From Software Lyric Suite's own Sekiro corner

[cvv]

What i mean is, say i could have send Kotaro to the merchant to help him with his quest had i given him the Red and White Pinwheel, but now i can't because i gave him the White Pinwheel. Is the merchant just going to repeat the same line that he is looking for a big and strong guy until the end of the game or will the game let me know i "failed" a quest because i picked a different option?

Uh...that particular question is in the spoiler territory.

Lemme say this - Kotaro's fate is done but he's not the only stronk dude in the game

And generally yeah, I think you always know you failed something. Or in other words as long as the merchant is repeating the same lines there's probably another solution.

 

[Lyric Suite]

And generally yeah, I think you always know you failed something. Or in other words as long as the merchant is repeating the same lines there's probably another solution.

Ok, that was my question then. So if i failed a quest because i picked a particular option the game will let me know.

 

[Multidirectional]

Lemme say this - Kotaro's fate is done but he's not the only stronk dude in the game

I actually wasn't aware you could send someone else to the merchant. Never saw an option to send anyone else besides Kotaro.

 

[cvv]

And generally yeah, I think you always know you failed something. Or in other words as long as the merchant is repeating the same lines there's probably another solution.

Ok, that was my question then. So if i failed a quest because i picked a particular option the game will let me know.

Lemme say this - Kotaro's fate is done but he's not the only stronk dude in the game

I actually wasn't aware you could send someone else to the merchant. Never saw an option to send anyone else besides Kotaro.

Guys I'm checking this shit now and I retract, retract, retract. I'm old and dumb and mixed shit up. I thought you can send the samurai to the merchant but you can't. You can send him to two different places but not to the merchant. My bad.

I guess that means the answer to your question, LS, is the game is NOT gonna tell you if you fucked up. Sadge.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Haaa, ok. So if i messed up the merchant quest he is going to just say he is looking for a strong guy until the end of the game. Not a big deal but since they put multiple options that can fail quests depending on the choice you make i think a way to let you know a given quest is now in a "failed" status would have been nice.

 

[Lyric Suite]

BTW, so far i like all the NPCs in this game, even though i'm still far from unlocking all their storylines. I like pretty much all of them, which isn't something that has happened for me in a FromSoft game since Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 2, 3 and Elden Ring all had their good ones and bad ones, but they were mostly a mixed bag. Here i seem to like them all and didn't find any that were stupid or made me cringe. Of course, compared to Souls this game has the advantage of being allowed to be somewhat more "conventional" in its writing but it's still notable i guess that i actually look forward in talking to all the NPCs and wanna see their quests unfold. I even like Kuro, even though he is stuck with the unfortunate role of bieng the main quest dispenser.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ Tengu Na Minchia Tanta ~
​

Spoiler

Alright, after taking a little pause to mourn the death of my zombie trainer friend (and to refresh myself from the game a bit), it's now time to resume my journey. After this ordeal, my resolve to help Kuro end the curse of the Dragon's Heritage is stronger than ever. What if i myself end up like Hanbei? This has to end once and for all.

My first stop is the Sculptor, who sadly has still nothing to say, but somehow this asshole does:








Is that sarcasm i detect? You better watch your tongue when you talk about my friend buddy, lest i cut it off and shove it down your throat.

I go check if Isshin has something to say about this, and i find him muttering to himself:






I can only imagine he is talking about Genichiro. I'm pretty sure he was wielding a black blade already when i first fought him. Anyway, talking to him reveals nothing new, so i guess i can leave.

I now go check if my racoon buddy returned to Ashina. Unsurprisingly, he is nowhere to be seen:



Why am i getting the feeling i'm gonna get locked out of that skill text for the rest of the game? This kinda sucks to be honest all i had to do is farm guards for a bit more and i could have got it right there on the spot along with the umbrella prosthetic, but how the hell was i supposed to know? I know FromSoft likes to get cryptic sometimes but this was a bit out of the left field. Whatever, i guess there's always NG+.

