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Hey Demod. Thanks for featuring me twice. And thanks for rewording my love letter to Father Owl so it actually sounds like it was written by an adult. And not at Midnight.
In respect for Genichiro (Way of Tomoe), is that Genichiro, through the entire game, has been nothing but an indication of Power for the Player. You can even see this in Sekiro's movements. In your first encounter with Genichiro, Sekiro fumbles the blade as he draws it. Fumbles it. A shinobi. He misplaces his hand and you can see him quickly adjust. Combined with the fact that you're *supposed* to get absolutely destroyed, at this point Genichiro is supposed to feel like an unbeatable force that clobbers you easily. He has fast attacks, unblockables you can't counter, and the damage to kill you in three hits. He's meant to seem like the ultimate challenge. But the next encounter, you're now equal to Genichiro. Sekiro draws his blade smoothly and cleanly, in one slow motion. You can counter Genichiro's fast attacks now, you can take more than 2 hits, and have the tools to counter his strongest moves. Genichiro is now your equal, and you surpass him. Genichiro realizes he's been bested, and seeks out more power in order to stay your equal since you will just keep getting stronger. And in the final encounter, he's not a challenge anymore. Even after acquiring his own mortal blade, and having resurrective power equal to yours, he's a cakewalk. Sekiro not only draws his blade well, but he does it quickly and while moving. You have long since surpassed him, both in skill and in power. He's supposed to be an easy fight in order to surprise the player. You've subconsciously realized that he's a joke now, and his whole purpose at this stage of the game is to take the players power fantasy and crush it into sand when Isshin shows up. He's a Juxtaposition of Isshin, literally, and for that story purpose and subtle narrative makes him honestly one of my favorite bosses, even if he's easy.
Excellent analysis. I think sometimes bosses in FromSoft games are judged more for their difficulty than their purpose. Some bosses are meant to be difficult, while others tell a story by being the opposite. The problem is that though a boss like Genichiro, Way of Tomoe, delivers on his purpose that you mentioned in subtle storytelling, but from a gameplay perspective it may not feel as satisfying as the rush of overcoming someone like Sword Saint, or even himself from earlier in the game. It's an interesting balance to consider, and I love how FromSoft continues to tell stories in ways that aren't always obvious
Having a cakewalk such as Genechiro to fight first gives the player a reality check. They've bested their rival, but now must best Ashina's most feared samurai. I think it's also kind of a warm up and once the player can kill Genechiro with no problems it just becomes a way of restoring ressurective power to their nodes, when they've been lost in failed attempts of the sword saint fight. I can agree with the other comment on the video saying that every time you die, you know it's your own fault. I died so much to the sword saint but it was always my error; for example misreading a perilous attack and tried to jump a thrust attack, or by incorrectly spacing his dragon flash attack
I’m cryin in da club, this man said “Owl sucks he counters my attacks” Please random commenter, if you’re out there, you made me laugh hard enough to make my day
My absolute favourite moment in all of Sekiro was when I tried to Shadowrush him and he instakilled me with the Mikiri, and I realized that I'd been trying to use his own move against him. Of course he knew how to counter it, he probably taught it to Sekiro in the first place.
And that's not even just a cool line its actually advice on how to fight him! literally every time I died to Sword Saint it was because I hesitated or overthought instead of just being aggressive and reacting
Fromsoft had a real genius moment when they decided to tie your character upgrades to the bosses. Now, even if the boss is a lazy reskin, you still want to fight it for the damage upgrade.
@@MAG-lj2st what? thats not what im saying. im just saying that there was not much reason to kill the bosses in older souls games unless u specifically wanted the gear or you just enjoyed the fight in itself. In Sekiro, there is a direct upgrade to a pretty vital stat from killing bosses.
@@polly5502 I'd argue that makes Sekiro less enjoyable/annoying. In the soulsborne games I could farm souls for upgrades if I needed, whether it be stats, wep upgrades, new weps to buy, etc. Sekiro forces you to kill certain bosses and mini-bosses just to fully upgrade a character (or famrm xp and use the mask for atk power), thus limiting variety of play style. On the 2nd playthrough on for a character in sekiro, you can just skip over most of the mini-bosses and optional bosses if you don't want the coin they drop. Not bad things, I really enjoy it, but on second playthroughs and on, I end up skipping most mini-bosses unless I want some coin.
That “Well done Sekiro,” at the end of Sword Saint is a feels moment. You have to overcome so much to beat him, and he doesn’t really want to fight you, but when you win he shows acceptance and even lauds your growth/ability. That shit shows just how one little line can make a character even better. Fuck the Owl, Isshin is my (Sekiro’s) father now. I never felt any conviction for, or sadness over, the Owl. I only thought, “you want me to betray my little homie?!? Nah fuck you dog!”
Incredibly relatable. Chilling with this guy and some sake, knowing how cool he is as the Tengu and him acknowledging how great you have become at the end. He is as awesome as the Sculptor imo, embodying 'beware an old man in a profession where men die young.' Flawless final boss and incredible dialogue, voice acting and character motivations.
It reminds me of some of those “tropes you love” bits: >boss is your master / teacher >uses your own techniques against you I fucking LOVE that shit and I was absolutely shook when he mikiri countered me, never thrust at him again
Thank you Miyazaki for a pause button. I was playing Sekiro, got the notification that this video was live, paused it to watch everything. I love everything you do, DeMod
My favorite thing about Isshin is how he tells you multiple times throughout how to beat him. Hesitation is defeat. He is a boss that punishes overthinking or second guessing harshly. If you are not resolute in your actions or wrapped up in the spectacle of who you are fighting he WILL cut you down easily. I love that. It's a boss fight you almost have to do on pure instinct. The real tipping moment for me in fighting him was the moment I stopped thinking about what his patterns were and started feeling him out. When he sheaths to do the Ashina cross I stopped trying to count the seconds to the slash and just started reacting to the flash. When he was doing his glock saint shenanigans I had to learn how he used it in his patterns and file that back as I built a set of reactions to him. In my fourth try it clicked I got through the first and the second stages practically untouched. I lost on a last second lightning reversal on uneven ground that would have won it if I had gotten it. But they very next time I beat him without being touched. It was so exhilarating. Him and Owl Father are in my mind the pinnacle of boss design in almost every aspect. You win or lose based on your own skill. The game gives you everything you need to know how to beat them and teaches you how to use it. There's no cheese insta kill or crazy guaranteed hit attacks designed to throw you off by shaving your health bar forcing you to heal. It's just you and the boss. The only thing separating those who beat Isshin and those who lose is who really is a true master of the game. Like this game is the best game I have ever played topping some of my favorite titles.
@@jofall91 I actually threw my controller on the couch got up, jumped around and hugged my GF. Made me maybe a bit to happy but it was just such a good feeling!
Fun fact: He tells you well done because you give him a proper execution which is cutting his spine to kill him without beheading him, that is a feat only true masters of the sword can accomplish.
Honestly I think Emma is an insanely well placed boss because the player will have to beat her over and over again each time making the fight less emotional desensitivizing the player and by the end, when sekiro becomes shura, the player is a little bit shura too
"Hesitation is Defeat" is such a great line. It doesn't have to necessarily be factually true, but every time you die and he says that line you go "No no, you're right. I fucked up there." It makes you realize your mistakes, and instead makes you commit to your actions with absolute certainty.
Counterpoint: the lines dumb. I didnt hesitate, I made a mistake. Sometimes that could be overreacting, which is the opposite of hesitation! I love Isshin, but that is low on my list of Sekiro death quotes
@@Awes0m3n3s5 It can both be true that "Hesitation is defeat" while also being true that if you overreacted. If you hesitate you die, if you make a mistake you die. Both can be true. Hesitation IS defeat, and panicking IS ALSO defeat.
I know right? I hope I am not the only one that really liked that he can fucking one shot you with a mikiri counter, it just felt right. The first time he did that to me I was like: Ok you got me this time, well played papa, well played..
"Why is Great Shinobi Owl playing like a Shinobi by doing all sorts of cheat garbage tactics that's characteristic of a Shinobi because they don't fight for honor like Samurai do, they'll use all the tools in their arsenal to win even if it's unfair, only I can do that!"
Considering From DLCs always manage to amp both boss difficulty and quality to absurd levels, if Sekiro gets DLC, Tomoe could turn out as the best boss in any game ever
I mean they've hyped her up in game SO MUCH that she's basically the Sekiro version of Artorias from pre-DLC Dark Souls 1 at this point. If they don't do something incredible with her it will be a massive disappointment.
About the Owl: On my first playthrough he beat my ass countless times. It wasn't until I focused on deliberate, single button presses instead of spamming block, and getting my posture down when I had a chance, that it clicked for me. This fight forces you to get good and manage all aspects of the combat. What a lot of people aren't getting about this game is that you need to be up in their face clashing swords. You can't hit and run and you can't dodge like in DS. You're meant to stand in front of your enemy and trade blows. That's what makes it so satisfying for me. I feel like an actual master shinobi playing this game.
To be honest a master shinobi would be striking from the shadows, using poison and different costumes to infiltrate the enemy not trading blows with samurai.
why is owl ranked so high up? He's legitimately one of the easier bosses in the late game. He's not interesting, like the corrupted monk, he doesn't use wipe the floor with you if you make one mistake like emma, he isn't a fun boss fight like the guardian ape. Honestly, I think owl was easier than emma. He's actually kind of boring. All the other bosses are insane monsters, characters you have been building up the entire game, or just Gyoubu who is so cool, but he's just popped in like "Oh yeah, he didn't actually die at the hirata estate, oh and he stabbed you in the back after lady butterfly, and now he's a greedy big man trying to take immortality for himself!!". It's like taking the shinobi, a heartless killing machine with no other wants than to follow the "iron code", and then making them suddenly want to take over ashina and be immortal. Lord Genichiro is the first boss fight that really teaches you how to be good at the game, because that's pretty much the learning curve of sekiro. You fight Way of Tomoe because your supposed to feel intimidated and relieved at the same time. Here's this incredibly hard boss you fight before, but now he's pretty easy. He's not easier, you just got more skilled. Sure you got prayer beads, but Way of Tomoe can still kill you in two shots.
@@pisslmfaogetit8475 I'm at the end part of my first playthrough, (not shura) and I have to say that Shinobi Owl isn't boring at all. At mid game he can kill you in 2-3 hits, has some long reaching and fast attacks and of course the shinobi tools (shuriken, firecracker, heal negating orb, posion gunk, smoke cloud). It was really satisfying when I figured out when to dodge instead of deflect and that you have to be extremely aggressive with him or you'll have a bad time. I'd rate him a solid 7/10. I still have the demon of hatred and Isshin left tho. I can already tell how much I'll struggle with those two. The demon absolutely kicked my ass the first few times I tried to kill it.
