History VideoGame / Nioh2

* AnAxeToGrind:
** An ancient weapon related to Japanese heroes and mythology but becoming an increasing anachronism on the battlefields of the Sengoku Jidai, the Axe is the [[MightyGlacier slowest but strongest]] weapon in all of ''Nioh II'', with many attacks that have a massive windup (where you are fortunately often ImmuneToFlinching) and a suite of chargeable moves. Each hit wallops the enemy for massive HP and Ki damage. But because of the slow speed, you're not only vulnerable due to the lack of mobility options but it can be challenging to punish openings, especially as the Axe locks its best damage behind charged attacks. And on top of that, you need to hit your enemy with the tip of the hitbox of your attacks to deal maximum damage. Overall, it's a DifficultButAwesome weapon. See DropTheHammer for the Hammer variant weapon.
** Hatchets are a pair of smaller axes held in each hand, often associated with monks and mountain-dwellers for their practicality and use against yokai. It is more like the Kusarigama than the Dual Swords, being a high mobility projectile-centric weapon that allows safe attacks at practically any range, although the close-range damage potential of this weapon is not so great. It also has a fairly strong guard and pairs nicely with a magic-focused playstyle.

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: At the end of "The First Samurai" DLC, Hide takes the place of Sakunoe no Tamuramaru as the one to ultimately defeat Otakemaru after being displaced to the past; after using the Sohayamaru to Cleanse Otakemaru once and for all, Hide chooses to leave the Sohayamaru given my Suzuka Gozen behind in the past. ''That'' Sohayamru is passed down through the generations until the events that took place before Nioh 2 led to it being shattered, and the knife fragment ending up in Hide's hands and kicking off their journey in the first place. As a result, after the DLC the Sohayamaru knife they wield in the Present loses its magic, and Time Travel with it is no longer possible.]]

** "Dawn of the Demon", the final main mission of the final DLC takes place on Onigajo, the hideout of Otakemaru, and feels just as, if not more final then Cherry Blossom viewing in Daigo, as its just as long, in a much more intimadating castle and a confrontation with Otakemaru at his absolute strongest, and as arguably the most powerful Yokai in history as [[spoiler: The Nightmare Bringer, to the point where its been argued he's even more powerful then the Vigoor Emperor from the related Ninja Gaiden games]], and the result is a truly conclusive dungeon to the entire Nioh series up to this point.

** In "The Sunomata Yokai Hunt" Sub Mission, Koroku joins Hide in pursuing a nigitama Kappa who stole his weapon, with the end revealing that stronger Yokai threatened the Kappa into stealing. It is unlikely a new player will be able to kill it before it runs away, but it is possible to prematurely kill it when revisiting the mission by, say, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill blasting it with a hand cannon]]. Koroku will make a close guess at the Kappa's predicament. Becomes VideoGameCrueltyPotential if a player chooses to return to the mission to specifically try and kill the Kappa.

* BoringButPractical: A fairly simple yet very effective build involves using the Sword and Spear as your weapon choices, levelling Heart, Strength and Constitution. This lets you play a "traditional" {{Samurai}} character who will be well-rounded with strong damage output with all the listed weapons, fairly high HP and Ki, and can access passive bonuses from wearing medium or heavy protection. By levelling Skill also (which boosts your Spear damage) you can at the same time give yourself a ranged option in the Bow or Rifle, which will help you DrawAggro on enemies and let you fight them one at a time, which greatly reduces the difficulty of things.

