Let’s talk more about the Nioh 3 (Team NINJA) demo, which I hear is very generous. Before we get into it, here was my first post about the demo. Now, let’s go with part two, and I want to start out with a shoutout to Team NINJA. One thing I have always appreciated in their games is that they have fantastic ranged weapons. Bows, Rifles, and hand canons. They are powerful, accurate, and not *too* hard to aim. Sometimes the arrows are sparse, but you can usually pick them up around the battlegrounds. Today, I had to clear a camp, and I headshot several of the enemies in it. It felt good; it felt powerful; and it felt…not like cheating because I firmly believe if it’s in the game, it’s not cheating. It felt like easy mode, though. It definitely felt like that. I didn’t feel bad about it, however, as the game is rough enough for me as it is.
I have to say, this is one area in which FromSoft is stubbornly bad. I am not a game dev, obviously, but how the fuck can their bows still be this horrible a decade and a half after they first released Demon’s Souls?! If anything, it’s gotten worse given that the bows in the first game (or at least the holy arrows) were supposedly decent. The only thing that I use the bows for in the From games is to draw one enemy awayf from the others. I do not know why they are so terrible and remain so terrible. I can only conclude that it’s because they simply don’t care about bows. I mean, they’ve had plenty of time to improve them and just haven’t.
I feel like a badass when I’m using a bow, rifle, or canon in a Nioh game. It’s a viable option in those games rather than a hindrance or a joke.
Also, now that I was reminded how the burst-counter actually worked, I managed to pull it off once. The timing is a bit more generous than in the last game, but it’s still fiddly for me. I tended to slide around the enemy more often than actually counter it. that’s because I have the habit of dodging around in a circle as I’m fighting. The best way to beat a Dark Souls boss is to circle around it and hit dat ass. So now, when I play one of these kinds of games, I tend to circle around the enemy.
Avoiding being hit is fine, but I wish I could get more burst-counters in. The trouble is that it’s two buttons–RT + B. You have to hit the RT first and then B. And, in my mind, B is only the dodge/roll button. I think there was another game that put a certain kind of block on B–it was FromSoft! In Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, if I remember correctly. THey had two block buttons, and B was one of them.
When talking about the Niohs, one of my biggest issues is that they have so many combat systems. People think that FromSoft combat is deep, but it’s really not. It’s more that you have to be thoughtful about what you’re doing rather than that there’s endless combat choices. Honestly, you can get by with the light attack and the heavy attack for most of the games. Throw the guard counter in from Elden Ring, and we can call it a day.
In the Niohs, there is so much more than that. First of all, in this particular game (since that’s the one I’m playing), it has two different styles–samurai and ninja. Samurai is the typical ‘hit them with a sword–hard’ style whereas ninja style is more about stealthing and using dex weps. Both these styles were in the last two games, but they weren’t broken out as two different styles. In those games, you just had the different weapons.
Do I think it’s necessary to have it broken out in two different styles? Not really. I’m not mad at it, though. It’s nice to have two completely different loadouts and flipping between the two makes it easier in a wayI was confused at first, though, because I didn’t realize that the armor was part of the loadout. So certain items go with one style or the other.
I have only unlocked the low stance (in the samurai style). I started with the mid stance. I have not yet unlocked the high stance. These are controlled by RB + whichever. It’s A for low stance and X for mid stance. I’m assuming it’s Y for high stance. RT is another base button that you have to add to for other attacks. Wait. RT by itself is the burst-counter. RT + B was from the last game. So I accidentally hit it right once, and this is the reason I’m dodging every time I try to do the burst-counter.
That’s really silly. RT is also the button for switching styles. Which, believe me, I found out plenty because I kept switching styles when I was trying to do the dame burst-counter. Apparently, there’s a setting in accessibility that will make it so you only have to tap the RT quickly to do the burst-counter and it won’t change styles, but I’m not sure I can do that with my shitty reflexes.
I haven’t even touched on the D-pad for items or RT + face button for throwing things. I was about to mention the thing that irritates me the most, but apparently, there’s a setting for that as well. I’ll have to take a look at the settings tomorrow if I want to keep playing the game.
Hm. I think I’m going to mention the irritating thing, anyway, because it was in the last game as well. And because there is no reason the default shouldn’t be what apparently the optional choice is. Here’s the irritating thing. When you pick up an item, you have to hit…whatever button it is to ‘open’ the item (I think it’s RB?) and then the loot sprays across the floor. Tten you have to pick up every goddamn item.
Now I’m learning there’s an auto-pick up items. Why. The. FUCK isn’t that the default? I’m highly irritated. I’m going to have to look into the settings to see what else I can fix. Wow. There are several articles about these changes, which, great, yes. But again, why the fuck aren’t these things the default?
Honestly, the last several paragraphs neatly encapsulate much of my non-combat-based irritations with Team NINJA games. I’ll leave that here for now and return to it tomorrow.