"He cheats by using a move I can use and can stop me healing" like how dare the legendary shinobi use shinobi tactics that I can use as well. I'd be fine with saying that that is a wank thing to happen, but to say it is cheating has irked me.
hellishman1 - he cheats, but you also cheat. You’re Shinobi, after all, and that’s the whole point, isn’t it? To defeat your opponent by any means necessary.
Matias he’s obviously way bigger and stronger than you. That dude that called him the worst boss is a straight up fool. He’s a shinobi just like you, what stops him from doing what you can do? Hell, he’s the one that fucking trained you. Of course he can do everything you can do but better.
@@loaf1712 oh i get it. That means he can be slashed with a katana 25 times, be stabbed in the neck, slashed 25 times again, and THEN he dies. Who would imagine that being taller would turn you into a fucking tank
I think the Divine Dragon's first phase is meant to be a fun phase where you smack the hell out of these old geezers. Not meant to be difficult or challenging, just fun, beautiful, and memorable.
@@Falclone If you're asking me, that is the portrait of Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen) from the show Hannibal. I highly recommend it, it's one of my favourite shows of all time!
"How my blood boils, face me Sekiro!" My favorite boss of all time. The clashing of steel, the counters, the bullet deflections, the story, the challenge, his acceptance of defeat. I'll play this game forever if for no other reason but to go one on one with the Sword Saint.
THIS. The main thing other than getting the Platinum Trophy that motivates me the most to replay the game and get all endings is to fight this ONE boss, Sword Saint Isshin. My heart is pumping when I'm done fighting him and after my relief of victory I start to regret not being able to fight him again. I think this boss will be the reason for me continuing this game for a long while.
I love Genichiro's story. The first time you meet him, he cuts your arm off pretty easily (if it's your first playthrough), the second fight you're more evenly matched, and by the third fight you wipe the floor with him. He knew he wasn't good enough and that's why he had to spawn his badass grandpa out of his body to beat you. He knew he was inferior and lost his humanity because of it.
Biggest reason I love the sword saint fight is both characters are getting exactly what they wanted. Isshin said he wishes he could’ve fought you, and Sekiro wants to complete his lord’s wish. You can tell throughout the whole fight how much isshin is loving it. In the end, isshin goes out with honor, and sekiro is skilled enough to complete the final strike and lay the legend to rest permanently. Plus, the start of phase two is just dope. “HOW MY BLOOD BOILS”
When I was walking up to him at that point I thought that it was going to be a terribly difficult boss fight. Especially since I had such difficulty with the purple ninja in Hirata before that. Really amped up my expectations for him when I saw all of the dead ones.
Doctor Jones actually yes he does it’s a bit of dialogue between him and Emma but it’s easy to miss also if you continue talking to Emma before the end of the game when she’s sitting next to him she mentions it if you haven’t gotten master class skill tree when she gives it to you
true, i loved thast about the game, and they felt as rewarding as bosses in most cases, the loot the challenge sekiro is really my nº1 fromsoft game i just finished my 100% ds3 run and sekiro is better
I might do one after a breather. I've been doing a lot of boss rankings for Sekiro and don't want to burn out too much on the game. The possible DLC would be a great time to return and do one!
@@theDeModcracy Imagine how good a tomoe DLC would be, especially if we could fight tomoe herself. Isshin said tomoe gave him a run for his money, she was the closest he has ever come to death. She trained genichiro and had a working relationship with our friends like Emma. It would be excellent, but I doubt it will happen at this point.
Isshin summarises his own fight actually: Hesitation, truly is defeat. You need to inmerse yourself into the game and become the shinobi the game wants you to be
17: Dual Apes; Nothing about this boss is well-designed. You either kill them immediately in NG, or it's an annoying slog in NG+. 16: Monkeys; Thankfully, the quality makes a dramatic jump upward. The different ways to complete the puzzle are entertaining, and getting the Mortal Blade as a reward for defeating them is worth it. 15: Serpent; The tension of seeing the Great Serpent the first time is jaw-dropping, and trying to sneak your way past it is amazingly stressful. 14: Monk; I may not cheese the Monk myself, but I enjoy fighting her too much. She is delightfully challenging to face. 13: Genichiro, Way of Tomoe; Genichiro gets here because of the story surrounding him. I honestly didn't want to kill him because his motivations aren't that different from mine. 12: True Monk; Take everything from the Corrupted Monk, add 3-phases, and include my favourite stealth deathblow in the game, and the True Monk earns her spot here. 11: Lady Butterfly; I won't lie, Butterfly is here partially because I love the cutscene before her fight. The fight itself is fantastic, however. The different ways you can utilize your Shinobi Tools against her encourage experimentation. The Shuriken knocks her off of the wires, the Spear can keep her close, and the Lazulite Axe will disperse the Illusions if deployed effectively. 10: Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa; The only flaw I have with Gyoubu is that the fight isn't longer. I would love to fight him on the ground in phase 2 after that phenomenal duel against him riding Onikage. His attacks are fair yet challenging. He's mobile, but not annoyingly fast, and the fact you can grapple over to him to counteract his speed is a welcome addition. 9: Divine Dragon; Beautiful. Simply beautiful. 8: Guardian Ape; I love both phases of the Ape. The first is an exciting duel against a feral beast with unique attacks that differentiate it from everything else in the game, and the second is a sword duel with a twist on the enemy that allows the Loaded Spear to shine. 7: Lady Emma; I love and hate fighting Emma for all the right reasons. She uses the Ashina Arts with mastery surpassed only by Isshin, her movements fit her name, and the savagery of her death brings your actions into a harsh light. 6: Great Shinobi Owl; The experience of fighting another Shinobi, let alone the man who trained you, was surreal. Owl's tools and tactics befit the lethal hunters that Shinobi are meant to be, and that is before you deal with the emotion of fighting your father. I may hate the guy, but he's a marvellous fighter. 5: Demon of Hatred; Facing the Sculptor is tragic after everything he's done to help you. At the same time, killing him is a merciful act that keeps bringing you back again and again after you die. The mechanics of the fight are fascinating, as, on the surface, the Demon seems antithetical to Sekiro's combat. However, the best way to face him is by staying close and watching his movements. Mastering this fight is a thrill matched only by the top 4. 4: Genichiro Ashina; This is the fight I always look forward to when I start the game. Genichiro's story and motivations are endearing, and the mechanics of the duel force you to play Sekiro the way he was meant to be played. There is nothing I would change here. 3: Isshin Ashina; You can't go wrong with a badass old man. Isshin's deliberate movements force you to study him patiently, mastering his counters slowly. Until you get to Phase 2. When Isshin goes 'Fire Lord' on you, it's simultaneously stunning and terrifying. Not to mention the fact he's hours away from death and still manages to kick your ass. 2: Father Owl; The only flaw here is the reused arena. I always go out of my way to do Emma's side quest to enjoy this duel against Owl in his prime. The attack he has, which changes his movements depending on your position, is my favourite move in the entire game. 1: Isshin, the Sword Saint; Facing Isshin in his prime is an intimidating proposition, and the fight delivers on that flawlessly. Isshin's use of a sword, spear, and gun proves the mastery he's obtained through a lifetime of war. The different applications of Shinobi Tools you have can add nearly unmatched levels of depth to Isshin's combat. The Mist Raven prevents damage from the Lightning Reversal, the Sabimaru stalls his Posture from recovering, the Axe can burn him, and the Umbrella can give Isshin a taste of his own bullets. And the list goes on. Above everything else, the fight is entirely based on your mastery of the game's combat. Hesitation is Defeat.
As a comment on the end of the Sword-Saint's fight, I love the symbolism behind how Sekiro executes Isshin. Isshin's posture and stance is the same as that of a Samurai about to commit seppuku, with Sekiro positioned as his chosen right-hand to finish him once he's begun. This is amazing, because it shows exactly how much Isshin respects Sekiro - both as a foe, but also as an honored friend. This was Isshin's final acknowledgment of not just Sekiro, but the player as well. Thank you, Fromsoft.
Wolf also severs the back of his neck instead of beheading him, in ancient japan beheading a samurai was seen as absolutely dishonorable while giving them a swift death through this ritual was seen as the ultimate form of respect. Related, in the Japanese voice overs the last words of Great Shinobi Owl and Wolf's remarks are in the form of a haiku: Wolf: かげおとし, (Dropping Shadow) かえしいたす (I'm returning it to you) Owl: みごとなり (Beautifully done) In the Edo period samurai accepting their death would often write haikus as a "death poem". There is a lot of Japanese culture and historical tidbits hidden in this game, and I truly love how they were able to incorporate these into the game.
To explain Gyōbu's name. The ō is representative in a double vowel in Japanese. For 'o' vowels, this is sometimes anglicized as 'ou' such as Gyoubu. For the anglecized Gyoza, it is far more common to see just the 'o' on menus and such, but the original Japanese, and it's derived pronunciation in the west, still features the double vowel 'ō' or 'ou'. Both Gyoza and Gyōbu are pronounced with the round 'oh' sound, but they are often presented in romaji differently.
I love how Owl(father) is stronger than the real Owl. You're fighting Owl as you remember him when you were a kid. He was unbeatable. He could turn invisible. The first time I learned to fight him, me and my friend made a contest to see who could cause the most damage before dying. I won by using Phantom Kunai's unblockable damage to do 5% of his health bar before dying.
@@tobiramasenju6290 this. Favourite boss at the time I fought her. was disappointed there wasn't a second phase, happy there was a second *fight*. a little unhappy to learn both are cheesed massively.
Playing the boss the second or third day after release, before all of the cheese was discovered and before people really knew what was going on (I remember going to the wiki page for the late game areas and seeing essentially nothing), False Corrupted Monk was there to kick my ass. False Corrupted Monk, Genichiro and Isshin are the bosses I struggled most with out of the entire game, and I've down Owl Father and Demon of Hatred. I think that's largely because I came from a DS method of "Get a big fuckin shield and sit behind it", which was punished really hard. But to this day I still fight False Corrupted Monk without my prosthetic, just to prove to myself I've still got the mastery I needed to win that first time.
Ahh Genichiro, I’m not lying when I say that it took me three days of constant effort to beat him and his second phase. Killing him was almost as satisfying as finally killing the Sword Saint. Way of Tomoe was so much easier for me because I still had the whole of his moves memorized
This was literally the same experience for me! Gyoubu masataka oniwa dod nothing for me potential wise! When I fought gyobu I just got lucky enough to survive long enough to see him die. I learned nothing from him. So it was hell for me to fight genichiro, I still hadn't accepted the fighting style. Genichiro broke me into my dancing shoes for 2 days! When I beat him I was so happy 😎. So happy someone had the same experience!
The Rankings are all correct. One thing about Isshin Sword Saint I noticed. The bastard had a counter for whatever style you go with. Deflect god? Crazy combos and timings. Run and gun god? Large leaps and projectile shots. Guy is the culmination of every aspect in the game and he is just awesome. He will be on my mind for a long time.
