Shippuu

Not to be confused with the one-handed version known as True Shippuu in Onimusha: Blade Warriors

Shippuu (疾風丸, lit. Gale Blade) is a double-bladed naginata that appears as a weapon in Onimusha: Warlords and Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. Formed from the Oni Divine Dragon Orb of wind, Arashi, this naginata is infused with the power of wind magic.

History

While little is known of Shippuu's history prior to the events of Onimusha: Warlords, it is believed to have been granted by the Oni Clan to Murokoto, an Oni Warrior that possessed an Oni Gauntlet and close ally to Sougen Osho. At some point during the Onin War, Sougen and Murokoto would discover the Cave of Treachery after learning of Genma kidnapping Humans from a nearby village and bringing them to this cave for reasons then unknown. Bringing with them a number of allies, including the apprentice of Sougen known as Saimyou, the two Oni would enter the cave in the hopes of rescuing the kidnapped villagers.

However, anticipating this attack, the Genma would spring a trap once the Oni had entered the cave, surrounding them and killing the human attackers one-by-one. As his comrades fell around him, Murokoto becomes consumed by rage, causing his Oni Gauntlet to react to his emotions and transform him into an Onimusha. Unfortunately, he would have no control over this power as he attacked everything near him, causing him to mortally wound Sougen as he continued to rage. With little time left to live, Sougen ordered Saimyou to bring his body to the cave's entrance in order to perform his final ceremonial rites and offer himself up as a human sacrifice. With this last act, Sougen successfully sealed the cave, trapping both the Genma and the raging Onimusha inside before succumbing to his wounds. Now unable to escape. Murokoto would eventually die within the Cave of Treachery.

Despite the deaths of both Sougen and Murokoto, the Genma would be left furious upon learning that the Cave of Treachery had been sealed due to it being a link between the Human World and Demon World, significantly delaying their plans to conquer Humanity. Soon after Murokoto's death, Guildenstern would manage to retrieve his corpse and begin experimenting on him. While frustrated at the loss of a link to the Human World, Guildenstern would eventually resurrect Murokoto as a Genma, giving him the name of Marcellus. While inwardly blaming him and Sougen for significantly delaying the Genma's plans, Guildenstern would believe Marcellus to be his greatest creation, soon considering him his pride and joy. While he remains unable to reverse-engineer Murokoto's Oni Gauntlet in order to create their own, Marcellus still retains ownership of Arashi, and though he is left unable to use it to produce Shippuu any more, he instead begins using it to produce his new Man Killer sword, and still proves to still be capable of utilizing at least a portion of Arashi's wind magic. While entirely subservient to Guildenstern, Marcellus becomes a warrior of great pride, hoping to not only prove himself as the greatest warrior alive, but also awaiting the arrival of a human capable of challenging him.

Onimusha: Warlords

Raizan is first introduced in Onimusha: Warlords, and is the third Oni weapon that Samanosuke obtains. After escaping the traps within the Keep of Inabayama Castle with the aid of Kaede, Samanosuke learns that Yumemaru has been kidnapped by the Genma and reaches the upper floors to rescue him, only to find the room he's locked in blocked by a Wind-based Mozun. He then climbs to the roof to find Marcellus awaiting his arrival, drawing his Man Killer sword and challenging Samanosuke to single combat.

In the end, once Samanosuke manages to break through Marcellus' shield, he manages to find a gap in the Genma warrior's defenses and land a definitive blow, defeating Marcellus and sending his body tumbling from the roof to the ground below. As a result of Marcellus' defeat, Samanosuke is able to obtain Arashi, allowing his Oni Gauntlet to form Shippuu. As a double-bladed naginata, Shippuu allows for significantly faster attacks than Raizan or Enryuu, though each individual hit deals less damage as a result. Its magic attack allows Samanosuke to conjure a large tornado around him, striking all targets that are caught in the gale.

Upgrades

Unique to Onimusha: Warlords, Shippuu and Arashi are upgraded separately, with Arashi's level affecting Shippuu's Magic Attack and its effectiveness against Wind-based Mozuns, and Shippuu's level affecting how much damage that Shippuu can inflict with all attacks.

Genma Onimusha

Shippuu's appearance in Genma Onimusha remains identical to its role in Onimusha: Warlords, still making it the third Oni weapon that Samanosuke obtains upon the defeat of Marcellus on the Keep's roof. While its moveset remains the same, it is now capable of charge attacks by holding the X button to make it glow up to three times, then letting the button go to unleash the attack. Unlike future titles, the player can use all three levels of charge attacks at any time, not requiring Shippuu to be upgraded in order to use higher level charges.

While this also upgrades Shippuu's Magic, its Magic Attack now acts on a charge rather than simply pressing the button, meaning a Level 1 Magic Attack can still be performed even if Shippuu has been upgraded to Level 3. Instead of replacing it with a stronger attack, upgrading Shippuu allows the player to charge the magic attack for longer, allowing for a stronger attack if charged for long enough.

Upgrades

In Genma Onimusha, Shippuu and Arashi are now upgraded together rather than separately, meaning that both the weapon's overall damage and its affinity for magic attacks will be upgraded at the same time.

Onimusha 3: Demon Siege

Shippuu returns once again in Onimusha 3: Demon Siege as an Oni weapon wielded by Samanosuke. Unlike its previous appearances, Shippuu is available in the player's inventory as soon as the game begins alongside Raizan and Enryuu, all three of which are already in their MAX forms by default. As a result, they cannot be upgraded with Red Souls.

Following Samanosuke's victory over Ranmaru Mori at Honnoji Temple, he is caught in an unstable Time Fold and sent to Paris, France in 2004 during his battle against Nobunaga Oda. Upon arriving, the power in Samanosuke's Oni Gauntlet is drained, causing him to lose possession of Raizan, Enryuu and Shippuu. However, if the player manages to obtain the Wind Seal from the Dark Realm in the Future Undersea Temple and completes the game, Shippuu will become re-obtainable in all subsequent playthroughs, appearing on the ground immediately after Samanosuke arrives in Paris. Like before, it will be obtained in its MAX form, meaning it cannot be upgraded.

Gallery

Shippuu Level 1

Shippuu Level 2

Shippuu Level 3

Samanosuke using the Shippuu's magic attack against Ranmaru