Description[]
Nioh vs. Sekiro. A samurai and a ninja from two games inspired by Dark Souls battle for their immortal lives.
Introduction[]
Wiz: With the success of the games known as Dark Souls, many have attempted to recreate the infamous difficulty of the series, with all new protagonists to boot.
Boomstick: And what better way to do that than with two of histories greatest historical warriors. Like William Adams, the westerner samurai from Nioh.
Wiz: And Wolf, the one-armed ninja from Sekiro.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
William Adams[]
Wiz: From the land of Japan came rumors of a legendary source of power known as Amrita, known there as the life force of anything that exists, from the tiniest Kodoma to the largest Yokai.
Boomstick: And keeping in most versions of Queen Elizabeth the First, the one in this version apparently wanted everything in the known world to herself and wished for the Amrita herself. Man, c'mon lady, you're the Queen of England and Empress of India, what more do you need?
Wiz: Well, she also wanted it in order to battle against the Spanish. To this end, she commanded various sailors to head to Japan to try and procure it.
Boomstick: You'd think she'd be grateful to them for getting even a tiny amount, but nope, she threw them straight into the Tower of London.
Wiz: Including an Irish-born sailor called William Adams, who as it turned out was more qualified to track down Amrita than what was previously thought.
- Background
- Age: 30s
- Height: 6'
- AKA Anjin
- Irish Sailor
- Inspired by the first Westerner Samurai
- Tried to hit on a girl after crawling through a sewer
Boomstick: Turns out that when William was a young boy, his village was home to a Spirit known as Saoirse.
Wiz: Saoirse was created through the collective beliefs of the entire village and on the day it was lost due to the Irish-English War, she gave a handful of gifts to William; first was her friendship.
Boomstick: And the second was the much more useful ability to track down sources of Amrita.
Wiz: A useful ability indeed, and one that was sought after by the homunculus creation of John Dee, Edward Kelley.
Boomstick: With a name like Kelley, you wouldn't think this guy would be anything serious but nope. He was super effective at whisking Saoirse away from William to use her to track down the Amrita himself, even if he himself isn't from Fullmetal Alchemist.
Wiz: But Kelley underestimated the friendship William shared with Saoirse and set off in hot pursuit after him to the home of Amrita itself, Japan. Catching Kelley however proved to be a massive challenge.
Boomstick: Apart from yet another war that was tearing Japan apart, William also had to contend with all manner of monsters, like skeletons, Yokai, stone sentinels and the cruelest of all, man. Well bandits and pirates, but still man. And sometimes samurai. And ninja.
Wiz: With such massive hurdles to overcome, William was never going to naturally last long. But he could last supernaturally long thanks to his third gift from Saoirse; his resurrective immortality. As long as he believed in Saoirse's ability to protect him, he can come back from any death.
Boomstick: Since he stepped into a setting straight out of Dark Souls, he was going to need this ability a lot.
Wiz: But its not like he was easy to kill all the time, because he is an incredibly fast learner when it comes to any method of fighting.
- Arsenal
- Swords
- Dual Swords
- Spears
- Kusarigama
- Hammer
- Odachi
- Tonfas
- Guns
- Bows
- Cannons
Boomstick: In just a short time-frame, William is able to learn a fast majority of different techniques with weapons. He can use a samurai's signature katana, or two at the same time. His spears can be use for wide area attacks, the kusarigamas can long and quick reaches and the hammer is...well, you all known what a hammer can do.
Popup: There are also axes, but they are included in the same class as a hammer.
Wiz: If he ever wants to use long ranged weapons, he has access to rifles, bows and even hand cannons, all of which come with two different types of ammo.
Boomstick: William is skilled with regular weapons just fine, but whenever he wants to boost his power to game-breaking levels, he busts out the Living Weapon.
- Spirit Guardians
- Saoirse
- Resurrects him upon death
- Fire
- Earth
- Wind
- Earth
- Lightning
- Saoirse
Wiz: By taking in a certain amount of Amrita, William is able to combine whatever Guardian Spirit he currently had on him with his weapon, turning it into an elemental bearer of destruction.
Popup: William can also use talismen to imbue weapons with an elemental affect.
Boomstick: Most people usually have one Guardian Spirit or even two. But William has an entire army of them as his fingertips, each one obtained by peering through the memories of those he bests in combat. Those Spirits that are inflicted with the fire can cause burning over time and earth causes them to suffer additional Ki damage, which is essentially magical stamina.
Wiz: Whilst water makes those inflicted less durable, wind makes them even weaker in terms of attacks and lightning leaves them very hard of moving.
