22:21 There's also the fact that you spend the whole game killing ashina's generals, war beasts and warriors in order to get Kuro back, which is pretty insane to realize once the castle is being invaded and they don't have anyone
@@sidtalks2885 he isn't strong enough, they would overwhelm him, he's also a coward who doesn't really believe in himself, that's why he could never reach isshins level
Also, in Hirata estate, there is a random path that leads to the purple shinobi fight, which I found extremely cool because he alone was so hard to defeat there, and when you get to the late game, you can see how much you've improved by beating a lot of them.
Ashina Castle and Fountainhead Palace are my favorite areas for many of the things you mentioned. I remember returning to the castle my first play through after Divine Dragon and being struck with this regret for taking out Ashina’s strongest soldiers earlier in the game and seeing what was left of their clan fight in vain against the Red Guard. I fought them just to keep the Ashina soldiers alive and would flee before they would attack me. For Fountainhead Palace, as soon as I fought the Okami warriors the first time I assumed Lady Tomoe was one of them just based on Genichiro’s move set and the way Isshin spoke of her. The Okami warriors, Loneshadows and Red Guard are my favorite enemies to fight in the entire game.
I love challenging myself to slaughter every single enemy of hirata till the butterfly boss on each ng & ng+, without using any idols to see how far I can get.
Dude i only found you today and seeing someone else who appreciates the enemy types in the souls games is really refreshing. Looking forward to this channel getting as huge as it deserves to some day and saying I was here relatively early 💪💪💪
No Souls area has the same vibe as Hirata Estate's first half. Feels like Gotham and the flames everywhere and the rain just perfect. It's the closest to the Halo 3 ODST vibe I love so much. YOU CDAN DFFELCT THE SHICIMEN WARRIORS TERROR WHAT YOIU CAN WHAT Anyway, always good to see you rank Soul's games I like. You make the 2nd best ranking lists, #1 is mine cause I'm objectively correct always and everyone knows it. Your lists and reasonings are pretty similar logical and that's what I like about your view on things.
I want to play this game so badly, but my AC6 all ending run ist still going and the ER dlc is so very close, I think not a single other video made me more hyped for sekiro, keep up the good work, great video
@@antonioc.5778 I think 1 1/2 years ago I got into the soulsborne community because my friend group started playing Elden Ring, however, I didn’t have a pc or any consol to play it, for 4 months I fantasized about playing it and watched a lot of rankings, I know of the existence of every boss in the series and every area, but after playing Elden Ring, I stoped that, I played BB, DS I, DS II, DS III and AC VI (I finished AC6, absolutely masterpiece 10/10) and now the dlc in a few days, the good part about these videos is, that I just can’t remember what area comes after the next, I only get that while playing, I am always surprised in these games on just what boss or area is next, in terms of story, I always try to skip those parts and npc interactions, I hope that this answer is pleasing, have a great day ^^
Very much agree on the Gun Fort thing. It's easily my favorite stealth section in the entire game. You can stealth the entire fort, bar one shotgun enemy, and it's incredibly satisfying. That said, I have to disagree about the chained ogre. The reason it's an awful boss is because the game doesn't push you to explore Hirata Estate enough. I actually think it somewhat discourages you from doing so, which I think is a huge problem considering you're seemingly intended to reach at least the first shortcut as soon as you get the bell (for the flame vent and axe).
Wait, I’m confused. Why do you feel like it discourages exploration? Cause I never felt that way. Although, I always get rid of every single enemy in these games, so that makes it a lot easier to look around(once they’re all gone I mean) idk if you’re saying because the flame vent is in a different area from the ogre? But you can get the firecrackers right before the ogre and those do the same exact thing. I’m sure that’s exactly why they made it that way…so you could use the firecrackers against it since it’s not likely that you’re going to go to the Estate area before fighting the big fella.
Discourages exploration to Hirata, not discourages exploration. I think should have stressed that I meant immediate exploration, cause it's really just a matter of when you inevitably visit Hirata Estate. The game encourages exploration very strongly, I just don't think it pushes you to Hirata Estate hard enough to go immediately, which I feel it should. Also, yeah you can use Fireworks, but Flame Vent makes him flinch for longer, pretty sure (definitely if you use oil and hit).