I now move forward towards those shinto torii i stopped short of crossing earlier:



I see something skulking in the grass and i wonder if it's a new enemy, turns out it's just monkeys lol. A little further ahead, i come across a dead Interior Ministry ninja. Tengu must be around:



Sure enough, he was just a little further ahead:



Now, the first time he called me Sekiro and i saw the Tengu costume hanging on the wall, i instantly thought that Tengu was just Isshin, but it just seemed a bit out there so i went with what seemed like a more reasonable explanation, that Tengu was just working for Isshin. Something about the way that conversation went though was bugging me, as it REALLY felt like a reveal moment for Isshin, that he was in fact Tengu. When i went to Tengu's previous position, he wasn't there anymore so i couldn't be sure as i never took a good look at him the first time i met him. Now that i got him in my sights again, i take a much closer look and sure enough, this guy is definitely Isshin lol:



Check out the old codger, killing ninjas despite supposedly being too sick to move.

I now approach him, and he greets me in his usual energetic way:



Is he actually sick or was that a ruse? Those ninjas are no joke and he seems able to just mow through them as if it was nothing. He must have noticed i was looking at the dead ninjas:





And you seem to be doing a fine job at that, my Lord.




I... think? Not sure what he means.




Yes sir, i'll be right on it sir!

I go look at my skills to check what exactly it is that he is talking about. I can only assume he means those special skills at the end of each tree. They are very expensive but i suppose eventually i would have had to pick one. I chose the one in the first tree since i'm basically there already. There's only one skill i need to pick on the way and it looks like it may actually be a useful one:




I now approach Tengu/Isshin, and yep, that's what he was asking for. After praising my abilitiy for killing, he rewards me with this:





Is this the last one? I hope so as i'm already swarmed in skills lmao. Before leaving, he tries to tell me something:




So he is sick after all. I can only imagine how strong he must have been in his youth if he can still kill those Interior Ministry ninjas as a sick old man. Whatever it was he wanted to say to me, it seems it will have to wait for another time, as he now bids me to leave:




Before moving on, i take a look at the skill text he just gave me:



So it's a book of further "secret" techniques upgrades. I guess this was the final skill tree after all. Can't imagine what else can there be after this. Anyway, at this point, i just remembered i had to go check on that wierd jar guy i haven't talked to in literally ages. While i'm there, i decided to finally pick something and chose the mask fragment:



Not sure if that means i locked myself out of that combat art now like i may have with the one the racoon was selling but to be honest i got too many of them already and i want to play around with the ones i have first. If i have to wait for NG+ for those other skills, so be it. I already had a mask fragment i bought from a merchant and while i have no clue whatsoever what this thing is it feels important. Buying the mask opens up a bit of new dialog:






Look, i know everybody in this world is obsessed with immortality, but a fish? That's your big plan? Wonder if he already tried and ended up becoming some kind of monster instead. Or maybe he just some strange creature that wanted to join the general obsession for immortality everybody else seems to have here.

Now that some time has passed, i go back to the Ashina Castle to see if Isshin has actually something to say after my second encounter with him as Tengu, but nope, still nothing. Since i'm there, i go see if either Emma or Kuro have new dialog, and i actually catch Kuro sleeping:



I'm not even mad. Divine Heir or not, he is still just a kid. Unfortunatly, we have a job to do so i wake him up:




Alright, it's now time to make my way to the Sunken Valley. Right off the bat, i see some Shinto structure:



The loot consists of a total of three of those Eel Liver consumables. Since this is the land of Tomoe i already assumed i was going to face that lighting attack again and this all but confirms it. I hope i'll get a chance to learn how to do that lighting reversal thing once and for all.

On my left, i see a Sculptor's Idol:



On my right, i see two guards with what appears to be rifles. One of them is patrolling up and down:



Are those the famed Okami women? Man are they ugly:



I drop down to activate the Sculptor's Idol but then i turn around and decide to take care of those two guards first and see what's beyond. I see now the game offers me a way to get there without being seen:





Normally i'm at a point in this game where i could probably just face stomp everything in sight without breaking a sweat but with the Demon Bell on even regular mooks pack a punch and while i do have an excess of Healing Gourds i don't know how long a stretch it's going to be until the next Sculptor's Idol so i decide to use some stealth. I can only track the guard's movements using sound alone, but i succeed in flanking "her":



This alerts the one sitting down and during the battle i realize those are dudes hahaha:



I guess the Okami amazon wimmin are special troops i'll meet later.

I now jump on a ledge i spot on my left, and after creeping my way across another one i find myself in an opening that definitely looks familiar:





I drop down and find one of them is sleeping on the job:



I take a look around but there doesn't seem to be another one so i'm going to use this one to try that new skill i got earlier:





No bad. It looks cool at least. Took a few tries before i could manage to get a couple of viable screenshots but i did it in the end, heh.

