History YMMV / Nioh

* WinBackTheCrowd: This game restored Team Ninja its respect from the community and industry: after the heavily divisive ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (whose problems were eventually laid at the feet of ''Metroid'' co-creator Creator/YoshioSakamoto but still tainted Team Ninja to some extent), the debacle of ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ninja Gaiden 3]]'', the poor reception to ''VideoGame/YaibaNinjaGaidenZ'' and the downward spiral of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive5'' due to the shift in focus to overpriced DownloadableContent packages, people believed the studio didn't have much creative prowess after Tomonobu Itagaki left the company nine years prior, especially following the launch of ''Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3'', which made Team Ninja BestKnownForTheFanservice and its infamous JigglePhysics more infamous than ever before. ''Nioh'' was the studio proving they could still be relevant in the [[ActionGame genre]] on their own merits like they were in the mid-to-late 2000s. By 2023, Team Ninja released a [[VideoGame/Nioh2 2020 sequel]], used the same formula for ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', created a Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms-inspired SoulslikeRPG called ''VideoGame/WoLongFallenDynasty'' and will tackle the WideOpenSandbox in the future with ''Rise of the Ronin''.

* WakeUpCallBoss: ''Nue'' - though the ''Onryoki'' and ''Hino-enma'' are leaps in difficulty over [[WarmUpBoss Derrick the Executioner]], both make very limited use of creating Yokai Realms to restore their ''Ki'', and are fought in very straight-forward, spacious enviornments. ''Nue'', however, has numerous attacks which create Yokai Realms as an after-effect, compounded with devastating, {{Unblockable Attack}}s which can be the follow-up to attacks players would THINK might give them an opening. Those who haven't normalized themselves to the Ki Pulse mechanic yet in order to purify regions of the arena left by the ''Nue'' will find themselves with next to no ''ki'' the few times they have an opening to attack the boss.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Sir John Dee. [[spoiler:A famous historical British alchemist as the main villain, secretly manipulating events and engaging in political intrigue, and also wanting to make England the dominant power over the entire world? It would seem like an interesting concept for an interesting villain, especially considering that he is an adviser to Elizabeth I, he could become a very formidable opponent both in strength and influence. Plus, being British, he could become a very personal enemy for William. But Dee only appears 3 times in the entire game (at the beginning, where he is not even visible and you can just hear his speech, the second time after killing Kelly for a few seconds, and at the very end where he has a total of 4 lines), which results in him having virtually no screen time and barely any personality. Because of how little attention he receives, it ultimately makes he extremely boring and easily forgotten, despite all its significance.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Sir John Dee. [[spoiler:A famous historical British alchemist as the main villain, secretly manipulating events and engaging in political intrigue, and also wanting to make England the dominant power over the entire world? It would seem like an interesting concept for an interesting villain, but Dee only appears 3 times in the entire game (at the beginning, where he is not even visible and you can just hear his speech, the second time after killing Kelly for a few seconds, and at the very end where he has a total of 4 lines), which results in him having virtually no screen time and barely any personality. Because of how little attention he receives, it ultimately makes he extremely boring and easily forgotten, despite all its significance.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: As cool as using the Teahouse's Transform option is to play as characters other than William for CoOpMultiplayer, it's restricted to only male character skins. Those wanting to play as characters like Okatsu or ''Yuki-Onna'' are out of luck, but averted with the release of the 1.07 patch, allowing female character skins for use (though at a whopping ''90000'' in-game currency each to unlock).

** [[EvilSorcerer Edward Kelley]], a ruthless sorcerer seeking to gather the mystical energy Amrita for his master, kidnaps [[PlayerCharacter William Adams]]'s guardian spirit Saoirse and uses her to locate Japan, where he makes an already bloody civil war even worse. Lending his aid to the Toyotomi forces, Kelley also increases the presence of monstrous {{Oni}} and other {{Youkai}}, and attempts to undo a seal to allow monsters to ravage all of Kyoto. After being foiled, Kelley uses his magic at the Battle of Sekigahara to painfully fuse 300 soldiers into a new monstrosity and backstabs the Toyotomi army leader Ishida Mitsunari to use him to buy time while Kelley attempts to raise UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga, Japan's most fearsome warlord, from the dead and [[DemonKingNobunaga have him plunge the nation into a new era of war]]. While a servant of Sir John Dee, Kelley is ruthless, cruel and utterly delights in the slaughter he initiates.

