I think auto-parry versus spears late into Wind Stance progression makes sense on paper. In and of itself, I don't think that particular skill upgrade is a problem. For me, it's just one element that works together with everything else to really strip away a lot of the fun moment-to-moment decision making throughout the mid- to late-game. Toward the end, the strategy for any particular enemy devolves into simply "swap to the appropriate stance and hit Triangle".
Before, combat felt really involved.
But later on, it was just
vs Swords, Stone Stance heavy attacks
vs Shields, Water Stance hold heavy then release
vs Spears, Wind Stance spam heavy attacks
vs Brutes, Moon Stance heavy attacks
I think the auto-parry for that stance is specifically designed for the encounters and areas where they just throw like ten spear guys at you at once, which happened to me a few times
Those guys are faster and more aggressive than most of the other soldier types, with less windup for their attacks. An auto-parry for a specific stance seems meant to ease that off until other enemies filter into the fight
That being said I waited to get that skill for a while because the combat is a tad more engaging and challenging without it
This is all true, but all of these are also design decisions they could have changed instead of having you auto parry. Combat gets less engaging with that particular skill, and between kunai, thrown bombs, etc, it's not like you don't have the tools to deal with multiple spear guys, even early on.
I still don't know how you're supposed to fight the big axe guys correctly. I read something about jumping over their sweep attacks, Sekiro style, but that never worked once even when I reloaded and tried it multiple times. You can't do a regular dodge, either, so I just end up rolling away from them or past them, or using a kunai
You fight them exactly the same way you fight Bears: dodge and immediately strike. Your attacks won't cause them to flinch, so you have to dodge and strike again immediately after you hit them. Don't even wait for the red flash; trust me, it's coming. Rinse and repeat a few times and they're dead.
Arrow to the face also works.
As does insta-breaking their guards with Kunai.
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
The hold triangle attacks feel pretty pointless too. I want to find an application where Moon stance spin attack makes sense but I am really struggling. Feels Moon only exists to pummel brutes with triangle spam
You fight them exactly the same way you fight Bears: dodge and immediately strike. Your attacks won't cause them to flinch, so you have to dodge and strike again immediately after you hit them. Don't even wait for the red flash; trust me, it's coming. Rinse and repeat a few times and they're dead.
Arrow to the face also works.
As does insta-breaking their guards with Kunai.
The sweeping axe attacks seem to ignore dodge invincibility frames. Is there something else to it?
+1
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I've seen a tool tip recommending jumping over sweep attacks but dodge strike pretty much eliminates the need for it.
You fight them exactly the same way you fight Bears: dodge and immediately strike. Your attacks won't cause them to flinch, so you have to dodge and strike again immediately after you hit them. Don't even wait for the red flash; trust me, it's coming. Rinse and repeat a few times and they're dead.
Arrow to the face also works.
As does insta-breaking their guards with Kunai.
The sweeping axe attacks seem to ignore dodge invincibility frames. Is there something else to it?
It's been a while since I've fought the Axe guys (they get upgraded at some point in the story, can't remember when), but I don't recall there being anything else to it. In fact, when I first fought a Bear, I remember recognizing their attack patterns like, "oh, I get it; these are practice for the Brutes!" From memory, I remember literally just dodging laterally and immediately striking. Then repeating that process until their guard broke or they simply died.
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
You can indeed jump over some sweeping attacks, but I've only ever done it twice and it was vastly easier to just roll far out off the way instead. It also does not help against the big triple spin the axe guys do occasionally, which will hit you regardless
Also man the third area in this game keeps bumming me out. Not only did they not manage to make it visually arresting (which is wild considering the incredible use of particles and leaves in this game, they couldn't make fuckin' snow look as awesome) but they don't seem to know how to take full advantage of the setting
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
I believe I recently read that there is a hidden mechanic in which your gameplay behaviors (i.e. playing as The Ghost or as Honorable Samurai) will affect the weather, such that the more you abuse Ghost-powers, the more often you get thunderstorms and dark weather.
But to be clear, I think I read that on the twitters and may have just been a joke about the frequency of thunderstorms in the game.
I still don't know how you're supposed to fight the big axe guys correctly. I read something about jumping over their sweep attacks, Sekiro style, but that never worked once even when I reloaded and tried it multiple times. You can't do a regular dodge, either, so I just end up rolling away from them or past them, or using a kunai
They have a huge opening after they finish their few big sweeping swings.
So just back right outside of range(I know I know) and let them finish the attack and sprint at them as soon as they finish. Ezpz.
0
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
I beat the game
Yeah that was alright! Coulda been better!