@NarrowSpark96 Comment was a while ago but I just played sekiro for the first time. Ayanama the peddler (the merchant thats like 20 steps away from the ogre) gives you information that the flame vent is in hirata estate. In fact. It was a combination of him telling me that he saw it in hirata when he was a bandit and those 2 guards who said the ogre was weak to fire that made me go explore hirata. I think that's a pretty solid way to encourage exploration for it AND give you a clear target
i also really love the area where you fight the divine dragon.theres just something about walking on clouds and seeing the highest points of the map stick up that i really like
19:19 im glad you mentioned it anyway because after 250hrs and watching a lot of videos I still didn't know you could use the mortal blade to kill them lol
Hello Chad! Another great video. However, as a fellow Sekiro player, I have to confess I preferred Ashina Castle to Fountainhead Palace... perhaps it's the DS1 lover in me that appreciates the interconnectivity and enemy variety that the earlier has, or perhaps I was traumatised in my first playthrough by the tougher enemies of the latter, but there we disagree. Cheers!
I dont think you've ever mentioned it so I'm not sure if you're aware but the sakura bull can be bypassed by sneaking up on it and using the fireworks prosthetic allowing you to deathblow it by breaking its posture after it goes through a frenzy from being scared and then laying on the ground from tiring itself out
This game's levels benefit so much from the atmospheric background music. I think it would have done wonders if Bloodborne and even Dark Souls 3 had some.
25:13 This didn’t happen to me in Sekrio or any other souls game. But now that you say this I’m actually going to integrate that into the legacy dungeons for Shadow of the Erdtree to not only get a bunch or runes and make sure I don’t miss anything. But also to just go through the area again and fight all the enemies. Cool experience, going to do this with SOTE :)
11:13 the solution to chained ogre is simple, don’t stand directly in front of him, his animations are long enough to allow you to strafe to his side and consistently land attacks
10 seconds in, but thank you for valuing quality over quantity in fromsoft games compadre Edit: I can see this reflected in the detail you go into when considering where to rank the areas too
god i fucking love sekiro so much like dont get me wrong i love all the mainline fromsoft games but sekiro just hits different, everything works for me
There is no other way around. Fountainhead Palace just took atmosphere and beauty to the next level when it comes to fromsoftwares level design. It's a cool concept from the very beginning: a japanese temple built around giant sakuras and flooded by a lake with crystal clear waters. Put there a whole microcosm that is the culture of the palace nobels, and you have a masterpiece
Dang, I'd put foutainhead near the bottom. Aesthetically I agree it's near perfect and I like the NPCs, but Mibu Manor is a godawful migraine if you can't find the optimal route, the Great Colored Carp is the worst stealth section in the game with what could have been a moment even more memorable than first meeting the Sunken Valley Serpent, the trial-and-error "oops you lose" enemy placement for the Nobles, the area not containing a single good mini-boss, and it all ends with a gimmick cutscene boss. The sword and spear warriors in the area are its only upside gameplay-wise, and that to me is nowhere near enough to bring it into the upper half of the areas in the game. (But still a fantastic video and you got a sub from me!)
The enemies of ashina depths actually make perfect sence. Yes they lack originality since most of them are reused but they still fit. The gunmen are in the poison pool because its literally right below the sunken valley, its the same location. the mist Noble is an enemie from fountainhead palace and was most likely placed there by the corrupted monk to protect him, and the villagers are villagers.
I ran around for ages trying to find what was hitting me with lightning in fountainhead, i didnt know it was the Okami leader and I killed them and didn't put realise that was the reason I could now swim.
Sekiro is probably the single most consistent FromSoft game in my mind - aside _maybe_ from that small poison swamp area with the snipers, I can't think of a single bit I didn't enjoy. I definitely can't claim the same for ER or the Souls games. Hell, even the spooky gimmick area ended up being both atmospheric and fun to explore!