** Edward Kelley, a ruthless sorcerer seeking to gather the mystical energy Amrita for his masters, kidnaps [[PlayerCharacter William Adams]]'s guardian spirit Saoirse and uses her to locate Japan, where he makes an already bloody civil war even worse. Lending his aid to the Toyotomi forces, Kelley also increases the presence of monstrous {{Oni}} and other {{Youkai}}, and attempts to undo a seal to allow monsters to ravage all of Kyoto. After being foiled, Kelley uses his magic at the Battle of Sekigahara to painfully fuse 300 soldiers into a new monstrosity and backstabs the Toyotomi army leader Ishida Mitsunari to use him to buy time while Kelley attempts to raise UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga, Japan's most fearsome warlord, from the dead and [[DemonKingNobunaga have him plunge the nation into a new era of war]]. While a servant of Sir John Dee, Kelley is ruthless, cruel and utterly delights in the slaughter he initiates.

* WinBackTheCrowd: This game restored Team Ninja its respect from the community and industry: after the heavily divisive ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (whose problems were eventually laid at the feet of ''Metroid'' co-creator Creator/YoshioSakamoto but still tainted Team Ninja to some extent), the debacle of ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ninja Gaiden 3]]'', the poor reception to ''VideoGame/YaibaNinjaGaidenZ'' and the downward spiral of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive5'' due to the shift in focus to overpriced DownloadableContent packages, people believed the studio didn't have much creative prowess after Tomonobu Itagaki left the company nine years prior, especially following the launch of ''Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3'', which made Team Ninja BestKnownForTheFanservice and its infamous JigglePhysics more infamous than ever before. ''Nioh'' was the studio proving they could still be relevant in the [[ActionGame genre]] on their own merits like they were in the mid-to-late 2000s. By 2022, Team Ninja released a [[VideoGame/Nioh2 2020 sequel]], used the same formula for ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', is gearing to release a Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms-inspired version called ''VideoGame/WoLongFallenDynasty'' in 2023 and will tackle the WideOpenSandbox in the future with ''Rise of the Ronin''.

** Armor-wise, in Way of the Samurai almost everyone has either the first set Warrior of the West or the easy to craft Red Demon set. In Way of the Strong onward, expects lost of Tatenashi (best defense), Hayabusha (best attacks) or Swallowtail (farming) in between drops of WotW and Red Demon.

** [[TheManBehindTheMan Sir John Dee]] is the mastermind of the Amrita project, aiming to raise England to [[TakeOverTheWorld dominate the world]] with himself as its true puppet-ruler from the shadows. He creates [[TheHeavy Edward Kelley]] as a sapient, disposable weapon, and sends the {{necromancer}} to Japan with the intent of annihilating everything he can and killing countless people to harvest Amrita with the knowledge he can just create a new Kelley if the need arises. Dee has those involved in the first stage of the Amrita project tortured to death en masse, and also has others abducted and [[PlayingWithSyringes brutally experimented on]] in order to create new demons in order to harvest more Amrita.

** Armor-wise, in Way of the Samurai almost everyone has either the first set Warrior of the West (first set) or the easy to craft Red Demon set. In Way of the Strong onward, expects lost of Tatenashi (best defense), Hayabusha (best attacks) or Swallowtail (farming) in between drops of WotW and Red Demon.

* AuthorsSavingThrow
** After more than ''10 years'' of DevelopmentHell, Creator/KoeiTecmo released multiple demos throughout its development cycle for a limited time so players can see what the game looks and plays like, with an added incentive of DownloadableContent unlocked in the final product upon completing them. Furthermore, ''Nioh'' offering an in-game option between a more stable frame rate or displaying at a higher resolution has been lauded.
** Following the reception of the alpha demo, Team Ninja took players' opinions about the {{Scrappy Mechanic}}s (see below) and implemented [[http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2016/05/19/nioh-demo-downloaded-850000-times-team-ninja-reveals-planned-changes-full-game/ multiple changes into the product]], one of which includes a tutorial, a common complaint regarding the alpha. A beta was released in August 2016 for players to take these changes into account before the developer finalized the game.
** The 1.06 patch update allows players to ''finally'' pause the game, something its [[VideoGame/DarkSouls inspir]][[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} ations]] do not have.
** After it was rumored that the PC release would have [[UsefulNotes/DigitalRightsManagement Denuvo]], and be limited to the console version's two video options, WordOfGod has stated that neither rumor was true.
** The Complete Edition patch removed the "mission already cleared" requirement from coop with friends; while you still can't do them with random people, it's now significantly easier for two friends to play the game together.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Believe it or not, the giant toad demon wielding a sickle-spear isn't something the creators actually invented, but based on an actual [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehon_Hyaku_Monogatari#/media/File:ShunsenOgama.jpg picture]] from the collection of Youkai drawings known as ''Ehon Hyaku Monogatari''.