I'm glad we didn't just walk away from the Shimura/Jin conflict, or handwave it away after building it up for the whole game, but Jin being excommunicatted by the shogun and not actively choosing to leave his old life behind, recognizing that he is not the man his surrogate father wants him to be, undercuts it for me
To the very end the game refuses to entertain the notion that the "shogun's justice" is anything but desirable, and that "teaching the people to disobey their leaders" is merely a byproduct of his objective that Jin has no strong feelings about, and those things really don't jive with me
I knew Taka was a goner almost from jump street--he's Yuna's little brother she's overprotective of, he might as well have had "dead meat" tattooed on his forehead--but I thought Yuna might not make it either. I figured Shimura would have done it himself, eliminating the person he thought had been corrupting his Pure Innocent Boy, and that their duel would be Jin actively seeking revenge. He basically tries to pull that move before he throws Jin in prison, and I thought maybe that alone, imploring Jin to betray a close and trusted friend and ally, would be enough to break Jin's illusions about the sort of person Shimura was, but it kind of gets tossed off almost immediately, to the point I sort of expected it to come back in that way
Now I'm not saying I wanted that, because the last thing video games need is another man avenging a dead woman, but it would have been consistent with the characters and had the game take a real stance on the samurai and the caste system, in a way someone on the writing team clearly wanted to but wasn't allowed. The final confrontation as is feels a bit... flat. For all the sweeping score and oh hey actual cutscene cinematography, I'm not feeling what Jin is feeling in this moment, because I think Shimura's a dick who can go sit and spin on a spear for all I care
There's numerous moments where the game threatens to go somewhere more interesting, like Shimura's genuinely stupid battle strategy (why did Jin think he was some great general again? perhaps his naivete regarding his uncle's tactical acumen could have been explored more!) or Lord Oga talking about bringing the shogun's justice to the island, or Lady Masako's early quests feeling as though they were leading to a peasant conspiracy against their rulers for their mistreatment, or Ishikawa's relationship to Tomoe being ambiguous early on and her later assertion that he attacked her. Oga's line in particular made me think that perhaps the game would end with the shogun's men arriving and taking over the island, ruling as sharp and brutal as the Mongols had, as much to crush potential peasant dissidence as the enemy army. This would have been a perfect way to force Jin out of his samurai class, as he's spent the whole game among the peasants and the people of the island, becoming one off them, and it would lead naturally to the confrontation with Shimura
But instead it's simply "HONOR HONOR BO BONOR" as though that were a thing that the samurai actually cared about in warfare and okay that's some history nerd shit and Japan itself has been mythologizing their past for almost a hundred and fifty years now, but it still sticks in my craw dang it. Particularly when the game itself gestures towards these ideas a few times (Ishikawa's line about Shimura only showing mercy to those weaker than him, knowing he could defeat them if they turned on him, was fucking so close to engaging with it!)
I dunno, I liked it, kinda trite, but I should have expected that I guess!
You can run and roll them in them you know. There’s no reason to try to dodge lots of unblockables in a row in multiple single tap dodges.
I agree with the rest of this post but I was confused by this first sentence so I'm not sure what you are saying.
I will point out that if you try to dodge roll (the long roll) against a normal combo they can chase and catch you with the second hit and punish you for that. So I don't find it as useful as an option select because of that, normal combos are very common.
I've been dodge rolling away from unblockables all game with no problem. I never bothered remembering which ones have follow ups and which dont so I cant just dodge one and counter so I just GTFO on all of the ones I'm not going to cancel with Heavenly Strike or Dance of Wrath.
I was talking about regular combos not unblockables.
I think the difference here is that Im talking about an option select while you are talking about avoiding a specific class of attacks.
An option select is a fighting game term. Its an action you can take that will reduce an enemy mixup to as few options as possible making it easier to react to what they do.
Some of the attacks are lightning fast unblockables mixed with fast parryable attacks which task you to choose between dodging or parrying. Needing to choose between two options slows down your reaction speed. The purpose of the single option select is that there is only one starting choice. You dodge. That allows you to react much faster.
It doesnt matter that you need to do something else after the dodge because the time it takes for any second hit in a combo to come out is much slower than the initial mixup between fast unblockable and fast normal parryable attack. You have the entire dodge animation plus the attacks initial windup to realise what attack you just dodged and choose what to do next.
It might be more buttons to press but its less pressure on your reactions. You just dont have to be as fast. Paradoxically that makes it easier overall than having to choose between dodge roll and parry which still requires you to make a split second choice where the wrong choice results in damage taken. And on lethal potentially instant death.
So even though you are correct that dodge roll avoids all unblockables thats why Im bringing up that it gets punished by normal parryable combo attacks. The point of the option select is only needing to make one initial choice. If you are using dodge roll you are still making two.
Granted you still have to do this for the sweep on lethal but thats much slower than every other attack. The short dodge option select basically neuters the fast unblockable mixup which is the most difficult attack to react to. And if they dont have the sweep the option select completely neuters the fight.
You are right tho that it removes the problem of needing to remember which unblockables have followups. If you dont have a problem reacting between the initial fast mixup then parry vs dodge roll is superior.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
The hold triangle attacks feel pretty pointless too. I want to find an application where Moon stance spin attack makes sense but I am really struggling. Feels Moon only exists to pummel brutes with triangle spam
Winds upgraded charge kick knocks people down for a one hit kill.
You can also juggle people with arrows with concentration while they are in the air.
