Nioh 3 – Prologue Walkthrough: Part 1

Nioh 3 is the sequel to the successful soulslike Nioh series, continuing its blend of brutal combat and dark historical fantasy while introducing a new setting and cast of characters. In this installment, you step into the role of Tokugawa Takechiyo as you strive to rise as the next shogun.

However, your younger brother, Tokugawa Kunimatsu, consumed by bitterness and jealousy over the succession, sets events into motion that twist fate and threaten to ruin everything, leading to a dangerous and escalating conflict.

Note

This is part of our Nioh 3 – Guides And Walkthrough Hub, so if you want more content, guides or walkthrough about the game be sure to check it out.

The Ceremony

You, Tokugawa Takechiyo, the grandchild of Tokugawa Ieyasu, have been chosen to take on the responsibility and become the next shogun.

The castle is preparing for your ceremony to be crowned, and you need to complete one last training task. Here is where you can customize the look of your character.

Take your time, as there are many features to explore.

After you finish customizing your character, follow your brother Kunimatsu to meet Munenori at the dojo.

Pick Your Samurai Starting Weapon

Inside the dojo, you will need to pick your starting weapon from four available options:

• Odachi: Long reach with powerful attacks but slower swings.
• Spear: Long reach with wide, sweeping strikes.
• Dual Swords: Fast slashes with multiple consecutive attacks.
• Sword: Balanced and beginner-friendly, easy to handle.

You can pick and try all of them separately, but if you’ve played Nioh 2 before, you already know how most of these weapons function.

There is no best weapon to choose, as this will only serve as your starting weapon, and you will get all other weapons early in the game, giving you the chance to experience every playstyle.

After selecting your weapon, you will receive a tutorial on basic Samurai combat (you’ll understand the name later) against your brother while Munenori oversees the fight.

Once you finish the basic combat, you will need to fight your brother to test everything you’ve learned. Naturally, you win the fight, but the unexpected happens.

The Yokai Attack

You will see a strange cloud forming in the sky, and next you realize that Yokai have attacked the castle. The nearby houses are burning, and chaos spreads everywhere.

Two Yokai breach the dojo and try to attack you. Munenori tries to stop both, but the last one overpowers him. Luckily, another loyal follower, Hattori Hanzo, appears out of nowhere and defeats the Yokai for you.

Now you are urged to escape the castle and find a safe place. Hanzo and Munenori will try to clear the way for you and ask you and your brother to head to the underground passage.

The Fall Of Edo Castle

There is one straightforward path, and you will get a bunch of tutorials to help you grasp how combat, fighting, movement, and so on work.

Your task here is to escape from the castle, so make your way forward. You will find Munenori fighting a Yokai, and you need to help him defeat it.

After you help defeat all the Yokai here, Munenori will slash the nearby wall and create a passage for you.

You are instructed to go to the well up ahead past the inner gate, and you need to make your way there to escape.

Your goal is clear, so both you and your brother move forward. On the path, you will come across a bunch of Yokai that you need to defeat.

This is the perfect opportunity to get familiar with how combat works, because quite frankly, you will be doing a lot of it.

At some point, after defeating all the Yokai outdoors, Hanzo will appear. Hanzo will be in charge of teaching you how the Ninja style works.

Pick Your Samurai Starting Weapon

Just like previously, you will have four different weapons to choose from

• Hatchets:Two throwable hatchets ideal for striking enemies from a distance
• Kusagirama: Fast attacks extended with the chain and counterweight for reach and versatility
• Dual Swords: Rapid slashes with fluid combos for aggressive offense
• Ninja Sword: Balanced and beginner-friendly, easy to handle for all players

Just like before, feel free to try all the weapons and pick the one that feels best to you and you enjoy. Don’t worry, there is no best weapon and no wrong answers.

After you confirm which starting Ninja weapon you used, a couple of Yokai will attack and you need to defeat them. During this fight, the game will teach you how to fight in the Ninja Style.

Samura And Ninja Style Explained

So Nioh 3, while there are still the usual weapon stances like in the previous games, works a bit differently.

You get your usual three stances but only one combat style, and they added a different combat style, which you can technically call a fourth stance with separate abilities, attacks, and advantages.

Samurai Style

Samurai Style is the close head-to-head combat style where you can wear heavy armor and wield strong weapons to deal increased damage. In addition, you can use the Ki Pulse.

