FF:Enhanced_Reality
Member
I have not yet played Nioh 2! The simple reason being, I never finished the original Nioh. So much came out in the start of 2017 and I already had Resident Evil 7, Gravity Rush 2 and Yakuza 0 to finish before properly diving into Nioh. Horizon Zero Dawn came out not long after. I really enjoyed the BETA before the game came out and I honestly gave it a really good crack and surprisingly I got to the second to last last mission of the launch content but it was so fucking hard, I kept dying and gave up.
I kept promising myself that I would go back but I never did. Then Nioh 2 was announced and with the shift in protagonist the way it is... I kind of wanted to continue playing as William. Even though I didn't know the end of the original Nioh. So I approached the sequel with caution and the last chance demo was actually really really good. I'd rather continue as William but hey, I really liked it, so I ordered it. I promised myself I would go back and finish the original game before it came out and courtesy of the corona virus lock down, I am back and wow, I have learnt a LOT about this game and how to succeed in the time that I last played this game.
I quickly realised that I fucked up because of how I was levelling up my character. I wanted an Onmyo magic build and I just couldn't figure out where I was going wrong. So I did some research and it was clear. My guardian spirit was designed for tanks, with an amrita rating of D which isn't great and would have taken a long time to achieve living weapon, which I kind of relied upon. I'd put so many points into stats that didn't benefit me and I'd stupidly spent the points used to learn weapons and skills. I bought the Sloth talisman but I didn't really look into the Onmyo magic enough because I thought the Sloth talisman was enough so get by.
So coming back to it... I just didn't bother trying to salvage what I had done and instead started again and I learned to appreciate Nioh once again but in a more reflective way. I very much enjoyed the story, the characters, the guardian spirits and the enemies. Every way the game could be characterised was well thought out and executed. The world feels very believable that as a gaijin, more specifically a Brit, that I could genuinely take some of this scenery and environmental design as genuine 1500/1600 Japan. The design didn't feel cheap or creatively lacking. Like I find some Pokemon are just trash and they're quite poorly designed, no thought involved and it's just there to fill a roster and not to fit in with the theme of the game or the identity and game culture that they've created.
I didn't feel this with Nioh. There was enough variance in designs that each guardian spirit felt unique, each character also, with some playing to typical Japanese stereotypes but I didn't feel like I was watching a generic cliche anime series, which I have often felt with certain games. Tekken 7 for example feels like fan service to a Dragonball Z like anime franchise that doesn't exist. I certainly empathised with some characters more than others and even though William felt one directional at times, a lot of his emotion was expressed through thought and contemplation which is why for once, I read every bit of literature the game threw at me. Which is different for me because I got sick of reading that shit in Dead Space 3 and just killed stuff before getting rid of it.
The music is just superb. Some very good pieces of music in there for different moods and it captures the environment perfectly. This particular piece of music for example from the Nakatsu Cavern or Itsukushima Shrine was very powerful and melodic for me. It gives a sense of loneliness, solitary and isolated. It feels almost apocalyptic and yet with it feels quite soulful and longing, like an elephant walking alone in the forest. Just moving forward, not knowing where you are going, just that you need to keep moving forward or risk getting lost in the path behind you and falling into oblivion.
The different graphical settings were great to offer choice and the game settings overall were very complimentary to gamers. As a colour blind gamer I had the opportunity to choose a colour scheme that was good for me which I appreciated but even simple things like displaying head gear or Williams shoulder belt. Just little things but all thoughtful and enjoyable.
The combat is great if you really delve into the skills and develop your build and this is where my second play through really allowed me to come into my own element. This time I didn't randomly sink skill points into needless statistics. I first raised my spirit, body, stamina and dexterity and only what I needed too. Then I pumped every single point of amrita I had into magic and this time I really studied the skill trees, using my magic to it's fullest. I also explored the weapons more given that we didn't have Tonfa and Odachi when the game originally came out, so this was fun to explore different weapons and fighting styles. I found myself abandoning the dual swords I felt were so powerful and instead chose the kusarigama. I came to understand how magic was supposed to be properly and efficiently used, how to re-forge my armour and weapons for maximum effect, especially unlimited Onmyo.
I'd never felt more powerful. Hi-Nezumi as my spirit guardian with exceptionally good amrita skills for fast living weapon. Onmyo magic that would instantly buff my strength, defence, amrita gauge as well as allowing every hit to accumulate amrita, I would add a regen effect and also add a buff to prevent a certain amount of damage. Then, hit the enemy with a sloth talisman, reduce their attack and defense with magic skills, prevent them from regenerating ki with magic and inflict them with different elemental effects using magic shots to inflict confuse. Now to enter living weapon and annihilate.
It wasn't an easy process. I spent a lot of time having to ask for help from other players and summon them into my game. Something that from my Souls experience is considered quite shameful as a gamer but in time it became clear that the game was designed this way. Eventually with the help of others, I over came challenges, saw new ways to approach battles and suddenly I've gone from asking for help to offering help. The tables turned and ironically I was enjoying it. Quite a lot in fairness.
I'm now onto the second DLC bundle having completed the original experience fully and whilst I originally begrudgingly started from scratch, it turned out to be the best thing I could have done. Exploring all those great maps again, from the initial beach and island, the tower of London, the snowy villages and even the dark caverns, I've enjoyed every minute of it. Nioh, I tip my hat off to you and raise my glass. I thought this would have been quite benign and tedious but I've had so much fun that it's been great.
