As a lifelong Essex resident, the 'probably from Essex' overlay to Kelly's portrait almost made me spit out my mouthful of coffee laughing. Great video Nath
Incredible work on the video. I love both Niohs and i frequently looked up the names and events shown in the game, but i didn't really get a grasp of it all. Thank you Nath, good job
I loved the humor in this video. Every joke was an unexpected surprise, since Nathan is so good at simply presenting information about games. Sort of felt like a Friday Feature or even, dare I say, an Outside X-Box video in its format, which was a bit jarring, since I'm not used to seeing Nathan do that sort of thing, but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I can retain the trivia I learned in this vid when I finally get around to playing Nioh someday.
amazing video Nath, i would love to watch more of these "the real history behind videogames", maybe with Assassin's creed, Tomb Raider or Uncharted Edit: time to revisit Nioh
Underrated video. It’s surprisingly difficult to find lore deep dives for Nioh, despite its incredible historical fiction elements and fantastic character design
He's famous for his brutality, to the extent that he was labelled Maou (demon lord/overlord/evil lord). This makes him a go to choice as even after hundreds of years he remains a significant figure who nearly succeeded in his goals until Honnoji happened.
I guess they made him Irish for the sake of mixing Irish and Japanese mythology. William's guardian spirit Saoirse only speaks in Irish Gaelic, while everyone around her speaks Japanese. It's a nice contrast. Irish myths pop up in anime and JRPGs from time to time. Empress Michiko was taught by Irish nuns, and one of them in particular taught her about Irish myths. Apparently the interest filtered down from her. Wayward is a fun comic about a Japanese-Irish girl that meshes the two mythologies together too. I only read the first few volumes of that, but what I did read wasn't bad. Anyway. There ya go.
Great overview, Nathan. Particularly liked the epic reveals, "And turns out to be [Insert famous Japanese figure]... who meant nothing to me." Brilliant XD For me, although _NIOH 2_ is the prequel, there was far more emotional impact when I encountered these characters *after* already knowing their tragic stories from the first game. Just a marvelous series.
It pains me how these videos don’t do so well, I think they are brilliant. I love history and this was so well done that it actually made me want to go and play Nioh just for the history lessons. Not to mention this video was so well done and the script is so well done.
My reason for picking Nioh up in the first place was because it was about William Adams, there was something special and interesting about him. I learnt about him when I watched James Clavell's Shogun TV series, worth watching if anyone hasn't seen it or can read the book. Best part about Nioh is it has alot of lore, sometimes I'll just spend all day reading about all the different Guardian Spirits, Yokai, armour and weapons they used and different people in the in-game library, I find it very interesting, it's very rare to find games like this these days.
I did boss fight videos on Nioh. Confirmed that most of the human characters are based on historical figures, even the Dark/Obsidian Samurai. Except Maria and Sarutobi Sasuke perhaps. The yokais are based on Japanese folklore as well.
This was like a Dan snow history podcast about a subject of which I know nothing, having not played the game or studied Japanese history! But also like a Dan snow history podcast, I really enjoyed it!!
As a soon-to-be Japanologist, this game was a must have for me. Smaller inaccuracies aside, I loved it and it's great how Nath summed up this extremely conflicted and complicated period of history. 🇯🇵👍
koei tecmo games may get a lot of flak, but you cant deny the history lessons they gave you! I started reading about romance of the three kingdoms from dynasty warriors alone👍
Awesome, Nath - set the record straight for Will Adams' legacy lol. I got the Nioh plat when I saw you got it, and Nioh 2 was a well earned one also, you got this.
This is absolutely awesome! I love history and the real stories around video games and on top of that I'm currently trying to get the Nioh plat on PS4. Really hope to see more videos of this kind!
Its a great couple of games, but can mess you up real good. Think of it like a mix of Dark souls featuring Ninja Gaiden. Dark souls styled game with the speed from Ninja Gaiden and you get to have super powers that is quickly OP in Nioh 1
I really need to play this game. Being a Gillingham raised lad, it is now a must. Thank you for making this video. You have made a game I had mild interest in playing become a game I now MUST play. Cheers, mate. 😁
@@TriggeredLimey I’d say an expanded Dark Souls base with refined Ninja Gaiden combat. You get several weapons, each with different combos for the 3 possible stances (each with uses depending on the scenario; plus onma and jutsu for spells and projectiles. Just so much versatility. And while some games I find I’m only attracted to certain weapons, I find I enjoy all the different weapons for different reason, each as possibly fun as the next. Familiarity system really encourages mixing it up. Really is my favorite combat in the Soulslike genre, though Souls proper has better world building and enemy variety. The first Nioh especially reuses enemies a bit much at times, but they do much better in the sequel.
