’s 3F chest holds the only Red Tachi in the game, which is exactly what Kurama in Hachinohe wants in exchange for joining you. Sweep the upper floors before you seal the Spirit Hole at the bottom of the tower.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 12

Hokutomaru’s cave and the last summon

Once you hold Onimaru, a sealed cave between Takachiho and Kagoshima opens: five floors, 34 chests, and no transforming allowed inside. At the bottom, Minami’s spirit heals you (every visit). Walk back out through the entrance with all 16 other summons learned and Hokutomaru grants Seima Doji. The list includes Inari (the fox in Kagoshima), Gundari (before Touya leaves) and the Seven Gods (karma 100).

In the walkthrough: Chapter 14 and Chapter 28

Ship refits and the interest-free loan

Yuemon in Yokohama turns your raft into a ship for 1,000 gold, then refits it four more times, for 3,000, 5,000, 7,000 and 10,000 gold, when the ship reaches rank 3, 8, 13 and 18. After the Gyuuki Cave a man in Yokohama offers an interest-free loan of 10,000 gold. Borrowing costs −10 karma; repaying gives the 10 back and lets you borrow again.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 17

The point of no return

On the final visit to Mt. Fuji the game asks “Are you ready?”. Yes, or walking back into the mountain after answering No, locks you inside: every NPC ally leaves (your pet stays) and the exit is blocked. Before that, the crater, Crater Tower and Sky Pavilion also close once the Snakelace is placed in the machine. And one trap earlier: before you meet the Ihika Elder, a crowd on Mt. Fuji asks “Run away from here?”; answering No is a game over.

In the walkthrough: Chapter 28 (last-chance list)

Left on the cutting-room floor

The script also holds pieces that can never be reached in normal play:

• A developer test block in Iida Town that hands out 60,000 gold and about 25 items, with shortcuts to later scenes.
• Three copies of a debug message, “フラグをセットしたよ” (“the flag is set!”).
• Unused arrival signs for Izumo Village (two versions) and Toyama Village, and a Japanese “It’s Iida Town!” test line.
• A lever on Mt. Minakami with the prompt “There’s a handle. Pull the handle?” that nothing triggers.
• An older version of the scene where Doujigiri awakens, and an older Hiramitsu sealing scene with its own battle.
• A separate “Got the Emerald Earring!!” pickup in Ruins Village, replaced by the combined Tiara + Earring event.
• A hint from Natsume at the Rio Grande (“Let’s ask around in Grande Village”) and a second version of Yuemon’s “Got the money?” question.

These are left untranslated in the patch on purpose: the game never shows them.