Did anyone else blast through the first Nioh before playing number 2, or will the first make you want to buy number 2?
I very highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a good RPG challenge with a Souls/Borne like difficulty.
I kept promising myself that I would go back but I never did. Then Nioh 2 was announced and with the shift in protagonist the way it is... I kind of wanted to continue playing as William. Even though I didn't know the end of the original Nioh. So I approached the sequel with caution and the last chance demo was actually really really good. I'd rather continue as William but hey, I really liked it, so I ordered it. I promised myself I would go back and finish the original game before it came out and courtesy of the corona virus lock down, I am back and wow, I have learnt a LOT about this game and how to succeed in the time that I last played this game.
I quickly realised that I fucked up because of how I was levelling up my character. I wanted an Onmyo magic build and I just couldn't figure out where I was going wrong. So I did some research and it was clear. My guardian spirit was designed for tanks, with an amrita rating of D which isn't great and would have taken a long time to achieve living weapon, which I kind of relied upon. I'd put so many points into stats that didn't benefit me and I'd stupidly spent the points used to learn weapons and skills. I bought the Sloth talisman but I didn't really look into the Onmyo magic enough because I thought the Sloth talisman was enough so get by.
So coming back to it... I just didn't bother trying to salvage what I had done and instead started again and I learned to appreciate Nioh once again but in a more reflective way. I very much enjoyed the story, the characters, the guardian spirits and the enemies. Every way the game could be characterised was well thought out and executed. The world feels very believable that as a gaijin, more specifically a Brit, that I could genuinely take some of this scenery and environmental design as genuine 1500/1600 Japan. The design didn't feel cheap or creatively lacking. Like I find some Pokemon are just trash and they're quite poorly designed, no thought involved and it's just there to fill a roster and not to fit in with the theme of the game or the identity and game culture that they've created.
I didn't feel this with Nioh. There was enough variance in designs that each guardian spirit felt unique, each character also, with some playing to typical Japanese stereotypes but I didn't feel like I was watching a generic cliche anime series, which I have often felt with certain games. Tekken 7 for example feels like fan service to a Dragonball Z like anime franchise that doesn't exist. I certainly empathised with some characters more than others and even though William felt one directional at times, a lot of his emotion was expressed through thought and contemplation which is why for once, I read every bit of literature the game threw at me. Which is different for me because I got sick of reading that shit in Dead Space 3 and just killed stuff before getting rid of it.
The music is just superb. Some very good pieces of music in there for different moods and it captures the environment perfectly. This particular piece of music for example from the Nakatsu Cavern or Itsukushima Shrine was very powerful and melodic for me. It gives a sense of loneliness, solitary and isolated. It feels almost apocalyptic and yet with it feels quite soulful and longing, like an elephant walking alone in the forest. Just moving forward, not knowing where you are going, just that you need to keep moving forward or risk getting lost in the path behind you and falling into oblivion.
The different graphical settings were great to offer choice and the game settings overall were very complimentary to gamers. As a colour blind gamer I had the opportunity to choose a colour scheme that was good for me which I appreciated but even simple things like displaying head gear or Williams shoulder belt. Just little things but all thoughtful and enjoyable.
The combat is great if you really delve into the skills and develop your build and this is where my second play through really allowed me to come into my own element. This time I didn't randomly sink skill points into needless statistics. I first raised my spirit, body, stamina and dexterity and only what I needed too. Then I pumped every single point of amrita I had into magic and this time I really studied the skill trees, using my magic to it's fullest. I also explored the weapons more given that we didn't have Tonfa and Odachi when the game originally came out, so this was fun to explore different weapons and fighting styles. I found myself abandoning the dual swords I felt were so powerful and instead chose the kusarigama. I came to understand how magic was supposed to be properly and efficiently used, how to re-forge my armour and weapons for maximum effect, especially unlimited Onmyo.
I'd never felt more powerful. Hi-Nezumi as my spirit guardian with exceptionally good amrita skills for fast living weapon. Onmyo magic that would instantly buff my strength, defence, amrita gauge as well as allowing every hit to accumulate amrita, I would add a regen effect and also add a buff to prevent a certain amount of damage. Then, hit the enemy with a sloth talisman, reduce their attack and defense with magic skills, prevent them from regenerating ki with magic and inflict them with different elemental effects using magic shots to inflict confuse. Now to enter living weapon and annihilate.
It wasn't an easy process. I spent a lot of time having to ask for help from other players and summon them into my game. Something that from my Souls experience is considered quite shameful as a gamer but in time it became clear that the game was designed this way. Eventually with the help of others, I over came challenges, saw new ways to approach battles and suddenly I've gone from asking for help to offering help. The tables turned and ironically I was enjoying it. Quite a lot in fairness.
I'm now onto the second DLC bundle having completed the original experience fully and whilst I originally begrudgingly started from scratch, it turned out to be the best thing I could have done. Exploring all those great maps again, from the initial beach and island, the tower of London, the snowy villages and even the dark caverns, I've enjoyed every minute of it. Nioh, I tip my hat off to you and raise my glass. I thought this would have been quite benign and tedious but I've had so much fun that it's been great.
Did anyone else blast through the first Nioh before playing number 2, or will the first make you want to buy number 2?
I very highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a good RPG challenge with a Souls/Borne like difficulty.
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