I'm towards the end and I'm so fucking lost. Things I know for sure;
>You're wolf
>Your dad is owl
>you're supposed to protect the Devine heir who's Kuro
>Emma is a doctor
>you have dragon rot and you spread it to other people, dying makes their symptoms work
Things I think may be true:
>your character can time travel? Hirata estate is clearly in the past
>those centipedes grant immortality, that's why you have to kill them with the mortal blade to kill immortal enemies
Things I want to know
>what are the centipedes what makes them grant immortality
>who is the sculptor why/how did he save you?
>what's up with the people in mibu village? And the snake eyes people?
>how did you contract dragonrot and why does it spread the way it does
>what's the point of the rice
Theres more I wanna know if anyone has any ideas on the story behind this thing lemme know
Does anybody understand any lore on this game yet?
What does shadows die twice mean also is your name wolf or sekiro most people call him wolf then sometimes people call him sekiro and what exactly is a shinobi obviously it's not a ninja or theyd say that
Shinobi seems like a mercenary and a ninja combined
>what are the centipedes what makes them grant immortality
Not clear, but it's how the monks of Senpou temple achieved a form of immortality for themselves and apparently one big monkey.
>who is the sculptor why/how did he save you?
Emma had him do it, they're old friends.
>how did you contract dragonrot and why does it spread the way it does
It's a consequence of the immortality granted by Kuro.
>what's the point of the rice
Rice is a big deal in Asia, m8.
>your character can time travel? Hirata estate is clearly in the past
I actually don't think so. It seems that the Hirata memory Wolf first goes to is actually someone else's. The dialogue he shares with Butterfly is weird, it's clear he didn't intend to go there and kill Lady Butterfly. Someone else likely did.
>the centipedes make you immortal
This much is pretty much confirmed, the immortals are referred to as "infested" and every one you come across has a centipede inside. As to why? I don't think there's any deep reason for it, it's just creepy demonic imagery.
>Sculptor
He is an ex-shinobi who used to be like you, his name was Orangutan though. Trained in the deep valleys with monkeys and shit. His good friend (female) was murdered by the Guardian Ape. He kinda started to lose his shit until Isshin cut his arm off, that pacified him temporarily, but the hole that was left by his friend's murder made him a good receptacle for the demon that's growing in Japan caused by all the war. The old lady in the castle near the Gyoubu fight talks about this, that all the hate has to go somewhere. By the end of the game, the Sculptor becomes the Demon of Hatred, an optional boss.
>lady butterfly
Yeah that was kind of weird I couldn't tell if the characters acting like he wasnt supposed to be there was what happened in the memory or if he actually wasn't supposed to be there it was interesting
>how does genichiro get lightning power?
>who are the rejuvenating children, what's their function?
>what exactly are the headless? And the guy that shoots the terrorballs at you?
The game has a real story this time, so you don't need to look for lore
If I remember reading the lore thing the headless are like the remains of old soldiers or something that I guess become reanimated??
is shiva connected to sekiro?
Wolf did kill Lady Butterfly, then Owl mortally wounded him which lead to Kuro giving him the dragon's heritage.
Ever heard of Google, retard? It could answer all of these.
So I guess what I'm saying then is I havent fully grasped the story. I'm going to replay it obviously and try to pay a little more attention but something is still not clicking for me I feel like theres a bunch of little stories here and there characters that tell you this and that but I cant connect it all.
It also seems like they introduce characters as if you should know them and I dont and jt makes me wonder if I missed something. Like O'rin of the water who was the guy she was looking for she gave his proper name?
>how did you contract dragonrot and why does it spread the way it does
shota blood makes you immortal, after dying too much it's power gets depleted so to bring you back again it has to take the life force from someone else, that person then gets dragonrot
>who is the sculptor why/how did he save you?
a one armed shinobi with a dark past, you reminded him of himself
>your character can time travel? Hirata estate is clearly in the past
no, that was just a memory
Centipedes are a reference to Gu Jar ritual
>>who are the rejuvenating children, what's their function?