+4
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
Is there a rhyme or reason to who confronts you in a standoff?
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
0
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
I believe I recently read that there is a hidden mechanic in which your gameplay behaviors (i.e. playing as The Ghost or as Honorable Samurai) will affect the weather, such that the more you abuse Ghost-powers, the more often you get thunderstorms and dark weather.
But to be clear, I think I read that on the twitters and may have just been a joke about the frequency of thunderstorms in the game.
It's true.
The more ghost like you are the more the weather reacts like you are a supernatural entity bringing the wrath of the gods down upon the Mongols heads.
Speaking to Gamespot, Ghost of Tsushima creative director Nate Fox explained that, "The game is definitely scripted to provide more storms as you do things which are extremely Ghost driven."
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
The hold triangle attacks feel pretty pointless too. I want to find an application where Moon stance spin attack makes sense but I am really struggling. Feels Moon only exists to pummel brutes with triangle spam
Winds upgraded charge kick knocks people down for a one hit kill.
You can also juggle people with arrows with concentration while they are in the air.
Also, you can kill people by kicking them off of cliffs. This works for any sufficiently high structure, too. There was one outpost encounter that I completed by climbing an archer's tower, waiting for people to climb up to get me, and kicking them off the tower. It was pretty hilarious.
Not that I can tell. I've had camp Leaders walk up for the stand off and then go down in one shot.
+1
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited August 2020
I feel like its based on who you are facing, or perhaps who you are closest to. But I haven't worked it out. I just sort of aim myself at who I want to die first and try to make sure they're in front of the others.
I feel like its based on who you are facing, or perhaps who you are closest to. But I haven't worked it out. I just sort of aim myself at who I want to die first and try to make sure they're in front of the others.
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
I believe I recently read that there is a hidden mechanic in which your gameplay behaviors (i.e. playing as The Ghost or as Honorable Samurai) will affect the weather, such that the more you abuse Ghost-powers, the more often you get thunderstorms and dark weather.
But to be clear, I think I read that on the twitters and may have just been a joke about the frequency of thunderstorms in the game.
It's true.
The more ghost like you are the more the weather reacts like you are a supernatural entity bringing the wrath of the gods down upon the Mongols heads.
Speaking to Gamespot, Ghost of Tsushima creative director Nate Fox explained that, "The game is definitely scripted to provide more storms as you do things which are extremely Ghost driven."
That's a really cool idea!
They should have had more than one volume of thunder if that were the case!
Also, maybe turn off thunder when you're in the snowy area! I dunno! I'm just spitballing here!
I feel like its based on who you are facing, or perhaps who you are closest to. But I haven't worked it out. I just sort of aim myself at who I want to die first and try to make sure they're in front of the others.
You can also juggle people with arrows with concentration while they are in the air.
I didn't think of juggling dudes with concentration I need to try that!
It's who you're closest to. You can engineer it to standoff a leader if he happens to be closest to you.
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
+1
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
Other scattered final thoughts on the game:
I think the combat and traversal felt really good. There was just enough animation priority and blending to look good and feel appropriately grounded and weighty, and just enough speed to feel responsive. The combat felt like a good mix between "everyone takes turns hitting you to give you time to react" and "ganging up on you because that's how to make it actually challenging," and the tools you get are by and large useful and fun to throw around
The grappling hook is woefully underused! It feels great to use, again a combination of static swinging motions and some actual real-time physics, and the sound design is strong. Adds to the satisfying nature of getting around the excellent environments. I was deadass certain that Jin would eventually incorporate it into combat, though, and I feel that was a missed opportunity! I expected him to start swinging it around like those cool guys in the movies, like a kusarigama or whatever they're called, maybe steal some moves from the moveset in Nioh, with it's long-range attacks and pulls
To that end, I also missed using a spear or a naginata. I'm totally fine with them not being there, stance switching makes the sword feel like a fully-featured combat moveset, but I did sigh longingly looking at Norio's weapon. Something for the sequel maybe!
Speaking of, I'm hopeful the sequel takes us to a different island, but I also don't want them to pick a landmass that's too large to render realistically? Part of what I really liked about the game is that we're on this island and it feels... big! Like an island would feel! It's not the theme-park Ancient Greece of Assassin's Creed where less than a mile of sea separates entire islands, and Athens is right down the road from Sparta. I'd say let's go to Kyushu, but I genuinely think that would lead to the same problem! Hopefully they recognize what they accomplished here, and don't pull an Oblivion where there's a big capital city where ten people live, y'know?
Oh, and the music is exceptional. I think there could have been a tad more variety? But what we got sets the mood and has some stirring moments
I still don't know how you're supposed to fight the big axe guys correctly. I read something about jumping over their sweep attacks, Sekiro style, but that never worked once even when I reloaded and tried it multiple times. You can't do a regular dodge, either, so I just end up rolling away from them or past them, or using a kunai
They have a huge opening after they finish their few big sweeping swings.
So just back right outside of range(I know I know) and let them finish the attack and sprint at them as soon as they finish. Ezpz.