That moment when Isshin says well done sekiro , that was the most satisfying moment for me it's as if Miyazaki himself praised me for adapting the playstyle of Sekiro and beating the game .
I wish Emma had some more love. She is my second favorite boss in the game. The music is up there with the best in the entire series, her fighting style is very enjoyable and even though it´s not a very hard fight it´s not too easy either, and the tragic lore makes it even greater. It´s too bad that you don´t get to fight her much cause the Shura ending is good in terms of the story, but very restrictive in terms of gameplay since it cuts out a large chunk of the game.
@@theDeModcracy I can´t disagree. I am biased because this fight has almost everything it takes to make me love it (except in the difficulty area), so I hoped it ended up in a higher rank, but I understand it´s placement.
Glock Saint Isshin is honestly probably the most satisfying boss fight I've ever had in a game in general. The whole fight just feels so right. And while in many difficult games, it's easy for a boss fight to feel like you beat it by the seat of your pants, narrowly surviving, with Isshin, if you manage to beat him, it's usually because you have the skills to beat him. I genuinely felt worthy when I beat him the first time. And every time since then, I've only felt more confident in my skills for having bested him.
I normally don't leave comments for Demod videos (though I always think they are incredibly stellar and very high quality content) but I feel I should this time. I've seen pretty much every boss ranking video Demod made for the entire soulsborne series and the speedrun videos as well, but for since reason hearing about how Sekiro displays growing confidence each time he fights Genichiro was very surprising. I really enjoy the Genichiro fights and each time I was about to fight him, the cutscenes before the start of each fight, I was straightening up and focusing on what was going to happen between the two before the start of the fight. As much as I was paying attention, I didn't even notice how each tone Sekiro grabs his sword is very different. When Demod mentioned that, I was so shocked at how accurate that was. Those scenes portray my real life experience with the game. When I first went into the game, I was unsure of what I was getting myself into and it reflected by Sekiro struggling to grab hold of his sword and showing hesitancy and uneasiness. The second fight, I feel a bit more confident but not much and I knew I had to take my time and focus this time around, reflecting on how Sekiro grabs his sword with more confidence and goes slow enough to show he has not been deterred from his goal. And the last fight, I am very confident on being able to beat Genichiro and it reflects by Sekiro quickly releasing his sword in one quick and fluid motion with no hesitation or mistakes. I'm not sure if that was the intention from Fromsoft when making those cutscenes but I gotta give mad props to them for putting it in. It gives me a new sense of respect for the game and it makes me want to go back and play it again and again and even go so far as to 100% the whole game.
FromSoft often has subtle details in their games that go unnoticed by many of us (myself included). When I do notice them, they give me such an appreciation for the love they put into their games. Your comment was a great read, I encourage you to share your thoughts with us more often! And thank you for the kind words on my content.
TBH I would've thrown the Demon Princes in there, but it didn't fit the joke because they are a pretty great boss. The joke is hyperbole anyway. FromSoft has failed plenty with gank bosses, but they've succeeded as well. That makes it even more baffling when they flop after learning what works
I like the Ape duo, the way he faces you without his head at the beginning is horrifying and he is really all that difficult. Plus ripping the parasite out of him is SO satisfying!
personally i much prefer this style of paid promotion with putting it at the beginning of the video rather than smack dab in the middle like with the first DS3 areas ranked video, happy you're keeping it around!
From what I can tell, Gyoubu is to Sekiro what Father Gascoigne was to Bloodborne. A boss that is meant to teach you how the rest of the game is going to play out while also posing a decent challenge, on the first playthrough at least.
That's weird. For me, I beat them both first try, but on subsequent playthroughs, Gyoubu still gets easily smashed while Gascoine suddenly smashes me. lol
Demon of Hatred: *Changes player fighting style* Players: wHaT iS tHiS gArBaGe?! Great Shinobi Owl: *Changes player fighting style* Players: Oh baby! Top 5 for sure!
How does Great Shinobi force you to change your fighting style? One makes you play like it’s Dark Souls, the other feels like it’s right at home in Sekiro.
Daniel Spivey Poison, anti-healing orbs, smoke bombs, a lack of perilous attacks, death blows, and mikiri counters all force you to change the way you fight by making you run from the aoe effects or by limiting your options. DISCLAIMER: I personally think the mikiri counters and deathblows are awesome, but they do force you to change your fighting style which is not necessarily a bad thing, it's simply the point of contention between the Demon and Owl
I had to do the final iishin fight so many times that all of his combos became almost second nature in my reactions. When I finally beat him, he didn’t even touch me. Took 2 days though .
I love people, who complain about being able to cheese a boss and then instead of fighting him normally, they still cheese him. Like W T F ? 2nd thing is Demon of Hatred. I see a lot of opinions about people crying, that you need to forget what you learned in Sekiro and get back to Soulsbourne hit and dodge style. Guess what? It is supposed to be this way and you should see it as sort of a wink from Fromsoft for people who wanted a new DS/BB :D
Being able to cheese a boss to death is definitely a flaw, but I think people exaggerate how big a flaw it is. Personally, I never even consider cheesing a boss unless it's really poorly designed and/or tedious and I just wanna get it over with. Otherwise I actively engage in the fight and beat it by normal means, and I really don't get the idea of cheesing him just because you can. Why even play a game like this if you're just gonna take the easy (and repetitive) way out? Also agree on Demon of Hatred. Action games need something to change things up from time to time, and a boss that throws the core mechanics out the window to temporarily bring back a Soulsborne style fight is perfect for this game IMO.
Demon doesnt have to be fought that way though people just need to learn. You can deflect most of his moves and then use the flame umbrella if you dont want to fight it like a souls boss
@jjgwrestling What's poorly designed about it? He's extremely easy to hit, almost all of his attacks are heavily telegraphed, and you can deflect almost all of his close range moves. His attack patterns are simple and easy to learn, just really punishing if you mess up.
for me the hardest boss in the entire game is the inner owl father just getting to fight him is hard enough but when you do actually fight i can say that nobody can beat him in under 30-40 tries he is just built different
My 'best' boss would be Owl Father. I've never struggled on a boss like I did with him. AND I COULDN'T FIND ANY CHEATS. Eventually I found myself pouring over RUclips tactics guides, found I couldn't pull off any of them, and then finally got gud to the point where when I actually beat him, I was acutely aware of his every move and my every move to counter it. It was a glorious feeling. I really 'got to know' the boss and every tick he had. Never felt a high like that (except when I made the True Monk T-pose out of reality).
there were a few things that surprised me about the ranking, honestly (aside from counting snakey as a boss and having way of Tomoe and Emma as separate bosses to Isshin). Divine dragon being so high is one of then, but I'm a mechanics over spectacle sorta guy, so it's down to different tastes rather than a true divergence of thought. It's certainly the best spectacle boss Fromsoft has made, but that doesn't do much for me. I think that true corrupted monk is one of the best bosses in the game, and false corrupted monk doesn't deserve to be as low as it is. I love the rhythm of deflecting the combos, the perilous attacks, the atmosphere and arena and music and laughter and screams. It all combines to produce an experience that's consistently fun and engaging, and the true corrupted monk is one of the few bosses to still give me trouble after 4 or 5 playthroughs, making it one that I'm always excited to get to. When assessing the relative quality of a boss fight, I always struggle with whether to go with how good I found them on my first playthrough, and how good I find them nowadays with more experience. No boss sums that up better than Genichiro. On my first playthrough, he was an S tier boss. I had a wonderful time countering his fast, varied and fine-tuned moveset, and a hell of a difficult one at that (17 deaths iirc). On repeat playthroughs, he's a speedbump that poses 0 threat to me. On my first playthrough he was a top 3 boss and on repeat playthroughs he's meh at best, but it's impossible to fault him for it. I think that says a lot about the design of Sekiro in general, actually, how nuanced and deep the combat system is that you get so much better at it over time that what was once pushing you to your limits becomes an absolute cakewalk. Genichiro does what it needed to do absolutely beautifully, and to that effect becomes too easy on repeat playthroughs for me to ever get excited about it. Also fuck enfeebled and O'rin.
might be just me but the knight you meet while crossing the bridge in senpou is my favourite enemy in the game he was the one that truly thought me to deflect instead of dodge or block
I mean, did anyone have any doubts about number 1 at all? Also I kind of just want to say that though I might be reading too deep into things I love the symbolism behind Sword Saint Isshin. I always interpreted Dark Souls and Sekiro as being stories about the dangers of nostalgia, Gwyn would rather let the world rot than let go of his glory days and Genichiro outright states he'd cast his humanity aside for Ashina. Summoning Isshin in his prime is like summoning the "good old days" of Ashina in a futile attempt to hold on to the better days. Essentially fighting the Sword Saint is like fighting against the idea of Ashina's glory days and finally accepting that they're gone and it's time to move on.
I actually think they could've saved Ashina. Kuro was just a little pussy who wouldn't give them their ultimate weapon. They could've beat back the ministry if they had immortality.
@@alastor8091 Immortality is stagnation, my dude. Ashina would only have survived as something less than itself. See how it has already grown rotten and poisonous, how the flames of hatred have begun to burn. The land could not remain. (And in the historical context... Japan was being unified. Ashina's death as a distinct country was inevitable. Death happens, and using divine magic to become a zombie country seems like a bad call.) Sekiro is all about accepting death, the father being killed by the son (literally), and not trying to cling to things forever. Enthie Gavoir has the right of it, and the game is hardly subtle: The everblossom, the constantly-blooming sakura tree, is perfect proof. In traditional Japanese symbolism, the sakura is beautiful precisely because the blossoms fall and are transient. An ever-blossoming tree might seem beautiful at first, but the symbol is destroyed and the beauty hollow. Sekiro argues that transience makes things beautiful, that mortality is human and immortality is stagnation. Kusabimaru and the Mortal Blade are both named after gifts, after all.
Wow, the stuff about the 3 encounters with Genichiro.. I never noticed these tiny details. (the first encounter he's _rusty_ and feels around for his sword.. etc.) I would have never noticed these details.
Genichiro Was Arguably the Most Satsifaction i had in my boss Fights on Sekiro, im Currently Doing Demon of Hatred, and i have to do Sword Saint right after, but i realized now that i need to use More Items like Divine Confetti or Sugars, as they give a nice attack boost and are regularly avaliable post True monk Completion. Within 40 minutes of watching this video i managed to Flawlessly Defeat Phase 3 Isshin Sword Saint Immediately right aftet Defeating Demon of Hatred while Also being extremely tired (i completed both at 3 AM) ... And all i gotta is Yikes...
Sekiro might just be the best game I ever experienced. It's at least one of them. World design, lore and story, atmosphere, music, combat, and especially the boss battles are just incredible. I'm happy to see that people seem to agree with the quality of the game's bosses.