They were pretty much test subjects for the monks to create a fake Divine Heir and perfect their immortality, yes?
>you have dragon rot and you spread it to other people, dying makes their symptoms work
Errr... What? I don't think you're really paying attention, m8. Sekiro doesn't have dragon rot. The act of reviving requires him to take life force from other people, which CAUSES dragon rot.
The only person who ever calls him Sekiro is Isshin.
What that:o
You don't have dragonrot, you have the dragon's blood gifted to you by the divine heir, which makes you able to revive, but it takes the life energy of those around you, hence causing others to get dragonrot.
The centipedes were created by the heretic monks who wanted the immortality of the divine dragon. They experimented and created their own shitty version. Sculpot is an ex-shinobi, he's the avatar of wrath optional boss at the end. Mibu village got fucked by the shitty water.
I thought that's what was on his face lol
>your character can time travel? Hirata estate is clearly in the past
Game explained it, the memory is both real and isn't real. You're experiencing a memory that you forgot the first time. The second time you are experiencing the same night but from the memory of your father. It's one of those things you just take it or leave it in terms of believing
>what are the centipedes what makes them grant immortality
Seems man made through heretical magic, because the Senpou monks were heretics and did some nasty shit like experimenting on children to create the divine child
>who is the sculptor why/how did he save you?
Previous Shura, possibly the same shura that Isshin Ashina said he defeated in his prime. Sculptor was a Shinobi nicknamed Orangutan and was the previous owner of your prosthetic. He did same bad stuff as a Shinobi because he was Shura and the sculpting of the Buddha is a chance to atone for what he did and the people he killed, but he couldn't overcome his fate and became a demon
>what's up with the people in mibu village? And the snake eyes people?
Unsure exactly, but they are geographically close to the shrine of Fountainhead Palace. So I think they might be fucked up immortals drinking the rejuvenating waters too much. Not sure who you are talking about with the snake eyes people
>what's the point of the rice
Rice seems like its valued in Ashina considering its an infertile place
Dark souls is purposely ambiguous and leaves its lore open to interpretation or to be found through item descriptions
Sekiro actually has extensive cutscenes and dialogue yet somehow happens to be more ambiguous and leave you with more questions
Good job fromsoftware
Sekiro comes from mixing two japanese words, "sekiwan", meaning one armed person, and "ro", another reading of the kanji from wolf. Basically, one armed wolf.
Alot of lore is based on buddhist and japanese history and mithology.
Ultimately Wolf kills LB, but it was when he entered someone else's memory. He goes into someone else's memory of Hirata if you take the Iron Code ending.
>Sekiro actually has extensive cutscenes and dialogue yet somehow happens to be more ambiguous and leave you with more questions
Such as?
>Like O'rin of the water who was the guy she was looking for she gave his proper name?
Nobody of import. That whole NPC questline is no deeper than a basic ghost story from my assessment.
Ahhhhh I was wondering what Emma meant when you eavesdrop on her and sculptor and she says orangutan lmao
Chinese character based puns are so interesting but also so frustrating to learn about. It's like a whole world i will never understand. Maybe if I go full bore into studying jap but I've done it off and on for years and I only have the most rudimentary understanding.
I think they were traitors that were beheaded by the Ashina clan and came back from death out of spite.
I missed the eavesdrop on emma and kuro before the invasion. Do i have to do another playthrough to get owl 2? Cause i am not doing that.
Nah this game is too confusing. Please like and subscribe to VaatiVidya, you fucking brainlet.
Likely the mother of Inosuke, since she gives you the first bell, and she was also present during the attack. It could be that she saw Sekiro go down into the hidden temple, and assumed he killed Lady Butterfly, explaining why the memories have you fight her.
Isshin says that Genichiro's master taught him how to use Tome's lightning.
I have a question.
Why does his arm not fucking revive with him?
I wouldn't say its TOO confusing, just a lot to digest in one playthrough obviously it uses some classic tropes but as a whole the story seemed pretty original and thought out so it's natural to miss some stuff, someone well versed in eastern mythology/religion may disagree with me though could very well be rehashings of shit nips have heard a thousand times over
And Tomoe was the wife of Lord Takeru, the former divine heir. Also, she's the chick that was lying next to the rock at the very top of Fountainhead, before the Divine Dragon.