The hard part isn't beating them, since I can throw a bunch of ridiculous magic bombs in their faces or use super samurai chop powers
It's how you're "supposed" to beat them correctly, by successfully and optimally countering their moves
Dodges get hit by the sweep attacks, and jumping doesn't work despite the tooltip, which seems like sloppy design compared to the other, tight design of unblockables
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
I believe I recently read that there is a hidden mechanic in which your gameplay behaviors (i.e. playing as The Ghost or as Honorable Samurai) will affect the weather, such that the more you abuse Ghost-powers, the more often you get thunderstorms and dark weather.
But to be clear, I think I read that on the twitters and may have just been a joke about the frequency of thunderstorms in the game.
It's true.
The more ghost like you are the more the weather reacts like you are a supernatural entity bringing the wrath of the gods down upon the Mongols heads.
Speaking to Gamespot, Ghost of Tsushima creative director Nate Fox explained that, "The game is definitely scripted to provide more storms as you do things which are extremely Ghost driven."
That's a really cool idea!
They should have had more than one volume of thunder if that were the case!
Also, maybe turn off thunder when you're in the snowy area! I dunno! I'm just spitballing here!
Maybe you should try fighting with honour, ronin
0
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
+1
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
Also I'll say that Jin's relationship with his dad is underdeveloped, and like a lot of story threads in this game, they threaten to take it in a more interesting direction and then never do
Jin's relationship with his uncle is very much a surrogate father, and our only exposure to both is uncle being very Good Dad, and actual dad being very lame (dying to some bandits and also begging his child to help. How?? Fight them?? What??)
But after a certain point, we start to get a picture of Shimura as being a much more compromised and hypocritical individual than we believe (he associates with a smuggler, he shows mercy to the weak but not his equals, he asks Jin to betray Yuna rather than take responsibility for his own actions) and the dad gets a bit more development thanks to Yuriko (he cared deeply for his son, he had a relationship with Yuriko, and he was much more morally flexible and less "rigid" than Shimura, which I take to mean he did the same things but he wasn't a hypocrite about it)
The fact that your dad's armor is black, and your ghost armor is black, felt like a deliberate aesthetic choice. You are carrying forward his legacy, whether or not you truly realize it. I only wish we got more hints of his being a proto-ghost, or at least something other than Shimura's stuck-up lordly samurai
Oh and I definitely wish he didn't go out like such an absolute wuss. That is basically impossible to come back from, as a character, and if they wanted to develop him more they shouldn't have had him beg for help from his twelve year old
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
I agree as well.
I did not feel it was an affair either - but definitively something going on after Jins mother died
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
I agree as well.
I did not feel it was an affair either - but definitively something going on after Jins mother died
The last leg of her questline is called "The Art of Seeing."
"You brought little Jin to me, when he was so sick, after all that time in the forest. We had already lost Lady Sakai. Kazumasa, are you listening?"
"I'm listening."
"I made him drink that remedy my mother taught me. We sat by his side the whole night. You held my hand. Do you remember?"
"Yes I remember."
"that night I was so scared, so sad for little Jin. But I was so happy. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No."
"When he recovered, when you taught me how to ride, the day we rode to the onsen, the sunset was red and full. That was ..."
"That was what?"
"The best day of my life."
Lord Sakai was unhappy in his married life. They all but say there was an affair, and their relationship continued after Lady Sakai's death.
Jin must see his father for who he was. All of him. Jin believed his father was a man like Shimura. In fact, he was about as different as they could be. It is something Jin must reconcile to make the ultimate decision he makes to break away from the samurai tradition.
GoodKingJayIII on
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
+2
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
I walked into that questing thinking ooooh yeah baby Im gonna get me some haylaryeous berserk darts I remember them from assassins creed. Gonna have some fun with that!
And then after it was all over I just stood there for a while experiencing unexpected feelings.
That wasnt part of the plan.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
Japanese literature is pretty dark outside of modern day pop culture. Even the Samurai drama this game is based on usually has themes of loss, betrayal, and sacrificing one’s personal desires for one’s family/lord.
飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
0
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited August 2020
Kinda feel like I've hit the limit of how much I can break the duels. Not that there's much to use to break it with. Can't really figure out anything new to use.
I did find out that the jump has invincibility frames but I can't actually use it to jump through an attack and punish. They push away the kick and block the jumping strike. Kind of worthless.
Oh well I figured out how to use every stance and every stance special attack to style on em without using a lick of resolve so that'll do I guess.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
+2
Olivawgood name, isn't it?the foot of mt fujiRegistered Userregular
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
I agree as well.
I did not feel it was an affair either - but definitively something going on after Jins mother died
The last leg of her questline is called "The Art of Seeing."
"You brought little Jin to me, when he was so sick, after all that time in the forest. We had already lost Lady Sakai. Kazumasa, are you listening?"
"I'm listening."
"I made him drink that remedy my mother taught me. We sat by his side the whole night. You held my hand. Do you remember?"
"Yes I remember."
"that night I was so scared, so sad for little Jin. But I was so happy. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No."