Loved it Nathan! Great video. Funny, smart and entertaining. I even learned something about japanese history 🤗 Even though I basically know everything already from Naruto 🤣 Now I'll go back to playing Hitman 2 😝
I was in 2 minds to get this collection as I have Nioh digitally and Nioh 2 special edition but watching this, hearing the music and remembering how much I love Nioh so EB games... Take my money! Thanks Nathan 😊
I'm from Gillingham as well and when nioh came out and I found out that Will Adams was the main fella in the game , it made me want to actually look him up and learn more about him. I'd always seen references to him around town like the road named after him is not far from my house at all, but I was never fully aware of who he actually was. Also the Will Adams festival happens in the park up my road every year which I have been to a few times haha.
Hey Nath! Great video as usual, just one point: Team Ninja didn't actually make the Adams in Nioh Irish on a whim. Apparently they made him Irish because of the interesting link between Irish folklore and Japanese folklore when it comes to spirits and parallel worlds. Saoirse, his spirit guide in the game appears to be a "sióga" or Irish fairy and represents this. This mythological link is apparently the reason they made him Irish - i.e. a Westerner who has, and is able to see, spirit guides.
@@PlayStationAccess You're half-Irish right? So you can only half see them at the moment. Just apply for an Irish passport, it comes with an official certificate of Being Allowed To See Spirit Guides and a figurine (the deluxe passport version does anyway)
Amazing research! I loved the first one though I got stuck on a level where you fight two bosses at the bottom of a small wooden tower. No matter what I tried I couldn't beat them! I've very tempted to go back into the remastered though. Like Nath I had no clue what was going on but loved the world, great video!
Anyone who played Onimusha or Samurai Warriors (published by the same company of Nioh) or Sengoku Basara, should be very familiar with the history of feudal Japan.
I love the Nioh games. A lot of the history I learnt from playing Dynasty Warriors & Kessen games. Also, shoutout to roads named after famous (video games) people, as we have a road named after Lara Croft in Derby. Hey, maybe that could be a Friday feature, 7 real life things named after Video Game characters?
Very interesting! Researching this must've been quite the tumble down the old internet rabbit hole - and your subjective entry point is a nice and charming touch :)
This was not so complicated. Especially when you watched the Anime "Sengoku Basara" which is a nice way to learn about that time of japan. And yes the Nioh DLC Charakters also appear in Sengoku Basara. In fact they could be considered the main Charakters in the series. Give it a go if you want to learn more and love action Anime.
Is it just me or does Nath look more and more like Nathan Drake with each passing day? No? Just me? Alright then. Great video Nath! One of my favorites so far.
Learning history from games is definitely the most fun way to do it IMO :). (would be great if somebody at PSAccess did one about Assassins Creed Odyssey, there's TONS of really cool history in that)
Nath, appreciate the effort in this and hope to see more, but there are some issues: he did a lot more work for the shogunate than you suggested, which they granted him title of first foreign samurai for. Very surprised no one else had issues with these omissions. Also, feel like it was a missed opportunity to not mention the first black samurai during BHM. I know you mentioned elsewhere there’s not enough time in the video, but that’s a small manageable issue. In 2020, this channel among others, did state they would celebrate black history/people more. Lastly, ninjas did actually use cat eyes to tell time.
Hey, thank you for taking the time to comment thoughtfully! This is all all absolutely fair enough. I did want to keep the focus on Adams via my hometown, and then tell the story of the three Unifiers. I was a bit flippant with Adams' other involvement, partly because I wanted to contrast with his fictional exploits in the game, and partly just because it was hard to know where to stop. The fact about cat's eyes though, I simply did not know! I'm going to look into this more right now, because that's amazing
I loved this video and the way the true history was intertwined with fantasy and fiction. Well done Nathan. Good history lesson, and great info about the game.
Love that Nath appears to live in the Playstation Access office backdrop.
Just wanted to echo the others really: love videos like this. Really interesting, beautifully narrated and edited. Just really good content ☺️
I always love when you guys do videos like this. Great job, Nath.
Last time I was this early Delsin Rodent and rob were good friends.
Damn
I love how the content is structured and the fact that Nioh gains its long-deserved spotlight. Cheers, Playstation Access!
I’m from Ireland so I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear those “facts” ...ahem.
It's alright, they spent years trying to claim Katie Taylor as one of theirs so we are even
OR WAS HE?!.....yes he was.
As a lifelong Essex resident, the 'probably from Essex' overlay to Kelly's portrait almost made me spit out my mouthful of coffee laughing. Great video Nath
Incredible work on the video.
