Onimusha: Way of the Sword has 15 Charms scattered across Kyoto, and every single one of them is tied to either the main story or a side activity. None are hidden in obscure corners waiting for you to stumble over them. They come as quest rewards, which means the real work is knowing which quests to prioritize and how to fund the upgrade grind once you have the full set. Collect all 15 and raise every one to Level 3, and the Charmed Life trophy pops.
How do you unlock Charm upgrades?
Charm enhancement does not open from the start. You need to complete the main mission The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu first. Before that point, the shrine in Enma's Hall simply has no enhancement option available.
Once that mission is done, head to the southeast corner of Enma's Hall and interact with the shrine there. Select Make Offering, pick the Charm you want to raise, and confirm. The upgrade goes through immediately as long as you have enough of both currencies.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Guide: All Charm Locations & How to Upgrade Them
Side content that hands out Charms also has its own unlock gates. Chance Encounters become available after completing The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope, and Mysteries of Kyoto open up after What Lurks in the Shadows. If a named encounter is missing from your log, push the main story forward rather than combing the city for a trigger that has not spawned yet.
All Charm locations in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
One Charm comes from the main story. Six drop from Mysteries of Kyoto, and eight come from Chance Encounters. The table below maps every Charm to its exact source.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Guide: All Charm Locations & How to Upgrade Them
What about bonus Charms from pre-order and Deluxe editions?
Six additional Charms exist outside the 15 that count toward Charmed Life, so none of them affect the trophy. Lion Dog ships with the Standard Edition Early Adopter Bonus. White Monkey comes with the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe editions. Oni Lady, Little Dancer, and Mentor arrive with the paid edition kits. The sixth is Kubi Akari, awarded to players who carry over save data from the free demo. All six are claimed at a Spirit Mirror under the Additional Content menu, and a gold chest icon marks anything uncollected.
How much does it cost to fully upgrade all Charms?
Every Charm uses the same price list regardless of which one you are upgrading, so the total cost is fixed. Here is the per-Charm breakdown:
- Level 2: 3,000 Red Souls and 3,500 Favor
- Level 3: 6,000 Red Souls and 6,500 Favor
Taking all 15 Charms to Level 3 costs 135,000 Red Souls and 150,000 Favor in total. Favor is the real bottleneck. Red Souls pile up naturally from killing Genma, but Favor requires actively trading offering items at the shrine.
How to farm Favor fast
Favor comes entirely from trading offering items at the shrine, so the strategy is to sweep each district thoroughly before leaving. Use Oni Vision to spot items you might walk past, and rescue civilians whenever a Genma attack triggers near them. Speaking to a rescued citizen afterward hands over a reward item worth trading.
Here are the main Favor sources to hit consistently:
- Shining objects on the ground in explorable areas
- Glowing treasure chests (distinct from standard containers)
- Rescued citizens who give items when spoken to after saving
- Merchant stock purchased directly from the merchant
- Yorimasa's Monument, a second purchase point for offering items
Because the full 150,000 Favor total is nowhere near reachable when enhancement first unlocks, prioritize upgrading the Charms you actually have equipped. Leave collection-only Charms at Level 1 until you have spare Favor to burn.
One more thing worth knowing: Charm levels carry into New Game+. Every upgrade you buy on your first run is a permanent head start going into Carnage difficulty, so the grind pays off twice.
For more on building out your character's power, check the guide to all Oni Armament locations and the full combat guide covering Parry, Issen, and Blade Barrage. For everything else across the game, the complete Onimusha: Way of the Sword strategy guides collection has you covered.