True some enemies like brutally dismember you and you still come back lol those little dudes in mibu village like stab you in the face and slice your neck it's pretty gruesome
I don't think there's an eavesdrop event between Kuro and Emma. It's only Kuro talking to himself, Just go walking behind the walls of his chambers and see if the prompt triggers. But if the Sculptor has already transformed, then I'd say you have to start over.
Sculptor hasn't transformed but i'm at owl 1 right now and can't talk to Kuro yet. Side note, fuck Owl. What a fucking bastard. Even his fighting style revolves around him being a faggot.
It was a memory in which he collected items to use in the present. I wouldn't call that a memory.
Reading some articles and stuff back in the day people were referring to Sekiro/Wolf as Seju. Did I miss this somewhere? Never heard him referred to as this but I'm not too far into the game
No, the white markings are a result of the dragon blood, which is a GOOD thing to have. None of the people with dragon rot get those marks.
Wrong, the guy "Sazuka" she is asking about is the phantom who appears on the bridge
He's also the owner of one of the prosthetics I believe
If you trigger him first do you get different dialogue? I talked to her before crossing the bridge and my option was to say nothing or I dont know, I said I don't know and it triggered the fight
Seju is supposedly Sekiro's named before Owl adopted him. But I don't think it's mentioned anywhere ingame.
How do I get a plunging attack on this dude the red mark never appears for me
Lord Sakuza is only mentioned by O'rin, so not much is known about him. But given that he's called lord, he could be a predecessor of Lord Takeru.
When Genichiro was training ib the mountains he chased the lightning because he enjiyed it. When Tomoe saw it she created lightning based attacks for him.
You can't, also hard yikes at that picture.
Really? The game was honestly super straightforward. What's got you lost?
Ya don't. Grit those teeth and toss those fetti. There's two more Shichimen in the game. You're gonna need the practice.
you can't get to him without fighting her, she attacks you if you ignore her
yeah but having dragon's blood causes others to get dragonrot
well I know for sure Kuro is a girl.
>miko priestess
>jisha priest
>ask to close your eye when cutting chest for blood
>Ema dedication and empathy is too high
Is there anything redeemable about Ashina in its 20-year history to make it worth saving?
>leader only cares about fighting
>local Buddhist temple becomes corrupt with child experiments in a mad bid for immortality
>Mibu village is a shithole with residents gone crazy from the drinking water
You can completely skip O'rin if you grapple up the bridge from the river. Depending on the point of the game you're in, there's no samurai ghost on the bridge.
I thought kuro was a boy and the one that gives you rice is a girl
Kuro is a male. The kid at the monkey place is a female.
Unironically the easiest boss in the game. Just intimidating at first. Even easier if you have AA deathblow.
The Prosthetics is called Suzaku.
How the fuck do you niggers have not heard if the 4 Guardian Beasts.
Am I the only one that fucking LOVES the posture mechanic?
I actually think the removal of stamina and the inclusion of posture would make the Dark Souls/BB formula PERFECT.
>Poise is replaced by Posture
>Stamina is removed
>You can block most if not all damage by blocking with weapons, shields just have way more posture "stability" and maybe weapon blocking doesn't guard as well against elemental
>Wearing Armour with certain "Posture Amount" grants you passive guarding, so being hit directly on your body counts as kind of like you're shielding attacks, but it increases your posture bar. This means heavy armour like Havels type stuff can still walk through attacks, and infact take less damage than current setup, but the posture meter will be really slow to recharge so a good player will rape them by just dodging well and building up their bar
>Heavy weapons like UGS etc become very viable blocking/deflection tools despite their slower attack speed
I feel like this plus changes to weapon knockdown, attack speed and other stuff would make for a really balanced dark souls formula.
