Nioh2

I personally quite like the Dual-Swords, though I'm still not super familiar with the tech in this game so maybe you have a good reason for not liking them.

I don't think I'm even halfway through yet. I last did the Owl boss in the third region. My progress has slowed due to the RE4 pit being hard to get out of once you're in. Next time I play I'll probably practice some techniques from the tutorial Tai recommended.

-On a side-note
Did you see the gameplay for the next DLC? It's adding some NG-esque talons. Might be pretty fun.

Yeah the Talons are a honestly the reason I bought the game on the sale, I just had to try a weapon like that!

> RE4
Such a fantastic game. Just doing a regular playthrough or something special? Halloween related?

-RE4
Yeah I just popped in my PS4 copy for October with the intent of just playing through once. But then Professional unlocked and I thought "YES", and after that I thought "oh maybe I'll play Separate Ways real quick", which unlocked Ashley's knight armor, which led to another Professional playthrough and it just keeps going on and on.
But yeah so far no challenge runs, but who knows what will happen at this point...

Picked up RE4 on PS4 since it was on sale and fell in said pit lol. Did an OLB run since I was stuck with a first play on normal. Very fun, and you have so much money selling RGY herbs it is broken.

JTB has been doing a lot of RE4 runs on his twitch. He is doing a no item case Red 9 run RN which is great.

-JTB
I admit these streams are probably what triggered me to revisit RE4 in the first place haha. I watched his Original Item Case All Mixed Herb run, but haven't caught up with the Red9 run yet. I like his idea for a Leon Retirement Fund run, so I might do that though maybe I should start with an OLB run as I'm yet to challenge run RE4.

RE4 challenge runs are just such a blast. I still have fond memories of pre-youtube era challenge runs being done on Gamefaqs. We'd just share notes on how everything progressed, made for fun diary-esque reads every day.

Knife Only is still brutal but insanely fun too. Though I must admit my favourite was TMP only and the no-merchant run lateron was great fun too. Really a game that feels made with handicaps in mind as well, Mikami was always catering to that crowd (see REmake's reward), so that's really sweet. Fact that you can still have a good loadout without the Merchant i.e. punisher, shotgun, rpg, broken butterfly shows a lot imo.

Really a game that has something for everyone. Great fun to speedrun too, great score-attack game.

Is a Knife Only run even possible? I mean I can imagine most of it being possible, but how would you do Salazar? OR Sadler? I need to look this up later.
But yeah the game is pretty much as good as it gets. The only real problem I have with the game is one I pretty much have with every old console shooter, in that there's too much acceleration and aiming kinda drives me crazy sometimes. And the game's maybe a little too long for my tastes. Other than that it's Top Tier in my eyes.

This used to be a Nioh 2 thread haha. whoops...

Knife Only is possible, I've done it when I was younger. First did it on Normal and then on Pro. There are of-course run-exceptions as there usually are with these types of heavy restriction runs.

You have to use your gun to shoot some crates in 2-1 near the waterfall for example and to shoot the driver of the drill. Lava-room also requires a pistolshot IIRC. Water-room needs a few to stagger some enemies with Ashley. Salazar cannot be knifed, you need to use a weapon. Generally speaking to add some challenge players use an un-upgraded Handgun or Punisher for that fight. You'll need around 500 rounds to get him down.

Saddler is perfectly doable, doubly so if you allow usage of the cranes (I did).

Hardest part of the run was, for me, the Knights room, Waterroom and the bulldozer section. That part was just pure luck on my part, I know people struggle with it immensely but I got insanely lucky there, twice I feel. Note that you can run past a lot of tough fights, and I used some despawn tactics. I'm not above playing dirty haha. Most bosses were pretty easy if you managed to get a good loop.

> length
Agreed, honestly around the time I reach Disc 2 I kind of zone out. The village and castle are the best parts for sure. The Island is good too, but just too many heavy combat sections imo and I don't like its style if you get me. I have the same problem with other games I adore like God Hand and Ninja Gaiden II. Fantastic games but a tad too long for my taste.

