As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
- Anytime you beat a mini-boss or a boss is a cause for much celebration. Even moreso if you pulled off a stealth Deathblow on the former beforehand which made your job much easier.
- Pulling off a Posture break, especially on an enemy that has kicked your ass before.
- The first time you encounter the Great Serpent is rather scary and nerve-wracking, as you try to sneak past it without it seeing you. So getting the chance to suddenly fight back while hiding in a palanquin is nothing short of amazing as it comes in close to take a look inside, only for you to stab it in the eye.
- Finally killing the Great Serpent by jumping down on its head and slicing it up.
- Snake-eyes Shirafuji's mini-boss battle is especially remarkable for both its beautiful arena and Shirafuji herself being one of the most unique foes in the game. Picture Wolf standing at the top of a great rock pillar, housing a giant Buddha statue in the middle of a snowy ravine. At the base of the Buddha stands Snake-eyes Shirafuji, an Action Girl who uses her hand cannon with utterly deadly precision, managing to fire at Wolf even at short range and inflicting heavy damage on every hit. Her mini-boss battle is one of the most memorable and beautiful ones, thanks to this combination of Scenery Porn and a challenging battle.
- Most of the time, Wolf executes a boss by stabbing them in vital areas with the Kusabimaru. However, the Guardian Ape's execution deserves special mention for being on another level of awesome. After the Ape gets stabbed in the eye, it rears back in pain and Wolf jumps to grab the sword planted in its throat to twist it and decapitate the Guardian Ape!
- The Ape gets an awesome moment as well. After Wolf decapitates it, the "SHINOBI EXECUTION" message pops up on screen. A few seconds later, the ape gets back up, grabs the sword and its head, and comes after you again!
- How do you get from the wedding cave to Fountainhead Palace? A huge Shimenawa (sacred Shinto rope) smashes down on you, revealing itself to be a giant rope person that carries you over to the Palace in a breathtaking scene, then just falls over and dies. In a game full of surreal imagery, it stands out as one of the most amazing and memorable moments.
- Landing a Deathblow on a Palace Noble while Enfeebled will cause Wolf to brutally impale the bastard on Kusabimaru, drive the blade progressively deeper into its body as Spirit Emblems fly out of it back into you, and then rip the sword out in a geyser of blood, completely restoring your status in the process. It's a serious case of Catharsis Factor, considering how annoying the Palace Nobles are even when you're not debuffed.
- Your proper boss encounter with Genichiro Ashina. You go toe to toe with the man who cut off your arm and left you for dead, now far more capable of matching him in combat. The fight itself is a spectacular duel atop Ashina Castle, against a foe that uses Bow and Sword in Accord. And then there's the second phase, where Genichiro throws lightning at you as a storm rages in the background. If you didn't know better, the ambiance might convince you it's the final battle of the game, but there's much more to come - though the battle serves as the point where the game truly starts to test you.
- Defeating Genichiro in your first encounter, especially since you only get one chance per playthrough.
- The Divine Dragon boss battle. Wolf ascends to the Divine Realm, only to be welcomed by a mob of old coughing dragon-men. But after dispatching them, Wolf is greeted by a giant eastern-style dragon, wielding a gigantic seven-branched sword. Thankfully, Wolf can use the Lightning of Tomoe to hurt the otherwise invincible dragon, finishing it off by turning particularly potent lightning against the Dragon, taking it out and allowing him to take the Dragon's Tears.
- The boss fight(s) with Owl. It's basically a mirror match with a boss that can do many of the techniques you have been using throughout the game, and then some more. Shurikens, firecrackers, smoke bombs, poison, you name it, Owl will use it. And if the player happens to attempt a stab attack, either with the sword or with the Loaded Spear, Owl will perform a Mikiri Counter and a Deathblow on Wolf.
- When Wolf defeats Owl, this exchange happens - showing that despite being enemies, they clearly love and respect each other as shinobi, and as father and son. In two lines, both acknowledge that Wolf has surpassed his father, but also that it was made possible by Owl being such a good mentor.
- The secret rematch against Owl Father, who is Owl at the peak of his experience and strength. Now he adds to his arsenal several spells, summoning an owl of light to turn it into a fire bird and launch it at Wolf or teleporting around to ambush Wolf. Moreover, Owl is younger and thus is noticeably faster and more aggressive, forcing Wolf to have truly mastered the shinobi ways in order to beat his old man.
Wolf: Farewell.Owl: Defeated by my own son...? Ha ha ha, the feeling is not entirely unpleasant. - If you obey the Iron Code and betray Kuro, Sekiro starts on the path to become Shura, and who should arrive to stop you... but Emma, the kindly healer who has helped you throughout the story, now ready to kick your ass six ways to sunday. If you against odds manage to beat her, the guy who taught her shows up, Isshin. Even at his advanced age, he is a tough opponent who will test every skill you have.
- The boss fight(s) with Isshin Ashina. Depending on your choice with Owl, you'll fight two different versions of him - either his frail, present day self, who has refined his swordsmanship with decades of experience, at the top of the slowly burning Ashina Castle... or his resurrected younger self, the Sword Saint, fought in the middle of a thunderstorm at the very end of the game, empowered by the Rejuvenating Waters, armed with the second Mortal Blade, a halberd, a pistol, and by his final phase having harnessed the thunderstorm to wield lightning against you, like Genichiro before him. Either way, he shows you just why he's a force to be reckoned with, and why he was named the Sword Saint in the first place.
- When you finally beat the Sword Saint, Isshin accepts his defeat and shouts "Do it!" as you draw the Mortal Blade to send him back to the underworld.
- After making it past the Great Colored Carp and reaching the top of the Fountainhead Palace, you can find one of the Caretaker's Daughters, just after she slaughtered a room full of Palace Nobles with nothing more than a small dagger.
- The last battles are a testament to you skill. Defeating someone with all your moves, but beefed up to eleven; Fighting a beast very reminicing of Manus and finally dueling with a battle saint that masterfully dishes a helping of everything. Meaning that by the end of your journey, you've surpassed your character, you've surpassed Dark Souls and you've surpassed this game.
- The 1.05 Update allows you to have a rematch with any boss you have already defeated, as many times as you want via 'Reflections of Strength' at Sculptor's Idols; additionally, you can also go through 'Gauntlets of Strength' at them, which are a series of sequential boss fights culminating into a duel with a souped-up version of the Gauntlet's final boss. Beating them all earns Sekiro cool new duds as well as a gracefully powerful technique called Sakura Dance, and even better, any item you use in them aren't permanently consumed - so feel free to use them to your heart's content.