It'd work for Bloodborne too, you can block with your trick weapons, but because armour doesn't do anything it self balances with the games ranged parry option
tl;dr Posture should replace both poise and stamina in the next "Souls" game
The only person really trying to save it was Genichiro. That was solely through unbreakable loyalty caused by them adopting him as a child.
You can insta-deathblow him if you have the mid-air deathblow ability and attack him while he's jumping
there's literally a prosthetic or upgrade for a prosthetic that also mentions him, forget which, might be shield or firecracker related
Play Nioh if you like posture.
Do I lure the guy into the abandoned dungeon or no?
you two are blind. let me explain further
Japanese language is very particular about use of miko word. The word is very old from around 5th century, and always meant priestess. Why would she ask you to close your eyes? 100% reverse trap situation Japan loves so much, heck I do too.
Game is steeped in Buddhist mythology and oriental cultural references. Off the top of my head:
>Centipedes
A common pest in Asian countries. Not the dinky, soft little shits with flimsy legs that eat mosquito for you. Pic related are what they have to deal with in Japan (depending on where you live they are common household pests you can buy traps/ poison for just like rats). Obviously those who get bitten do not have a good time. They're commonly found in dark, dank places, such as rocks, or rotting carcasses. So since ancient times centipedes in East-Asian countries have been regarded as a symbol of poisons, corruption, and sometimes treachery and outright evil. They also happen to look like demonic dragons; long bodies, covered in "scales", long whiskers, mean mandibles... etc. Dragons represent divinity and nobility, while centipedes represent the opposite. So in Sekiro, they just chose centipedes to be the symbol of false immortality, while the true version is granted by a divine dragon.
>Rice
It's the main grain in Japan and most of Asia. Rice is pretty central to all aspects of oriental life. You offered it to people as gifts, used it to sow good luck and prosperity. High-grade rice was akin to gold in terms of clout power when it came to giving gift. Rice also comes from the toils of the people. Being an island nation with limited space, wars were fought over fertile land, so essentially rice is borne of the blood and sweat of the people. Ashina is proper-fucked, suffering from a double-whammy civil war. The people are decrepit, starving, and being taken advantage of by shitty monks and nobles. Being able to pause and eat some good ass rice in these dire times is a blessing.
>Why would she ask you to close your eyes?
Because they didn't want you to animate it. The same reason you get asked to close your eyes multiple times throughout the game or not watch something.
Because From doesn't wanna waste their time on chest slashing animation?
agreed 100% but at first I was pleb and hated posture and how it was tied to health
but the final fight against ishin taught me the error of my ways. dodging his attacks and keeping the pressure on meant I could just kill him outright each phase well before he'd even lose a quarter health
It's a really good mechanic and honestly makes "defensive play" active instead of boring and passive
this, it literally fucking explains it to you when that guy after gyoubu, who is isshin btw, calls you sekiro.
>two giant snakes lurking around
I'm sure if they kept worshipping the snakes they would work as guardian deities and even help against foreign invaders.
I'm gonna assume its the entire reason why Isshin was sympathetic to Kuros goal since realized himself what bullshit the desire for immortality entailed. It shows in the final fight when Isshin, despite immortal allows Sekiro to kill him.
I wouldn't be surprised if Miyazaki pulls a Dororo. Has it been officially confirmed that it's a source of inspiration for Sekiro with the whole samurai and prosthetic thing.
Kuro was literally referred to as "The Prince" before the game came out. It's a guy. Keep your fan fiction to yourself.
My complaint with this battle system is the lack of i-frames from dodging. I get your supposed to parry, but I like options. At least Dark Souls and Bloodborne let you play how you want.
Mind blown, ty
it's the only place in game where you asked to close your eyes as far as I remember, they wouldn't animate you getting a blade too then, or putting things into incense burner, there are ways to do it differently
also sekiro "ughs" when Kuro mentions chest
again you ignore how important "miko" is in japan, it's like for example if you called nun a monk in christian monastery
buddhism was dominated by males
shinto was female for two thousand years
Pretty sure you're mixing up Suzaku with Sakuza.
Who is even invading Ashina? Sorry if brainlet question.
The only person ignoring things is you. Kuro is confirmed to be a male.
