History Fridge / SekiroShadowsDieTwice

* Of the bosses with multiple health bars, there are two that don't display their second health-bar. Why is this? Well, [[spoiler: Lady Butterfly]] is a MasterOfIllusion, so for the first phase you were merely FightingAShadow while she observed. And as for [[spoiler:Guardian Ape]], he ''did'' only have one health bar, [[spoiler:and it's the parasite possessing his headless body that has the second.]]

** Related to that, in order to develop the Prosthetic Art technique, one has to refine the tools and master them through killing. By the time when the Sculptor developed the Living Force technique, where one imbues their sword with a flame, he has killed too many, and the flames of hatred has begun to corrupt him [[spoiler:until he [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie becomes the Demon of Hatred]]]]. Likewise, when you need experience to level up, you have to [[LevelGrinding go out of your way to slaughter everything on your path]], essentially walking the same path as the Sculptor. By the time when you have obtained the Sparkling Axe, Leaping Axe, Okinaga's Flame Vent and Living Force, [[PlayingWithFire all of which involves the use of flames]], your movesets have become unnervingly similar to the [[spoiler:Demon of Hatred]]. [[spoiler:At this point, [[NotSoDifferent what makes you different to the Sculptor?]] And what stops you from [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie sharing the same fate as him]] when your lust for blood and power is left unchecked?]]

* For those who don't expect [[spoiler:the attack on Ashina castle]], the results might be kinda horrifying to you since you're the one who murdered his way through a lot of Ashina's men and resources. However, that part isn't really your fault as Kuro tells Genchiro to not use his blood and that his servant would murder everyone in his way to rescue him. In fact, given how good Wolf is and the factor of his immortality. It would have saved Genchiro a lot of problems had he recruited you to go soften up the [[spoiler:Interior Ministry]] instead. Had you killed your way through the [[spoiler:Lone Shadow bosses (who supposedly coordinated the attack)]] first and not go out and killed everything up to, and including, [[spoiler:the ''gods'' of Ashina]], things may turned out very differently. Given all of that and everyone's pride in Ashina. It's not surprising that Wolf [[spoiler:[[BrainwashedAndCrazy goes]] [[DemonicPossession insane]] and murders literally everyone in Ashina in one ending]].
* Mibu village. First of all, there's a shadowy noble obscuring the whole valley prior to it in mist that brings back the ghosts of the dead and a Headless who resides there who seems to be unrelated to the curse. There's a ghost of woman searching for a lost lover [[note]]That or she's a stalker given that he never returned her notes, but maybe he was dead or otherwise incapable of responding. It should be noted that she's based off a Film/KillBill character.[[/note]] You find out that the whole village was corrupted by a, well, corrupted monk, another monk who is addicted to the mind altering sake they have, and the poison being flooded into their water supply. However, the fridge part comes in with the ghosts, illusions, and corpses that just pop out of the ground. If you dive under the water, there's literally a hundred if not hundreds of corpses down there all buried upside down. Not only is the water poisoned and drugged, it's just straight up cursed as well. Worst of all, that village couldn't possibly have supported that many people unless there are more houses hidden somewhere. Just where did all those bodies come from? Well, according to those still alive and notes and descriptions found in game. The local people found the local black sap from the trees to be sacred. However, the drug and poison made everyone afraid of fire and, since the sap burns for a very long time, they grew to hate it. Anyone who held on to the traditions involving the sap may be but a few of the victims in the pond. It couldn't account for all of them, but you realize just how full Ashina is of curses, demons, monsters, madman, undead, and, most of all, corpses, a great many of which were discarded and never given a proper burial. Just trying to count all of the ones displayed that you didn't personally make would take hours or even days. [[spoiler:and in the worst ending, literally everyone in Ashina is murdered by a demon possessed Wolf.]] Ashina can just NOT get a break. At the very least, a thorough player can get a very good ending and kill all of the cursed and undead monsters they find, but Buddha alone knows how many undead and curses the current round of war will create.
* An underwater area of Senpou temple is full of Buddhist statues. This isn't uncommon as flawed or broken statues are often tossed aside. However, all the statues down there are intact and the hole seems like it was always there, not a sink hole or a flooded inhabited area as there's not exits except for the top. It seems like the monks didn't just [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis become their own antithesis]], but have rejected the Buddha entirely. While some Buddhists do believe in demi-gods and demons, they usually pray to Buddha or some kind of guardian. Given that you can catch some of the monks in prayer and see how far they have fallen, just what sort of creature are they praying to? The white snakes would be a good guess, but there's nothing to suggest this. However, there's plenty of evidence that they love centipedes which have a pretty negative connotation in Buddhist mythology.
* Even if Genichiro had succeeded in stealing the Dragon's Heritage, he would not have been able to save Ashina; such immortality may come in handy against the Interior Ministry, but it would have almost certainly resulted in spreading Dragonrot across Ashina lands at an unprecedented rate, especially if the Dragon's Heritage was somehow given to multiple Ashina warriors.