It’s so funny how you point out how much you love the Ashina Generals but hate the Ogre. The ogre was way more of a Dark Souls boss on my first playthrough so dodging through was pretty easy, but the General absolutely fucked me. I actually had to look up “why am I so bad at Sekiros combat” after this. They all just said to practice on the immortal guy in the dilapidated temple and after that I came back and wrecked the general first try. It was a moment where the game finally starting clicking, but god damn I found it so hard the first time
8. Abandoned Dungeon - It's kinda cool, and I like the atmosphere and storytelling, but it's just ok gameplay-wise. 7. Ashina Depths - Decent to strong in all the broader elements - gameplay, presentation,and story - but never one of the game's best in any of them. ' 6. Hirata Estate - Very strong story and gameplay, but visuals are decent at best. 5. Sunken Valley - Probably the weakest area in terms of story, but very solid in everything else. 4. Senpou Temple - Gorgeous in the morning and sundown, decent at midday. Story is impeccable, and while gameplay is quite good, I don't personally find it to be one of the strongest in the game. The enemies are a highlight, but the level design and exploration feel pretty limited apart from some of the big branching optional sections. Also, the boss is weak, and yes, I do count bosses to the area's appeal. 3. Ashina Outskirts - Offers some of the strongest gameplay. While pretty linear as a whole, it's a good thing for a starting area, and these linear bits are still layered and open-ended enough to offer variety and options to encounters, with secrets off the beaten path. Visually stunning, the ongoing battle in the late-game really adds to the presentation. 2. Ashina Castle - Best selection of bosses and enemies in the entire series. Very semi-linear and open-ended (for the most part), while also serving as the major hub of the Sekiro world. Lore and storytelling is also unmatched, for obvious reasons. Visuals is the weakest point, as it's VERY similar to the Outskirts and, as a big appreciator of the smaller details in environmental design, I can't deny that once you've traversed two or three rooftops, you've pretty much traversed them all.Still very pleasing to the eyes, tho. 1. Fountainhead Palace - The most gorgeous of them all, extremely fun, and very important narratively. While also having a bit of the "grappled to one rooftop, you've grappled to them all" problem that hurts exploration a mite, there is good variety in the area's broader visual design. The Divine Realm certainly doesn't hurt. Wish it had at least one unique mini-boss (the carp doesn't count and Shizu is a gimmick, if a cool one). To be clear, when I say level design, it's not just shortcuts or optional side-routes. It's also about how layered the different sections are, if they offer options and boons to enemy engagements, whether you can reach the same point through different paths, etc. Great video all in all, mah Chad. If you're planning to do an Elden Ring area ranking, you should probably include the minor and medium legacy dungeons like Castle Morne, Shunning Grounds, and Nokron/Siofra Aqueduct on the list too, since Miyazaki did seem to refer to them as such in a recent interview.
I love Fountainhead Palace. Lot's of enemies, which are all different, something completely new (the great carp) a great bossfight and insane visuals. The only area with better visuals (for me) is the view from Anor Londo in ds3 but i love fountainhead.
Man, most of my Sekiro playthoughs end at Fountainhead palace cause i just dont want to leave. Then i get a craving for another playthrough a few months later and have to relearn how to play the game in the toughest area before i can start another NG. 🤣
though the dungeon is the bottom spot for me, my favorite thing about it is the Doujun questline and in particilar fighting Jinzaemon (who has the Generals' moveset) with red eyes since he does a tonne of damage and doesnt go down too easily. The lore behind it is very cool too imo like finding out Kotaro's father was there.
i still feel like ashina castle beats fountainhead, i always hate having to go through mibu manor since it's so punishing to mess up there and the way the palace nobles kill you feels really unsatisfying. also, i would put the sunken valley above ashina outskirts purely for how pretty the bodhisattva valley looks.
@@OmegaMetroid93 It’s a move you can unlock called “anti air deathblow”. There’s like a total of 7ish foes in the game that have airborne moments where you’re able to use it on them.
@@OmegaMetroid93you have to make sure to buy the skill from blackhat badger before you progress too far into the game, he’s over by the old grace idol down to the left in the house with the big hole in the roof
@@chadofastora Same. I LOVED Fountainhead, and all, but I thought Morgott was a FAR better final fight than Divine Dragon, and there was more depth, paths, and enemy variety imo.
Sunken Valley Gunfort is also for me top tier but the monkey cave isnt as nice as it has a overwhelming amount of greenness and the monkeys and it didnt have good figjts except the guardiwn ape
Not a fan of fountainhead palace, especially on first play-through. Not sure why they made it so difficult to find the way to the Pot Noble and the Great Carp Bell.
Chained ogre ain't that bad tbh. Yeah the grab attacks have bad hitboxes but you gotta take that fight slow. The close range grab is too fast to be in any part of the attack but if youre paying attention you just dodge backward. The other grab is shit i admit but it doesnt 1shot so its fine ig.
Sekiro is my first FromSoft game, and I have zero idea why people hate the Chained Ogre, as I, legitimately, beat him on the first try. Didn't seem that hard to me.
@@monkeyeattail Sometimes it’s a matter of luck, and everyone does things differently. There are some bosses in these games where I thought their difficulty was way overhyped, and then had my ass handed to me on the 2nd playthrough
I found him pretty tough but I didn’t find him to be the absolute unit that other people found him to be on their first playthrough I think it’s cuz he’s I figured out not to parry and mostly dodge his attacks
for me, the big problem of sekiro's areas is the fact that we have to go back to places already seen. 3 time to ashina castel ? it's not normal in my opinion
i agree that the vibes in fountainhead are stunning, but i hate the okami warriors for some reason. those soccer ball kicking mfs are so annoying to deal with, especially at the flower viewing stage when there’s a million of them. thankfully you can skip most of them by sneaking across the ground.