If you don’t know what a Ki Pulse is, it’s a stamina mechanic you need to master in this game. When you attack, stamina will deplete, but a white bar will remain.

If you perform a Ki Pulse, that stamina, which is Ki, will be recovered, giving you enough Ki to land another attack or create distance.

In addition, you can use weapon stances like in previous games. You have three stances:

• Medium Stances are the default in Samurai Style, offering a balance between offense, defense, and Ki management. You deal decent damage, maintain steady movement, and use Ki efficiently, making it ideal for beginners.

• Low Stances focus on speed and Ki efficiency. Attacks cost very little Ki, and movement is faster, letting you dodge, reposition, and chip away at enemies while keeping Ki high. Think of it as a low-budget Ninja Style.

• High Stances trade Ki for power. Attacks hit hard but drain Ki quickly, making blocking and dodging risky. This is a high-risk, high-reward stance that, if mastered, can defeat enemies so quickly they won’t even realize it.

Ninja Style

Ninja Style, as the name suggests, is all about quick movement and sneaking to backstab enemies.

This is the style you want to use if you want to remain stealthy, since you deal increased damage from behind and it costs less Ki overall. Unlike Samurai Style, you don’t have a Ki Pulse here. Instead, you have a skill called Mist.

After you land an attack, you can press the button and it will cause you to perform a quick evade with no Ki consumption at all. This is useful for dodging certain attacks without sacrificing any stamina.

Not only that, but when you perform a Mist, after the evade, a shadow of yourself will briefly distract enemies and draw their attention, leaving you time to reposition or recover.

While you don’t get weapon stances in this combat style, you gain Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu allows the use of various tools and abilities, or other tactical options, that you can employ in combat to gain the upper hand.

Which Fighting Style Is The Best?

As you can see, each fighting style is unique and offers distinct advantages and strategies. So just like with weapons, there is no best style to use, and each one has situational uses.

Remember to use the one you enjoy most, and depending on the boss fight or area you clear, you can switch between the two fighting styles at your own pace.

Sometimes one style might be more effective or helpful than the other in specific situations or bosses

Back To The Escape Plan

After you have learned both combat styles, continue forward until you reach the well that Munenori mentioned. Drop down, move forward, and open the door.

Oh boy, here is where things take a wrong turn.

Inside, you find Saito Fuku waiting for your arrival as she begins to create a barrier to protect the room. Kunimatsu suddenly stabs her with his sword without warning.

This whole scene shocks you, as you wouldn’t expect your own brother to do such a thing. He then proceeds to claim that he is the worthy Shogun. The game then lets you fight him.

Of course, if you’ve played these types of games before, when something like this happens, you, the weak protagonist at the beginning of the game, are meant to face a boss that can do so much.

You are supposed to lose, so don’t worry about dying here.

We took the chance and tried to defeat him during this fight, and we did. Just so we can save you the hassle, it was a good boss fight overall, but there is absolutely zero reward for doing such a chore, so consider that your disclaimer.

After this fight, Saito will come out of nowhere and block Kunimatsu’s vision while casting a barrier to protect you.

Unfortunately, this barrier doesn’t stop the jealous Kunimatsu, who crashes through it, sending Saito flying with it.

This leaves you in an unfair position, feeling weak and helpless. As your brother approaches to finish you off, your spirit transports you to a different location.

Follow Kusanagi’s Guidance

After you awake, you will find yourself inside a strange place. Take the stairs up, and you will arrive in a lake-like area. Here, the spirit will mention that Kusanagi is the one who helped you and is offering you the choice between two forms.

• The one on the right, Blue, favors the Ninja style and adds one point to your Skill attribute.
• The one on the left, Red, favors the Samurai style and adds one point to your Strength attribute.

This choice doesn’t seem to matter much, as it only affects the first hour or so of the game, so feel free to pick whichever you want to try first. Eventually, you will be constantly switching between the two.

After you pick Kusanagi’s form and interact with the spirit there, you will be transported back to the real world. You find yourself in a forest, and the only way forward is straight.

As you climb the hill, you see what looks like a general approached by one of his men, who informs him that Ieyasu fled. The general, Takeda Shingen, doesn’t seem concerned and orders his men to go after him.

You watch this scene from a distance, wanting to figure out where you are and how you can meet up with Ieyasu.

To be continued

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Thank you for reading another Into Indie Games article on Nioh 3.