* Of the bosses with multiple health bars, there are two that don't display their second health-bar. Why is this? Well, [[spoiler: Lady Butterfly]] is a MasterOfIllusion, so for the first phase you were merely FightingAShadow. And as for [[spoiler:Guardian Ape]], he ''did'' only have one health bar, [[spoiler:it's the parasite possessing his headless body that has the second.]]
** Related to that, [[spoiler:the Guardian Ape having a second phase at all has a couple of clues, especially one outside of the game: First, most bosses have either more than one health bar or have more than one phase, so the Guardian Ape having only one health bar should be your first clue. Second, he's got a large sword stuck in the middle his neck, which is later used to decapitate him, which you might ignore at first because it means he's resilient but should also mean that the sword not bothering him is your next clue. Third, you can potentially encounter the Headless before encountering the Guardian Ape, and that infested immortal enemies exist, which you can also encounter before facing him. Finally, many of FromSoftware games '''do not''' show decapitations and the process of it onscreen: all of the ones that do occur happen offscreen, so while there is a shock factor of having one shown at all, FromSoftware does not do that unless there is something '''very important''' as to why they're showing one now. Hence, decapitating the Guardian Ape as the finishing move should clue you in that he has a second phase as a headless enemy.]]
** Genichiro Ashina's [[spoiler: Way of Tomoe form]] has only one health bar [[spoiler: both times you fight him. This makes sense as the first time you've already dealt him two death blows. He strips down his armor and imbues his sword with lightning to go at you once more, but is obviously battered enough that one more death blow allows Sekiro to finish him. During his potential second encounter he clearly survives your first death blow and can go on fighting. Genichiro, however, is now convinced he can't beat Sekiro and fighting on is thus useless. He decides to sacrifice his life with the Mortal Blade to bring back a far stronger opponent (Sword Saint Isshin) instead.]]

* While the Interior Ministry's army is often said to be able to over-power the Ashina clan, the speed with which they did might bother you, given the Ashina clan still had a fair amount of military power. Then you realize how many secret weapons, generals, and elite soldiers Sekiro goes through on his first trip through Ashina alone...
** Also, if you let the Ashina and Ministry troops duke it out without getting involved, the Ministry's forces virtually always come out on top; even the miniboss-tier Ashina Generals will usually lose in a 1v1 against Lone Shadows and Red Guard samurai commanders.

* You can actually track Sekiro's growing skill by how he draws his sword before each fight with Genichiro. In the beginning, Sekiro is still rusty and unused to Kusabimaru -- you can actually see him misjudge the height of the sword's grip on his waist as he feels it out with his pinkie finger before drawing. By the time the second battle atop the Castle Tower Outlook occurs, Sekiro has had some experience accrued; this is matched by his slow, methodical draw, showing an awareness of the sword but also a lack of confidence to use it without hesitation. At the very end, Sekiro has become a master ninja; appropriately he draws Kusabimaru without needing to check or wait, and is able to assume a combat ready stance immediately.