I now look ahead and this feels like a boss area to me:



I crawl around, picking up the loot as i inch my way towards that cave, and find a Prayer Bead and a Pacifying Agent. This definitely doesn't bode well. But once i get there, apparently there's nothing:





Time to leave i guess. I take one look to make sure this is the place i had spotted way back, which it is:



Guess this was it then, nothing to do but port back and move forward.

Going past the Scultor's Idol, i end up alerting this guard, who starts taking shots at me:



I'm now thinking from this point on i'm going to have to rope around constantly with enemies taking shots at me left and right, but all i end up seeing after i kill this guy is more patrols i can easily sneak up to:




I'm now faced with two choices, a path on the right that wounds up around a cliff, and a ledge on my left:




I pick the ledge on the left and i'm confronted with two more guards that are easy to sneak to:




Too easy so far i have a feeling i'm gonna get a nasty surprise soom. After hoisting myself up another ledge i find myself in an empy shack where i find a Gourd Seed:





On my left, i see this path keeps going on this side but i'm not sure if i can make it over there from here:



No harm in trying thought, right?



On my way down i suddenly realize that's the way i came in where the Sculptor's Idol was. Shit. I now make it back to the other path, injured and feeling like an idiot:



I make my way around, killing some stupid lizard on the way, and i emerge in an area that just says "big battle" all over:



In the distance, i see an easy target, so i take it:




Of course, to take that stupid screenshot i actually manage to fail to land my deathblow and it's now a frikking disaster. I kill the guy in a hurry but some fucking asshole comes out of nowhere with a big cannon and blasts my face off, taking a huge chunk of health. After healing, i try to take him out but he doesn't go down easy and while i'm sparring i get shot in the back buy a second shooter i hadn't seen. I take out the fucker with extreme prejudice:



You and me now buddy:



He is not so tough by himself and i quickly dispatch him. I forget to take a screenshot of the deathblow to post here to cap this progress narrative with a cool finale but no matter, no point in redoing it just for that.

After activating and resting in a Sculptor's Idol, i finally come face to face with what i expected to find here in the first place:



100% the second i make the first jump i'm getting drilled with bullets:



On my right, i find one of those rat guys who appears to be dying:






The last line seems a bit absurd with that "it takes me back" but i guess this is another translation issue. The sense is clear anyway. After this, he does his best impression of a dying motion. I leave him to his little sharade and make my charge. Onward!

Or not lol:



Every hit of their bullets takes out around 40% of my health, which is brutal. I'm now stating to feel this Demon Bell curse, but i'm not about to chicken out just yet! I resurrect and make it to the next ledge, but as soon as i climb up i'm now faced with a boss battle out of nowhere (i finally get to meet one of those famed Okami warrior wombyn). I haven't died a single time since Genichiro, not a true death anyway, and i don't want to lose that streak just yet. So i turn tail and make my way back to the second platform, where apparently it's safe enough for me to use the Homward Idol to make my way back. While i'm porting, i can actually see the shitshow that is waiting for me up ahead lmao:



Upon porting back to the idol, i find this guy was just pretending to die and is likely just doing this whole act to get pity out of people:



Guess i'm not going anywhere until i kill the boss first, so let there be battle!

This bitch took some tries. Her move set is easy enough but that damn perilous attack took some doing before i figured out how to counter it. A single hit from that took out 80% of my health and i had to jump back to that platform and Homeward my way to the Idol to prevent actually getting killed for real by this cunt. I tried dodging it. I tried Mikiri. I tried jumping but nothing actually worked. I then figured maybe i need to deflect it. I failed the first three times i did this and i was starting to get worried a bit, until on the fourth try i managed to actually deflect it and after that all i had to do is practice a few times to get the timing right. After that it was easy sailing.

 

[Lyric Suite]

BTW, i wanna see who the first person who guesses what the title of this chapter means is lmao.

 

[Multidirectional]

I know you can deflect that grab because I did by accident couple times but since Umbrella is by far the simplest way to deal with it I never actually bothered to learn doing it consistently. Also Google tells me that title is a

Spoiler

Frank Zappa song.

