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'{{hatnote|For the Buddhist manifestations, see [[Nio]]. Not to be confused with the chemical formulas [[Ni(OH)2]] or [[NiO(OH)]].}} {{Infobox video game | title = Nioh | image = Ni-Oh Tecmo Koei promotional title art.jpg | developer = [[Team Ninja]] | publisher = [[Sony Interactive Entertainment]]{{vgrelease new|JP|[[Koei Tecmo]]}} | platforms = [[PlayStation 4]] | released = {{Video game release|WW=February 9, 2017}} | genre = [[Action role-playing game|Action role-playing]] | modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] | director = Fumihiko Yasuda<ref name=E3Gamespot>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nioh-dev-isnt-compromising-on-games-dark-souls-dif/1100-6441064/|title=Nioh Dev Isn't Compromising on Game's "Dark Souls Difficulty"}}</ref> <br/> Yosuke Hayashi | producer = Kou Shibusawa<br/>Hisashi Koinuma }} {{nihongo|'''''Nioh'''''|仁王|Niō|lead=yes|lit. "benevolent king"}} is an upcoming [[historical fantasy]] [[action role-playing game|action role-playing]] [[video game]] developed by [[Team Ninja]] and published by [[Koei Tecmo]] in Japan and worldwide by [[Sony Interactive Entertainment]]<ref name="sony publish">{{cite web|last1=Ramsey|first1=Robert|title=Sony Treating Action RPG Nioh as a First-Party PS4 Game, Will Pubish in the West|url=http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/11/sony_treating_action_rpg_nioh_as_a_first-party_ps4_game_will_pubish_in_the_west|website=Push Square|accessdate=3 November 2016}}</ref> for the [[PlayStation 4]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaming-age.com/2015/12/koei-tecmos-nioh-resurrected-ps4-samurai-action-rpg/|title=Koei Tecmo's Nioh resurrected as a PS4 samurai action RPG<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> The game follows the story of a fictionalized [[William Adams (sailor)|William Adams]], a white-haired English [[samurai]], during the dawn of [[Edo period]] Japan in 1600. The game will release worldwide on February 9, 2017. == Plot == The game follows the story of real-life Western Samurai, William Adams as he hunts for an adversary in Japan near the end of the Warring States Period. Throughout the campaign, fictionalized versions of other real-life historical figures also make an appearance, including [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], [[Hattori Hanzō]], [[Tachibana Muneshige]], [[Tachibana Ginchiyo]], [[Kuroda Nagamasa]] and [[Kuroda Yoshitaka]]. As his trek progresses through the mystical landscape, William is forced through a crucible, surviving not only against bandits and ruthless ronin, but also supernatural threats such as yokai and oni who have crossed over from the Underworld thanks to power gained from the strife and war plaguing Japan. == Gameplay == Nioh's gameplay has been compared to that of the ''[[Souls (series)|Souls]]'' series, primarily because of its semi-realistic, high-stakes swordplay where one can die very quickly if not careful. Combat takes place in real time and features various weapon types such as katana, spears, axes, bows and Tanegashima rifles. The player can switch between three main stances for any melee weapon: 'low' which is fast but weak and has an effective dodge ability; 'mid' which has the best blocking techniques but is neither fast nor specially powerful; and 'high' which causes the most damage with slower movements. Players can also use their fists, utilizing an open-hand parry that catches a human opponents weapon and turn it against them. Attacking, dodging and blocking in Nioh cost 'Ki' (stamina). When the player runs out of Ki they are briefly incapacitated, leaving them open to enemy strikes. To mitigate the high stamina cost of various abilities, players can use the 'Ki Pulse' mechanic to regain spent stamina immediately after finishing a move. Ki Pulse is mapped to the same button as changing stance and weapon, allowing players to build larger and more complex combinations of strikes, dodges, stances and weapons while sustaining their Ki as long as possible. Players also earn 'skill points' for displaying proficiency with various tools and these can be used to purchase new moves for weapons, new ninjutsu techniques (ninja tools such as shuriken, bombs and caltrops) and new onmyou magic (passive buffs such as giving weapons elemental properties). There is also a hub world, where the player picks their next mission as well as visit NPCs for upgrades to equipment and weapons. Many people have faulted the game for taking a lot of its influence from the Dark Souls trilogy, from game-play mechanics to atmosphere. Notable for a console game, ''Nioh'' will allow players to select between a higher [[frame rate]] or higher [[display resolution]], similar to options offered to players on a PC, whether they value a smoother gameplay experience or a more visually appealing one.