* AnAxeToGrind:
** Axes (and [[DropTheHammer hammers]]) are somewhat an unconventional choice of weapon - once used by great heroes in Japan's ancient times and steeped in history, but rapidly falling out of use by the time of the Sengoku Jidai, they are also DifficultButAwesome because they are slow; long windups leave you open to retaliation and also make it hard to exploit openings in enemy movements yourself[[note]]Effectively you are playing as a traditional ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' character in a game where enemies are generally attacking at very fast speeds with very little telegraphing, which is what makes this weapon so tricky[[/note]]. However [[MightyGlacier when axes and hammers hit, they wallop]]. They also crush through guards and devastate Ki.
** Hatchets are an unusual weapon, smaller axes wielded in pairs. Hatchets strike much faster than the larger Axe, and afford a greater degree of mobility (the highest in the game, in fact). Although they have a shorter reach than the Axe (or the Dual Swords), you are able to throw them, and this means that hatchets have a very unique zoner playstyle that contrasts greatly with the fast-paced melee playstyle other weapons use - by cleverly controlling space, a hatchet user can defeat strong opponents without even once being directly threatened if they use them correctly. They also work fairly well with elemental attacks and Onmyo magic. They are held back by abysmal reach when held in the hand, low direct damage and fairly lackluster melee combos.

* WeaponOfChoice: All the weapons of the previous game make a return, including the DLC ones, and more, with Hide having access to [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana,]] [[DualWielding Dual Swords]], [[BladeOnAStick Spears]], [[AnAxToGrind Axes]], [[EpicFlail Kusarigama]], [[{{BFS}} Nodachi]], [[DualTonfas Tonfa]], [[DualWielding Hatchets]] and [[BifurcatedWeapon Switchglaives]]. The DLC add new weapon types, namely the splitstaff and the [[PowerFist Fists]].

A UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 version of the game, bundled with [[VideoGame/{{Nioh}} the first game]] as ''The Nioh Collection'', was released on February 5th, 2021 release date with 120 FPS support. A PC version, with all 3 DLC, was released the same day.

* WeaponOfChoice: All the weapons of the previous game make a return, including the DLC ones, and more, with Hide having access to [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana,]] [[DualWielding Dual Swords]], [[BladeOnAStick Spears]], [[AnAxToGrind Axes]], [[EpicFlail Kusarigama]], [[{{BFS}} Nodachi]], [[DualTonfas Tonfa]], [[DualWielding Hatchets]] and [[BifurcatedWeapon Switchglaives]]. The DLC add new weapon types, namely the [[SimpleStaff Splitstaff]] and the [[PowerFist Fists]].

* BlindingBangs: Nure-Onna's hair conveniently hides her [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] and only leave her human-like nose and mouth visible.

* Taking the Bullet: [[Hide jumps into the path of Otakemaru's avatar, Kashin Koji, to prevent him from possessing the newly resurrected Tokichiro. This leads directly to the final boss fight inside Hide's mind.]]

* RapunzelHair: The majority of Nure-Onna's snake-like body is wrapped in strands of her own hair, which emerge from underneath her regular, normal length hair.

* TheUnfought: Hide gets to fight two of the Three Great Yokai of Japan, Otakemaru and Shuten Doji. The third, the nine-tailed fox, appears only briefly and immediately flees upon being freed from her imprisonment, and that's the last Hide sees of her. She's defeated some years later by William in the first game's DLC.

* OldSaveBonus: Having save data from the [[VideoGame/{{Nioh}} first game]] gives you a [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo William Adams]] transformation.

** If you die in a boss arena, or (sometimes) in certain areas with waves of enemies at the end of a mission- your Guardian Spirit returns to you automatically; relieving you of the stress about worrying about dying on your way to grab it, essentially letting you automatically focus on the boss.

** "Dawn of the Demon", the final main mission of the final DLC takes place on Onigajo, the hideout of Otakemaru, and feels just as, if not more final then Cherry Blossom viewing in Daigo, as its just as long, in a much more intimadting castle and a confrontation with Otakemaru at his absolute strongest, and as arguably the most powerful Yokai in history as [[spoiler: The Nightmare Bringer, to the point where its been argued he's even more powerful then the Vigoor Emperor from the related Ninaj Gaiden games]], and the result is a truly conclusive dungeon tot he entire Nioh series up to this point.

* DangerouslyShortSkirt: The Fuma Ninja Hakama is a short kimono bottom when worn by female characters.