 

[cvv]

Yeah Umbrella or simple dodging is not that difficult even with my oldfag reflexes.

Love that mob btw, always looking fwd to fight him. Her. Xir.

 

[procrastinator]

Why am i getting the feeling i'm gonna get locked out of that skill text for the rest of the game? This kinda sucks to be honest all i had to do is farm guards for a bit more and i could have got it right there on the spot along with the umbrella prosthetic, but how the hell was i supposed to know? I know FromSoft likes to get cryptic sometimes but this was a bit out of the left field. Whatever, i guess there's always NG+.

Check if it's in the Offering Box near the zombie friend.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Why am i getting the feeling i'm gonna get locked out of that skill text for the rest of the game? This kinda sucks to be honest all i had to do is farm guards for a bit more and i could have got it right there on the spot along with the umbrella prosthetic, but how the hell was i supposed to know? I know FromSoft likes to get cryptic sometimes but this was a bit out of the left field. Whatever, i guess there's always NG+.

Check if it's in the Offering Box near the zombie friend.

What the hell is that thing anyway? It's been empty since i started playing. I'll try it tonight would be funny to actually see something there for a change.

 

[cvv]

Why am i getting the feeling i'm gonna get locked out of that skill text for the rest of the game? This kinda sucks to be honest all i had to do is farm guards for a bit more and i could have got it right there on the spot along with the umbrella prosthetic, but how the hell was i supposed to know? I know FromSoft likes to get cryptic sometimes but this was a bit out of the left field. Whatever, i guess there's always NG+.

Check if it's in the Offering Box near the zombie friend.

What the hell is that thing anyway? It's been empty since i started playing. I'll try it tonight would be funny to actually see something there for a change.

It's like the chest in the Firelink behind Frampt. You can find plot-important items in there in case you didn't get them the proper way.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Also Google tells me that title is a

Spoiler

Frank Zappa song.

Using google is gay.

Yes it's that but its an actual Sicilian expression that kind seemed fitting considering everybody in this area is holding a big stick in their hands. I'm clever like that. Word play within word play.

 

[Multidirectional]

Yeah ok Mr. Big Dick. But it just so happens I don't speak Italian, the only languages I know are Lithuanian, Russian and English. Also I didn't pretend to actually solve your riddle, hence the spoiler tag.

 

[cvv]

LS you're waffling again, chop chop the most entertaining boss in the game is waiting.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Hold on i gotta eat first lol.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Hey, I got that one and it was clever, you killjoys! The Zappa reference (if it was that), not the expression. I had assumed it was just Zappa translating lol benis into another language for shits and giggles, which would be perfectly in character. Didn't know it was an actual thing.

Rectus/inversus is still the best one so far though

 

[Lyric Suite]

Minchia is a common expression in Sicilian. It technically literally means dick but the way they use it makes it an all purpose term for them, like "fuck" in English which technically means to have sex but is used in a variety of contexts.

I actually kinda dislike that song btw. It's not bad in its own right but it clearly belonged to the era it was recorded in (1982) and there was no reason for it to be included in Uncle Meat, which is from 1969. If you are listening to that album it sticks out as a sore anachronism. I'm also not a fan of Zappa's try hard humor. I like him as a musician, not so much as a troll.

I was also being facetous about how clever the reference was in reality as soon as i saw the word "Tengu" that shit kept popping in my head and i couldn't make it go away lol. The RoboCop reference was more clever i think. Best line in the movie:



Right next to "bitches leave".

 

[Andnjord]

Oh damn, since my mind immediately goes to Japan everyte I open this thread I didn’t even realise this is Sicilian. Well played sir.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ Princess Mononoke & Spirited Away ~
​

Spoiler

Ok, after killing the Okami wombyn, it's time to storm this fort. Now don't tell me this shit isn't inspired by Princess Mononoke. Leper looking women shooting guns? Pretty on the nose if you ask me.

Initially i actually wanted to make a video of me storming this thing, but i had to give up that idea pretty quickly. On my first attempt to cross the bridge, i of course fall into the hole that i had no idea was there. On my second attempt, i made it past the bridge but got wrecked once i got on the top level since i had no idea where the enemies were positioned and how to get to them. I made a third attempt and while roping my way across some branches i get hit by three bullets at the same time and i get knocked off the cliff, where i actually die a true death since i didn't have enough health to respawn, my first after beating Geinichiro. My no death streak has finally been broken and had to be something this retarded, not even a cool boss or something.