I love both Niohs and i frequently looked up the names and events shown in the game, but i didn't really get a grasp of it all.
Thank you Nath, good job
I loved the humor in this video. Every joke was an unexpected surprise, since Nathan is so good at simply presenting information about games. Sort of felt like a Friday Feature or even, dare I say, an Outside X-Box video in its format, which was a bit jarring, since I'm not used to seeing Nathan do that sort of thing, but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I can retain the trivia I learned in this vid when I finally get around to playing Nioh someday.
When pointing out Gillingham and Chatham my face was 100% Leo DiCaprio pointing at the TV
Love Nath's video essays. Could listen for hours
amazing video Nath, i would love to watch more of these "the real history behind videogames", maybe with Assassin's creed, Tomb Raider or Uncharted
Edit: time to revisit Nioh
I knew it would be Nathan explaining this
Lol this is true but let's be honest. it's about the same as having Rob do a final fantasy/ metal gear video. We all expect it now 🙂
@@mr.nobody5140 and rosie doing a parrapa video haha
@@liambenn1214 lmao or bloodborne. Rosie's been hitting that one hard.
Always enjoy these types of videos!
I think we all can appreciate how much effort goes into making them as well.
"Not today Portuguese Jesuits!" is a criminally underused phrase😂 Great video Nath! 👌😊
This was tremendously interesting actually , definitely going to give it a go now.
Underrated video. It’s surprisingly difficult to find lore deep dives for Nioh, despite its incredible historical fiction elements and fantastic character design
I think I've defeated Oda Nobunaga more times in games than Bowser and Ganon. The Japanese sure love to put that guy as the antagonist.
He's famous for his brutality, to the extent that he was labelled Maou (demon lord/overlord/evil lord). This makes him a go to choice as even after hundreds of years he remains a significant figure who nearly succeeded in his goals until Honnoji happened.
I guess they made him Irish for the sake of mixing Irish and Japanese mythology. William's guardian spirit Saoirse only speaks in Irish Gaelic, while everyone around her speaks Japanese. It's a nice contrast.
Irish myths pop up in anime and JRPGs from time to time. Empress Michiko was taught by Irish nuns, and one of them in particular taught her about Irish myths. Apparently the interest filtered down from her.
Wayward is a fun comic about a Japanese-Irish girl that meshes the two mythologies together too. I only read the first few volumes of that, but what I did read wasn't bad.
Anyway. There ya go.
Very cool, thank you for this context about Irish mythology.
Loved it Nathan, keep up the good work.
These videos keep us all going don't stop and great work through this challenging time guys
Great video Nath. Loved seeing the office, I’ve missed it.
Great overview, Nathan. Particularly liked the epic reveals, "And turns out to be [Insert famous Japanese figure]... who meant nothing to me." Brilliant XD
For me, although _NIOH 2_ is the prequel, there was far more emotional impact when I encountered these characters *after* already knowing their tragic stories from the first game. Just a marvelous series.
We definately need more of this videos nath, brilliant job as always mate 👍👏
I didn't realise Nath was a fellow Medway boy! I'll admit I had to do more research on Will Adams when I realised he was from the local area
It pains me how these videos don’t do so well, I think they are brilliant. I love history and this was so well done that it actually made me want to go and play Nioh just for the history lessons. Not to mention this video was so well done and the script is so well done.
8:36 fancy seeing you here Lord Shimura
My reason for picking Nioh up in the first place was because it was about William Adams, there was something special and interesting about him. I learnt about him when I watched James Clavell's Shogun TV series, worth watching if anyone hasn't seen it or can read the book.
Best part about Nioh is it has alot of lore, sometimes I'll just spend all day reading about all the different Guardian Spirits, Yokai, armour and weapons they used and different people in the in-game library, I find it very interesting, it's very rare to find games like this these days.
Really enjoyed this video...this could make an interesting series.
Is you're name actually fletcher
Fantastic work Nath and team! I love Japanese history
Terrific video Nath! Loved Nioh, but likewise had no idea what was going on more than half of the time!
We are not even gona mentioning the only ever african samurai Yasuke who served under Oda Nobunaga?
He was badass. I only read about him recently, as I'm on a Japanese history binge. I would love it if they made a game about him and his life.
Mythical or not, the Sengoku era would've been a crazy time to land in Japan.
The Brag Cam edit should always look like that when an Access member brags lol
I did boss fight videos on Nioh. Confirmed that most of the human characters are based on historical figures, even the Dark/Obsidian Samurai. Except Maria and Sarutobi Sasuke perhaps. The yokais are based on Japanese folklore as well.