"When he recovered, when you taught me how to ride, the day we rode to the onsen, the sunset was red and full. That was ..."
"That was what?"
"The best day of my life."
Lord Sakai was unhappy in his married life. They all but say there was an affair, and their relationship continued after Lady Sakai's death.
Jin must see his father for who he was. All of him. Jin believed his father was a man like Shimura. In fact, he was about as different as they could be. It is something Jin must reconcile to make the ultimate decision he makes to break away from the samurai tradition.
See but
the quotes you’re quoting explicitly say that anything as overt as handholding happened after Lady Sakai’s death. The day they went to the onsen together happened after Jin was sick, which happened after her death. When he was “weighed down by sadness” I took it to mean it was his wife’s death and Jin’s grief/sickness
I don’t think Kazumasa was unhappy in his married life, but I do think he was burdened by grief. I think maybe he and Yuriko might have had feelings, but if they did prior to his wife’s death, they didn’t act on them until afterward. That’s why Yuriko was so happy to just be holding Kazumasa’s hand—it was a reciprocation of affection that he had never given her before
I agree with the rest of your analysis, in particular Jin having to recognize the differences between the person he thought his father was and the reality of him, and the differences between him and his uncle. I just think the game is attempting a character rehabilitation for Kazumasa, and him having an affair would not help that
Kinda feel like I've hit the limit of how much I can break the duels. Not that there's much to use to break it with. Can't really figure out anything new to use.
I did find out that the jump has invincibility frames but I can't actually use it to jump through an attack and punish. They push away the kick and block the jumping strike. Kind of worthless.
Oh well I figured out how to use every stance and every stance special attack to style on em without using a lick of resolve so that'll do I guess.
There's just not that much depth to the duels really. The game wants to force you into Stone Stance, so you've got a very limited selection of moves. The opponents almost invariably have 2-3 times as many effective moves, several unblockable attacks, and can kill you in a few hits while you're forced to hack away at them like a block of wood. I spend a fair portion of each duel getting pissed off that the guy I'm facing can kill me in a couple kicks, yet my own kick seems to do fuck-all for damage against enemies.
Compared to engaging whole camps with a variety of items and moves, I'm finding the duels to be invariably dull and poorly-done. They're much too shallow and one-sided, and the most interesting thing about them is that they're generally set up in very picturesque locations. I'd honestly just prefer to skip the duels at this point, I don't find them at all entertaining.
I feel that allowing Jin to use his ghost weapons against the Khan really trivialized that encounter. The first phase, where it's more or less a straight up duel, was far and away the most difficult portion because it was a stand up fight. But then he starts calling in Mongol warriors to assist, and I'm allowed to use my full toolkit, and he ends up getting absolutely crushed. Maybe that's intentional? I mean, from a narrative perspective? That the Khan is hardest when you have to face him like a samurai would? Sure, I get that. But the reality is that the next phases are just him charging and Jin knocking him on his ass with bombs and shredding him while he recovers ... not exactly thrilling gameplay, lol.
It would have been neat if the duels integrated other stances — enemies in a defensive stance that block all attacks would require water stance, enemies who are doing long unblockable stabs require the spear stance, etc.
You could build patterns into their stance selection and players could start to predict their stances
Would be more varied, at least
+6
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
I think all the stances could have done with more moves, but all the buttons do such heavy lifting I have no idea how you would do that.
And I would have been happy with a straight-up "dueling" stance. I know it's kinda game-y, but duels are so rare and supposed to be special things that I would have liked to see a moveset dedicated to that unique circumstance. But again, I have no idea how they could have done that.
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
Jin’s immediate humility as he quickly understands his father had an affair is extremely touching and a bit heartbreaking. He must be dealing with an extraordinary conflict in that moment. But he has the wherewithal to allow Yuriko peace and comfort in her final moments.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
I'm not sure it was an affair! The day at the hot springs she seems to be remembering is after his mom had died, because it was also after Jin had run off and gotten sick, if I remember right
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
I agree as well.
I did not feel it was an affair either - but definitively something going on after Jins mother died
The last leg of her questline is called "The Art of Seeing."
"You brought little Jin to me, when he was so sick, after all that time in the forest. We had already lost Lady Sakai. Kazumasa, are you listening?"
"I'm listening."
"I made him drink that remedy my mother taught me. We sat by his side the whole night. You held my hand. Do you remember?"
"Yes I remember."
"that night I was so scared, so sad for little Jin. But I was so happy. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No."
"When he recovered, when you taught me how to ride, the day we rode to the onsen, the sunset was red and full. That was ..."
"That was what?"
"The best day of my life."
Lord Sakai was unhappy in his married life. They all but say there was an affair, and their relationship continued after Lady Sakai's death.
Jin must see his father for who he was. All of him. Jin believed his father was a man like Shimura. In fact, he was about as different as they could be. It is something Jin must reconcile to make the ultimate decision he makes to break away from the samurai tradition.