At this point, if i just had to redo this over and over until i learned its entire layout, i might as well do a proper exploration and guide of the thing and call it a day.

So, after killing the Princess Mononoke boss, i now find myself face to face with this Buddha guy:



Why is there a Buddha statue here it is anyone's guess, since i thought this was Shinto territory and the homeland of the snek god thingy. I check to see what's on my right, and i see a guy there down a ledge all though i can barely take a glance before the entire fort starts taking shots at me:



On the other side isn't any better. After crawling over a ledge which i can see getting really annoying if you have to do this over and over, i get a full view of the entire fort but i can't even use the monocular thing to get a better look as i get showered with bullets for even daring to try:





After several attempts at getting through this place, i now realize if you take the time to do it properly it's actually fairly trivial. First off, you need to take the gunner on the left side of the big Buddha face. He'll just snipe at you constantly the whole time you try to climb the fort and he needs to go first. If you start at the Sculptor's Idol, the entire fort starts shooting at you so you have to wait a little bit for the aggro to clear. At that point you can just inch your way toward the ledge until you reach a good striking position, after which a quick stealth deathblow takes care of the problem:





After this, i quickly make it to this corner which seems to be the only safe place out here:



As soon as the bullets hit the wall you can rope your way back up before they fire the next volley.

Now you have no choice but rush across the bridge and hope for the best. I tried baiting them from the corner and then run as soon as the bullets hit the face of the rock but to be honest i have no idea if that makes a difference. I managed to cross unschated but there's no guarantee this isn't just just a matter of luck. I'm also not sure if it's better to drop down the hole or cross the entire bridge. I picked the hole anyway, where you can just rope your way to the fort across the usual branches:



Until you land on this spot, which is another safe zone:



And from here the hard part is actually over. With that bastard from the other side of the bridge gone you basically got the run of the entire face of this cliff:



As you turn around, you come across this series of ledges:



After waiting a bit for the aggro to die down, you jump on the first then turn around, and you get a clear view of two snipers which you can kill very easily in stealth, first the one than the other:





Now go back and jump on this branch, where you can see there's a grappling point nearby:




But before roping your way around this cliff like Tarzan, you can take out the guy above first:



Now you can rope your way around this cliff side:



Once you land, you can now climb up until you spot one of those guys with the biggus guns:



Don't try to climb on that ledge, it's a trap. Rope your way up to that grappling point. He'll become alerted but won't see you. Watch out for this guy while you are up there, don't poke your nose out of this cover, or he'll become fully alerted:




Wait for the AI to calm down, and now you can take out the guy with the big gun with ease:




Don't even bother go there:



Go inside the shaft instead and hug the wall. As soon as you see some ugly dude coming down snatch and snuff him out as nothing this ugly should have a right to live:



Now upwards you gonna find what appears to be a stumbling block. Up ahead, you see two of those big gun guys:



On your right there's that shooter on that wooden scaffold which can get you from this side as well. At first i wanted to be cool and tried that knewl zombie Ninjutsu ability:



This just resulted in disappointment when the AI failed to engage the other one and just started wondering around doing nothing:



I had to reset it and try it again. At this point you can just kill the one sitting down with a stealth blow then rope your way to the gunner on the right and then have your way with the remaining big gun guy, OR you can just cheese the AI (and it's way too easy to do that):



You can do this with both 'cause why not, after which you can have your way with the shooter on the scaffold:



You now have the run of the whole place and can just admire the enviorments:



Outside there's two more guys but it's easy, just sneak on the first then kill the other any which way you want:



After that, you can now just soak the whole place in peace:




You can also dance on top of those fire cracker things, there's nobody around anymore so why not:



After picking the place clean, you can activate the next Sculptor's Idol:



And it's now time to go fight the worst boss ever:

Is this the worst boss in the game? Even the name is stupid. How is this thing either a centipede or a giraffe? Ha the hell, let's keep going:

Spoiler

After killing this stupid boss, i now find myself in front of a Buddha statue, where i loot something that definitely piques my interest:



So after Princess Mononoke, we now got Spirited Away.

Underneath the floor i find a little secret:



As i step outside, i don't even have to wonder whether this is the bridge i saw after flying the kite, as soon as i get close to it, i already hear a snake hissing:



Not doing this now first order of business is getting that movie reference out of the way.