@@abedt.5425 I agree, I think I'd even say that the game has the least amount of areas of all fromsoft games. Personally though I like most of the content in the game to be part of the main game, so you don't miss out on any great areas during your first runthrough. And since I was satisfied with the game's content, I don't mind there being less areas in Sekiro. But I'm praying to see a Sekiro DLC at E3. They need to make a dlc for the game.
@@ad_-yk9bz I think they did a better job with the areas in Sekiro. Every area is visually interesting and brings something new. And most importantly, not a single area is annoying. No farron swamp, demon ruins, nightmare frontier or nightmare of mensis. So while i agree that a second, big optional area would have been nice, i still think Sekiro did a better job in this regard, due to not having the low points of the previous games.
Fromsoftware are the perfect example how difficulty in games is needed to create absolute masterpieces. This games combat system is flawless, so intricate, and to fully show off this, the player is required to master this combat system. The only way to get your players to master a new combat system is by making every boss an incredible challenge, where they all take multiple attempts at beating. The feeling of knowing you have truely mastered something is unbelievably satisfying, and fromsoftware does this everytime they make a game. More developers need to incorporate this into their games.
oh my god thank you for the dodge instead of deflect trick on Great Shinobi Owl. I’m playing Sekiro for the first time in ages and I just beat him without even needing to resurrect thanks to that, which felt amazing.
I was literally watching another Sekiro video and was reminded that I voted in this poll and was wondering if the video got posted. I go to look and what do I see? Posted 12 minutes ago.
My opinion here is slightly closed off bc I’ve only played sekiro, bloodborne, and dark souls 3 but I think sekiro is the first fromsoft game with all above average main bosses. Some may be tedious on repeat runs but first time run every main boss is challenging, fun, and memorable Edit: also completely disagree with demon of hatred ranking, amazing boss that makes you have to be perfect like Isshin but in a totally different way. Same with the guardian ape the first time. Pretty sure people are just salty dying to these great fuzz balls
You should play dark souls 1, outside of maybe 3 or 4 bosses out 26 BOSSES they're all great, and considering how early in the series it was that says a lot.
The great thing about False Monk is that after you face her weird ass attack tempo the shinobi, who also have weird timings, come to ashina. It's a warm-up for that. Also: run left, mortal blade, lightning counter and Saint Ishin is toast.
Dude thanks so much for pointing out the subtleties with the way Sekiro approaches his sword. I missed something that small completely, but this frames his progression in both resolve to his duty and his improving skill in a wonderfully different light. It struck me so much I had to go back and repeat that segment of the video twice. Just beautiful.
At least the Guardian ape had a story but by far my favorite fight was Gyobou Oniwa it was super hard for me but I didn't think to use firecracker either lol
You know after all this time I’m still fighting Isshin I haven’t been able to beat him yet it got to the pint where I took a 7 month break from the game and I came back 2 days ago to face him again I’m at the point now where Genechiro is a joke and i fan got through Isshins first phase whithout taking damage sometimes but HOLY FUCK the second and third phase it feels like he never stops attacking he dies so much damage and his combos are so long and have so much range but even with all that it doesn’t feel unfair it feels like facing a master swordsman and I love it
@@generalhenrystickmin Well, the first time I played sekiro 2 years ago I quit bc the two apes.... I played it again one month ago and I was stuck for one week everyday with the same Ishin's phases thatn you so I get you. Even worse, I didn't feel like going to farm spirit emblems so I decided that I would beat him with the sword only....man iI took me many many deaths to learn how to dance him in phase two, and even so I don't think I could do it again at least for a long time. But it was certainly pleasant
I ignored the Demon's worst attack- the Body slam using the Phoenix Shield..... so getting him to Phase 3 was fairly easy. He only really becomes difficult once he encloses you in a small arena and starts to do dash attacks that can 1-shot you.
Emma is my favorite boss.Her OST has got to be the best. Her moveset is extremely graceful ( even though it screws you with that grab,yep I'm looking at you Dmod),the fact that she has helped you the entire game up until this moment it makes the fight feel personal, much like Genichiro. The finishing deathblow is extremely sad as she looks at you sorrowfully and calls you the thing you have been warned about before "Shura." That sent chills down my spine. Without a doubt better than the preceding fight, Isshin Ashina. If only Emma had three healthbars.
Honestly when I first bought this game I thought about doing some gameplay videos. But when I started playing it the entire world just drew me in, and I wanted to enjoy it myself, and the way I wanted to feel the experience could not have been done that way. When I entered the final Isshin fight all I could think was "This is it, this is the pinnacle of game design. This fight right here is what every other developer should strive to achieve." The mechanics were amazing, the atmosphere was chilling and felt hopeless, the music fantastic, and in all the from soft games I have played this was what I felt they all led to. Just when I thought i had experienced everything that there could be in that fight upon taking his final health bar, isshin calmly gets on his knees and awaits death gracefully. When that happened I just stood beside him staring, because what a god damn way to bring finality to the game. The leader of this nation, and revered for his strenght bows his head for you to take it because you have strength he does not. When I took that last swing all I could think was "thank you for such a great game"
you ABSOLUTELY can deflect the demon of hatred's attacks, I don't know what that guy was talking about the only caveat is that if you deflect an attack from his flaming arm, you will still take some chip damage and accrue some burning status (but not enough to instantly set you on fire)
Isshin Ashina the sword saint is one of the finest final bosses I've had the honor of facing in a video game he tested every skill and ability that I learned over the course of the game with his own skills and abilities and defeating this legendary warrior in battle felt extremely satisfying.
The sword saint and the one armed wolf meet on a field. Two masters of contending draw their weapons. And I one will leave when the grater man is decided.
Thanks to those who participated in this ranking! I'll be rounding back to the DMC5 community ranking soon, so drop some votes there on the community tab if you haven't already. And be sure to check out and Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS: clik.cc/8KP60 ✅ ANDROID: clik.cc/JjLmi Start with💰50K silver and join the Special Launch Tournament for a chance to win prizes.
Sweet, part of my comment got a mention. Glad you enjoyed it.
Oh, is this where we’re supposed to comment about it?
do you still play bloodborne
Hey Demod. Thanks for featuring me twice.
And thanks for rewording my love letter to Father Owl so it actually sounds like it was written by an adult. And not at Midnight.
Jeez, Every RUclipsr i watch is being sponsored by RAID, Also another great ranking. Keep it up DeMod!
The detail of Sekiro having to feel for his sword blew my mind
I always looked at how he reached for his sword as odd but I never made the connection that he was rusty! Mind blown 🤯
Please explain
Kwon Pouncy It's in the video you absolute genius
Yeah same!!
It changes in every cutscene as the game progresses.
Why isn't mist noble here? He's unarguably the best and most difficult boss
Has anyone beat him yet though? That second phase is impossible
It's just unfair that you don't get an attack upgrade from this stupidly difficult boss fight!
Boss, not mini-boss
@@davidhong1934 you're missing the joke
Use Sabimaru
In respect for Genichiro (Way of Tomoe), is that Genichiro, through the entire game, has been nothing but an indication of Power for the Player. You can even see this in Sekiro's movements.
In your first encounter with Genichiro, Sekiro fumbles the blade as he draws it. Fumbles it. A shinobi. He misplaces his hand and you can see him quickly adjust. Combined with the fact that you're *supposed* to get absolutely destroyed, at this point Genichiro is supposed to feel like an unbeatable force that clobbers you easily. He has fast attacks, unblockables you can't counter, and the damage to kill you in three hits. He's meant to seem like the ultimate challenge.
But the next encounter, you're now equal to Genichiro. Sekiro draws his blade smoothly and cleanly, in one slow motion. You can counter Genichiro's fast attacks now, you can take more than 2 hits, and have the tools to counter his strongest moves. Genichiro is now your equal, and you surpass him. Genichiro realizes he's been bested, and seeks out more power in order to stay your equal since you will just keep getting stronger.
And in the final encounter, he's not a challenge anymore. Even after acquiring his own mortal blade, and having resurrective power equal to yours, he's a cakewalk. Sekiro not only draws his blade well, but he does it quickly and while moving. You have long since surpassed him, both in skill and in power. He's supposed to be an easy fight in order to surprise the player. You've subconsciously realized that he's a joke now, and his whole purpose at this stage of the game is to take the players power fantasy and crush it into sand when Isshin shows up. He's a Juxtaposition of Isshin, literally, and for that story purpose and subtle narrative makes him honestly one of my favorite bosses, even if he's easy.
Excellent analysis. I think sometimes bosses in FromSoft games are judged more for their difficulty than their purpose. Some bosses are meant to be difficult, while others tell a story by being the opposite. The problem is that though a boss like Genichiro, Way of Tomoe, delivers on his purpose that you mentioned in subtle storytelling, but from a gameplay perspective it may not feel as satisfying as the rush of overcoming someone like Sword Saint, or even himself from earlier in the game. It's an interesting balance to consider, and I love how FromSoft continues to tell stories in ways that aren't always obvious
Damn... I love this game even more now.
Having a cakewalk such as Genechiro to fight first gives the player a reality check. They've bested their rival, but now must best Ashina's most feared samurai. I think it's also kind of a warm up and once the player can kill Genechiro with no problems it just becomes a way of restoring ressurective power to their nodes, when they've been lost in failed attempts of the sword saint fight. I can agree with the other comment on the video saying that every time you die, you know it's your own fault. I died so much to the sword saint but it was always my error; for example misreading a perilous attack and tried to jump a thrust attack, or by incorrectly spacing his dragon flash attack
Yeah... Except for he is always kills you in 2-3 hits.
not gonna lie but Genichiro Tomoe had me res once, yet I still first tried Isshin, I feel like Genichiro is preparing you for isshin
I’m cryin in da club, this man said
“Owl sucks he counters my attacks”
Please random commenter, if you’re out there, you made me laugh hard enough to make my day
Chade Hogan you have no idea how much i laugh at that ironic statement xD
2 years later, Hi
"He's cheating!!" Lool.
@@jedda7987 OMFG! It's the man himself!
Do you still hate Owl? Or did you git gud?
My absolute favourite moment in all of Sekiro was when I tried to Shadowrush him and he instakilled me with the Mikiri, and I realized that I'd been trying to use his own move against him. Of course he knew how to counter it, he probably taught it to Sekiro in the first place.
Hesitation is defeat.
And that's not even just a cool line its actually advice on how to fight him! literally every time I died to Sword Saint it was because I hesitated or overthought instead of just being aggressive and reacting
I cant count the ammount of times ive heard this line
More like: Good riddance... starving wolf.
hell i apply this line to every game i play and it checks out lol anything involving quick reactions
Hesitation is the feet
Fromsoft had a real genius moment when they decided to tie your character upgrades to the bosses. Now, even if the boss is a lazy reskin, you still want to fight it for the damage upgrade.
we used to fight them for their soul's and all the weapon's and armor set's we could get.