Popup: Saoirse herself is a water guardian spirit.
Boomstick: And if he's able to inflict two elemental status effects at the same time, then the enemy's ki becomes completely empty until this "Confused" effect wears off. And without ki, one is essentially a sitting duck.
- Feats
- Dodged lightning from Nue
- Battled White Tiger, who was corrupted by enough Yokai to destroy a city
- Survived fighting Oda Nubunaga
- Survived a fall from a large height head-first into water
- Collected 20+ Guardian Spirits
- Defeated Okatsu, Edward Kelley, Orochi, John Dee
Wiz: During his time chasing after Kelley and Saoirse, William proved that in spite of not being from Japan, he was well deserving of the title of samurai.
Boomstick: He's battled against some of the most powerful monster and skilled warriors from throughout Japan.
Wiz: Including the Yokai Nue, who could summon lightning from the sky to try and strike William. According to ThePerpetual on the VS wiki, William is avoid to avoid this lightning at Mach 18.
Boomstick: He also surviving fighting the Nine-Tailed Fox, sometimes, who can output 1.96 kilotons of TNT according to Mr. Bambu.
Wiz: He's even battled against the most feared and powerful Yokai there was, Yamata-no-Orochi. After that, he was finally able to reclaim Saoirse from Edward Kelley, after putting his sword through him for good measure.
Boomstick: It's a good thing he didn't need Saoirse directly for her resurrective ability the entire time he was trying to rescue, otherwise he would never have succeeded.
Wiz: With the multitude of foes and obstacles he faced, William ended up biting the dust numerous times.
Boomstick: Like the time he got shot in the back by those pesky London Tower guards. Seriously, they are way too tough for a first game level. What is this game trying to be, Dark Souls?
Wiz: It might have well been, because don't forget, in spite of every death he went through, William Adams never failed in his tasks, whether they be in England or Japan.
Wolf[]
Wiz: During the Sengoku period of Japan, the master swordsman Isshin Ashina led a bloody coup and wrestled control of his ancestor's land away from the Interior Ministry.
Boomstick: And by master swordsman, we mean master swordsman. This old geezer was so skilled with a blade that the Interior Ministry held off trying to retake the land, known as Asshina, back from Isshin because he was just that skilled.
Wiz: But the time of Asshina was soon coming to an end. On top of being unable to effectively support itself independently, Isshin was inflicted with a sickness that slowly sapped away at his strength. With their greatest opponent nearing his deathbed, the Interior Ministry began to lay siege on the land of Asshina, intent of obtaining control of the lands once more.
Boomstick: Until Isshin's grandson Genichiro had the brilliant plan to create an army of immortal warriors to protect Asshina. But in order to do this, he first needed to coerce the Divine Heir, the source of an ancient resurrective power, in order to help.
Wiz: The Divine Heir, better known as Kuro, understood Genichiro's plight, but he also understood the dangerous power of his bloodline. But Genichiro wouldn't take no for an answer and planned to kidnap Koro. But standing in his way was the boy's bodyguard, the shinobi Wolf.
- Background
- Age: Early-Mid 20s
- Height:5'7
- AKA Sekiro
- Bodyguard to the Divine Heir
- Adopted son of Owl
- Eats rice raw
Boomstick: During the first war for Asshina, the master shinobi Owl came across young wolf scavenging to weapons and gave him two things. One, a sweet ass scar and the chance to become a shinobi himself.
Wiz: Could have done so without cutting the poor kid's face, but in time, Wolf rose to become a deadly ninja and because of his skills was assigned to guard the Divine Heir.
Boomstick: So when Genichiro came for Kuro, Wolf stood his ground and...lost. Man, he must have been rusty.
Wiz: In spite of the crushing defeat and the fact it cost him an arm, Wolf acquired himself a Shiobi Prosthetic from the mysterious Sculptor and set off to rescue his lord in no length of time.
Boomstick: As it turns out, it wasn't just Wolf protecting Kuro, but also the same way around.
Wiz: Exactly. On the night of an attack targeted at Kuro, the Divine Heir founded an injured Wolf and gave him a sample of his blood. This allowed him to tap into the power of the Dragon's Bloodline, meaning that every time he's killed, he comes back to life.
Boomstick: And not always at the last save point either, because Wolf can actually bring himself back to life right on the battlefield in order to leap right back into the fray.
Wiz: And into the fray he carries an impressive set of weapons.