* WinBackTheCrowd: This game restored Team Ninja its respect from the community and industry: after the heavily divisive ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (whose problems were eventually laid at the feet of ''Metroid'' co-creator Creator/YoshioSakamoto but still tainted Team Ninja to some extent), the debacle of ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ninja Gaiden 3]]'', the poor reception to ''VideoGame/YaibaNinjaGaidenZ'' and the downward spiral of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive5'' due to the shift in focus to overpriced DownloadableContent packages, people believed the studio didn't have much creative prowess after Tomonobu Itagaki left the company nine years prior, especially following the launch of ''Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3'', which made Team Ninja BestKnownForTheFanservice and its infamous JigglePhysics more infamous than ever before. ''Nioh'' was the studio proving they could still be relevant in the [[ActionGame genre]] on their own merits like they were in the mid-to-late 2000s. By 2022, Team Ninja released a [[VideoGame/Nioh2 2020 sequel]], used the same formula for ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', is gearing to release a Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms-inspired version called ''Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty'' in 2023 and will tackle the WideOpenSandbox in the future with ''Rise of the Ronin''.

* WinBackTheCrowd: This game restored Team Ninja its respect from the community and industry: after the heavily divisive ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (whose problems were eventually laid at the feet of ''Metroid'' co-creator Creator/YoshioSakamoto but still tainted Team Ninja to some extent), the debacle of ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ninja Gaiden 3]]'', the poor reception to ''VideoGame/YaibaNinjaGaidenZ'' and the downward spiral of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive5'' due to the shift in focus to overpriced DownloadableContent packages, people believed the studio didn't have much creative prowess after Tomonobu Itagaki left the company nine years prior. Especially following the launch of ''Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3'', which made Team Ninja BestKnownForTheFanservice and its infamous JigglePhysics more infamous than ever before. ''Nioh'' was the studio proving they could still be relevant in the [[ActionGame genre]] on their own merits like they were in the mid-to-late 2000s.

* UncannyValley: Hino-Enma may have the basic shape and appearance of a human woman, [[UhOhEyes but the]] ''[[SlasherSmile face]]''...the face is pale and waxy and so flagrantly 'off' that it's a twisted parody: a monster pretending to be human and failing miserably. [[HumanoidAbomination This is almost certainly]] [[InUniverse intentional]], considering the Yokai's [[OurVampiresAreDifferent pedigree.]]

** Cheesing human: Step 1: Knock'em down with Daiba-washi Guardian Spirit Talisman[[note]]Other spirit such as Tanuki, Mizuchi, Enko, Atlas Bear and Fuse-Ushi also cause knockdown, however Daiba-washi bypasses ''both'' guard (by lifting them up) and evade (due to AOE)[[/note]]. Step 2: Iai strike their back. Step 3: Final Blow for massive damage. Step 4: Optionally run around for 10 seconds[[note]]In Higher difficulty, human boss has a 10 seconds countdown timer before they can be knockdown again[[/note]] before rinses and repeats. Combine with the below for maximum fun time.

* GameBreaker: Step 1: Get a Kusari-Gama. Step 2: Unlock the Reaper ability for said weapon. Step 3: Build up enough Amrita for a Living Weapon use. Step 4: Locate big ugly Yokai. Step 5: Activate Living Weapon and get right in big ugly Yokai's face. Step 6: Hold guard and mash the triangle button as fast as you can, secure in the knowledge that Living Weapon will keep you safe while you shred big ugly Yokai into little bloody pieces.

** Shima Sakon might be the prime candidate for the worst mandatory boss in the main game, to the point of being extremely unfair. His movements are identical to every spear-wielding revenant you meet in the game, but with Foot Sweep (a kusarigama skill), a very fast grab attack, high stance combos and a hurricane move that deals massive amounts of damage, not to mention that his regular attacks all have blatantly larger hitboxes than the player's own spear moveset. Once he gets below 70% health, he starts using his Living Weapon, and this is where the [[SarcasmMode fun]] begins: all of his attacks are now lightning-based, meaning he can kill you very easily if you don’t have armor with enough lightning resistance, Anti-Lightning and Daioh-Jin’s Sake. He also gains hyper-armor and a new move where he jumps and slams the ground, which can instantly kill you if you’re caught in the jump. And finally, he can call his Guardian Spirit by doing a thrust attack followed by a one-hit kill lightning blast. The only way to deal any damage to Sakon in this phase is to deplete his Ki, which means not only do you have to be very close to him, but you also have to constantly try to dodge his attacks while keeping a very close eye for when he uses his jumping attack. Even with buffs, debuffs and Sloth Talismans, he can still kill you with no effort.