@@MAG-lj2st no we didn't. you ran through them in your first playthrough and then only did them ever again if you specifically wanted that weapon.
@@polly5502 so you'r saying sekiro is more satisfying?
@@MAG-lj2st what? thats not what im saying. im just saying that there was not much reason to kill the bosses in older souls games unless u specifically wanted the gear or you just enjoyed the fight in itself. In Sekiro, there is a direct upgrade to a pretty vital stat from killing bosses.
@@polly5502 I'd argue that makes Sekiro less enjoyable/annoying. In the soulsborne games I could farm souls for upgrades if I needed, whether it be stats, wep upgrades, new weps to buy, etc. Sekiro forces you to kill certain bosses and mini-bosses just to fully upgrade a character (or famrm xp and use the mask for atk power), thus limiting variety of play style. On the 2nd playthrough on for a character in sekiro, you can just skip over most of the mini-bosses and optional bosses if you don't want the coin they drop. Not bad things, I really enjoy it, but on second playthroughs and on, I end up skipping most mini-bosses unless I want some coin.
Sword Saint Isshin.
*Pulls out a gun*
Easily put him at the top.
Glock Saint Best Saint
"Stay strapped or get clapped" - Sword Saint Isshin Ashina
The gun is kinda easy to read
“Sword Saint,” more like, “Gun Saint,” am I right?!?
Sword saint uses glock shotgun spear and lightning
That “Well done Sekiro,” at the end of Sword Saint is a feels moment. You have to overcome so much to beat him, and he doesn’t really want to fight you, but when you win he shows acceptance and even lauds your growth/ability. That shit shows just how one little line can make a character even better.
Fuck the Owl, Isshin is my (Sekiro’s) father now. I never felt any conviction for, or sadness over, the Owl. I only thought, “you want me to betray my little homie?!? Nah fuck you dog!”
same thoughts gang
Incredibly relatable. Chilling with this guy and some sake, knowing how cool he is as the Tengu and him acknowledging how great you have become at the end. He is as awesome as the Sculptor imo, embodying 'beware an old man in a profession where men die young.'
Flawless final boss and incredible dialogue, voice acting and character motivations.
Owl is a great character, he made sekiro into who he is today.
It feels like a dark souls message, congratulating you on your victory
Spent the whole game mikiri countering everysingle boss and enemy in the game
Gets mikiri'd by Owl once
17:52
This.
I mean... he's a shinobi, I don't know what that dude was expecting.
I wasn't even mad when it happened, I was mind blown and thought it was awesome lol
It reminds me of some of those “tropes you love” bits:
>boss is your master / teacher
>uses your own techniques against you
I fucking LOVE that shit and I was absolutely shook when he mikiri countered me, never thrust at him again
Ifkr???
Everything about him just screams
" Everything u can do, I can do better"
Thank you Miyazaki for a pause button. I was playing Sekiro, got the notification that this video was live, paused it to watch everything. I love everything you do, DeMod
Praise the Pause Button \|T|/ - and thanks for the love Gage
If only that pause button would pause at consistent times, I would press it and sekiro would chill for a sec, then get shmacked by the ape, then pause
lon lez that’s cuz you paused at an unsafe time, not cuz of the game
My favorite thing about Isshin is how he tells you multiple times throughout how to beat him. Hesitation is defeat. He is a boss that punishes overthinking or second guessing harshly. If you are not resolute in your actions or wrapped up in the spectacle of who you are fighting he WILL cut you down easily. I love that. It's a boss fight you almost have to do on pure instinct. The real tipping moment for me in fighting him was the moment I stopped thinking about what his patterns were and started feeling him out. When he sheaths to do the Ashina cross I stopped trying to count the seconds to the slash and just started reacting to the flash. When he was doing his glock saint shenanigans I had to learn how he used it in his patterns and file that back as I built a set of reactions to him. In my fourth try it clicked I got through the first and the second stages practically untouched. I lost on a last second lightning reversal on uneven ground that would have won it if I had gotten it. But they very next time I beat him without being touched. It was so exhilarating. Him and Owl Father are in my mind the pinnacle of boss design in almost every aspect. You win or lose based on your own skill. The game gives you everything you need to know how to beat them and teaches you how to use it. There's no cheese insta kill or crazy guaranteed hit attacks designed to throw you off by shaving your health bar forcing you to heal. It's just you and the boss. The only thing separating those who beat Isshin and those who lose is who really is a true master of the game. Like this game is the best game I have ever played topping some of my favorite titles.
MAYOEBA YABURERU
Cringe
Veiregor O' Real what
Same here man
@@veiregor why?
Ah finally a fromsoftware game where the best, hardest, and final boss are all in one
Genichiro made me learn how to play Sekiro and Sword Saint made me master it. Love this game.
Owl Father made me a master. Isshin the Sword saint made me *Perfect*
Same
Yeah when he told a shinobi should know the difference between honour and victory just means that go watch boss cheese and speedrun
So glad to see Sword Saint get the love he deserves. "Well... done... Sekiro..." gives me chills every time
Aunk yesss! That final deathblow after hours of fighting him and then the finisher with the mortal blade.... ugh it gave me goosebumps
For me nothing will match when he enters his second phase.
IKUZOU, SEKIRO!
I was like: YEAH LETS DO THIS!
@@jofall91 I actually threw my controller on the couch got up, jumped around and hugged my GF. Made me maybe a bit to happy but it was just such a good feeling!
'''.... Farewell.''
Fun fact: He tells you well done because you give him a proper execution which is cutting his spine to kill him without beheading him, that is a feat only true masters of the sword can accomplish.
21:42 NEVER noticed the progression before and honestly just adds another feather in the cap of this remarkable boss fight and game
I love phase 2 of the ape because his movements shift to centipede-like swaying which is super fitting considering what's controlling him
Honestly I think Emma is an insanely well placed boss because the player will have to beat her over and over again each time making the fight less emotional desensitivizing the player and by the end, when sekiro becomes shura, the player is a little bit shura too
I couldn't agree more
I did not even notice the sword unsheathing part and now I love this game even more.
Holy shit that's actually amazing.
Isshin felt like half the game development time was spent making sure the boss fight was perfect
"Hesitation is Defeat" is such a great line. It doesn't have to necessarily be factually true, but every time you die and he says that line you go "No no, you're right. I fucked up there." It makes you realize your mistakes, and instead makes you commit to your actions with absolute certainty.
Counterpoint: the lines dumb. I didnt hesitate, I made a mistake. Sometimes that could be overreacting, which is the opposite of hesitation!
I love Isshin, but that is low on my list of Sekiro death quotes
@@Awes0m3n3s5 It can both be true that "Hesitation is defeat" while also being true that if you overreacted. If you hesitate you die, if you make a mistake you die. Both can be true. Hesitation IS defeat, and panicking IS ALSO defeat.
The great Shinobi owl is just that: GREAT SHINOBI, he’s a Shinobi just like you he’s supposed to counter you because he trained you himself
I know right? I hope I am not the only one that really liked that he can fucking one shot you with a mikiri counter, it just felt right. The first time he did that to me I was like: Ok you got me this time, well played papa, well played..
Rays Dumbass lady butterfly also trained you
"Why is Great Shinobi Owl playing like a Shinobi by doing all sorts of cheat garbage tactics that's characteristic of a Shinobi because they don't fight for honor like Samurai do, they'll use all the tools in their arsenal to win even if it's unfair, only I can do that!"
Considering From DLCs always manage to amp both boss difficulty and quality to absurd levels, if Sekiro gets DLC, Tomoe could turn out as the best boss in any game ever
- Lady Tomoe of the Divine Thunder.
- 4 Phases.
- One shots you with every attack.
oh boi, I just cant wait
Oh my god I NEED IT MIYAZAKI PLS
LightStyle That’s a fucking sick name, Hidetaka should pay you for that shit.
I mean they've hyped her up in game SO MUCH that she's basically the Sekiro version of Artorias from pre-DLC Dark Souls 1 at this point. If they don't do something incredible with her it will be a massive disappointment.
this comment didn't age well, it's confirmed they aren't working on a DLC at the moment, and I like many others would have loved it.
About the Owl: On my first playthrough he beat my ass countless times. It wasn't until I focused on deliberate, single button presses instead of spamming block, and getting my posture down when I had a chance, that it clicked for me. This fight forces you to get good and manage all aspects of the combat. What a lot of people aren't getting about this game is that you need to be up in their face clashing swords. You can't hit and run and you can't dodge like in DS. You're meant to stand in front of your enemy and trade blows. That's what makes it so satisfying for me. I feel like an actual master shinobi playing this game.
To be honest a master shinobi would be striking from the shadows, using poison and different costumes to infiltrate the enemy not trading blows with samurai.
why is owl ranked so high up? He's legitimately one of the easier bosses in the late game. He's not interesting, like the corrupted monk, he doesn't use wipe the floor with you if you make one mistake like emma, he isn't a fun boss fight like the guardian ape. Honestly, I think owl was easier than emma. He's actually kind of boring. All the other bosses are insane monsters, characters you have been building up the entire game, or just Gyoubu who is so cool, but he's just popped in like "Oh yeah, he didn't actually die at the hirata estate, oh and he stabbed you in the back after lady butterfly, and now he's a greedy big man trying to take immortality for himself!!". It's like taking the shinobi, a heartless killing machine with no other wants than to follow the "iron code", and then making them suddenly want to take over ashina and be immortal. Lord Genichiro is the first boss fight that really teaches you how to be good at the game, because that's pretty much the learning curve of sekiro. You fight Way of Tomoe because your supposed to feel intimidated and relieved at the same time. Here's this incredibly hard boss you fight before, but now he's pretty easy. He's not easier, you just got more skilled. Sure you got prayer beads, but Way of Tomoe can still kill you in two shots.
@@pisslmfaogetit8475 I'm at the end part of my first playthrough, (not shura) and I have to say that Shinobi Owl isn't boring at all. At mid game he can kill you in 2-3 hits, has some long reaching and fast attacks and of course the shinobi tools (shuriken, firecracker, heal negating orb, posion gunk, smoke cloud). It was really satisfying when I figured out when to dodge instead of deflect and that you have to be extremely aggressive with him or you'll have a bad time.
I'd rate him a solid 7/10.
I still have the demon of hatred and Isshin left tho. I can already tell how much I'll struggle with those two. The demon absolutely kicked my ass the first few times I tried to kill it.
@@pisslmfaogetit8475 For a second I thought you were actually talking about Owl(Father) and not Great Shinobi Owl.