* As detailed under GameplayAndStorySegregation, [[spoiler: the Black Mortal Blade should be able to nullify Sekiro's Resurrection ability; however, during the third fight with Genichiro, Sekiro can resurrect himself even if the former slains with the Mortal Blade. A possible explanation: while both Mortal Blades have similar abilities, they also have some differences. The description of the crimson sword explicitly says that it is "capable of slaying the undying", and that it "will take the life of any who dares draw it"; meanwhile, the Black Scroll explains that the black sword can "open a gate to the underworld", and that "it is through this power that it creates life". In two endings, Sekiro uses the crimson sword to kill an immortal being and turn a second one in a mortal; in the final battle before those endings, Genichiro uses the black sword to resurrect Isshin. The Crimson Mortal Blade is connected to death; the Black one is connected to life. So, it's possible that the Black Mortal Blade, while being capable of wounding immortals like Kuro or Sekiro, cannot permanently kill them; while the Crimson one can]].
** Another explanation: Sekiro and Kuro can only be killed permanently by performing a ritual with special objects: Kuro needs Dragon's Tear and Sekiro himself needs Everblossom to sever the immortal ties between they two. Without those items, they cannot be killed, even with Mortal Blade.
* Wolf ends up making himself have a very MeaningfulName over the course of the game. Wolf serves a child with utmost respect and loyalty and show just as much loyalty to his allies; he's the PapaWolf of a pack and fighting tooth and nail against everything to protect them, and in the game's bad ending [[spoiler: he forsakes this and goes mad as such; packless lone wolves have been observed in real life suffering psychological issues]]. Also, notice how he deathblows almost every enemy in the game; he stabs them in the neck. Just like a real wolf, he goes for the throat when he kills. Also compare the last point to Owl, who [[spoiler: deathblows Wolf]] by pinning him down before stabbing him in the torso - like an Owl subduing and finishing off swooped prey; Lady Butterfly uses her unmatched mobility to dance around and pounce her enemy from above, and conjures phantom warriors, just like her Japanese namesake (Phantom Butterfly); The Sculptor (Sekijo) fights like a large ape or monkey, albeit in his demon form; and it seems to establish a running theme that the Shinobi assassinate like the animals they're named after.

* To reach Shura's ending, you have to confirm abandoning Kuro twice. Why is that? Firstly, it is a checkpoint to stop the players from choosing the wrong route they wish to choose, as they repeatedly press Enter to skip the dialog and suddendly choose the first option when the dialog pops up (Shura's ending is the first choice). If you accidentally chose the first option and realized you have messed your route, you have a second chance to choose it again (if you committed to either route, you would not be able to go to another route by dying to either Owl or Emma/Isshin to reload the game). And finally, it TAKES guts to do something so inhumane, so immoral: to abandon Kuro in compliance with the Iron Code and thus, become the Shura itself.

* Wolf ends up making himself have a very MeaningfulName over the course of the game. Wolf serves a child with utmost respect and loyalty and show just as much loyalty to his allies; he's the PapaWolf of a pack and fighting tooth and nail against everything to protect them, and in the game's bad ending [[spoiler: he forsakes this and goes mad as such; packless lone wolves have been observed in real life suffering psychological issues]]. Also, notice how he deathblows almost every enemy in the game; he stabs them in the neck. Just like a real wolf, he goes for the throat when he kills. Also compare the last point to Owl, who [[spoiler: deathblows Wolf]] by pinning him down before stabbing him in the torso - like an Owl subduing and finishing off swooped prey; Lady Butterfly uses her unmatched mobility to dance around and pounce her enemy from above, and conjures phantom warriors, just like her Japanese namesake (Phantom Butterfly); The Sculptor (Sekijo) fights like a large ape or monkey, abbeit in his demon form; and it seems to establish a running theme that the Shinobi assassinate like the animals they're named after.
* We never do see what Wolf's Shura form would look like; it's only hinted at by the appearance of the Demon of Hatred, who was a 'failed' Shura. One would assume, however, that he'd still be reasonably close to the real thing. The Demon of Hatred is the demon form of the Sculptor, who, like many characters in the game, has an AnimalMotif: he is strongly associated with the orangutan. The demon, possibly as a result, resembles a giant great ape with orange fur. If Wolf's Shura form followed along the same lines, you'd presumably get a giant black demonic wolf... AKA, the Beast of Darkness from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', who represent's the protagonist's violent instincts and bloodlust, making it a perfect visage for a Shura Wolf. Note that From Software had expies of that monster in both of its previous games (the Watchdog of the Old Lords in ''Bloodborne'' and Sulyvahn's Beasts in ''Dark Souls 3'').