I like how much of this reminds me of the Onimusha series!
This was like a Dan snow history podcast about a subject of which I know nothing, having not played the game or studied Japanese history! But also like a Dan snow history podcast, I really enjoyed it!!
Nath better be making his own nioh lore channel. That would be goood
Meaning of the title:
Nioh: Japanese: 仁王, Hepburn: Niō, "benevolent king".
This has been my favorite video from your channel. Thanks, guys!
As a soon-to-be Japanologist, this game was a must have for me. Smaller inaccuracies aside, I loved it and it's great how Nath summed up this extremely conflicted and complicated period of history. 🇯🇵👍
Thoroughly enjoyed, keep up the good work :)
koei tecmo games may get a lot of flak, but you cant deny the history lessons they gave you! I started reading about romance of the three kingdoms from dynasty warriors alone👍
Awesome, Nath - set the record straight for Will Adams' legacy lol. I got the Nioh plat when I saw you got it, and Nioh 2 was a well earned one also, you got this.
You're a legend Nath. Cheers
This is absolutely awesome! I love history and the real stories around video games and on top of that I'm currently trying to get the Nioh plat on PS4. Really hope to see more videos of this kind!
This is why Nioh is my favorite souls-like game, it mixed my favorite period of history with folklore and fantasy. Great video Nath
This is really incredible and cool. Tempted to play these now.
Its a great couple of games, but can mess you up real good. Think of it like a mix of Dark souls featuring Ninja Gaiden. Dark souls styled game with the speed from Ninja Gaiden and you get to have super powers that is quickly OP in Nioh 1
More Nathan think piece / history lessons please. Great vid!
06:03 "Fighting is more like a handshake" - sounds like Street Fighter's Ryu :)
I really need to play this game. Being a Gillingham raised lad, it is now a must. Thank you for making this video. You have made a game I had mild interest in playing become a game I now MUST play. Cheers, mate. 😁
It also has an amazingly robust combat system, one of the best by my measure.
@@RagnarokMic Good to know. Are there any other games that it compares to? Just so might know what to expect?
@@TriggeredLimey I’d say an expanded Dark Souls base with refined Ninja Gaiden combat. You get several weapons, each with different combos for the 3 possible stances (each with uses depending on the scenario; plus onma and jutsu for spells and projectiles. Just so much versatility.
And while some games I find I’m only attracted to certain weapons, I find I enjoy all the different weapons for different reason, each as possibly fun as the next. Familiarity system really encourages mixing it up.
Really is my favorite combat in the Soulslike genre, though Souls proper has better world building and enemy variety. The first Nioh especially reuses enemies a bit much at times, but they do much better in the sequel.
Loved it Nathan!
Great video. Funny, smart and entertaining. I even learned something about japanese history 🤗
Even though I basically know everything already from Naruto 🤣
Now I'll go back to playing Hitman 2 😝
“Attack it’s weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE”
Edward Kelly, the bad guy *probably from Essex*
Me, from Essex: Yeah... yeah, probably.
I was in 2 minds to get this collection as I have Nioh digitally and Nioh 2 special edition but watching this, hearing the music and remembering how much I love Nioh so EB games... Take my money!
Thanks Nathan 😊
I always love when nath makes a vid it's always really good
Loving these, almost info-mercial, type vids. Nathan's writing is just 😚👌 and the editing too 👍
Loved the video Nath, you've actually motivated me to go back and give Nioh another try. By far the hardest soulslike I've played.
So the main character in nioh was born / grewup in nath hometown. That's cool :)
This is really great! Please make more!
Hmmm.... Guy takes my spirit guide and teleports. Yeah. Totally real.
its a game ofcourse there is some stuff in it that isn't real but maybe they believed in it in that time.
Platinumed them both, great game and same, little to no understand of what whas going on. great video.
Did not expect this video to be about my home town
I'm from Gillingham as well and when nioh came out and I found out that Will Adams was the main fella in the game , it made me want to actually look him up and learn more about him. I'd always seen references to him around town like the road named after him is not far from my house at all, but I was never fully aware of who he actually was. Also the Will Adams festival happens in the park up my road every year which I have been to a few times haha.
They waited til I left to start the festival :)
@@PlayStationAccess Haha I'm sure it wasn't THAT personal
Hey Nath! Great video as usual, just one point: Team Ninja didn't actually make the Adams in Nioh Irish on a whim. Apparently they made him Irish because of the interesting link between Irish folklore and Japanese folklore when it comes to spirits and parallel worlds. Saoirse, his spirit guide in the game appears to be a "sióga" or Irish fairy and represents this. This mythological link is apparently the reason they made him Irish - i.e. a Westerner who has, and is able to see, spirit guides.