So first, i go get the actual prosthetic:



Didn't understand a single thing wtitten in that description, but whatever, let's go make Kotaro happy (or doom him forever, let's see where FromSoft is gonna go with this). I now tell him i can in fact spirit him away:






I have to try several times before i managed to pull it off. Apparently i had to stay right in front of him to make this work:



Now the original description of this fan said something about going to Sempou Temple. I make my way there, and start looking around if there's any clues of where Kotaro ended up. I see nothing in the temple, so i go talk to the Divine Child. This time apparently the harvest was ready, so she gives me fresh rice:





Doesn't say anything about Kotaro unfortunatly. On my way out, i see the portal to the Halls of Illusion. I figure maybe here. I teleport in, and i see nothing out of the ordinary. I go talk to that monk, but he isn't there anymore:



So a change did happen here. I start looking around, but i find nothing, except this room which is where i think the monk was doing his studies:



Disheartened, i make my way out where i finally see them, both standing right where the entrance is. I just didn't see them because i didn't think of turning around lol. Yo, Kotaro!





Who is he talking about, but more importantly, who is he talking to?

Knew it, typical FromSoft quest ending. NPC either dies or goes crazy. I try to shake him out of this nonsense, and it seems he still has his faculties with him, sort of:





There's nobody here...



Considering how many the monks killed, he must be surrounded by dozens and dozens of them, either for real or in his imagination.




He has either gone insane or he can actually see the spirits of the little children. I'm going to go with the latter as i long for a positive ending in a FromSoft game. This, apparently, is the final reward of this questline:



Normally i scoff at those items in FromSoft games that you can only use once which means you'll never actually use them at all and they'll stay in your inventory for the rest of eternity, but with the remant memory system this thing may actually get some use.



He seems to happy, i really hope he can actually see the children:





I go talk to the monk guy, but apparently he is totally fine with Kotaro being here:




This has to be one of the most uplifting endings in a FromSoft game i've ever seen, heh.

 

[Multidirectional]

Yes certainly somewhat happier ending than sending Kotaro to dungeon. I only did the dungeon bit once myself, when going for the evil ending of the game so it seemed like a consistent thing to do there. Otherwise I don't even like sending the poor guy to the merchant.

 

[Egosphere]

Is this the worst boss in the game?

Lol no. There's a guy you'll meet that makes Pinwheel look like Artorias in comparison.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape! ~
​

Spoiler

Alright, it's now time for one more obvious movie reference. But first, silly snek wanted to say hi!

I creep near the bridge, and sure enough, there's snek rite thar. Ho goodie:



On the other side, i see what i presume is the actual way forward:




I say this because i'm 100% sure as soon as i cross the bridge the thing is gonna try to eat me. In fact, i decide to try it just to see what happens:



He smacks me around like a yoyo and i die, but when i resurrect he just stays there looking at me, as if it was just playing or some shit:



Time to reset the thing and try it the proper way. Upon respawning, i now see that the bridge is collapsed:



I jump down and rope my way to a grappling point, avoiding fall damage. I don't know why i keep finding those illusion dispell thingies, but nothing yet i can use them on. Snek is down there, just waiting for me to come out to play:



I jump down and the thing tries to smack me again, but i manage to take only little damage. Again he just stands still and i'm technically within striking range but i'm pretty sure that would be a terrible idea:



I turn around and i see the snake was just staring at me, probably daring me to do it:



I see there's an hiding spot under this rock, i think i'm going to make my dash from here:



That ended real well lol:



After rezzing i manage to reach the other side, where i find a Sculptor's Idol waiting for me. How comforting:



Above, i see a bunch of grappling points. Can the snake even fit here? The Idol is right there so i don't think it should be a problem:



Before trying it, i decide to see if i'm allowed to explore that lake. Looks like the snake has in fact moved on. I find some of those aggressive fishes around but nothing else of note:



On my way back however i manage to lock on what is likely one of those carp things:



I killed a couple of those in the Hirata Estate, the ones that stay below surface level and are difficutly to hit, and i needed great deal of tries before i managed to kill them. Here, i try for five minutes straight and i couldn't do it, so for now i had to give it up. I hate this shit to be honest.

