NIOH

Taiso

Remembers The North,
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So this came in the mail today and holy shit, is it awesome.

Souls fans need to buy this game.

It borrows a lot out of From Soft's playbook but the imitation doesn't hurt its appeal at all. They add a lot of nice modifications to the blueprint so that it still feels different enough in a number of ways.

Plus, feudal Japan. The genre of feudal Japanese demonic infestation is nothing new but this game makes use of the setting very well.

Fantastic framerate, fun combat, fast paced and challenging, this game has turned out to be well worth the wait.

BUY IT, FOOLS!
 
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CORY

a.k.a. Mother Teresa
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5,666
I'll check it out. Thanks bro! :buttrock:
 

sr20det510

Guerilla Warrior
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NIOH looks like it has what it takes to kick some major ass.
Does it play differently on ps4 vs ps4 pro?
 

ookitarepanda

rare's hero,
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Posts
1,377
I've been wondering about this one but very hesitant because Team Ninja has been SUPER hit-or-miss with me. Normally everything Taiso likes I like, so maybe when I get done with my current games I'm playing I'll see if it comes down in price real quick.
 

Taiso

Remembers The North,
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PS4 vs. PS4 Pro-Dunno. All I know is that the game plays fine and I don't have PS4 Pro.

The first chapter of this game is comparable in difficulty to the first 'chapter' of Dark Souls III, just as a basis of comparison.

There are three stances for each melee weapon, which is kind of neat.

The 'high' stance offers slower attacks but greater power and guard break for increased stamina use.

The mid stance is, as you'd expect, middling damage, guard break and stamina use.

The low stance emphasizes speed but sacrifices damage and guard break. The trade off is that it's low stamina cost.

There is also a sort of 'active reload' a la Gears of War, where timing a R1 tap at the right time can instantly gain you some Stamina.

This game's combat seems to be in the middle of DS and Bloodborne in terms of speed and methodology. It favors deliberation but also rewards aggression so long as you can master the active Stamina gain.

One of the neat innovations that this game has is when you fight Yokai. Yokai are demons that appear out of thin air, but you can anticipate their location because the spawning point will be identified by a sort of gray tinted heat distortion in the air. These monsters will give bigger gains for killing them and, unlike common enemies, won't respawn when you return to a shrine, which is sort of like the bonfire in DS.

Yokai have a very interesting form of attack where they will occasionally do a power strike that will hit the ground and cause a 'corruption zone' to appear. if you maneuver into that zone, your Stamina slowly drains. And Stamina based abilities, such as attacking and dodging, drain faster. If you do the active Stamina gain while in a corruption zone, it instantly dispels the zone, so the game rewards you for precision combat and technique by making it easier for you.

Two other big differences in this game are that, and these are mostly aesthetic in nature, you don't get to design your character. He is a 'player' in the story, an Irishman (by the sound of his accent) named William and he bears a passing resemblance to Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. But obviously, equipping armor and weapons changes his appearance. The other difference in terms of flow and pacing is that this game has a story that is explained through exposition and cutscenes, but they're very infrequent. So instantly, you'll notice that the tone and feel of the game are a little different from DS, which is good because it helps to give NIOH its own identity.

So far I'm having a blast. Haven't enjoyed just vanishing into a game like this in a long time.
 

neojedi

Member,
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Joined
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Posts
3,314
The backlog grows
Yep, this exactly. The latest Tales game somehow doesn't suck, so I'm going to try to finish that first. And then there's Bloodborne itself in the backlog because I needed a few months to cool down from DS3. Then Persona 5 drops on 4/4. PS4 is killing it.
 

munchiaz

Robert Garcia's Butler
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Nov 13, 2011
Posts
1,299
PS4 vs. PS4 Pro-Dunno. All I know is that the game plays fine and I don't have PS4 Pro.

The first chapter of this game is comparable in difficulty to the first 'chapter' of Dark Souls III, just as a basis of comparison.

There are three stances for each melee weapon, which is kind of neat.

The 'high' stance offers slower attacks but greater power and guard break for increased stamina use.