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Paget|first1=Mat|title=PS4 Exclusive Nioh Lets You Choose to Improve Frame Rate or Resolution|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-exclusive-nioh-lets-you-choose-to-improve-fram/1100-6439235/|website=GameSpot|accessdate=27 April 2016}}</ref> == Development == [[File:Nioh PlayStation 4 gameplay screenshot.png|thumb|left|256px|Pre-release gameplay screenshot of ''Nioh'', taken from the [[Software release life cycle#Alpha|alpha demo]]. ''Nioh'' takes heavy inspiration from [[FromSoftware]]'s [[Souls (series)|''Souls'']] series, [[Capcom]]'s ''[[Onimusha]]'' series, and Team Ninja's own ''[[Ninja Gaiden#Modern series|Ninja Gaiden]]''.]] Originally announced by Koei in 2004 (before their merger with Tecmo made them Koei Tecmo), the game was to be based on an unfinished script by [[filmmaker]] [[Akira Kurosawa]] titled ''Oni'' (Japanese word for [[oni|demon]]). The game was to be released with a companion film, also titled ''Oni'', that would have seen the directoral debut of Hisao Kurosawa, Akira Kurosawa's son. Hisao Kurosawa was completing his father's script with assistance from game producer Kou Shibusawa of Koei, with a combined production budget of {{¥}}3 billion for both film and game.<ref name=IGNKurosawa>{{cite web|url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/607/607115p1.html|title=Kurosawa Comes to PS3 - IGN}}</ref> "When reading Hisao Kurosawa's script", Shibusawa said during a press conference, "it gave me the impression of stories like ''[[Seven Samurai]]'' and ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]''".<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The game originally centred around the eponymous protagonist, Oni, the son of a Japanese lord and a Western woman, and was set in Japan during the 16th century. The first announced release date (with the new title of ''Ni-Oh'') was summer of 2006. Although this was the first release date to be announced for any PlayStation 3 game, it was slated several months after the PlayStation 3's planned release in spring 2006, suggesting it was not intended as a [[launch title]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/618/618698p1.html|title=KOEI Shares Ni-Oh Release Plans - IGN<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> In preparation for the 2006 release, a [[pre-rendering|pre-rendered]] [[game trailer]] was shown at the 2005 [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/videos/2005/08/09/nioh-ps3-official-e3-2005-trailer-remastered|title=Official E3 2005 Trailer (Remastered) - NioH (PS3) - IGN Video}}</ref> and a similar trailer was shown at the 2006 [[Tokyo Game Show]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/e3hpbp/ni-oh-tgs-06-show-floor-trailer|title=Ni-Oh - TGS 06 Show Floor Trailer &#124; Gametrailers<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> {{quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote="We ran lots of tests and trials for ''Ni-Oh''. After we ran through these we found a style that fits this title. At Team Ninja, we want you to experience the feel of action in our games. ''Ni-Oh'' is set with during [sic] the samurai era and we want you to feel what it's like to be a samurai."|source=— Yōsuke Hayashi; Team Ninja head, in an interview with [[Siliconera]], describing the company's vision of the adopted game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/15/whats-next-for-team-ninja-the-short-answer-is-ni-oh/|title=What’s Next For Team Ninja? The Short Answer Is Ni-Oh}}</ref>}} The game missed the initial 2006 release window without comment from Koei. It wasn't until 2009 that Koei confirmed that the game was still in development, apologizing for the lack of updates.<ref name=KotakuLives/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5202995/eagerly-awaited-koei-ps3-title-still-in-development?tag=ni_oh|title=Eagerly Awaited Koei PS3 Title Still In Development<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> In 2010 Koei (now Koei Tecmo) announced that Tecmo's [[Team Ninja]] would be finishing development of the game, which had been suspended by Koei.