> Nioh 2 thread
I'm just happy people are talking!

Oh god yeah I didn't even think about the knight room. Yeah I'll stay away from the knife run haha.
Honestly I generally get pretty bored with "whatever" only runs. I've never finished one, as I just burn-out pretty quick when I'm stuck with just one thing. Sometimes I'll do it for a specific boss or challenging segment, but a whole game is just too much for me. I enjoy watching them sometimes, and hearing the strategies people come up with, but I personally find them overwhelmingly tedious.
That might be a bit contentious as a lot people here seem to favor them. But eh... I like what I like.

That's the most important thing: do what you like. Everyone has their own tastes and niche, so that's fine :) I used to love just replaying bosses, had a whole GC-memorycard dedicated to bosses for that system haha.

With challenge runs it helps to do them on Easy first, or Normal - makes it a lot less intimidating and gives you plenty of room to try shit out.

So apparently Nioh 2's upcoming DLC has a lot of Ninja Gaiden stuff in it, from the Falcon's Talons to Ren Hayabusa and Rasetsu being a boss. Sick stuff! Cannot wait to play it.

I really need to dive back into Nioh 2 sometime soon!

Love the game but I played SO much of Nioh 1 that I have found Nioh 2 not quite grabbing me as much despite the improvements.

It's a great game, but the enviroments really hold it back. The second-to-last and last world are the only ones with good levels imo.

Yeah, I kind of think they should have waited to next-gen for Nioh 2 as some things look quite dated/subpar now to be honest...and I still think there is just not enough that sets it apart from Nioh 1.

But if it means they are focusing on a new Ninja Gaiden for next-gen then I am glad they got Nioh 2 done and out of the way when they did:)....

Nioh 2's combat is a lot of fun once you get some abilities and Yokai moves, as you basically have infinite ki that way and it's more about positioning than meter-management which is great. Also Phantom Form is basically Royal Guard which is really fun!

"Nioh 2 - Complete Edition" for steam announced today.
Now if only they'd get around to a Steam Release for NG...

I find it bizarre that a game series that started only in 2017, and got an entry in this year is already getting a remaster. Not even just a port, a straight-up remaster. Yet there still isn't an 8th, or 9th-gen port for Ninja Gaiden yet...

That's modern gaming for you. The Last of Us came out in 2013 and has had 3 releases iirc. Though the award still goes to Resident Evil 4 haha. That said, it's just a port right? Cannot imagine ever playing Nioh 1 again thanks to 2.

> Ninja Gaiden
Technically the Xbox One versions are complete remasters. New textures, bugfixes etc. But I know what you mean (i.e. PC release haha).

>Technically the Xbox One versions are complete remasters. New textures, bugfixes etc.

Any source on this? Pretty sure it is just AA, AF and a higher Resolution.

> source
My experience. All the chest-crashes were fixed in NGII, I doubt the textures were 4k-ready on the disc (NGII looks especially clean), NG:B removed the 'wall visual' in the shadow-realm that obfuscated your view (a really lovely fix) and iirc there were also some other minor bugfixes. There was a thread on NGrealm iirc on those.

I'd call that at least a propper remaster. Even then, just doing AA, AF and a higher resolution is more effort than some "HD remasters" did last gen (looking at you DMCHDtrilogy...)

Mario wiiu looks breathtaking at 4k on pc emulation, that is just a pure up res.
I think NG2 just has amazing art direction by talented people and looks great blown up.

I have personally never had any bugs on NG2 but lord knows your play time is probably 100x mine so i'll trust you there, could be that just changing hardware fixed the bugs somehow. I hope 360 emulation gets better so I don't need to buy a series X just for NG2.