* An underwater area of Senpou temple is full of Buddhist statues. This isn't uncommon as flawed or broken statues are often tossed aside. However, all the statues down there are intact and the hole seems like it was always there, not a sink hole or a flooded inhabited area as there's not exits except for the top. It seems like the monks didn't just [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis become their own antithesis]], but have rejected the Buddha entirely. While some Buddhists do believe in demi-gods and demons, they usually pray to Buddha or some kind of guardian. Given that you can catch some of the monks in pray and see how far they have fallen, just what sort of creature are they praying to? The white snakes would be a good guess, but there's nothing to suggest this. However, there's plenty of evidence that they love centipedes which have a pretty negative connotation in Buddhist mythology.

** Related to that, [[spoiler:the Guardian Ape having a second phase at all has a couple of clues, especially one outside of the game: First, most bosses have either more than one health bar or have more than one phase, so the Guardian Ape having only one health bar should be your first clue. Second, he's got a large sword stuck in the middle his neck, which is later used to decapitate him, which you might ignore at first because it means he's resilient but should also mean that the sword not bothering him is your next clue. Third, you can potentially encounter the Headless before encountering the Guardian Ape, and that infested immortal enemies exist, which you can also encounter before facing him. Finally, many of FromSoftware games '''do not''' show decapitations and the process of it onscreen: all of the ones that do occur happen offscreen, so while there is a shock factor of having one shown at all, FromSoftware does not do that unless there is something '''very important''' why they're showing one now. Hence, decapitating the Guardian Ape as the finishing move should clue you in that he has a second phase as a headless enemy.]]

* An underwater area of Senpou temple is full of Buddhist statues. This isn't uncommon as flawed or broken statues are often tossed aside. However, all the statues down there are intact and the hole seems like it was always there, not a sink hole or a flooded inhabited area as there's not exits expect for the top. It seems like the monks didn't just [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis become their own antithesis]], but have rejected the Buddha entirely. While some Buddhists do believe in demi-gods and demons, they usually pray to Buddha or some kind of guardian. Given that you can catch some of the monks in pray and see how far they have fallen, just what sort of creature are they praying to? The white snakes would be a good guess, but there's nothing to suggest this, but there's plenty of evidence that they love centipedes which have a pretty negative connotation in Buddhist mythology.

* Mibu village. First of all, there's a shadowy noble obscuring the whole valley prior to it in mist that brings back the ghosts of the dead and a Headless who resides there who seems to be unrelated to the curse. There's a ghost of woman searching for a lost lover [[note]]That or she's a stalker given that he love never returned her notes, but maybe he was dead or otherwise incapable of responding. It should be noted that she's based off a Film/KillBill character.[[/note]] You find out that the whole village was corrupted by a, well, corrupted monk, another monk who is addicted to the mind altering sake they have, and the poison being flooded into their water supply. However, the fridge part comes in with the ghosts, illusions, and corpses that just pop out of the ground. If you dive under the water, there's literally a hundred if not hundred of corpses down there all buried upside down. Not only is the water poisoned and drugged, it's just straight up cursed as well. Worst of all, that village couldn't possibly have supported that many people unless there are more houses hidden somewhere. Just where did all those bodies come from? Well, according to those still alive and notes and descriptions found in game. The local people found the local black sap from the trees to be sacred. However, the drug and poison made everyone afraid of fire and, since the sap burns for a very long time, they grew to hate it. Anyone who held on to the traditions involving the sap may be but a few of the victims in the pond. It couldn't account for all of them, but you realize just how full Ashina is of curses, demons, monsters, madman, undead, and, most of all, corpses, a great many of which were discarded and never given a proper burial. Just trying to count all of the ones displayed that you didn't personally make would take hours or even days. [[spoiler:and in the worst ending, literally everyone in Ashina is murdered by a demon possessed Wolf.]] Ashina can just NOT get a break. At the very least, a thorough player can get a very good ending and kill all of the cursed and undead monsters they find, but Buddha alone knows how many undead and curses the current round of war will create.