So i make my way up those ropes, and end up in a vast chasm with cool looking Shinto statues. I think they are Shinto statues anyway, headdress and hearlobes remind me of those:



I hear some noise, and i think the snake has come back, but nope, it's just a monkey with a sword. The fuck:



How deep is this thing? And from the looks of it i'm meant to go all the way down:



I leap on the other statue, and apparently there's a monkey with a gun and the damn thing starts taking shots at me:



I try to go after it, but the damn thing jumps away and starts shooting at me again. I jump back to where i was so i can wait until the monkey cools off under the peaceful gaze of this Shinto or Buddhist guy whatever he is:



Scouting ahead, i see i have a long stretch in front of me:



I try to get a full picture of what's down below, why do i get the feeling i'll have to deal with the snake again once i make it all the way down:



I decide to make it on that branch down there, but i still manage to alert the rifle monkey. Those monkeys are super easy but i don't want to chase that thing around jumping from statue to statue like Tarzan to who knows what trap so i want to do this properly. I rush behind cover while the thing was already trying to take shots at me:



While i wait for the AI to cool off, i go kill the monkey on my right:



But when i turn around i see the rifle monkey is already climbing statues again. Fuck. I port back to the idol and try it again. Same result, as soon as i drop down the rifle monkey starts spazzing out again. I go kill the monkey on the right again and the damn thing actually catches me by surprise by throwing dust at my face lol:



I decide i'm gonna wait here for the rifle monkey to cool off and let the AI reset, but as soon as i turn around there was another monkey that got alerted on my way down. I assume it was the one that had its back to the grapple point. He gets what he deserves, and i now jump on the grapple point in question, and what do i see? That monkey that had its back to it:



After killing it, i go check the rifle monkey but it's nowhere to be seen. I go back to that monkey that came out of nowhere while i was killing the other one back there and sure enough it was the rifle monkey, which, instead of jumping over the statues this time decided to go all the way after my ass lol:



Ok then, kinda botched my stealth approach but hey, i killed it so might as well move on.

I now scout ahead once more. On the left side, i see couple of monkeys including what seems to be another rifle one, shouldn't be a problem sneaking up on them:



On the left side, i spot another monkey in the distance and who knows what else is hiding there:



Just had to take another look at the nightmare below me:



Just lol:



Some statue porn as i soak the atmosphere here:



So i make my way to the two monkeys on the right, and manage to take the rifle one with a stealth deathblow and the other one dies in less than a second. Alas, while i was killing them, i spotted something i really didn't want to see:



Nightjar guys...

I see that lone monkey again but now i'm paranoid there might be Nightjar ninjas just waiting for me there:



I make my way behind that statue with the loot, but as soon as i drop there, i see there's two monkeys facing the other way. I pick up the thing and stay there for a while, and soon enough i see there's another monkey going back and forth:



I wait until it's as close as possible than sprint for a bloodsmoke attack:



Apparetly there was a fourth monkey, a rifle weilding one, and not a Nightjar guy as i thought. The stupid primate thinks he can take shots at me:



Needless to say, he gets what was coming to him. No alerted Nightjar guys in sight yet. I guess was being a little paranoid here. As i move forward, i finally spot my first:



Not entirely sure how am i going to do this. I turn around for a second, and i see there's an entire section behind me:



Killing those two monkeys is trivial and i get no special surprises down there, but i think this side might be a bit off track:




On the side i see what is likely to be a merchant:



Making my way up i panic for a second as i couldn't see a way to get back up there and i was afraid i had to redo the whole thing, but then i see it:




The verticality of this place isn't as much confusing as it makes me paranoid about missing secrets or loot, so i'm constantly on the look out:




While i'm taking the above shot, apparently i accidentally solved my problem with the Nightjar, as he sees me but not fully, so he slowly comes within striking range by himself, how convenient:




I now come across two more Nightjar guys, and i'm not entirely sure what's up with this positioning:



Why is the black one facing the wall? I was expecting something really hard at this point but for some reason FromSoft just made it a joke to sneak up to them. Of course, famous last words as after taking out the black one i'm a little too eager and forget to crouch while approaching the second one and now i'm forced to spar with him. I succeed in killing him while taking little damage, and now i come face to face with this insanity:



Just what the fuck is that. Is this a joke?