Beat the game and all its DLC on the base setting. Despite my insane praise for the game I will not be revisiting it. It is just too much of a time sink and the numerous difficulty modes and gear/grind aren't my thing anymore. It was great to kill time a few years ago, but now I've kind of seen it I feel.

Final DLC was very nicely done and had some memorable fights and areas. Final two towers was a neat little throwback, but the final boss really wasn't my thing to be honest. Also not a fan of the 'final' boss being done so many times with remixes implemented. 

Still, really one of their best games. Blows Nioh 1 out of the water imo.

So... The game isn't even starting up for me on PC. Just black-screens as soon as I hit play, or run the icon as admin. No starting screen, no settings, no logos, just crashes.

Great start. Nothing kills the hype for a game as hard as technical issues.

PC-masterrace! Yay!

But seriously, sucks man. Have you tried this?
https://quoramarketing.com/fix-nioh-2-ce-complete-edition-crash-at-startup-wont-launch-not-loading/

Welp, I can safely say that I've tried all of these options, and none of them worked

I bought the game to give it another go, see how it holds up. I always loved the online-mode but could never play it on PS4 due to PSNplus being required which sucked ass. And now I can start playing with the Fists immediately which were my favourite weapon. It's installing now I'll hit you up on how it performs for me.

Despite having a pretty decent rig, the game just seems very badly optimized, have to play on low for a decent 60fps (and even then it sometimes randomly chugs). Also noticing some slight button input drops which...took me aback. Don't have the crashing issue though.

Also one weird thing is that character-creation codes don't carry over, which I feel is a big oversight.

So, for lack of any better options so far, I am playing this on PS4 for now.

General impressions:

I decided to run with a Scythe/Sword/Tomahawk combo. Tomahawks are pretty damn fun, it's also nice that they have a ranged option for when you don't feel like dealing with some trash mob, or to chip away at an enemy's health from a distance. Also love how aggressive the scythe is, and how it chews away enemy stamina.

The bosses so far are all pretty good. I think Gosuki/Mezuki are much better intro bosses than Derrick/Onryoki. Enenra wasn't too bad, overall a pretty straightforward fight. Predictably, Yatsu-no-Kami was the bump up in difficulty. Mostly tricky due to how it moves, and its large health bar, but it wasn't too bad.

Level design seems to be better overall, but not significantly so.

Liking how enemies are much more mobile/aggressive to compensate for their reduced damage.

Having some trouble nailing the Feral parry though; I oftentimes use the move, only for me to slide right past the enemy's attack, which at times makes it a glorified dodge.

You should see the Burst Counter Feral as a emergency dodge that can at time do the counter. Since you can still use Counters and regular Yokai moves even when out of ki (or recovering a full drain), it is perfect to escape as such. Personally I prefer the Shadow Counter, which is basically Royal Guard (works against everything except grabs iirc).

Personally Enrioki or w/e was the hardest boss for me, the Asura's Wrath guy. He always gave me trouble. Though currently I'm just not using Elixers. I'm using a build that gives me HP per kill so I'll heal that way.

PC version still not working for you? The online is absolutely busted atm sadly, very shoddy release.

Nioh 2 still isn't working for me on PC. I've been managing to get the hang of timing the Feral counter somewhat.

Managed to beat Imagawa, and Ninja Weasel. Both were really hard for me, don't understand why. Probably because Nioh 2's bosses move really differently to Nioh 1's. For Imagawa, I just gave up, and kept on chucking axes at him the whole fight. Will figure out how to actually go head-to-head with him later.

As for Ninja Weasel, I realized that I hadn't been using my Soul Core abilities the entire time. So I started using the Demon Undercut to hammer down its ki, and then when it was stunned, I sicced Yatsu-no-Kami on it while comboing with the axe for big damage.

Imagawa can be cheesed pretty hard IIRC if youstay really close up to him.The Weasel is a tough nut too! Note that the Yokai abilities deal massive max-ki damage when their ki is drained, allowing for a knock-down.