See I actually fucking HATE fountain head palace, not because of the area itself but the enemies. The Okami are annoying at the best of times but that’s not the problem, the problem is those stupid nobles who have a combination of all of my least favorite fromsoft enemy abilities. 1. They limit your health like the Jailers from DS3 2. They slow you like the jailers 3. Their status effect is basically the brainsucker range attack (it even traps you for an instant kill grab) And 4. It REMOVES THE ABILITY TO REVIVE, all of this would be acceptable if it DIDN’T do that. It is literally the culmination of all of my least favorite enemies and they are everywhere for the first half of the area, they even hide around corners like the brainsuckers. If they just changed how enfeebled worked it would be fine and it would probably be my favorite area. But then it goes and tops it all off on a gimmick boss that has an annoying first phase. I want to love this area and that only makes it worse Edit: ALSO there’s that miniboss that never stops harassing you with lightning who I have a love hate relarelationship with Also also I generally like the gimmick bosses, Rykard, Yhorm, and the Storm King was neat. But that first phase of divine dragon just brings me back to the Deacons of the Deep.
16:17 make it 12 - there is one red guard who warns you about the demon of hatred just before you find his area.
also the end of black hat badgers quest line but then you have done the entire quest line with him so idk if that counts
Peddler
@@karthus9609aswell as the one is hirata estate before lady butterfly thats gives you the snap seed
Fun trivia about the basket guy is that i remember reading in some intervirew that his was the only dialogue in the game written by Miyazaki.
Problem is that we probably contributed 90% in the invasion of Ashina castle by killing all of the generals, bosses and that annoying fire bull.
True
Genichiro probably only made things worse for Ashina by pissing off Sekiro
they would have stood a chance if they just didn’t kidnap Kuro 💀 don’t f with that boy wolf man killed Isshin IN HIS PRIME
22:21 There's also the fact that you spend the whole game killing ashina's generals, war beasts and warriors in order to get Kuro back, which is pretty insane to realize once the castle is being invaded and they don't have anyone
Damn... now I feel bad about killing all these guys... but it was so fun doing so...
Yeah lol genichiro tried to save ashina by kidnapping kero, but only ended up making wolf kill half their fighting force lmao
@@patrickripleyiii134 why tf genichiro himself doesn't kill all the ministry forces....he is the 3rd most powerful character after sekiro and isshin
@@sidtalks2885 he isn't strong enough, they would overwhelm him, he's also a coward who doesn't really believe in himself, that's why he could never reach isshins level
@@patrickripleyiii134 bro, genichiro is strong enough...how many people u think can block his lightening attack ?
Also, in Hirata estate, there is a random path that leads to the purple shinobi fight, which I found extremely cool because he alone was so hard to defeat there, and when you get to the late game, you can see how much you've improved by beating a lot of them.
Don t forget that you can kill the infected priests with the mortal blade !!!
Damn, I had no idea
@@chadofastora it's why the game has you go up the stairs after acquiring the Immortal Blade bro😭
@@JuliusCaesar103most people actually never found those stairs funny enough
@@JuliusCaesar103Ive platinumd the game and I had no idea that was a thing lol☠️
I’m surprised people didn’t know this. As soon as I got the sword, the first thing I did was try to kill one of those monks lol
I know we meme on mist noble but he’s actually kind of impressive when you consider the nobles in fountainhead die in only one hit
@@antoniofernandes3409 Ig that’s true
I only found your channel recently, but you make really good content!
Thanks
Ashina Castle and Fountainhead Palace are my favorite areas for many of the things you mentioned. I remember returning to the castle my first play through after Divine Dragon and being struck with this regret for taking out Ashina’s strongest soldiers earlier in the game and seeing what was left of their clan fight in vain against the Red Guard. I fought them just to keep the Ashina soldiers alive and would flee before they would attack me. For Fountainhead Palace, as soon as I fought the Okami warriors the first time I assumed Lady Tomoe was one of them just based on Genichiro’s move set and the way Isshin spoke of her. The Okami warriors, Loneshadows and Red Guard are my favorite enemies to fight in the entire game.
I love challenging myself to slaughter every single enemy of hirata till the butterfly boss on each ng & ng+, without using any idols to see how far I can get.
I did that as a sen grinding😊
Dude i only found you today and seeing someone else who appreciates the enemy types in the souls games is really refreshing. Looking forward to this channel getting as huge as it deserves to some day and saying I was here relatively early 💪💪💪
No Souls area has the same vibe as Hirata Estate's first half. Feels like Gotham and the flames everywhere and the rain just perfect. It's the closest to the Halo 3 ODST vibe I love so much.