The mid stance is, as you'd expect, middling damage, guard break and stamina use.

The low stance emphasizes speed but sacrifices damage and guard break. The trade off is that it's low stamina cost.

There is also a sort of 'active reload' a la Gears of War, where timing a R1 tap at the right time can instantly gain you some Stamina.

This game's combat seems to be in the middle of DS and Bloodborne in terms of speed and methodology. It favors deliberation but also rewards aggression so long as you can master the active Stamina gain.

One of the neat innovations that this game has is when you fight Yokai. Yokai are demons that appear out of thin air, but you can anticipate their location because the spawning point will be identified by a sort of gray tinted heat distortion in the air. These monsters will give bigger gains for killing them and, unlike common enemies, won't respawn when you return to a shrine, which is sort of like the bonfire in DS.

Yokai have a very interesting form of attack where they will occasionally do a power strike that will hit the ground and cause a 'corruption zone' to appear. if you maneuver into that zone, your Stamina slowly drains. And Stamina based abilities, such as attacking and dodging, drain faster. If you do the active Stamina gain while in a corruption zone, it instantly dispels the zone, so the game rewards you for precision combat and technique by making it easier for you.

Two other big differences in this game are that, and these are mostly aesthetic in nature, you don't get to design your character. He is a 'player' in the story, an Irishman (by the sound of his accent) named William and he bears a passing resemblance to Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. But obviously, equipping armor and weapons changes his appearance. The other difference in terms of flow and pacing is that this game has a story that is explained through exposition and cutscenes, but they're very infrequent. So instantly, you'll notice that the tone and feel of the game are a little different from DS, which is good because it helps to give NIOH its own identity.

So far I'm having a blast. Haven't enjoyed just vanishing into a game like this in a long time.

The main character is actually based on a real person https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_(sailor) The game also includes a lot of real world Japanese people. It's an interesting way to tell the story of the game. So far i love this game. The combat is exciting, and allows for way more freedom than souls games.
 

k'_127

NeoGumby's Sycophant,
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6,724
There is a free theme in the PSN store for those interested.
 

Liquid Snake

I am untouchable
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Tecmo Keio reminds me of Renovation (Telenet/Wolfteam) in the 90s.........................
 

bcfczulu

Over Top Auto Mechanic
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Oct 17, 2007
Posts
874
i was really looking forward to this, i loved the beta. I was gutted when i went to pick it up from GAME and they only had 7 copies sent to them and they were all gone.
 

Hot Chocolate

No Longer Yung, No Longer Raoul,
20 Year Member
Joined
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Posts
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Yep, this exactly. The latest Tales game somehow doesn't suck, so I'm going to try to finish that first. And then there's Bloodborne itself in the backlog because I needed a few months to cool down from DS3. Then Persona 5 drops on 4/4. PS4 is killing it.


Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucccccccccccccckkkkkkkkk I forgot about Persona 5
 

jro

Gonna take a lot
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Posts
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NIOH looks like it has what it takes to kick some major ass.
Does it play differently on ps4 vs ps4 pro?

For a pretty detailed breakdown, Digital Foundry has it covered.

I'm playing it on a Pro, and like several reviews have pointed out, it's far better to use Action Mode, even though the 4K mode looks pretty spiffy.
 

Renmauzo

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The main character is actually based on a real person https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_(sailor) The game also includes a lot of real world Japanese people. It's an interesting way to tell the story of the game. So far i love this game. The combat is exciting, and allows for way more freedom than souls games.

Yeah, Shogun (James Clavell) was also based on William Adams life from the time he washed up on the shores of Japan. This alone had my interest piqued for Nioh, as I've read that the story being told here is very interesting.

This game is selling out everywhere, but I managed to grab a copy this afternoon after checking a few stores; band practice the next three night's, but this weekend is fair game and have a feeling this game will be glorious!
 

bartre

Haomaru's Blade Shiner
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Team Ninja made Metroid Other M.

does NIOH redeem this sin?
 