Theres no gain or loss either way. Kuros gender isnt important.
but you do have iframes while dodging
only special attacks with DANGER can't be dodged, and it makes sense, a side slash you jump up over their blade, a thrust you absorb and step on it
you can definitely just iframe in this game same as souls
kuro is canon trans
The Shogunate's army.
The """"""Ministry"""""". Probably just the shogun.
You guys are missing the real argument, Is rice loli the centipede queen?
>Rice Loli is found in home of shady monks
>They protect her
>They are centipedes
>She gives out rice that makes people go into a catatonic state (see the old ladies after you give them rice) and love her and her rice
>Only Kotaro and Rice loli see the children, which Rice loli herself probably sucked the blood out of (read the permission description)
>When you kill the monks who have been providing her with children to drain she eventually gets weak from lack of blood and you have to feed her permissions that help with things that have a "lack of blood"
>She gives you "special rice" to give to Kuro to complete the unholy union of centipede and dragon blood
>You feed her snake hearts that grow her power
>Kuro eats the rice in an eavesdropping scenario
>Kuro gets absorbed by rice loli and you leave with her to go spread the centipedes across all of china
I rest my case
I dont think hes even supposed to have one, I was under the impression that he was considered something beyond human
>lore
>in a dark souls esque game made by the creators of dark souls
I thought most the lore came from the scenery of the places you go? Mind you, I've never been much into dark souls but I always got the feeling the environment told more of the story than the dialog.
Which one?
where? by English translation or marketing? it's wrong half the game. it got so many reinvented phrases it's not even funny. especially whole owl conversation.
it's a prequel to the souls series and you'd have to be a retard who swallows every corporate line meant for IP law conformation not to see it
The invulnerability window is extremely small compared to Bloodborne. Dodging doesn't work 90% of the time in this game so I just stopped all together. It's more effective to just jump or sprint away.
>yeah but having dragon's blood causes others to get dragonrot
Emma told you about this. Dragonrot is caused by you using the power of resurrection. When you resurrect, you're taking the life force of the people you're friends with.
Nah make the big freak go to the dungeon
Don't mention it. Let the nigger find his waifu.
protip: the miko for kuro isn't 巫女
it's 御子
2nd one for cute
Go back to the thief bro and give him a job
Elaborate
Ok I'm going to tell you one thing you need to understand then it will all make sense
You ready?
Time is convoluted in Lordran
>They call him 御子 (Miko). It mean's "god's son" or "child of the emperor" according to jisho dictionary. So it fits the "Divine Heir" english translation.
>Referred to as "The Prince" during pre-release
sounds about right, also she is withering in pain after eating snake hearts, I think it's not because that's how it works but because it's conflicting powers getting absorbed
do you want a jizo statue later or nothing good now
shut up
i frames are there they're just not retardedly broken like in the souls games
>big freak
>hurting the only person without blood on his hands.
Wait the nigger can be the strong guy instead of kotaro? Proofs?
>how does genichiro get lightning power?
Learn from Tomoe
>who are the rejuvenating children, what's their function?
Immortality experiment
>what exactly are the headless? And the guy that shoots the terrorballs at you?
The four heavenly king in buddhism, Shichimen warriors are vengeful spirit of powerful warrior
>something beyond human
miko means medium of a god. in shinto it's believed priestesses can channel god powers directly
He did just give the kids to the monks. Think about it, that blood is in fact on his hands.
>The four heavenly king in buddhism, Shichimen warriors are vengeful spirit of powerful warrior
But there are five Headless...
What's the significance of the rectum in buddhism? Why does Headless rip out my ass and shove it up his?