YOU CDAN DFFELCT THE SHICIMEN WARRIORS TERROR WHAT YOIU CAN WHAT
Anyway, always good to see you rank Soul's games I like. You make the 2nd best ranking lists, #1 is mine cause I'm objectively correct always and everyone knows it. Your lists and reasonings are pretty similar logical and that's what I like about your view on things.
Gave me the same vibes, so beautiful yet depressing
@Mansory811 WHAT YOU CAN?
Yea baby! Finally, an area ranking. I have been waiting for so long.
I want to play this game so badly, but my AC6 all ending run ist still going and the ER dlc is so very close, I think not a single other video made me more hyped for sekiro, keep up the good work, great video
Yeah, obviously I recommend it, but just take your time. I’m sure that DLC is gonna keep us all busy for a while
definitely wait for the game to go on sale, it goes on sale all the time for 30$
Import your AC into sekiro
Bro, you just spoiled the whole game for yourself. What's the point
@@antonioc.5778 I think 1 1/2 years ago I got into the soulsborne community because my friend group started playing Elden Ring, however, I didn’t have a pc or any consol to play it, for 4 months I fantasized about playing it and watched a lot of rankings, I know of the existence of every boss in the series and every area, but after playing Elden Ring, I stoped that, I played BB, DS I, DS II, DS III and AC VI (I finished AC6, absolutely masterpiece 10/10) and now the dlc in a few days, the good part about these videos is, that I just can’t remember what area comes after the next, I only get that while playing, I am always surprised in these games on just what boss or area is next, in terms of story, I always try to skip those parts and npc interactions, I hope that this answer is pleasing, have a great day ^^
Very much agree on the Gun Fort thing. It's easily my favorite stealth section in the entire game. You can stealth the entire fort, bar one shotgun enemy, and it's incredibly satisfying.
That said, I have to disagree about the chained ogre. The reason it's an awful boss is because the game doesn't push you to explore Hirata Estate enough. I actually think it somewhat discourages you from doing so, which I think is a huge problem considering you're seemingly intended to reach at least the first shortcut as soon as you get the bell (for the flame vent and axe).
Wait, I’m confused. Why do you feel like it discourages exploration? Cause I never felt that way. Although, I always get rid of every single enemy in these games, so that makes it a lot easier to look around(once they’re all gone I mean) idk if you’re saying because the flame vent is in a different area from the ogre? But you can get the firecrackers right before the ogre and those do the same exact thing. I’m sure that’s exactly why they made it that way…so you could use the firecrackers against it since it’s not likely that you’re going to go to the Estate area before fighting the big fella.
Discourages exploration to Hirata, not discourages exploration. I think should have stressed that I meant immediate exploration, cause it's really just a matter of when you inevitably visit Hirata Estate. The game encourages exploration very strongly, I just don't think it pushes you to Hirata Estate hard enough to go immediately, which I feel it should. Also, yeah you can use Fireworks, but Flame Vent makes him flinch for longer, pretty sure (definitely if you use oil and hit).
@NarrowSpark96 Comment was a while ago but I just played sekiro for the first time. Ayanama the peddler (the merchant thats like 20 steps away from the ogre) gives you information that the flame vent is in hirata estate. In fact. It was a combination of him telling me that he saw it in hirata when he was a bandit and those 2 guards who said the ogre was weak to fire that made me go explore hirata. I think that's a pretty solid way to encourage exploration for it AND give you a clear target
keep making content dude, its always a good time to watch your videos
I don’t plan on stopping any time soon
I recently watched your sekiro boss ranking, enemy ranking and mini-boss ranking all amazing vids.
Thanks
i also really love the area where you fight the divine dragon.theres just something about walking on clouds and seeing the highest points of the map stick up that i really like
19:19 im glad you mentioned it anyway because after 250hrs and watching a lot of videos I still didn't know you could use the mortal blade to kill them lol
@@TheIvanMilky Yeah, after all the comments I got I don’t think I’ll ever forget
I have watched this video over 25 times and I haven't even beaten the Outskirts yet, WWW content
Hello Chad! Another great video. However, as a fellow Sekiro player, I have to confess I preferred Ashina Castle to Fountainhead Palace... perhaps it's the DS1 lover in me that appreciates the interconnectivity and enemy variety that the earlier has, or perhaps I was traumatised in my first playthrough by the tougher enemies of the latter, but there we disagree. Cheers!