@@pisslmfaogetit8475 you havent fought owl father have you? The fight is great, the shinobi owl was kinda boring though
"He cheats by using a move I can use and can stop me healing" like how dare the legendary shinobi use shinobi tactics that I can use as well. I'd be fine with saying that that is a wank thing to happen, but to say it is cheating has irked me.
hellishman1 - he cheats, but you also cheat. You’re Shinobi, after all, and that’s the whole point, isn’t it? To defeat your opponent by any means necessary.
Yeah but i can't kill him with 3 hits
Matias he’s obviously way bigger and stronger than you. That dude that called him the worst boss is a straight up fool. He’s a shinobi just like you, what stops him from doing what you can do? Hell, he’s the one that fucking trained you. Of course he can do everything you can do but better.
@@loaf1712 oh i get it. That means he can be slashed with a katana 25 times, be stabbed in the neck, slashed 25 times again, and THEN he dies. Who would imagine that being taller would turn you into a fucking tank
Matias Oh fucking get over it, it’s a fucking boss fight. Of course he can’t die in 2 hits.
I think the Divine Dragon's first phase is meant to be a fun phase where you smack the hell out of these old geezers. Not meant to be difficult or challenging, just fun, beautiful, and memorable.
Diego Fernández those dudes harder than the divine dragon tho
@HeheCult especially since doing an aerial deathblow from the branches in the first phase takes out about half of them easily
Community definitely got the top three right for sure well done lads
But they're wrong with saying that the snake is a boss
I'd say top four, absolutely love the Shura fight with Isshin!
That username haha
Who's the artist for your profile pic?
@@Falclone If you're asking me, that is the portrait of Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen) from the show Hannibal. I highly recommend it, it's one of my favourite shows of all time!
"How my blood boils, face me Sekiro!" My favorite boss of all time. The clashing of steel, the counters, the bullet deflections, the story, the challenge, his acceptance of defeat. I'll play this game forever if for no other reason but to go one on one with the Sword Saint.
THIS. The main thing other than getting the Platinum Trophy that motivates me the most to replay the game and get all endings is to fight this ONE boss, Sword Saint Isshin. My heart is pumping when I'm done fighting him and after my relief of victory I start to regret not being able to fight him again. I think this boss will be the reason for me continuing this game for a long while.
I love Genichiro's story. The first time you meet him, he cuts your arm off pretty easily (if it's your first playthrough), the second fight you're more evenly matched, and by the third fight you wipe the floor with him. He knew he wasn't good enough and that's why he had to spawn his badass grandpa out of his body to beat you. He knew he was inferior and lost his humanity because of it.
Biggest reason I love the sword saint fight is both characters are getting exactly what they wanted. Isshin said he wishes he could’ve fought you, and Sekiro wants to complete his lord’s wish. You can tell throughout the whole fight how much isshin is loving it. In the end, isshin goes out with honor, and sekiro is skilled enough to complete the final strike and lay the legend to rest permanently.
Plus, the start of phase two is just dope. “HOW MY BLOOD BOILS”
You're granting one of the world's most skilled swordsmen their greatest wish, to fight and die with honour at the hands of someone even more skilled.
When I was walking up to him at that point I thought that it was going to be a terribly difficult boss fight. Especially since I had such difficulty with the purple ninja in Hirata before that. Really amped up my expectations for him when I saw all of the dead ones.
One legend dies, and another is born.
Isshin never says anything about "wishing to fight" the player?
Doctor Jones actually yes he does it’s a bit of dialogue between him and Emma but it’s easy to miss also if you continue talking to Emma before the end of the game when she’s sitting next to him she mentions it if you haven’t gotten master class skill tree when she gives it to you
You should do a ranking for mini-bosses, their presence in the game was almost as big as the actual bosses
true, i loved thast about the game, and they felt as rewarding as bosses in most cases, the loot the challenge sekiro is really my nº1 fromsoft game
i just finished my 100% ds3 run and sekiro is better
He did do one!
Myamdane 777 I mean community
I might do one after a breather. I've been doing a lot of boss rankings for Sekiro and don't want to burn out too much on the game. The possible DLC would be a great time to return and do one!
@@theDeModcracy Imagine how good a tomoe DLC would be, especially if we could fight tomoe herself. Isshin said tomoe gave him a run for his money, she was the closest he has ever come to death. She trained genichiro and had a working relationship with our friends like Emma. It would be excellent, but I doubt it will happen at this point.
Isshin summarises his own fight actually:
Hesitation, truly is defeat.
You need to inmerse yourself into the game and become the shinobi the game wants you to be
Immerse*
17: Dual Apes; Nothing about this boss is well-designed. You either kill them immediately in NG, or it's an annoying slog in NG+.
16: Monkeys; Thankfully, the quality makes a dramatic jump upward. The different ways to complete the puzzle are entertaining, and getting the Mortal Blade as a reward for defeating them is worth it.
15: Serpent; The tension of seeing the Great Serpent the first time is jaw-dropping, and trying to sneak your way past it is amazingly stressful.
14: Monk; I may not cheese the Monk myself, but I enjoy fighting her too much. She is delightfully challenging to face.
13: Genichiro, Way of Tomoe; Genichiro gets here because of the story surrounding him. I honestly didn't want to kill him because his motivations aren't that different from mine.
12: True Monk; Take everything from the Corrupted Monk, add 3-phases, and include my favourite stealth deathblow in the game, and the True Monk earns her spot here.
11: Lady Butterfly; I won't lie, Butterfly is here partially because I love the cutscene before her fight. The fight itself is fantastic, however. The different ways you can utilize your Shinobi Tools against her encourage experimentation. The Shuriken knocks her off of the wires, the Spear can keep her close, and the Lazulite Axe will disperse the Illusions if deployed effectively.
10: Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa; The only flaw I have with Gyoubu is that the fight isn't longer. I would love to fight him on the ground in phase 2 after that phenomenal duel against him riding Onikage. His attacks are fair yet challenging. He's mobile, but not annoyingly fast, and the fact you can grapple over to him to counteract his speed is a welcome addition.
9: Divine Dragon; Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
8: Guardian Ape; I love both phases of the Ape. The first is an exciting duel against a feral beast with unique attacks that differentiate it from everything else in the game, and the second is a sword duel with a twist on the enemy that allows the Loaded Spear to shine.
7: Lady Emma; I love and hate fighting Emma for all the right reasons. She uses the Ashina Arts with mastery surpassed only by Isshin, her movements fit her name, and the savagery of her death brings your actions into a harsh light.
6: Great Shinobi Owl; The experience of fighting another Shinobi, let alone the man who trained you, was surreal. Owl's tools and tactics befit the lethal hunters that Shinobi are meant to be, and that is before you deal with the emotion of fighting your father. I may hate the guy, but he's a marvellous fighter.
5: Demon of Hatred; Facing the Sculptor is tragic after everything he's done to help you. At the same time, killing him is a merciful act that keeps bringing you back again and again after you die. The mechanics of the fight are fascinating, as, on the surface, the Demon seems antithetical to Sekiro's combat. However, the best way to face him is by staying close and watching his movements. Mastering this fight is a thrill matched only by the top 4.
4: Genichiro Ashina; This is the fight I always look forward to when I start the game. Genichiro's story and motivations are endearing, and the mechanics of the duel force you to play Sekiro the way he was meant to be played. There is nothing I would change here.
3: Isshin Ashina; You can't go wrong with a badass old man. Isshin's deliberate movements force you to study him patiently, mastering his counters slowly. Until you get to Phase 2. When Isshin goes 'Fire Lord' on you, it's simultaneously stunning and terrifying. Not to mention the fact he's hours away from death and still manages to kick your ass.
2: Father Owl; The only flaw here is the reused arena. I always go out of my way to do Emma's side quest to enjoy this duel against Owl in his prime. The attack he has, which changes his movements depending on your position, is my favourite move in the entire game.
1: Isshin, the Sword Saint; Facing Isshin in his prime is an intimidating proposition, and the fight delivers on that flawlessly. Isshin's use of a sword, spear, and gun proves the mastery he's obtained through a lifetime of war. The different applications of Shinobi Tools you have can add nearly unmatched levels of depth to Isshin's combat. The Mist Raven prevents damage from the Lightning Reversal, the Sabimaru stalls his Posture from recovering, the Axe can burn him, and the Umbrella can give Isshin a taste of his own bullets. And the list goes on. Above everything else, the fight is entirely based on your mastery of the game's combat. Hesitation is Defeat.
As a comment on the end of the Sword-Saint's fight, I love the symbolism behind how Sekiro executes Isshin.
Isshin's posture and stance is the same as that of a Samurai about to commit seppuku, with Sekiro positioned as his chosen right-hand to finish him once he's begun. This is amazing, because it shows exactly how much Isshin respects Sekiro - both as a foe, but also as an honored friend. This was Isshin's final acknowledgment of not just Sekiro, but the player as well. Thank you, Fromsoft.
Wolf also severs the back of his neck instead of beheading him, in ancient japan beheading a samurai was seen as absolutely dishonorable while giving them a swift death through this ritual was seen as the ultimate form of respect.
Related, in the Japanese voice overs the last words of Great Shinobi Owl and Wolf's remarks are in the form of a haiku:
Wolf: かげおとし, (Dropping Shadow)
かえしいたす (I'm returning it to you)
Owl: みごとなり (Beautifully done)
In the Edo period samurai accepting their death would often write haikus as a "death poem". There is a lot of Japanese culture and historical tidbits hidden in this game, and I truly love how they were able to incorporate these into the game.
Great insight! I thought the posture seemed similar to the seppuku stance. They did such an excellent job in Sekiro with the small details
Yes I love your community rankings they make me feel like a part of the community
68th like. "I guide others to a treasure i cannot posess"
@@benopheim9737 lmao
To explain Gyōbu's name. The ō is representative in a double vowel in Japanese. For 'o' vowels, this is sometimes anglicized as 'ou' such as Gyoubu.
For the anglecized Gyoza, it is far more common to see just the 'o' on menus and such, but the original Japanese, and it's derived pronunciation in the west, still features the double vowel 'ō' or 'ou'.
Both Gyoza and Gyōbu are pronounced with the round 'oh' sound, but they are often presented in romaji differently.
Also even then
Why gyaza? Demod you silly goose.
I love how Owl(father) is stronger than the real Owl. You're fighting Owl as you remember him when you were a kid. He was unbeatable. He could turn invisible.
The first time I learned to fight him, me and my friend made a contest to see who could cause the most damage before dying. I won by using Phantom Kunai's unblockable damage to do 5% of his health bar before dying.
I audibly laughed when I saw the amount of “Best Boss” votes for the False Monk.
He was really fun if you didn't cheese him. I didn't even know he was vulnerable to firecrackers as they are my least used prostetic.
@@tobiramasenju6290 this. Favourite boss at the time I fought her. was disappointed there wasn't a second phase, happy there was a second *fight*. a little unhappy to learn both are cheesed massively.
