Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
WHERE TO PLAY
Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the critically acclaimed adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of the Dark Souls series.In Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice you are the ‘one-armed wolf’, a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death. Bound to protect a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, you become the target of many vicious enemies, including the dangerous Ashina clan. When the young lord is captured, nothing will stop you on a perilous quest to regain your honor, not even death itself.Explore late 1500s Sengoku Japan, a brutal period of constant life and death conflict, as you come face to face with larger than life foes in a dark and twisted world. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities while you blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head to head combat in a bloody confrontation. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
The opening areas ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twicecan be almost misleading with how simple many of the bosses and mini-bosses are before building up to an incredibly difficult mid-to-endgame experience. However, one early optional fight can give players a better idea of how well they’re picking up onSekiro’s unique combatbefore the mandatory difficulty spike really starts.
Hidden away in a return to the starting area ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Seven Ashina Spears - Shikibu Toshikatsu Yamauchi brings a powerful moveset that flows at a slower tempo than most other mini-bosses. The result is a series of combos that are still clearly readable but come in a never-ending onslaught that severely punishes players for failing to keep up with the war of attrition with a quick death.
The Seven Ashina Spears Earn Their Title With Raw Power
A Powerful Foe Defends Against Another Escape from the Ashina Reservoir
With Lord Kuro already rescued, it would be easy to assume that there is little of value left at the Ashina Reservoir, whereSekiro’s story starts off. However, in the wake of Kuro’s escape, extra defenses seem to have been shored up in this area, with one of the Seven Ashina Spears now standing guard against the small shack where the young lord had previously been held captive. In an impressive case of ludonarrative storytelling, the difficulty of this boss also showcases how seriously those in power in Ashina take Kuro being freed from his previous prison.
To continue pushing the narrative ofSekirothrough gameplay, the title of the Seven Ashina Spears is well-earned, as Yamauchi is one of the toughest mini-bosses at this early point in the game. Unlike most ofSekiro’s toughest bosses, though, Yamauchi doesn’t up the difficulty with higher speed, instead opting to attack with brutal force that will drain the player’s health bar in one or two strikes. The result is a deadly guard that acts as a powerful deterrent from returning to where the game started unless they are able to face off against such a brutally punishing mini-boss.
Shikibu Toshikatsu Yamauchi Sets the Upcoming Difficulty Floor
While Yamauchi might feel like an incredibly difficult fight when first facing off against him, this level of punishing damage is soon going to become the norm as players continue into the mid-game behind Ashina Castle. So, this fight then acts as a litmus test that lets players know if they’re ready to continue forward and start challenging the moredifficult mandatory bosses likeSekiro’s Guardian Apethat are coming up. Anyone who bounces hard off Yamauchi is essentially going to have a hard time moving forward, as this is where the difficulty floor is soon to settle. This means players struggling at this point should focus on improving their performance withSekiro’s combat and learning how to properly read the combos that enemies string together.
The increased difficulty of Yamauchi isn’t entirely one-sided, however, as the mini-boss is susceptible to a few different strategies that can make clearing the fight slightly easier. First is the fact that the Seven Ashina Spears' titular weapon comes with a number of thrusting attacks that can be easily responded against with the Mikiri Counter. Mastering the timing for this skill can ease a ton of the difficulty of fighting Yamauchi. Additionally,utilizingSekiro’s stealth mechanicscan give players a chance to get a free deathblow on Yamauchi before the fight even starts. Considering that a similar strategy can be used on more bosses like the Corrupted Monk in the late game, this is a skill that is worth practicing against Yamauchi at this point in the early game.