I dont think you've ever mentioned it so I'm not sure if you're aware but the sakura bull can be bypassed by sneaking up on it and using the fireworks prosthetic allowing you to deathblow it by breaking its posture after it goes through a frenzy from being scared and then laying on the ground from tiring itself out
"Once you're able to deflect the giant terror balls and beam"
I have around 120 hours in Sekiro. I was today years old when I learned this....
@@alihasanabdullah7586 It is pretty unintuitive to figure out, I also didn’t know for years
This game's levels benefit so much from the atmospheric background music. I think it would have done wonders if Bloodborne and even Dark Souls 3 had some.
25:13 This didn’t happen to me in Sekrio or any other souls game. But now that you say this I’m actually going to integrate that into the legacy dungeons for Shadow of the Erdtree to not only get a bunch or runes and make sure I don’t miss anything. But also to just go through the area again and fight all the enemies. Cool experience, going to do this with SOTE :)
Hirata estate feels like a textbook Tenchu level. I love it.
Thank god you exist to remind me of Sekiro
Les goo, chad dropped!!!
I like the cave area with the cliffside neighboring side. I also love the monk temple in the cliffs with the demon bell.
Of course you can deflect the Shichimen’s terror balls. Why did I never think of that? Lmao
Need more Chad content like this
11:13 the solution to chained ogre is simple, don’t stand directly in front of him, his animations are long enough to allow you to strafe to his side and consistently land attacks
sekiro is a perfect video game imo
Pretty close imo
my fav will always be bloodborne but sekiro is so damn good it made me seriously question that
So, the reason there's gun fort gunmen in ashina depths is I think the depths is just under the valley, physically.
You should do a ranking of the questlines.
Keep on the good work 👍
I love watching sekiro rankings
@chadofastora you should do this for the other games, then compare their total scores to see which has the best area designs
Nice video, you should make a boss arena ranking I'm curious what you like the most
10 seconds in, but thank you for valuing quality over quantity in fromsoft games compadre
Edit: I can see this reflected in the detail you go into when considering where to rank the areas too
14:35 This guy made me quit Sekiro for a week before my shame brought me back. I was then sucked back in and beat the game not long after.
I would love a ds1 or ds2 enemy ranking from you. These enemies rarely get the spotlight they deserve in my opinion.
Perhaps at some point
god i fucking love sekiro so much like dont get me wrong i love all the mainline fromsoft games but sekiro just hits different, everything works for me
There is no other way around. Fountainhead Palace just took atmosphere and beauty to the next level when it comes to fromsoftwares level design.
It's a cool concept from the very beginning: a japanese temple built around giant sakuras and flooded by a lake with crystal clear waters. Put there a whole microcosm that is the culture of the palace nobels, and you have a masterpiece
Dang, I'd put foutainhead near the bottom.
Aesthetically I agree it's near perfect and I like the NPCs, but Mibu Manor is a godawful migraine if you can't find the optimal route, the Great Colored Carp is the worst stealth section in the game with what could have been a moment even more memorable than first meeting the Sunken Valley Serpent, the trial-and-error "oops you lose" enemy placement for the Nobles, the area not containing a single good mini-boss, and it all ends with a gimmick cutscene boss.
The sword and spear warriors in the area are its only upside gameplay-wise, and that to me is nowhere near enough to bring it into the upper half of the areas in the game.
(But still a fantastic video and you got a sub from me!)
The enemies of ashina depths actually make perfect sence. Yes they lack originality since most of them are reused but they still fit.
The gunmen are in the poison pool because its literally right below the sunken valley, its the same location. the mist Noble is an enemie from fountainhead palace and was most likely placed there by the corrupted monk to protect him, and the villagers are villagers.
I ran around for ages trying to find what was hitting me with lightning in fountainhead, i didnt know it was the Okami leader and I killed them and didn't put realise that was the reason I could now swim.
Sekiro is probably the single most consistent FromSoft game in my mind - aside _maybe_ from that small poison swamp area with the snipers, I can't think of a single bit I didn't enjoy. I definitely can't claim the same for ER or the Souls games. Hell, even the spooky gimmick area ended up being both atmospheric and fun to explore!
It’s so funny how you point out how much you love the Ashina Generals but hate the Ogre. The ogre was way more of a Dark Souls boss on my first playthrough so dodging through was pretty easy, but the General absolutely fucked me. I actually had to look up “why am I so bad at Sekiros combat” after this. They all just said to practice on the immortal guy in the dilapidated temple and after that I came back and wrecked the general first try. It was a moment where the game finally starting clicking, but god damn I found it so hard the first time
4:09 I see Isshin got the looks!
8. Abandoned Dungeon - It's kinda cool, and I like the atmosphere and storytelling, but it's just ok gameplay-wise.
7. Ashina Depths - Decent to strong in all the broader elements - gameplay, presentation,and story - but never one of the game's best in any of them.