Kid Panda

The Chinese Kid
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I came back from a friend's place tonight and he had it. It looks great and more souls-type goodness. I'll scoop it soon.
 

Taiso

Remembers The North,
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SO having played this more, I can tell you that there are a few key differences between this and the Souls series to help differentiate it.

In the Souls games, you will frequently return to the 'hub' areas to get a breather, talk to NPCs and so forth. But in those games, you physically navigate your way there or you use a bonfire teleport.

In NIOH, the gameplay is broken up into 'missions' where you look at an overworld map and choose to go to specific locations all over Sengoku era 'Zipangu'. There are multiple quest at each location that gradually unlock, so you'll be revisiting the same zones with different and more difficult objectives to complete. I won't be able to judge this as 'lazy' until I see jut how many different kinds of environments there are at the end.

When a stage's boss is complete, you can stay in the zone and continue to hunt for items or those little spirit dudes that are hiding everywhere or you can just leave. When you leave, the game's 'hub' is a menu with the overworld as a backdrop and you can go to the blacksmith, the dojo, a shrine to spend your experience and whatnot. You can always replay missions to find all the secrets you haven't discovered yet.

I know that this game isn't Dark Souls but I like how you're never lifted out of DS's world at any point. You remain there and stay immersed in its despair. I suppose that couldn't work in NIOH because unlike Lothric or Drangleic, feudal Japan is a real place and it hasn't crumbled completely into dystopian ruin. And because this is historical fantasy fiction, we know that at the end of the day, the nation survives. Also, Japan is an entire country; in Dark Souls, you can physically run through the entire game world in about an hour, maybe two. But there's no way you're crossing the entirety of Japan in anywhere near that time. So it makes sense that NIOH has to separate its zones with a menu hub. It's just a difference I noted between the two that helps to establish a different tone.

The other difference I've seen is that the the bosses don't continually evolve as a fight goes on like they do in DS. They may shift strategies and gain a power boost once, but they tend to veer more on the 'fair' side of a challenge rather than the 'punishing'. This makes them a tad more exploitable, but I don't mind this. Bosses in many of the greatest games of all time have punishable weaknesses and, in fact, those games are counting on you to recognize them and take advantage.

Overall, this feels like a more 'adventurous' take on the DS formula than anything else. Koei Tecmo still want to imbue the game and story with a heroic sensibility, which is another tonal difference from the desolation of Dark Souls. In those games, broken people inhabit a broken world and there's an almost nihilistic sense of futility to everything they do. In NIOH, the game's mechanics and interface are geared more towards stopping a great evil, righting wrongs and helping a land emerge from turmoil. Given the game's themes, it makes sense that the gameplay and structure are informed accordingly.
 

jro

Gonna take a lot
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What weapons (build, I guess) are you guys using? I picked sword as my main weapon and ax as my secondary, but then found myself liking spears better than the ax so I've been using sword and spear. Helps to be able to pack on HP at level-up and the spear has range and crowd control.
 

Taiso

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I'm going dual swords and spears, and also building ninjitsu and magic. It may result in a less specialized build, but I am the kind of person that likes to have jack of all trades type character in games like this. Plus, unlike with DS, it doesn't feel as punishing to spread out XP like this. In DS, I'm just not good enough at it to have a rounded build the first time through.

For gear, I prefer lighter armor that allows for mobility, which is a nice compliment to my dual swords, especially in low stance. Plenty of stamina for dashing and dodging.
 

greedostick

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I played through the beta and liked it. The scenery did seem kind of bland though. Really hoping the entire game doesn't take place in a forest. I also felt that first map was very maze like. I hate mazes in games.

Those gripes aside, I will be picking it up. It seemed like it would be solid after they polished it. Hopefully this weekend I can add it to my stack of 5 other PS4 games that I need to beat.
 

BlackaneseNiNjA

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What weapons (build, I guess) are you guys using? I picked sword as my main weapon and ax as my secondary, but then found myself liking spears better than the ax so I've been using sword and spear. Helps to be able to pack on HP at level-up and the spear has range and crowd control.

