Are you a gamer who has an interest in playing a Souls-Type game but have avoided trying one for fear of getting your virtual ass handed to you over and over, leading to you rage quitting and questioning why you play games to begin with? I’ve been there. But what if I told you that playing and beating a Souls-Type game is not the impossible task that you may have been led to believe it is? Join me as I share my experiences and gameplay footage of the many boss battles I fought my way through in Nioh; you might even learn a thing or two, like how to properly beat some of these bosses after seeing them smack me around a bit. Welcome to Nioh Respawn: Blade of the Noob, and enjoy yourselves.
Boss #19: Saika Magoichi
Yet another human opponent for me to battle against. And I was fully expecting this one to kill me at least a couple of times when I saw just how swift and tricky he was. Saika Magoichi is not only capable of flying around at high speeds and tossing bombs, but he is also a crack shot with his rifle. Unlike William, who must use his firearm weapons through an over-the-shoulder perspective and properly aim his shots (which is not ideal in direct confrontations, let alone boss battles), Saika Magoichi can freely fire his rifle from a distance or up close at a moment’s notice, and he can even block attacks with his sword and immediately follow up with a rifle shot. While this guy doesn’t excel in close-range combat like most other bosses in this game, his swiftness and array of firearm and explosive attacks make him a tricky opponent to deal with. But, I surprised myself yet again by somehow managing to defeat this guy in one go. While it wasn’t an easy battle, it turns out I overestimated this guy. The key to dealing with him is to try to keep up with him as much as possible and to get in close so he doesn’t wear you down with his long-range attacks (and to not let yourself get hit too many times by the gunshot attack he performs right after blocking melee attacks, which I admittedly fell for a few too many times). Enjoy the show below.
Boss #20: Otani Yoshitsugu
I was rather intimidated when I first saw this guy floating towards me. He is a yokai/demon enemy who used to be human and, much like the human warriors I’ve faced thus far, also possesses a Guardian Spirit. Furthermore, he is the first opponent that can use the same Living Weapon ability William has where he charges his weapons with the power of his Guardian Spirit to drastically increase his melee damage and gain extra abilities in the process. Nevertheless, aside from being able to use an irritating dashing sword slash attack at the drop of a hat, Otani Yoshitsugu was a surprisingly simple boss to contend with, and most of his attacks were rather easy to read and avoid. This guy was not the easiest boss I faced, but he was close, and given that this was a later stage in the game, I was expecting him to be more frustrating to deal with.
Boss #21: Shima Sakon
And very soon after dealing with Otani Yoshitsugu, we come to the next boss who also has his own Living Weapon ability with his Guardian Spirit: Shima Sakon. As far as human bosses go, this guy is somewhere in the middle ground with regards to difficulty: He’s no Tachibana Muneshige, but he’s no slouch either. He has some damaging moves, but he’s kind of slow and not too difficult to predict. Had I fought Shima Sakon earlier in the game when I was less experienced and didn’t have my more useful combos and skills unlocked, then I have no doubt he would have been able to kill me a handful of times. But by this stage of the game, my skills had greatly improved, and I was no longer a scrub (still nowhere near being a pro, however). Check me out below as I fumble about and manage to defeat this guy as well in one go.
How about that? Three bosses in a row taken down in one go each. I hadn’t managed to pull that off since the very beginning of the game with the first three bosses (and I only managed that because I had already fought two of those bosses in the beta). Who’s kicking a good amount of late-game ass in his first Souls-Type game? This guy (you have to imagine me pointing at myself with my thumbs). However, if you saw the boss that emerges at the end of the video above, then you’re likely thinking that I have a hell of a challenge ahead of me that is sure to require multiple attempts on my part. I know I was thinking that when I saw that boss. Join us next Friday to find out how I fare against this next colossal enemy…..if ya got the stomach for it.
