Nioh 2: How Team Ninja improved upon its action RPG for the sequel
After the success of Nioh, its successor Nioh 2 looks to pick up where the previous game left off. Read on to find out what makes the upcoming release unique.
As with any RPG (and any other video game, for that matter), its uniqueness and distinctive features are key to its success. Obviously, no wants to pay $59.99 for an unoriginal carbon copy of the same game over and over again. Although the first Nioh was considered to be a success by many, its creators feel there’s still room for improvement, as evident by a 2018 interview with E3.
"“My goal for this Nioh 2 would b ea proper evolution, a natural evolution — not dramatic change, not obviously deteriorate. In the first title, although we’re very happy with how it was received, there were things we couldn’t accomplish at the same time. I would like to strengthen what we did well, at the same time, fix some of the issues we couldn’t get done at the time.”"
During the interview, Team Ninja sat down to discuss and promote the upcoming Nioh 2. At one point during the interview, Producer Fumihiko was asked to explain what makes Nioh 2 unique?
“In general, I think it’s the Close Quarter Combat System. We have certain elements that are very uniquely Japanese style, such as say the Key Pulse and the stances of the weapons.”, Fumihiko stated.
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He would go on to add, “the next protagonist actually possesses the power of Yoki. So as seen before, Samari versus Yoki, Samari. This time around we’re going to have Yoki versus Samari and Yoki versus Yoki, as well. So, you’ll be able to feel the Yoki skills and Yoki moves. This should bring the action system to the next level.”
Nioh 2 has had multiple numerous opportunities for fans to jump in and see what has been improved in the sequel. The feeling after the alpha nine months ago was that it felt very familiar to the first game, but more polished.
A beta three months ago gave us some hands-on time with the character creator as well as a look at some of the Yokai powers. The character creator was surprisingly deep, but the highlight was how the new Yokai ability improves combat, transforming your character’s appearance and providing a new set of powerful attacks.
Most recently, we wrapped up playing the Last Chance Trial. As our last chance to play the game before its release, we came away with more confidence that Nioh 2 will live up to the expectations set forth by its predecessor.
Nioh 2 is scheduled to be released on March 13 of this year for the PlayStation 4 for what looks to be another solid video game. Are the new changes enough to surpass the game’s aforementioned predecessor? Only time will tell.