'
6. Hirata Estate - Very strong story and gameplay, but visuals are decent at best.
5. Sunken Valley - Probably the weakest area in terms of story, but very solid in everything else.
4. Senpou Temple - Gorgeous in the morning and sundown, decent at midday. Story is impeccable, and while gameplay is quite good, I don't personally find it to be one of the strongest in the game. The enemies are a highlight, but the level design and exploration feel pretty limited apart from some of the big branching optional sections. Also, the boss is weak, and yes, I do count bosses to the area's appeal.
3. Ashina Outskirts - Offers some of the strongest gameplay. While pretty linear as a whole, it's a good thing for a starting area, and these linear bits are still layered and open-ended enough to offer variety and options to encounters, with secrets off the beaten path. Visually stunning, the ongoing battle in the late-game really adds to the presentation.
2. Ashina Castle - Best selection of bosses and enemies in the entire series. Very semi-linear and open-ended (for the most part), while also serving as the major hub of the Sekiro world. Lore and storytelling is also unmatched, for obvious reasons. Visuals is the weakest point, as it's VERY similar to the Outskirts and, as a big appreciator of the smaller details in environmental design, I can't deny that once you've traversed two or three rooftops, you've pretty much traversed them all.Still very pleasing to the eyes, tho.
1. Fountainhead Palace - The most gorgeous of them all, extremely fun, and very important narratively. While also having a bit of the "grappled to one rooftop, you've grappled to them all" problem that hurts exploration a mite, there is good variety in the area's broader visual design. The Divine Realm certainly doesn't hurt. Wish it had at least one unique mini-boss (the carp doesn't count and Shizu is a gimmick, if a cool one).
To be clear, when I say level design, it's not just shortcuts or optional side-routes. It's also about how layered the different sections are, if they offer options and boons to enemy engagements, whether you can reach the same point through different paths, etc.
Great video all in all, mah Chad. If you're planning to do an Elden Ring area ranking, you should probably include the minor and medium legacy dungeons like Castle Morne, Shunning Grounds, and Nokron/Siofra Aqueduct on the list too, since Miyazaki did seem to refer to them as such in a recent interview.
Sunken valley is really underated in my eyes
Ayy! Nice vid. Excited for seeing more ER content post DLC!
Thanks, I can’t wait for it
8:43 Somehow the Serpent still in the cave after you have killed it.
The cave serpent is most likely a second serpent. It isn't missing an eye, where the first one *is missing one* for.. reasons.
I love Fountainhead Palace. Lot's of enemies, which are all different, something completely new (the great carp) a great bossfight and insane visuals. The only area with better visuals (for me) is the view from Anor Londo in ds3 but i love fountainhead.
Man, most of my Sekiro playthoughs end at Fountainhead palace cause i just dont want to leave.
Then i get a craving for another playthrough a few months later and have to relearn how to play the game in the toughest area before i can start another NG. 🤣
Yo new chad video dropped 🔥🔥
though the dungeon is the bottom spot for me, my favorite thing about it is the Doujun questline and in particilar fighting Jinzaemon (who has the Generals' moveset) with red eyes since he does a tonne of damage and doesnt go down too easily. The lore behind it is very cool too imo like finding out Kotaro's father was there.
4:10 actually got me
Holy shit you can deflect the schichimen warrior terror attacks!
@@benlipka5417 Yep, just need some divine confetti
24:15 Genichiro learned from okami
i still feel like ashina castle beats fountainhead, i always hate having to go through mibu manor since it's so punishing to mess up there and the way the palace nobles kill you feels really unsatisfying. also, i would put the sunken valley above ashina outskirts purely for how pretty the bodhisattva valley looks.
4:00 - What the hell did you just do to that rooster??
Does the game have special situational kills like this for many other enemies too?
@@OmegaMetroid93 It’s a move you can unlock called “anti air deathblow”. There’s like a total of 7ish foes in the game that have airborne moments where you’re able to use it on them.
@@chadofastora Cool!
Replaying the game right now, so gonna have to try for some of those. Thanks :)
@@OmegaMetroid93you have to make sure to buy the skill from blackhat badger before you progress too far into the game, he’s over by the old grace idol down to the left in the house with the big hole in the roof
@@alexhart4710 Yeah, I did get it. Even if you miss it, it appears in the offerbox
11:40 youre supposed to run around him in circles and slash periodically. He's super easy like that
@15:50 thanks for that
Love this game! The few games i would consider a masterpiece. 😁
7:58 i have the game at 100% but i still hate that fckin wall. I can never get past that shitty thing
8:00 relatable 🤣🤣
Well I wouldn't say Fountainhead is the best area in the series (that goes to Leyndell). I cannot deny just how gorgeous it is.