** Genichiro Ashina's [[spoiler: Way of Tomoe form]] has only one health bar [[spoiler: both times you fight him. This makes sense as the first time you've already dealt him two death blows. He strips down his armor and imbues his sword with lightning to go at you once more, but is obviously battered enough that one more death blow allows Sekiro to finish him. During his potential second encounter he clearly survives your first death blow and can go on fighting. Genichiro, however, is now convinced he can't beat Sekiro and fighting on is thus useless. He decides to sacrifice his life with the Mortal Blade to bring back a far more stronger opponent (Sword Saint Isshin) instead.]]

* Wolf ends up making himself have a very MeaningfulName over the course of the game. Wolf serves a child with utmost respect and loyalty and show just as much loyalty to his allies; he's the PapaWolf of a pack and fighting tooth and nail against everything to protect them, and in the game's bad ending [[spoiler: he forsakes this and goes mad as such; packless lone wolves have been observed in real life suffering psychological issues]]. Also, notice how he deathblows almost every enemy in the game; he stabs them in the neck. Just like a real wolf, he goes for the throat when he kills. Also compare the last point to Owl, who [[spoiler: deathblows Wolf]] by pinning him down before stabbing him in the torso - like an Owl subduing and finishing off swooped prey, and it seems to establish a running theme that the Shinobi assassinate like the animals they're named after.

* Wolf ends up making himself have a very MeaningfulName over the course of the game. Wolf serves a child with utmost respect and loyalty and show just as much loyalty to his allies; he's the PapaWolf of a pack and fighting tooth and nail against everything to protect them, and in the game's bad ending [[spoiler: he forsakes this and goes mad as such; packless lone wolves have been observed in real life suffering psychological issues]]. Also, notice how he deathblows almost every enemy in the game; he stabs them in the neck. Just like a real wolf, he goes for the throat when he kills.

* As detailed under GameplayStoryAndSegregation, [[spoiler: the Black Mortal Blade should be able to nullify Sekiro's Resurrection ability; however, during the third fight with Genichiro, Sekiro can resurrect himself even if the former slains with the Mortal Blade. A possible explanation: while both Mortal Blades have similar abilities, they also have some differences. The description of the crimson sword explicitly says that it is "capable of slaying the undying", and that it "will take the life of any who dares draw it"; meanwhile, the Black Scroll explains that the black sword can "open a gate to the underworld", and that "it is through this power that it creates life". In two endings, Sekiro uses the crimson sword to kill an immortal being and turn a second one in a mortal; in the final battle before those endings, Genichiro uses the black sword to resurrect Isshin. The Crimson Mortal Blade is connected to death; the Black one is connected to life. So, it's possible that the Black Mortal Blade, while being capable of wounding immortals like Kuro or Sekiro, cannot permanently kill them; while the Crimson one can]].

* Potentially coincidence, and it is unknown how much HighlyVisibleNinja plays into it, but Sekiro does not look like a typical modern depiction of a ninja. But it makes sense considering that in RealLife, some ninja were basically samurai in disguise.

* Even if Genichiro had succeeded in stealing the Dragon's Heritage, he would not have been able to save Ashina; such immortality may come in handy against the Interior Ministry, but it would have almost certainly resulted in spreading Dragonrot across Ashina lands, especially if the Dragon's Heritage was somehow given to multiple Ashina warriors.