See but
the quotes you’re quoting explicitly say that anything as overt as handholding happened after Lady Sakai’s death. The day they went to the onsen together happened after Jin was sick, which happened after her death. When he was “weighed down by sadness” I took it to mean it was his wife’s death and Jin’s grief/sickness
I don’t think Kazumasa was unhappy in his married life, but I do think he was burdened by grief. I think maybe he and Yuriko might have had feelings, but if they did prior to his wife’s death, they didn’t act on them until afterward. That’s why Yuriko was so happy to just be holding Kazumasa’s hand—it was a reciprocation of affection that he had never given her before
I agree with the rest of your analysis, in particular Jin having to recognize the differences between the person he thought his father was and the reality of him, and the differences between him and his uncle. I just think the game is attempting a character rehabilitation for Kazumasa, and him having an affair would not help that
Yeah, I read:
Unrequited love rather than affair, which combined with her clearly diminishing faculties is just heartbreaking. Game's not afraid to go there, but it's not excessive. Just a very human moment
Posts
Before, combat felt really involved.
But later on, it was just
vs Swords, Stone Stance heavy attacks
vs Shields, Water Stance hold heavy then release
vs Spears, Wind Stance spam heavy attacks
vs Brutes, Moon Stance heavy attacks
And that's it.
This is all true, but all of these are also design decisions they could have changed instead of having you auto parry. Combat gets less engaging with that particular skill, and between kunai, thrown bombs, etc, it's not like you don't have the tools to deal with multiple spear guys, even early on.
Arrow to the face also works.
As does insta-breaking their guards with Kunai.
The sweeping axe attacks seem to ignore dodge invincibility frames. Is there something else to it?
It's been a while since I've fought the Axe guys (they get upgraded at some point in the story, can't remember when), but I don't recall there being anything else to it. In fact, when I first fought a Bear, I remember recognizing their attack patterns like, "oh, I get it; these are practice for the Brutes!" From memory, I remember literally just dodging laterally and immediately striking. Then repeating that process until their guard broke or they simply died.
Also man the third area in this game keeps bumming me out. Not only did they not manage to make it visually arresting (which is wild considering the incredible use of particles and leaves in this game, they couldn't make fuckin' snow look as awesome) but they don't seem to know how to take full advantage of the setting
Like one of the most striking things about snow is how quiet it is, right? How heavy snow deadens sound when it's falling, makes everything seem softer or more claustrophobic. And yet, in that one area, it just won't stop fucking thundering. And listen, I know thundersnow is a thing, I've been in it! But it is not the first thing I think of when I think of snow!
It's gotten genuinely goddamn annoying to the point where I felt like my game was bugged? Like I quit the game and closed the entire application because I thought maybe something got caught in memory and I just wasn't getting other weather anymore! That's how often it keeps happening! It doesn't help that the thunder in this game is the loudest, clearest thunder I've ever heard. No distant rumbling here, every ten to twelve seconds it's a full-on KRACKA-BOOM and after a long enough session I just want to KRACKA-BOOM my head open
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
I believe I recently read that there is a hidden mechanic in which your gameplay behaviors (i.e. playing as The Ghost or as Honorable Samurai) will affect the weather, such that the more you abuse Ghost-powers, the more often you get thunderstorms and dark weather.
But to be clear, I think I read that on the twitters and may have just been a joke about the frequency of thunderstorms in the game.
They have a huge opening after they finish their few big sweeping swings.
So just back right outside of range(I know I know) and let them finish the attack and sprint at them as soon as they finish. Ezpz.
Yeah that was alright! Coulda been better!
To the very end the game refuses to entertain the notion that the "shogun's justice" is anything but desirable, and that "teaching the people to disobey their leaders" is merely a byproduct of his objective that Jin has no strong feelings about, and those things really don't jive with me
I knew Taka was a goner almost from jump street--he's Yuna's little brother she's overprotective of, he might as well have had "dead meat" tattooed on his forehead--but I thought Yuna might not make it either. I figured Shimura would have done it himself, eliminating the person he thought had been corrupting his Pure Innocent Boy, and that their duel would be Jin actively seeking revenge. He basically tries to pull that move before he throws Jin in prison, and I thought maybe that alone, imploring Jin to betray a close and trusted friend and ally, would be enough to break Jin's illusions about the sort of person Shimura was, but it kind of gets tossed off almost immediately, to the point I sort of expected it to come back in that way
Now I'm not saying I wanted that, because the last thing video games need is another man avenging a dead woman, but it would have been consistent with the characters and had the game take a real stance on the samurai and the caste system, in a way someone on the writing team clearly wanted to but wasn't allowed. The final confrontation as is feels a bit... flat. For all the sweeping score and oh hey actual cutscene cinematography, I'm not feeling what Jin is feeling in this moment, because I think Shimura's a dick who can go sit and spin on a spear for all I care
There's numerous moments where the game threatens to go somewhere more interesting, like Shimura's genuinely stupid battle strategy (why did Jin think he was some great general again? perhaps his naivete regarding his uncle's tactical acumen could have been explored more!) or Lord Oga talking about bringing the shogun's justice to the island, or Lady Masako's early quests feeling as though they were leading to a peasant conspiracy against their rulers for their mistreatment, or Ishikawa's relationship to Tomoe being ambiguous early on and her later assertion that he attacked her. Oga's line in particular made me think that perhaps the game would end with the shogun's men arriving and taking over the island, ruling as sharp and brutal as the Mongols had, as much to crush potential peasant dissidence as the enemy army. This would have been a perfect way to force Jin out of his samurai class, as he's spent the whole game among the peasants and the people of the island, becoming one off them, and it would lead naturally to the confrontation with Shimura
But instead it's simply "HONOR HONOR BO BONOR" as though that were a thing that the samurai actually cared about in warfare and okay that's some history nerd shit and Japan itself has been mythologizing their past for almost a hundred and fifty years now, but it still sticks in my craw dang it. Particularly when the game itself gestures towards these ideas a few times (Ishikawa's line about Shimura only showing mercy to those weaker than him, knowing he could defeat them if they turned on him, was fucking so close to engaging with it!)