The kusarigama+ninjitsu+poison build is making my playthrough sooo free atm and that is without using the ki talisman trick from the betas. I love Team Ninja and I absolutely love this game.

EDIT: Enemies are not nearly as aggressive as those found in even Hayashi's Ninja Gaiden titles (Master and Ultimate Ninja playthroughs on ng sigmas and ng3 meant dodging tons of massive damage grabs/instakills...and dropped inputs :(). One wiff and enemies can be grabbed, poisoned, ki broken, AND and staggered simultaneously from a distance for free rinse and repeat combos and setups. Kusarigama + buff equals STUPID dps rate potential. Factor in good ki recovery tech and you're ready to tackle close, mid, and far battles with low effort and great crowd control potential.

I'm going dual swords and spears, and also building ninjitsu and magic. It may result in a less specialized build, but I am the kind of person that likes to have jack of all trades type character in games like this. Plus, unlike with DS, it doesn't feel as punishing to spread out XP like this. In DS, I'm just not good enough at it to have a rounded build the first time through.

For gear, I prefer lighter armor that allows for mobility, which is a nice compliment to my dual swords, especially in low stance. Plenty of stamina for dashing and dodging.

Nice setup! I'm also favoring a light armor setup to keep ki consumption down and mobility high. Maximizing dps output and minimizing map run speed has been a lot of fun so far.
 
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thermaltreasure

Ninja Combat Warrior
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Apr 6, 2013
Posts
529
i was really looking forward to this, i loved the beta. I was gutted when i went to pick it up from GAME and they only had 7 copies sent to them and they were all gone.

Oh man, sounds like it's gonna be a pain in the ass picking this one up on the high street. The new Dragon Quest is already as rare as rocking horse shit.

Jokes aside I am looking forward to this. Just when I think I'm done with my PS4 something like this crops up.
 

munchiaz

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Nov 13, 2011
Posts
1,299
The kusarigama+ninjitsu+poison build is making my playthrough sooo free atm and that is without using the ki talisman trick from the betas. I love Team Ninja and I absolutely love this game.

EDIT: Enemies are not nearly as aggressive as those found in even Hayashi's Ninja Gaiden titles (Master and Ultimate Ninja playthroughs on ng sigmas and ng3 meant dodging tons of massive damage grabs/instakills...and dropped inputs :(). One wiff and enemies can be grabbed, poisoned, ki broken, AND and staggered simultaneously from a distance for free rinse and repeat combos and setups. Kusarigama + buff equals STUPID dps rate potential. Factor in good ki recovery tech and you're ready to tackle close, mid, and far battles with low effort and great crowd control potential.



Nice setup! I'm also favoring a light armor setup to keep ki consumption down and mobility high. Maximizing dps output and minimizing map run speed has been a lot of fun so far.

I did the first mission with ax, but since have switched to kasurigama and I love it. guard + sqaure (flying knee) is so good at interrupting enemies, and just draining their ki
 

HornheaDD

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I got this game today after reading a couple reviews. Its definitely in the 'hard game' category, but like someone mentioned it's not 'punishing' like Bloodborne. Ive only played about 10 minutes of a Dark Souls games, which I think was DSIII. But I fell in hardass love with Bloodborne, so I figured I'd enjoy this one. And so far, I have been. I like the setting, and I love constantly finding new armor/weapons. I've died quite a few times, but even the standard fare enemies aren't as dangerous as Bloodborne 'city folk.'

But yeah, so far I'm enjoying this game. Im falling my ass asleep so I need to get some fugly sleep, otherwise I'd still be at it right now.
 

Jon

Mr. Tater
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Not a fan of Dark Souls or, anything From Software has put out.

But, I just thought I'd mention that I find it interesting this game is hard to find where most people live. "Hard to find" games tend to sit on store shelves collecting dust where I live. There are two copies at Walmart two exits up from where I live right now, for instance.

One example, during the Dreamcast, of a hard to find game around here was Sega Bass Fishing and that fishing controller. They were impossible to find in my area...game stores would often get 10-20 calls per day asking if they had any.

Jon
 
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