@@tobiramasenju6290 *She
Playing the boss the second or third day after release, before all of the cheese was discovered and before people really knew what was going on (I remember going to the wiki page for the late game areas and seeing essentially nothing), False Corrupted Monk was there to kick my ass. False Corrupted Monk, Genichiro and Isshin are the bosses I struggled most with out of the entire game, and I've down Owl Father and Demon of Hatred. I think that's largely because I came from a DS method of "Get a big fuckin shield and sit behind it", which was punished really hard. But to this day I still fight False Corrupted Monk without my prosthetic, just to prove to myself I've still got the mastery I needed to win that first time.
Ethan she’s actually a very good boss when not cheesed to death
'Emma's fighting style really was *gentle*
*Gets suplexed into Oblivion*
DUDE!!! I would love to fight the Dancer of Boreal Valley with Sekiro combat.
Would be insanely easy.
@@TheUltimateMachineGod exactly
@@TheUltimateMachineGod and how much she swings her swords. Easy posture build up. Especially phase 2.
Ahh Genichiro, I’m not lying when I say that it took me three days of constant effort to beat him and his second phase. Killing him was almost as satisfying as finally killing the Sword Saint. Way of Tomoe was so much easier for me because I still had the whole of his moves memorized
This was literally the same experience for me! Gyoubu masataka oniwa dod nothing for me potential wise! When I fought gyobu I just got lucky enough to survive long enough to see him die. I learned nothing from him. So it was hell for me to fight genichiro, I still hadn't accepted the fighting style. Genichiro broke me into my dancing shoes for 2 days! When I beat him I was so happy 😎. So happy someone had the same experience!
for a sec i was like
GASP vaativydia upload?!?!
ah........ it's just demodcracy
jk i luv you dude
Quite exquisite art on the thumbnail
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GODAMM LIKES!??!
So basically the undead savior is just wankin' off, as in "fucking himself?" I can picture it but I don't wanna...
The snake is really, really cool.
Not a boss.
But a great sequence.
Technically it is because you get a memory from it. There's no actual fight, but you get a memory, so technically it is a boss.
@@darknessdevours5827
Yeah the game rewards you like one, sure, but if it does have a Boss Health Bar or an actual fight, it's really not a boss, imo
@@darknessdevours5827 no its not
The Rankings are all correct.
One thing about Isshin Sword Saint I noticed. The bastard had a counter for whatever style you go with. Deflect god? Crazy combos and timings. Run and gun god? Large leaps and projectile shots. Guy is the culmination of every aspect in the game and he is just awesome. He will be on my mind for a long time.
Damn the sapphire outro always brings back nostalgia of your videos ❤️❤️
I am proud to say that i took part in this ranking, so I guess I am part of this entertaining piece of content right ?
I wish I could say the same. Unfortunately, I didn't beat the game before DeMod's videos came out.
Oh wow! I never noticed those sword draws in the Genichiro cutscenes. Such an amazing touch!
That moment when Isshin says well done sekiro , that was the most satisfying moment for me it's as if Miyazaki himself praised me for adapting the playstyle of Sekiro and beating the game .
I wish Emma had some more love. She is my second favorite boss in the game. The music is up there with the best in the entire series, her fighting style is very enjoyable and even though it´s not a very hard fight it´s not too easy either, and the tragic lore makes it even greater. It´s too bad that you don´t get to fight her much cause the Shura ending is good in terms of the story, but very restrictive in terms of gameplay since it cuts out a large chunk of the game.
Emma is a challenging boss to rank, because while I love Emma, everything that landed above her has a justifiable (in my eyes) reason to be there.
@@theDeModcracy I can´t disagree. I am biased because this fight has almost everything it takes to make me love it (except in the difficulty area), so I hoped it ended up in a higher rank, but I understand it´s placement.
Lawlet Jameston how tf did you made it at the 2nd try
*SEKIRO GOR-*
Wait, wrong place.
GREETINGS
I'm going to beat the great serpent...WITH MONEH!
Rise from your grave, never give up..
I know what you did here.
Its something i *WILL DO* everytime someone mentioned da Goru
Wtf he came into the sacred house!! Turns out gorus guide fucking blows lmao..
I never noticed that hand tremor the first time you face Genchiro. Such great story telling
Glock Saint Isshin is honestly probably the most satisfying boss fight I've ever had in a game in general. The whole fight just feels so right. And while in many difficult games, it's easy for a boss fight to feel like you beat it by the seat of your pants, narrowly surviving, with Isshin, if you manage to beat him, it's usually because you have the skills to beat him. I genuinely felt worthy when I beat him the first time. And every time since then, I've only felt more confident in my skills for having bested him.
I normally don't leave comments for Demod videos (though I always think they are incredibly stellar and very high quality content) but I feel I should this time. I've seen pretty much every boss ranking video Demod made for the entire soulsborne series and the speedrun videos as well, but for since reason hearing about how Sekiro displays growing confidence each time he fights Genichiro was very surprising. I really enjoy the Genichiro fights and each time I was about to fight him, the cutscenes before the start of each fight, I was straightening up and focusing on what was going to happen between the two before the start of the fight. As much as I was paying attention, I didn't even notice how each tone Sekiro grabs his sword is very different. When Demod mentioned that, I was so shocked at how accurate that was. Those scenes portray my real life experience with the game. When I first went into the game, I was unsure of what I was getting myself into and it reflected by Sekiro struggling to grab hold of his sword and showing hesitancy and uneasiness. The second fight, I feel a bit more confident but not much and I knew I had to take my time and focus this time around, reflecting on how Sekiro grabs his sword with more confidence and goes slow enough to show he has not been deterred from his goal. And the last fight, I am very confident on being able to beat Genichiro and it reflects by Sekiro quickly releasing his sword in one quick and fluid motion with no hesitation or mistakes. I'm not sure if that was the intention from Fromsoft when making those cutscenes but I gotta give mad props to them for putting it in. It gives me a new sense of respect for the game and it makes me want to go back and play it again and again and even go so far as to 100% the whole game.
FromSoft often has subtle details in their games that go unnoticed by many of us (myself included). When I do notice them, they give me such an appreciation for the love they put into their games. Your comment was a great read, I encourage you to share your thoughts with us more often! And thank you for the kind words on my content.
3:22 Are you saying that you think that the Deacons of the Deep were supposed to be the equivalent of O&S in Dark Souls 3?
I think he meant the twin prince boss, or the gargoyles in the dlc
TBH I would've thrown the Demon Princes in there, but it didn't fit the joke because they are a pretty great boss. The joke is hyperbole anyway. FromSoft has failed plenty with gank bosses, but they've succeeded as well. That makes it even more baffling when they flop after learning what works
The Serpent was cool as hell. One of the gnarliest things I've seen in a video game and I'll never forget the first time I encountered it.
I like the Ape duo, the way he faces you without his head at the beginning is horrifying and he is really all that difficult. Plus ripping the parasite out of him is SO satisfying!
I found It much easier than the 1st encounter
personally i much prefer this style of paid promotion with putting it at the beginning of the video rather than smack dab in the middle like with the first DS3 areas ranked video, happy you're keeping it around!
Your ranking videos are really good, enjoy every moment of it
From what I can tell, Gyoubu is to Sekiro what Father Gascoigne was to Bloodborne. A boss that is meant to teach you how the rest of the game is going to play out while also posing a decent challenge, on the first playthrough at least.
That's weird. For me, I beat them both first try, but on subsequent playthroughs, Gyoubu still gets easily smashed while Gascoine suddenly smashes me. lol
When you get good Genichiro before Isshin start feeling like the archer you kill to reach Lady Butterfly
Demon of Hatred: *Changes player fighting style*
Players: wHaT iS tHiS gArBaGe?!
Great Shinobi Owl: *Changes player fighting style*
Players: Oh baby! Top 5 for sure!
How does Great Shinobi force you to change your fighting style? One makes you play like it’s Dark Souls, the other feels like it’s right at home in Sekiro.
Daniel Spivey Poison, anti-healing orbs, smoke bombs, a lack of perilous attacks, death blows, and mikiri counters all force you to change the way you fight by making you run from the aoe effects or by limiting your options.
DISCLAIMER: I personally think the mikiri counters and deathblows are awesome, but they do force you to change your fighting style which is not necessarily a bad thing, it's simply the point of contention between the Demon and Owl
nice love the tierlists
Damn never saw the rustiness develop in his drawing technique before. This is why i love souls games
I had to do the final iishin fight so many times that all of his combos became almost second nature in my reactions. When I finally beat him, he didn’t even touch me. Took 2 days though .
DeMod finally put in the right music for Father Owl, hot damn.
I love people, who complain about being able to cheese a boss and then instead of fighting him normally, they still cheese him. Like W T F ?
2nd thing is Demon of Hatred. I see a lot of opinions about people crying, that you need to forget what you learned in Sekiro and get back to Soulsbourne hit and dodge style. Guess what? It is supposed to be this way and you should see it as sort of a wink from Fromsoft for people who wanted a new DS/BB :D
Being able to cheese a boss to death is definitely a flaw, but I think people exaggerate how big a flaw it is. Personally, I never even consider cheesing a boss unless it's really poorly designed and/or tedious and I just wanna get it over with. Otherwise I actively engage in the fight and beat it by normal means, and I really don't get the idea of cheesing him just because you can. Why even play a game like this if you're just gonna take the easy (and repetitive) way out?
Also agree on Demon of Hatred. Action games need something to change things up from time to time, and a boss that throws the core mechanics out the window to temporarily bring back a Soulsborne style fight is perfect for this game IMO.
Demon doesnt have to be fought that way though people just need to learn. You can deflect most of his moves and then use the flame umbrella if you dont want to fight it like a souls boss
@jjgwrestling What's poorly designed about it? He's extremely easy to hit, almost all of his attacks are heavily telegraphed, and you can deflect almost all of his close range moves. His attack patterns are simple and easy to learn, just really punishing if you mess up.
for me the hardest boss in the entire game is the inner owl father just getting to fight him is hard enough but when you do actually fight i can say that nobody can beat him in under 30-40 tries he is just built different
My 'best' boss would be Owl Father. I've never struggled on a boss like I did with him. AND I COULDN'T FIND ANY CHEATS. Eventually I found myself pouring over RUclips tactics guides, found I couldn't pull off any of them, and then finally got gud to the point where when I actually beat him, I was acutely aware of his every move and my every move to counter it. It was a glorious feeling. I really 'got to know' the boss and every tick he had. Never felt a high like that (except when I made the True Monk T-pose out of reality).
Man have I been looking forward to this
there were a few things that surprised me about the ranking, honestly (aside from counting snakey as a boss and having way of Tomoe and Emma as separate bosses to Isshin). Divine dragon being so high is one of then, but I'm a mechanics over spectacle sorta guy, so it's down to different tastes rather than a true divergence of thought. It's certainly the best spectacle boss Fromsoft has made, but that doesn't do much for me.