I dunno, I liked it, kinda trite, but I should have expected that I guess!
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
I was talking about regular combos not unblockables.
I think the difference here is that Im talking about an option select while you are talking about avoiding a specific class of attacks.
An option select is a fighting game term. Its an action you can take that will reduce an enemy mixup to as few options as possible making it easier to react to what they do.
Some of the attacks are lightning fast unblockables mixed with fast parryable attacks which task you to choose between dodging or parrying. Needing to choose between two options slows down your reaction speed. The purpose of the single option select is that there is only one starting choice. You dodge. That allows you to react much faster.
It doesnt matter that you need to do something else after the dodge because the time it takes for any second hit in a combo to come out is much slower than the initial mixup between fast unblockable and fast normal parryable attack. You have the entire dodge animation plus the attacks initial windup to realise what attack you just dodged and choose what to do next.
It might be more buttons to press but its less pressure on your reactions. You just dont have to be as fast. Paradoxically that makes it easier overall than having to choose between dodge roll and parry which still requires you to make a split second choice where the wrong choice results in damage taken. And on lethal potentially instant death.
So even though you are correct that dodge roll avoids all unblockables thats why Im bringing up that it gets punished by normal parryable combo attacks. The point of the option select is only needing to make one initial choice. If you are using dodge roll you are still making two.
Granted you still have to do this for the sweep on lethal but thats much slower than every other attack. The short dodge option select basically neuters the fast unblockable mixup which is the most difficult attack to react to. And if they dont have the sweep the option select completely neuters the fight.
You are right tho that it removes the problem of needing to remember which unblockables have followups. If you dont have a problem reacting between the initial fast mixup then parry vs dodge roll is superior.
Winds upgraded charge kick knocks people down for a one hit kill.
You can also juggle people with arrows with concentration while they are in the air.
PSN: Threeve703
It's true.
The more ghost like you are the more the weather reacts like you are a supernatural entity bringing the wrath of the gods down upon the Mongols heads.
https://www.ign.com/articles/ghost-of-tsushimas-weather-will-change-based-on-your-playstyle
I didn't think of juggling dudes with concentration I need to try that!
You can also juggle then with Kunai.
That's a really cool idea!
They should have had more than one volume of thunder if that were the case!
Also, maybe turn off thunder when you're in the snowy area! I dunno! I'm just spitballing here!
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
It's who you're closest to. You can engineer it to standoff a leader if he happens to be closest to you.
I think the combat and traversal felt really good. There was just enough animation priority and blending to look good and feel appropriately grounded and weighty, and just enough speed to feel responsive. The combat felt like a good mix between "everyone takes turns hitting you to give you time to react" and "ganging up on you because that's how to make it actually challenging," and the tools you get are by and large useful and fun to throw around
The grappling hook is woefully underused! It feels great to use, again a combination of static swinging motions and some actual real-time physics, and the sound design is strong. Adds to the satisfying nature of getting around the excellent environments. I was deadass certain that Jin would eventually incorporate it into combat, though, and I feel that was a missed opportunity! I expected him to start swinging it around like those cool guys in the movies, like a kusarigama or whatever they're called, maybe steal some moves from the moveset in Nioh, with it's long-range attacks and pulls
To that end, I also missed using a spear or a naginata. I'm totally fine with them not being there, stance switching makes the sword feel like a fully-featured combat moveset, but I did sigh longingly looking at Norio's weapon. Something for the sequel maybe!
Speaking of, I'm hopeful the sequel takes us to a different island, but I also don't want them to pick a landmass that's too large to render realistically? Part of what I really liked about the game is that we're on this island and it feels... big! Like an island would feel! It's not the theme-park Ancient Greece of Assassin's Creed where less than a mile of sea separates entire islands, and Athens is right down the road from Sparta. I'd say let's go to Kyushu, but I genuinely think that would lead to the same problem! Hopefully they recognize what they accomplished here, and don't pull an Oblivion where there's a big capital city where ten people live, y'know?