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5638775/team-ninja-reveals-its-next-games-ninja-gaiden-3-ni+oh?tag=ni_oh|title=Team Ninja Reveals Its Next Games: Ninja Gaiden 3, Ni-Oh<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> In 2012, Koei Tecmo's President and CEO, Kou Shibusawa, announced that the game had completed its [[software release life cycle#Alpha|alpha development cycle]], and that the work was "continuing steadily."<ref name=KotakuLives>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5932823/years-in-development-this-ps3-game-still-lives-well-sorta?tag=ni_oh|title=Years in Development, This PS3 Game Still Lives. Well, Apparently}}</ref> In August 2014, Koei Tecmo filed a new U.S. trademark for the game.<ref name=Allgamesbeta>{{cite web|url=http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2014/08/koeis-ni-oh-still-alive.html|title= Koei's Ni-Oh still alive?}}</ref> In an interview with [[Venture Beat]] from November 2014, Hayashi confirmed that the game was still in development and that "it is starting to come together and feel good."<ref name=VBinterview>{{cite web|url=http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/15/balancing-isnt-easy-team-ninja-on-dead-or-alive-5-last-round-in-the-fgc-sexual-fantasy-and-the-future-part-1/view-all/|title=Balancing isn’t easy: Team Ninja on Dead or Alive 5: Last Round in the competitive scene, sexual fantasy, and the future}}</ref> The game was officially re-revealed, now slightly retitled as ''Nioh'', for the [[PlayStation 4]] at the [[Tokyo Game Show]] on September 15, 2015. A public alpha demo for the game began on April 26, 2016, and ended on May 5, 2016.<ref>http://www.gamesradar.com/dark-souls-style-samurai-game-nioh-gets-a-demo-12-years-after-it-was-announced/</ref> Players who successfully cleared the first stage in the alpha demo were given access to the ''The Mark of the Conqueror'' [[downloadable content]], which will be accessible when the full game is officially released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-and-onimusha-inspired-ps4-exclusive-nio/1100-6437356/|title=Dark Souls and Onimusha-Inspired PS4 Exclusive, Nioh, Getting Demo|first=Chris|last= Pereira |date=April 6, 2016|accessdate=April 6, 2016|work=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> A second public beta demo began on August 23, 2016, and ended on September 6, 2016.<ref name="beta demo">{{cite web|url=http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/07/19/nioh-beta-demo-begins-august-23-on-ps4/|title= Nioh Beta Demo Begins August 23 on PS4|first=Chin Soon|last=Sun|date=July 19, 2016|accessdate=August 27, 2016|work=[[PlayStation Blog|PlayStation.Blog]]}}</ref> Originally scheduled for a late 2016 release, ''Nioh'' is set to be released on February 9, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-15-koei-tecmos-samurai-game-nioh-resurfaces-on-ps4-10-years-later|title=Koei Tecmo's samurai game Nioh resurfaces on PS4 10 years later|first=Robert|last=Purchese|work=[[Eurogamer]]|date=September 15, 2015|accessdate=September 15, 2015}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Shōgun (novel)|''Shōgun'' (novel)]] == References == {{Reflist|30em}} == External links == * {{Official website|http://teamninja-studio.com/nioh/us/index.html}} {{Team Ninja}} {{Akira Kurosawa}} {{Portal bar|Sony|Sony PlayStation|Video games|2010s|Japan}} [[Category:Upcoming video games scheduled for 2017]] [[Category:Action role-playing video games]] [[Category:Akira Kurosawa]] [[Category:Cancelled PlayStation 3 games]] [[Category:Fantasy video games]] [[Category:Demon video games]] [[Category:Hack and slash role-playing games]] [[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]] [[Category:Ninja video games]] [[Category:PlayStation 4 games]] [[Category:PlayStation 4-only games]] [[Category:Sengoku video games]] [[Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games]] [[Category:Video games based on Japanese mythology]] [[Category:Video games developed in Japan]] [[Category:Video games set in feudal Japan]] [[Category:Video games set in the 17th century]] [[Category:Video games with downloadable content]] [[Category:Team Ninja games]] [[Category:Tecmo Koei games]]'