Ah! This is interesting (and fair play to Team Ninja, as someone from Gillingham I have never been able to see spirit guides).
@@PlayStationAccess You're half-Irish right? So you can only half see them at the moment. Just apply for an Irish passport, it comes with an official certificate of Being Allowed To See Spirit Guides and a figurine (the deluxe passport version does anyway)
More like this please, this is an amazing video.
Without a doubt my favourite 2 games, got the plat in both Nioh and Nioh 2. Can be annoying af at times but such a underrated game imo
Thanks Nate, after all your Nobunaga name dropping now I really want an Onimusha remaster...
(sigh) I can only dream...
Of course Nathan would be spearheading today's video.
IT'S A FANTASY HISTORICAL JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY BASED SETTING
With a white savoir.
WHY ARE WE YELLING?
@@Puremindgames ALL EYEZ ON ME
Wait. So you're telling me Nioh is basically James Clavell's Shogun the Video Game?
Loved this video, it's awesome to go into the real world that inspires fantastic games. Amazing job Nath and team
Amazing research! I loved the first one though I got stuck on a level where you fight two bosses at the bottom of a small wooden tower. No matter what I tried I couldn't beat them! I've very tempted to go back into the remastered though. Like Nath I had no clue what was going on but loved the world, great video!
Anyone who played Onimusha or Samurai Warriors (published by the same company of Nioh) or Sengoku Basara, should be very familiar with the history of feudal Japan.
This game is a classic for sure
This is a great video, really well done. Thank you Nathan!
I love the Nioh games. A lot of the history I learnt from playing Dynasty Warriors & Kessen games. Also, shoutout to roads named after famous (video games) people, as we have a road named after Lara Croft in Derby. Hey, maybe that could be a Friday feature, 7 real life things named after Video Game characters?
Very interesting! Researching this must've been quite the tumble down the old internet rabbit hole - and your subjective entry point is a nice and charming touch :)
Love the video. Just playing the first Nioh now on PS5. It's awesome.
This was not so complicated. Especially when you watched the Anime "Sengoku Basara" which is a nice way to learn about that time of japan.
And yes the Nioh DLC Charakters also appear in Sengoku Basara. In fact they could be considered the main Charakters in the series.
Give it a go if you want to learn more and love action Anime.
Learned a hell of a lot from this, thanks Nath
Enjoyed this new style of video. Always thought Nath was under utilised.. more like this please 👍
I loved this video, I hope we can get more like it!
Great stuff!
Great informative video. Thanks Nath. 👍
Nicely done Nath! Great video!
So helpful! Can we have one of these for Nioh 2 eventually please?
Cool video. Would love to see the same type of video for Ghost of Tsushima and Onimusha.
Cheers Mate!
Is it just me or does Nath look more and more like Nathan Drake with each passing day? No? Just me? Alright then. Great video Nath! One of my favorites so far.
Don't know about others, but this video did make me feel like returning to nioh. Great video
Learning history from games is definitely the most fun way to do it IMO :).
(would be great if somebody at PSAccess did one about Assassins Creed Odyssey, there's TONS of really cool history in that)
Hey nath. I'm from Gillingham too although I was born in Chatham but lived in Gillingham
wow, this is so interesting! Thanks Nath, this has explained a lot about Japanese history that confused me before :)
Nath, appreciate the effort in this and hope to see more, but there are some issues: he did a lot more work for the shogunate than you suggested, which they granted him title of first foreign samurai for. Very surprised no one else had issues with these omissions. Also, feel like it was a missed opportunity to not mention the first black samurai during BHM. I know you mentioned elsewhere there’s not enough time in the video, but that’s a small manageable issue. In 2020, this channel among others, did state they would celebrate black history/people more. Lastly, ninjas did actually use cat eyes to tell time.
Hey, thank you for taking the time to comment thoughtfully! This is all all absolutely fair enough. I did want to keep the focus on Adams via my hometown, and then tell the story of the three Unifiers. I was a bit flippant with Adams' other involvement, partly because I wanted to contrast with his fictional exploits in the game, and partly just because it was hard to know where to stop. The fact about cat's eyes though, I simply did not know! I'm going to look into this more right now, because that's amazing
I loved this video and the way the true history was intertwined with fantasy and fiction. Well done Nathan. Good history lesson, and great info about the game.
The soul and essence of Jeremy Clarkson entered Nath at 4:21
I'll get back to Nioh one day.
Really enjoyed this and it does indeed make me want to play both games!