Beat a few more bosses; Tatarimokke, Magara Naotaka, and Azai Nagamasa. The latter are probably the most fun fights so far.

I like the concept of Owl Fisher's fight, but I also felt that the red orb was kind of spongy. Not a bad fight though, and hey, experiments don't always pan out perfectly.

Magara Naotaka's basically designed for you to get up close, and start dodging all his attacks. It's fairly simple overall, but there's a real nice, satisfying rhythm to slipping past all his attacks, and then hitting back, or managing to slip behind him, and then combo his back while he attacks. And then going wild on him once his stamina's knocked out. Simple, but fun fight.

Nagamasa was very obviously built more to be flashy than challenging, but damn, if it doesn't do that well. All his melee burst moves are ridiculously easy to burst counter, and you can get behind his wing shield by using Eagle's Shadow on him. The first tomahawk he'll block, but the second hit is basically guaranteed. He's also pretty easy to stunlock.

I've found that Mountain Hawk is really useful for A. Either being a really quick combo ender that lets you follow up with a ki pulse, or another move, or B. When enemies jump backwards to try and dodge your next attack.

Gotta say, even if the low-stance on the tomahawks seems to do too little damage to justify its speed (And I get that the point of low stance is low damage, but high mobility), I really like these things.

NIOH 2 IS FINALLY WORKING ON MY PC. ABOUT FUCKING TIME. If you're wondering the solution, I updated my Windows from 1607 to 1809.

Anyway, I'm running with Splitstaff + Fists this time around, and they're super fun so far. I'm gonna try a little experiment: Since the staff and fists have no RB + B input, I'll try mapping weapon switching to that to see if I can squeeze out a more aggressive playstyle.

Alright. So I'm currently on Ryomen Sukuna in terms of boss fights. Here's what I think of each boss from Nagamasa onwards:

Magoichi - Definitely a LOT more difficult than his Nioh 1 incarnation. Mainly because he doesn't get his stamina drained when knocked out of the sky. Fun fight, though.
Gyuki - The token giant monster boss. This one was really stupid.
Kasha - Nothing technically wrong with them, but I didn't enjoy this one either.
Ryomen Sukuna - Haven't beaten yet, but is really fun so far. The mechanics of the boss are cool, but what really sets it apart is the animation work. It's fun to watch this dude move around.

Anyway, while I'm still having fun with this game, I can't help but also not feel as strongly towards it as I do the first Nioh. It's probably nostalgia speaking, but I don't find a lot of the bosses, or the levels to be as memorable as the first game (Although that one had its fair share of forgettable stuff as well). Maybe this will get better later, since I'm only on the third region. There are a LOT of improvements over the first game to be sure, but there's something about it that just makes it less memorable.

So, I think I'm beginning to understand what @Infinity_Divide and @hedfone were saying about Dishonoured 2, and The Evil Within 2. Although this is an even weirder case, since this game has the same directors, same engine, and was released in the same console generation as the first one.

I can sort of understand, though in this case I think it's more the 'sense of awe' than that something was really changed. Nioh 2 is just this giant expansion pack for Nioh 1, I think that's a better way to look at it. Nearly all of Nioh 1's bosses and levels return (in some form or fashion), all the weapons and moves are there (and then some), I seriously don't think there's anything in Nioh 1 that's in Nioh 2 at this point. So in my eyes the original seems a tad invalidated by the sequel. Even though I admit to also having better memories of the original (since it was so refreshing).

I finally picked this up on pc and am playing it completely coop with a friend. I know it makes the game much easier, but it is still a ton of fun. And in coop when ever some bullshit happens and you get nioh'd, your buddy can just revive you.
This game seems much better than the first. Love the burst counter and yokai moves.
There are so many weapons too jeez they added a lot. I saw the fists and scythe at the beginning and had to pick them lol.
Only played to enenra so far. Good game.