Oh, and the music is exceptional. I think there could have been a tad more variety? But what we got sets the mood and has some stirring moments
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
Game is melancholy as fuck
The hard part isn't beating them, since I can throw a bunch of ridiculous magic bombs in their faces or use super samurai chop powers
It's how you're "supposed" to beat them correctly, by successfully and optimally countering their moves
Dodges get hit by the sweep attacks, and jumping doesn't work despite the tooltip, which seems like sloppy design compared to the other, tight design of unblockables
Maybe you should try fighting with honour, ronin
Her tale is really good, if somewhat predictable. Great interaction between the characters.
I wish they explored it more, dealing with the conflict of his idyllic image of his father paired with a deep betrayal. But for what it was, it was good.
PSN: Threeve703
Not to say it wasn't still improper, and that Jin still isn't dealing with that, but I don't think it was explicitly immoral
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
But after a certain point, we start to get a picture of Shimura as being a much more compromised and hypocritical individual than we believe (he associates with a smuggler, he shows mercy to the weak but not his equals, he asks Jin to betray Yuna rather than take responsibility for his own actions) and the dad gets a bit more development thanks to Yuriko (he cared deeply for his son, he had a relationship with Yuriko, and he was much more morally flexible and less "rigid" than Shimura, which I take to mean he did the same things but he wasn't a hypocrite about it)
The fact that your dad's armor is black, and your ghost armor is black, felt like a deliberate aesthetic choice. You are carrying forward his legacy, whether or not you truly realize it. I only wish we got more hints of his being a proto-ghost, or at least something other than Shimura's stuck-up lordly samurai
Oh and I definitely wish he didn't go out like such an absolute wuss. That is basically impossible to come back from, as a character, and if they wanted to develop him more they shouldn't have had him beg for help from his twelve year old
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
I agree as well.
"Where is this special place of yours?"
"You'll see."
"You cannot tell me?"
"I won't have to."
"Are you upset? I hope it's not wrong of us to come."
"It's so painful to see you weighed down by sadness with Lady Sakai and the little one..."
"You brought little Jin to me, when he was so sick, after all that time in the forest. We had already lost Lady Sakai. Kazumasa, are you listening?"
"I'm listening."
"I made him drink that remedy my mother taught me. We sat by his side the whole night. You held my hand. Do you remember?"
"Yes I remember."
"that night I was so scared, so sad for little Jin. But I was so happy. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No."
"When he recovered, when you taught me how to ride, the day we rode to the onsen, the sunset was red and full. That was ..."
"That was what?"
"The best day of my life."
Lord Sakai was unhappy in his married life. They all but say there was an affair, and their relationship continued after Lady Sakai's death.
Jin must see his father for who he was. All of him. Jin believed his father was a man like Shimura. In fact, he was about as different as they could be. It is something Jin must reconcile to make the ultimate decision he makes to break away from the samurai tradition.
PSN: Threeve703
And then after it was all over I just stood there for a while experiencing unexpected feelings.
That wasnt part of the plan.
Japanese literature is pretty dark outside of modern day pop culture. Even the Samurai drama this game is based on usually has themes of loss, betrayal, and sacrificing one’s personal desires for one’s family/lord.
I did find out that the jump has invincibility frames but I can't actually use it to jump through an attack and punish. They push away the kick and block the jumping strike. Kind of worthless.
Oh well I figured out how to use every stance and every stance special attack to style on em without using a lick of resolve so that'll do I guess.
See but
I don’t think Kazumasa was unhappy in his married life, but I do think he was burdened by grief. I think maybe he and Yuriko might have had feelings, but if they did prior to his wife’s death, they didn’t act on them until afterward. That’s why Yuriko was so happy to just be holding Kazumasa’s hand—it was a reciprocation of affection that he had never given her before
I agree with the rest of your analysis, in particular Jin having to recognize the differences between the person he thought his father was and the reality of him, and the differences between him and his uncle. I just think the game is attempting a character rehabilitation for Kazumasa, and him having an affair would not help that
PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
There's just not that much depth to the duels really. The game wants to force you into Stone Stance, so you've got a very limited selection of moves. The opponents almost invariably have 2-3 times as many effective moves, several unblockable attacks, and can kill you in a few hits while you're forced to hack away at them like a block of wood. I spend a fair portion of each duel getting pissed off that the guy I'm facing can kill me in a couple kicks, yet my own kick seems to do fuck-all for damage against enemies.
Compared to engaging whole camps with a variety of items and moves, I'm finding the duels to be invariably dull and poorly-done. They're much too shallow and one-sided, and the most interesting thing about them is that they're generally set up in very picturesque locations. I'd honestly just prefer to skip the duels at this point, I don't find them at all entertaining.
You could build patterns into their stance selection and players could start to predict their stances
Would be more varied, at least
And I would have been happy with a straight-up "dueling" stance. I know it's kinda game-y, but duels are so rare and supposed to be special things that I would have liked to see a moveset dedicated to that unique circumstance. But again, I have no idea how they could have done that.
PSN: Threeve703
Yeah, I read: