PUZZLES
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Mask Puzzle Solution
Solve the Underground Laboratory Mask Puzzle with the 3-4-1-2 bow order, collect the Unsettling Mask, stop the contraption and continue the mission.
Quick answer
During What Lurks in the Shadows on Underground Laboratory Level 3, shoot the four hanging masks with the Oni Bow in this left-to-right order: 3 → 4 → 1 → 2. The cage opens and lets you collect the Unsettling Mask, which fits the matching face-shaped door near the Spirit Mirror.
Where the Mask Puzzle is
The puzzle appears in the Underground Laboratory during the main mission What Lurks in the Shadows. In the large room, four masks hang from the ceiling above a locked reward. The solution clue is outside the puzzle room rather than beside the targets.
Look at the shadows cast near the entrance. Each clue face shows a different number of openings. Reading them from one opening through four gives the required target sequence.
Mask shooting order
Number the hanging masks 1, 2, 3, 4 from left to right while facing them. Then:
- Shoot mask 3.
- Shoot mask 4.
- Shoot mask 1.
- Shoot mask 2.
Use the Oni Bow and complete the sequence without inserting a different target. When the mechanism accepts the order, the masks rise and the cage opens.
What the puzzle gives you
Take the Unsettling Mask from the opened cage. Return toward the Spirit Mirror and use it on the door with the corresponding face mechanism. This opens the route deeper into the Laboratory.
If the door does not respond, confirm that the item was collected after the shooting sequence; opening the cage alone is not enough.
How to stop the Laboratory contraption
The next mechanism uses two levers rather than another mask order:
- Enter the room on the right and use the first lever.
- Defeat the enemy that appears.
- Follow the newly opened route and activate the second lever.
That stops the contraption and lets the mission continue. A later trap can lead into another Byakue encounter, so refill Hozuki and check upgrades before pushing far beyond this point.
Why the solution may not work
- Wrong numbering direction: 3-4-1-2 assumes left-to-right numbering while facing the hanging masks.
- Using a melee strike: use the Oni Bow so each target registers cleanly.
- Shooting an extra mask: restart the sequence after a wrong hit rather than continuing from the next number.
- Leaving the reward behind: collect the Unsettling Mask from the cage before returning to the door.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Onimusha mask code?
The shooting order is 3-4-1-2, numbering the masks from left to right.
Which mission contains the puzzle?
What Lurks in the Shadows, inside the Underground Laboratory.
What does the Unsettling Mask open?
It opens the matching face-shaped door near the Laboratory Spirit Mirror and advances the main route.