* Potentially coincidence, and it is unknown how much HighlyVisibleNinja plays into it, but Sekiro does not look like a typical modern depiction of a ninja. But it makes sense considering that in RealLife, ninja were basically samurai in disguise.

* Of the bosses with multiple health bars, there are two that don't display their second health-bar. Why is this? Well, [[spoiler: Lady Butterfly]] is a MasterOfIllusion, so for the first phase you were merely FightingAShadow. And as for [[spoiler:Guardian Ape]], he ''did'' only have one health bar, [[spoiler:it's the spirit possessing his headless body that has the second.]]

* You can actually track Sekiro's growing skill by how he draws his sword before each fight with Genichiro. In the beginning, Sekiro is still rusty and unused to Kusabimaru -- you can actually see him misjudge the height of the sword's grip on his waist as he feels it out with his pinkie finger before drawing. By the time second battle atop the Castle Tower Outlook, Sekiro has had some experience accrued; this is matched by his slow, methodical draw, showing an awareness of the sword but still lacking confidence to use it without hesitation. At the very end, Sekiro has become a master ninja; appropriately he draws Kusabimaru without needing to check or wait, and is able to assume a combat ready stance immediately.

* An underwater area of Senpou temple is full of Buddhist statues. This isn't uncommon as flawed or broken statues are often tossed aside. However, all the statues down there are intact and the hole seems like it was always there, not a sink hole or a flooded inhabited area as there's not exits expect for the top. It seems like the monks didn't just [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis become their own antithesis]], but have rejected the Buddha entirely. While some Buddhists do believe in demi-gods and demons, they usually pray to Buddha or some kind of guardian. Given that you can catch some of the monks in pray and see how far they have fallen, just what sort of creature are they praying to? The white snakes would be a good guess, but there's nothing to suggest this, but there's plenty of evidence that they love centipedes which have a pretty negative connotation in Buddhist mythology. They could essentially be the Buddhist equivalent of [[HollywoodSatanism Satanists]], in other words.

** Related to that, in order to develop the Prosthetic Art technique, one has to refine the tools and master them through killing. By the time when the Sculptor developed the Living Force technique, where one imbues their sword with a flame, he has killed too many, and the flames of hatred has begun to corrupt him [[spoiler:until he [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie becomes the Demon of Hatred]]]]. Likewise, when you need experience to level up, you have to [[LevelGrinding go out of your way to slaughter everything on your path]], essentially walking the same path as the Sculptor. By the time when you have obtained the Sparkling Axe, Leaping Axe, Okinaga's Flame Vent and Living Force, [[PlayingWithFire all of which involves the use of flames]], your movesets have become unnervingly silimar to the [[spoiler:Demon of Hatred]]. [[spoiler:At this point, [[NotSoDifferent what makes you different to the Sculptor?]] And what stops you from [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie sharing the same fate as him]] when your lust for blood and power is left unchecked?]]

* The second Mortal Blade seems to come from nowhere, but Lord Takeru had to die somehow and the blade Sekiro acquires was specifically already hidden away by that time. This also explains how he knew where to find it, as his mentor Tomoe would have been the last to wield it.

** Related to that, in order to develop the Prosthetic Art technique, one has to kill over and over again to refine a tool made for killing and how to use them better. By the time when the Sculptor developed the Living Force technique, where one imbues their sword with a flame, he has killed too many, and the flames of hatred has begun to corrupt him [[spoiler:until he [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie becomes the Demon of Hatred]]]]. Likewise, when you need experience to level up, you have to [[LevelGrinding go out of your way to slaughter everything on your path]], essentially walking the same path as the Sculptor. By the time when you have obtained the Sparkling Axe, Leaping Axe, Okinaga's Flame Vent and Living Force, [[PlayingWithFire all of which involves the use of flames]], your movesets have become unnervingly silimar to the [[spoiler:Demon of Hatred]]. At this point, [[NotSoDifferent what makes you different to the Sculptor?]] And what stops you from sharing the same fate as him when your lust for blood and power is left unchecked?