I think that true corrupted monk is one of the best bosses in the game, and false corrupted monk doesn't deserve to be as low as it is. I love the rhythm of deflecting the combos, the perilous attacks, the atmosphere and arena and music and laughter and screams. It all combines to produce an experience that's consistently fun and engaging, and the true corrupted monk is one of the few bosses to still give me trouble after 4 or 5 playthroughs, making it one that I'm always excited to get to.
When assessing the relative quality of a boss fight, I always struggle with whether to go with how good I found them on my first playthrough, and how good I find them nowadays with more experience. No boss sums that up better than Genichiro. On my first playthrough, he was an S tier boss. I had a wonderful time countering his fast, varied and fine-tuned moveset, and a hell of a difficult one at that (17 deaths iirc). On repeat playthroughs, he's a speedbump that poses 0 threat to me. On my first playthrough he was a top 3 boss and on repeat playthroughs he's meh at best, but it's impossible to fault him for it. I think that says a lot about the design of Sekiro in general, actually, how nuanced and deep the combat system is that you get so much better at it over time that what was once pushing you to your limits becomes an absolute cakewalk. Genichiro does what it needed to do absolutely beautifully, and to that effect becomes too easy on repeat playthroughs for me to ever get excited about it.
Also fuck enfeebled and O'rin.
might be just me but the knight you meet while crossing the bridge in senpou is my favourite enemy in the game he was the one that truly thought me to deflect instead of dodge or block
The strongest attack Isshin(sword saint) has is to be able to still call you Sekiro after that final blow...
Just got the notification saying this video was out... as i was already watching it, made me forget i was already watching it for a few seconds
I mean, did anyone have any doubts about number 1 at all?
Also I kind of just want to say that though I might be reading too deep into things I love the symbolism behind Sword Saint Isshin. I always interpreted Dark Souls and Sekiro as being stories about the dangers of nostalgia, Gwyn would rather let the world rot than let go of his glory days and Genichiro outright states he'd cast his humanity aside for Ashina. Summoning Isshin in his prime is like summoning the "good old days" of Ashina in a futile attempt to hold on to the better days. Essentially fighting the Sword Saint is like fighting against the idea of Ashina's glory days and finally accepting that they're gone and it's time to move on.
I actually think they could've saved Ashina. Kuro was just a little pussy who wouldn't give them their ultimate weapon. They could've beat back the ministry if they had immortality.
@@alastor8091 Immortality is stagnation, my dude. Ashina would only have survived as something less than itself. See how it has already grown rotten and poisonous, how the flames of hatred have begun to burn. The land could not remain. (And in the historical context... Japan was being unified. Ashina's death as a distinct country was inevitable. Death happens, and using divine magic to become a zombie country seems like a bad call.)
Sekiro is all about accepting death, the father being killed by the son (literally), and not trying to cling to things forever. Enthie Gavoir has the right of it, and the game is hardly subtle: The everblossom, the constantly-blooming sakura tree, is perfect proof. In traditional Japanese symbolism, the sakura is beautiful precisely because the blossoms fall and are transient. An ever-blossoming tree might seem beautiful at first, but the symbol is destroyed and the beauty hollow. Sekiro argues that transience makes things beautiful, that mortality is human and immortality is stagnation. Kusabimaru and the Mortal Blade are both named after gifts, after all.
Wow, the stuff about the 3 encounters with Genichiro.. I never noticed these tiny details. (the first encounter he's _rusty_ and feels around for his sword.. etc.) I would have never noticed these details.
Genichiro Was Arguably the Most Satsifaction i had in my boss Fights on Sekiro, im Currently Doing Demon of Hatred, and i have to do Sword Saint right after, but i realized now that i need to use More Items like Divine Confetti or Sugars, as they give a nice attack boost and are regularly avaliable post True monk Completion.
Within 40 minutes of watching this video i managed to Flawlessly Defeat Phase 3 Isshin Sword Saint Immediately right aftet Defeating Demon of Hatred while Also being extremely tired (i completed both at 3 AM) ... And all i gotta is Yikes...
You know you're early when you see the "seconds ago" posted tag
Sekiro might just be the best game I ever experienced. It's at least one of them. World design, lore and story, atmosphere, music, combat, and especially the boss battles are just incredible. I'm happy to see that people seem to agree with the quality of the game's bosses.
My second best after bb, this game can surpass bb if it got 3 dlcs , the base game lacks of optional areas
@@abedt.5425 I agree, I think I'd even say that the game has the least amount of areas of all fromsoft games. Personally though I like most of the content in the game to be part of the main game, so you don't miss out on any great areas during your first runthrough. And since I was satisfied with the game's content, I don't mind there being less areas in Sekiro.
But I'm praying to see a Sekiro DLC at E3. They need to make a dlc for the game.
@@ad_-yk9bz I think they did a better job with the areas in Sekiro. Every area is visually interesting and brings something new. And most importantly, not a single area is annoying. No farron swamp, demon ruins, nightmare frontier or nightmare of mensis. So while i agree that a second, big optional area would have been nice, i still think Sekiro did a better job in this regard, due to not having the low points of the previous games.
Fromsoftware are the perfect example how difficulty in games is needed to create absolute masterpieces. This games combat system is flawless, so intricate, and to fully show off this, the player is required to master this combat system. The only way to get your players to master a new combat system is by making every boss an incredible challenge, where they all take multiple attempts at beating. The feeling of knowing you have truely mastered something is unbelievably satisfying, and fromsoftware does this everytime they make a game. More developers need to incorporate this into their games.
oh my god thank you for the dodge instead of deflect trick on Great Shinobi Owl. I’m playing Sekiro for the first time in ages and I just beat him without even needing to resurrect thanks to that, which felt amazing.
I was literally watching another Sekiro video and was reminded that I voted in this poll and was wondering if the video got posted. I go to look and what do I see? Posted 12 minutes ago.
Perfect timing. Thanks for voting Zach!
My opinion here is slightly closed off bc I’ve only played sekiro, bloodborne, and dark souls 3 but I think sekiro is the first fromsoft game with all above average main bosses. Some may be tedious on repeat runs but first time run every main boss is challenging, fun, and memorable
Edit: also completely disagree with demon of hatred ranking, amazing boss that makes you have to be perfect like Isshin but in a totally different way. Same with the guardian ape the first time. Pretty sure people are just salty dying to these great fuzz balls
You should play dark souls 1, outside of maybe 3 or 4 bosses out 26 BOSSES they're all great, and considering how early in the series it was that says a lot.
Sniff would u recommend the remaster or the original? Feels like that’s an easy answer but sometimes the original is better lol
The great thing about False Monk is that after you face her weird ass attack tempo the shinobi, who also have weird timings, come to ashina. It's a warm-up for that.
Also: run left, mortal blade, lightning counter and Saint Ishin is toast.
Dude thanks so much for pointing out the subtleties with the way Sekiro approaches his sword. I missed something that small completely, but this frames his progression in both resolve to his duty and his improving skill in a wonderfully different light. It struck me so much I had to go back and repeat that segment of the video twice. Just beautiful.
At least the Guardian ape had a story but by far my favorite fight was Gyobou Oniwa it was super hard for me but I didn't think to use firecracker either lol
You know after all this time I’m still fighting Isshin I haven’t been able to beat him yet it got to the pint where I took a 7 month break from the game and I came back 2 days ago to face him again I’m at the point now where Genechiro is a joke and i fan got through Isshins first phase whithout taking damage sometimes but HOLY FUCK the second and third phase it feels like he never stops attacking he dies so much damage and his combos are so long and have so much range but even with all that it doesn’t feel unfair it feels like facing a master swordsman and I love it
This is a sad comment
@@generalhenrystickmin Well, the first time I played sekiro 2 years ago I quit bc the two apes.... I played it again one month ago and I was stuck for one week everyday with the same Ishin's phases thatn you so I get you. Even worse, I didn't feel like going to farm spirit emblems so I decided that I would beat him with the sword only....man iI took me many many deaths to learn how to dance him in phase two, and even so I don't think I could do it again at least for a long time. But it was certainly pleasant
I ignored the Demon's worst attack- the Body slam using the Phoenix Shield..... so getting him to Phase 3 was fairly easy.
He only really becomes difficult once he encloses you in a small arena and starts to do dash attacks that can 1-shot you.
The False Corrupted Monk is only a fraction of the real Corrupted Monk who protected the entry to the Fountainhead Palace.
As always, top shelf quality content! Thanks Demod! :D
Emma is my favorite boss.Her OST has got to be the best. Her moveset is extremely graceful ( even though it screws you with that grab,yep I'm looking at you Dmod),the fact that she has helped you the entire game up until this moment it makes the fight feel personal, much like Genichiro. The finishing deathblow is extremely sad as she looks at you sorrowfully and calls you the thing you have been warned about before "Shura." That sent chills down my spine. Without a doubt better than the preceding fight, Isshin Ashina. If only Emma had three healthbars.
It's fantastic, but it's a close second to Divine Dragon
Divine dragon is amazing as well
Honestly when I first bought this game I thought about doing some gameplay videos. But when I started playing it the entire world just drew me in, and I wanted to enjoy it myself, and the way I wanted to feel the experience could not have been done that way. When I entered the final Isshin fight all I could think was "This is it, this is the pinnacle of game design. This fight right here is what every other developer should strive to achieve." The mechanics were amazing, the atmosphere was chilling and felt hopeless, the music fantastic, and in all the from soft games I have played this was what I felt they all led to. Just when I thought i had experienced everything that there could be in that fight upon taking his final health bar, isshin calmly gets on his knees and awaits death gracefully. When that happened I just stood beside him staring, because what a god damn way to bring finality to the game. The leader of this nation, and revered for his strenght bows his head for you to take it because you have strength he does not. When I took that last swing all I could think was "thank you for such a great game"
you ABSOLUTELY can deflect the demon of hatred's attacks, I don't know what that guy was talking about
the only caveat is that if you deflect an attack from his flaming arm, you will still take some chip damage and accrue some burning status (but not enough to instantly set you on fire)
I got a daddy kink because of owl father
I think the most fascinating thing is to see how many different viewpoints there are out there.
Isshin Ashina the sword saint is one of the finest final bosses I've had the honor of facing in a video game he tested every skill and ability that I learned over the course of the game with his own skills and abilities and defeating this legendary warrior in battle felt extremely satisfying.
Nice Berserk shirt C:
I'm surprised that with all these videos talking about the bosses it was never once mentioned that the Demon of Hatred is the sculptor
"you can cheese other bosses but Genichiro ain't having none of that"
*laugh in door corner
The sword saint and the one armed wolf meet on a field. Two masters of contending draw their weapons. And I one will leave when the grater man is decided.
My waifus are the Okami women, Tomoe in particular. I really hope the DLC is focused on her.
If you are into fish tho beware they smell bad
Still no DLC unfortunately