I think Leyndell is objectively better, I just have a soft spot for fountainhead
@@chadofastora Same. I LOVED Fountainhead, and all, but I thought Morgott was a FAR better final fight than Divine Dragon, and there was more depth, paths, and enemy variety imo.
That sure are a lot of skill points
Nice video 👍
4:10 wait how did u 3 shot him u r deffo cheating i spent 5 hours trying to kill him especially his lightning stab
Did you know you can kill the infested seekers with the mortal blade?
18:32 Robertttt!!!!
The abandoned dungeon leads back to the start!?!?!? I didn't know that and i have platinum in the game
Tip: unlock camera vs Chained Ogre
Rank the sekiro NPC’s please I love ur vids!!!
@@MousaMovies Right now I have a lot of video ideas lined up, but I may get around to it
@@chadofastora either way we will be seated! excited for whatever you come out with next
i like crickets because you can farm them for resurrective power
10:58 Bloodborne reference maybe?
Sunken Valley Gunfort is also for me top tier but the monkey cave isnt as nice as it has a overwhelming amount of greenness and the monkeys and it didnt have good figjts except the guardiwn ape
* *groans* *
* *dies* *
Where are the halls of illusion?!
Not a fan of fountainhead palace, especially on first play-through. Not sure why they made it so difficult to find the way to the Pot Noble and the Great Carp Bell.
Wait, you can parry the shichimen magic? Even the laser!?
@@gregorlangemeier4116 Yep
1:49 evil Sekiro fan be like:
I agree with literally every placement
Nice
homie you have HOW MANY skill points??!?!?!?!
Whre mibus village?! muy vavorite
I mean if the ogre can make someone quit the game i doubt they would ever beat it anyways
Chained ogre ain't that bad tbh. Yeah the grab attacks have bad hitboxes but you gotta take that fight slow. The close range grab is too fast to be in any part of the attack but if youre paying attention you just dodge backward. The other grab is shit i admit but it doesnt 1shot so its fine ig.
Unpopular opinion here: I think they’ll true monk fight is one of the best in the game
U can deflect beam !!??
@@nguyenloinhatduy Indeed
Please rank every enemy in Elden ring.
Ashina depths is great
Sekiro is my first FromSoft game, and I have zero idea why people hate the Chained Ogre, as I, legitimately, beat him on the first try. Didn't seem that hard to me.
@@monkeyeattail Sometimes it’s a matter of luck, and everyone does things differently. There are some bosses in these games where I thought their difficulty was way overhyped, and then had my ass handed to me on the 2nd playthrough
I found him pretty tough but I didn’t find him to be the absolute unit that other people found him to be on their first playthrough I think it’s cuz he’s I figured out not to parry and mostly dodge his attacks
change your name to Gigachad of Astoria because of the Persona music
for me, the big problem of sekiro's areas is the fact that we have to go back to places already seen. 3 time to ashina castel ? it's not normal in my opinion
i agree that the vibes in fountainhead are stunning, but i hate the okami warriors for some reason. those soccer ball kicking mfs are so annoying to deal with, especially at the flower viewing stage when there’s a million of them. thankfully you can skip most of them by sneaking across the ground.
Rank the boss arena.
Personally always thought fountainhead was overrated. Beautiful area, but not a big fan of the level design for half of the area.
same. i hatet the enemies so muchh
See I actually fucking HATE fountain head palace, not because of the area itself but the enemies. The Okami are annoying at the best of times but that’s not the problem, the problem is those stupid nobles who have a combination of all of my least favorite fromsoft enemy abilities.
1. They limit your health like the Jailers from DS3
2. They slow you like the jailers
3. Their status effect is basically the brainsucker range attack (it even traps you for an instant kill grab)
And 4. It REMOVES THE ABILITY TO REVIVE, all of this would be acceptable if it DIDN’T do that. It is literally the culmination of all of my least favorite enemies and they are everywhere for the first half of the area, they even hide around corners like the brainsuckers. If they just changed how enfeebled worked it would be fine and it would probably be my favorite area. But then it goes and tops it all off on a gimmick boss that has an annoying first phase.
I want to love this area and that only makes it worse
Edit: ALSO there’s that miniboss that never stops harassing you with lightning who I have a love hate relarelationship with
Also also I generally like the gimmick bosses, Rykard, Yhorm, and the Storm King was neat. But that first phase of divine dragon just brings me back to the Deacons of the Deep.