I pop a pellet to give myself the highest possible boost, and slowly start making my way around this nonsense, where in the distance i finally see the next Sculptor's Idol (and right next to it what looks like that silly Old Hag. Wonder what is she going to point at this time):



All well and good, except by the looks of it if i go that way there's likely not going to be a way to make it back here:



Hey, a secret:



After picking up the usual useless loot, i make it back up decide to give it a go. Shouldn't be hard to run away if things go south and my paranoia made this place way harder than it actually was, so no big deal if i have to redo it. No guts no glory, right? I pick the best vantage point i could find and plunge into battle!



The battle is too chaotic to be able to take any screenshots. I make it out alive with Gourds to spare and it seems it was worth it after all as i got some Monkey Booze as a reward:



In fact, in insight i kinda regret no making a video of it. So after activating the Sculptor's Idol next to the Old Hag, i now decide to actually go back here and make a recording of it lol:

Lmao, there were so many of them the framerate slowed to a crawl. It was funny to mow them all down in almost one swoop though.

Spoiler

BTW yes, i saw him:



Don't worry, i'll get to him soon, but first i need to make a few rounds. I gotta level up first as i'm too close to the next skill to risk losing all that XP, and i wanna talk to a few NPCs first.

BTW, no amazing chest ahead?



But never mind that, let's see what the smelly crone has to say now:








Ok, so i was totally wrong about the "dried fruit" being the deviated parody of immortality the monks had created in Mt. Kongo. Apparently i was being too clever for my own good. She now wants rice again. Good thing i actually went to get more when i was looking for Kotaro. She goes through the same munching routine as before, and after falling asleep again, she chants some fresh new nonsense:




Ok i give up, i'm not even going to bother trying to make sense of that. I guess i'll find out what this shit means once i make my way down there.

Anyway, after grinding a bit to get to the next skill up, i go talk to the Sculptor before unloading my sens on the cowardly merchant with the big mouth. I'm gonna give him the Monkey Booze too, since it seems fitting:





I ease myself back and wait to see what kind of reminiscence the booze is going to bring about this time. He seems to be familiar with the Monkey Booze already too:




Wolf asks him if trained by himself, but apparently there was another:










The what finger?







Mmmh, 100% i'm going to meet this woman and turns out she went crazy and i'm going to have to kill her.

Before leaving, i pick up this thing:



I never used this prosthetic and i think the big monkey is a good candidate to try it on.

Alright, time to fight the thing!

cvv , is this the boss you were talking about? Very fun boss. Can't say the second phase was a surprise, i know FromSoft too well and when i killed it the first time i smelled a rat and sure enough after a bit he gets up again.

The design of this boss was pretty good. I liked how radically different the second phase was and i had to get used to new unorthodox attacks and deflections. Because i fought him with the Demon Bell on, i allowed myself to use a variety of tools to even things up a bit. I don't know just how much extra health enemies get from Demon Bell, but he did feel slightly spongy. I also feel in the second phase i was supposed to break his posture, but his vitality was almost all gone before that happened. Probably a mix between me doing it wrong and the extra posture resistance added by the Demon Bell. I couldn't devise a follow up to any of his perilous attacks, and there is one long combo he does in the second phase that i didn't feel comfortable trying to deflect yet so i got behind him for safety and did vitality damage instead. The video is slightly sloppier than i would have preferred but hey, victory is victory and it's appropriate that it shouldn't be perfect the first time, otherwise what's the point of the remnant system (i can always get it perfect at my leasure later on).

I gotta admit the first time he farted in my face and then literally threw a poisonous poop bomb at me i started laughting out loud. I know it's a monkey, but this game has a strange fascination with assess lol.

Spoiler

Before closing this chapter, i need to make one last comment on the thing he dropped:




Well, there goes that. The training partner the Sculptor was talking about was killed and eaten by this ape.

Ho, in case you are wondering the price i had to pay to kill this monkey, i only rotted one person lol:



Of course, i read comments that said you can only rot NPCs you actually met (i didn't meet this one yet, but i'm pretty sure he is the one i spotted earlier, so i guess i'm the "area"). So some of them could be also rotted but i won't get a confirmation pop up like that until i actually meet them. I also read that apparently if you rotted someone they can't get it again. I hope that is the case as i'm sick of watching the Sculptor cough and weeze.

 

[cvv]

@cvv , is this the boss you were talking about?

Sure is. Out of curiosity, how many tries?