Kuro and divine child is voiced by the same voice actor
the best excuse for absolute nonsense world building
Sekiro DLC where you go to Korea and you create comfort women
Sekiro Prequel where you play as Genchiro and have a bow moveset
Sekiro Sequel where you play as a Waifu and it's instead got trick weapons and is basically a Eastern Bloodborne
One is separate from his sibling and can't become the heavenly king
dragonrot is the precursor to the undead curse, it starts halfway around the world from the western-inspired souls series
it's not fucking rocket science, same way dark souls and demon's souls are related to anyone not swallowing the IP-law koolaid modern engine design has popularized
He took care of them in the temple. He was oblivious to the fact that they were doing fucked up shit.
oh. got it.
so my theory that sekiro story is metaphor for japanese history is true then
removal of emperor from power(kuro)
decadance of heian(palace)
corruption of buddhist monks with their personal army and monopolies on various things(senpou)
idragon representing chinese influence on japan which was removed by the end of snegoku
People simply die though when they get dragonaids instead of going insane.
>eastern bloodborne
so just sekiro, right? literally the same shit with a refined parry mechanic and a UI element tied to the enemy aggro
There's six, actually, if you count the two from the lake in Fountainhead
Sekiro takes place in Japan. Souls games take place in a fantasy world. You're honestly retarded if you think they're within the same canon.
The headless are the mortal bodies of four heavenly king they've left in human realm after they're transcend to mad gods
Just a samurai with prosthetics and his "shota"
The dragon is Korean.
>Japan
>giant snakes
okay, kiddo
except the ones that seek immortality and/or turn undead, like protag, sculptor, or practiceman
Sekiro spinoff where you kill an obscene amount of innocents and deny it ever happened.
the other one is an illusion/ghost, not corporeal
it even says so in description
>party is over in the distance
Nah
Imagine Sekiro, but your left hand is a trick weapon and also a gun that shoots and parries from a distance, and right hand weapon is a proper transformable trick weapon like a big wheel or hueg sword or whatever you want
Literally combine sekiro and bloodborne and you have max fun
Dark Souls takes place in England, Sekiro takes place in a fantasy world with illusionary giant monsters and spears the size of several men. You're honestly retarded if you think they're within the same canon.
Thats not dragonaids. That immortality is caused by centipides and is unrelated to drsgonrot. Sculptor isnt important and just cant die due plot reasons.
>Sekiro will take place in the Sengoku period of Japan and looks to follow FromSoftware’s style of intense combat action and difficulty.
It's not even up for debate. It's been said multiple times by it's creators that it takes place in Japan. It probably says it within the game itself multiple times too.
Its mythical Japan. I was half-expecting Yamata no Orochi to pop up.
Sekiro is literally just Bloodborne 2, you're top tier fanboy if you think the games are somehow divorced from one another. It's the same gameplay, except backstabs are instas, and bosses can be approached without immediate aggro. The prosthetic is just a refinement on trick weapons.
The irony of how smart you feel for making a post as dumb as this isn't wasted on me.
>plot reasons
Might as well just admit you didn't pay attention. Medic says outright the *last* dragonrot just killed everyone, implying the new one is different.
Sculptor explains the nature of his condition, which sounds a lot like the Curse. Next time try reading.
yeah, there is a complicated history of japan interaction with korea and china
but i'm talking about what it represents not what myth was used for it
buddhism introduction leading to gov reforms buildings up on heian and proxy governors for nobles leading to famine,decadence,plague in kyoto, leading to fall of emperor power
the only thing is missing is mongol invasion and fall of kamakura shogunate leading to muromachi and snegoku
Yes it is because you think that post somehow made you superior. This is a sad replacement for a proper argument.
so how exactly did Kuro give Wolf the dragon blood so he could revive in the flashback?
Anyone that actually gives a fuck about the "lore" of this weeb shit needs to go the fuck outside.
post even one source from fromsoft
we'll wait
snakes are ashina local gods btw, centipedes are from buddhist monks
snakes are from shinto
I'm telling you that the Korean dragon doesn't represent Chinese influence on Japan.
It's outright stated that Sekiro takes place in Japan. Please tell me where it is ever stated that Dark Souls takes place in England.
go on, post a source.
The new dragonrot still kills most people dumbass.
t. killed myself so often until Crow Mob and Informant died. The reason Sculptor doesnt die is because he was chosen to bear all the hatred of the war turning him eventually a Demon if Hatred.
Nobody gives a fuck about samurais or ancient japan.