- Arsenal
- Kusabimaru
- Shinobi Prosthetic
- Loaded Shuriken
- Loaded Axe
- Loaded Spear
- Loaded Umbrella
- Flame Vent
- Shinobi Firecracker
- Sabimaru
- Divine Abduction
- Finger Whistle
- Mist Raven
- The Mortal Blade
- Healing Gourd
Boomstick: Aside from his classic katana, he has a load of other tools thanks to his Prosthetic. I say load because that's what most of them have as a title. There's the loaded axe to smash, loaded spear to stab, loaded shuriken to hurl projectiles and the loaded umbrella for rainy days if the weather calls for it to rain arrows.
Wiz: The Flame Vent lets Wolf unleash a blast of fire and coat his blade in the flames at the same time if he wants. The Shinobi Firecracker blinds and confuses foes, the blade Sabimaru poisons them and with the Divine Abduction he can literally turn his enemies around for a back stab. But the main feature of the Prosthetic is that it comes equipped with a grappling hook to transverse any area or get up close to fight.
Popup: The Divine Abduction can only instantly banish foes wearing orange robes, such as monks.
Boomstick: Whenever it comes time for Wolf to battle enemies as unkillable as he is, he busts out the Mortal Blade, a massive sword that is able to sever a person's immortality. Take that you stupid centipedes!
- Skills
- Shinobi Arts
- Whirlwind Slash
- Mikiri Counter
- Asshina Arts
- Prosthetic Arts
- Chasing Slice
- Temple Arts
- Mushin Arts
- Ninjutsu Techniques
- Bloodsmoke Ninjistu
- Puppeteer Ninjistu
- Bestowal Ninjistu
- One Mind
- Dragon Flash
- Shinobi Arts
Wiz: In order to use all these weapons to their fullest, Wolf has mastered several skill sets and attained several techniques. With the One Mind he unleashes a swarm of slashes and the Dragon Slash lets him deliver a powerful blade of air as an attack.
Popup: Although Wolf can use the Mortal Blade in his attacks, it appears he must significantly weaken an opponent before he can use it to directly sever their immortality.
Boomstick: He uses the Chasing Slice and Living Force to perform a simultaneous attack after using his Prosthetic Tool and has several Ninjistu techniques, like the Bloodsmoke which uses the enemy's own blood to create a smokescreen.
Wiz: On a more defensive note, Wolf is able to use the Mikiri counter against foes with spears, canceling their attacks and dealing damage to their stamina. Additional skills aside, Wolf is most adept as deflecting nearly any attack, leaving an opponent wide open for a Death Blow. This technique has let him battle through entire hordes of foes, both human and monstrous.
Popup: The Mikiri Counter can also be used on swords.
- Feats
- Dodged musket fire from close ranges
- Took attacks from the Divine Dragon
- Recovered after drawing the Mortal Blade
- Cut through the Great Serpent's hide
- Traveled through the Sunken Valley
- Defeated Guardian Ape, Owl, Genichiro, Isshin
Boomstick: On the human side of the spectrum he's battled against musket armed soldiers and dodged their gunfire at even the closest ranges. According to KLOL506, this means Wolf can react at Mach 71. And for more unique human foes, there's the illusionist Lady Butterfly and GYOUBU MASATAKA ONIWA!
Wiz: Gah! Don't yell that like that! You'll give me a heart attack. Ahem. He's even taken on Genichiro in a rematch, this time emerging victorious and even battled against Isshin Ashina himself. Both of whom utilize natural lightning which can have an output of 5 gigajoules of energy.
Boomstick: On the monstrous side, he's gone up against the Guardian Ape and Great Serpent, the latter of which is able to generate powerful tremors just by moving around.
Wiz: But that was hardly anything compared to the time he battled against the source of the Divine Heir's power, the Divine Dragon, which could swing a giant sword with energy worth 16 kilotons of TNT according to Ugarik and Wolf is able to either block or take several of these hits.
Boomstick: All in a quest set by Kuro himself to undo his own immortality given powers, knowing the damage that they can cause. And so does Wolf, considering he's been dying over and over again against those after the power themselves.
Wiz: Whilst it doesn't come at any personal cost to Wolf, aside from losing half his money and experience each time, resurrect each time causes the spread of a disease known as Dragonrot, which will inflict all those he knows with a bloody cough. But even with that cloud over his head, Wolf did was he needed to serve his master in his life or to his death.
Interlude[]
Wiz: Alright the combatants are set, time to end this debate once and for all.
Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!
The Battle[]
At either end of a field of long grass surrounded by several trees, stood William and Wolf, the samurai and ninja staring each other down.
Wolf: So you have accepted my challenge. I take it you're ready.
William: I am. Are you?
Wolf narrowed his eyes and both he and William drew their respective blades before taking a stance.
A gust of wind blew through the grass before both warriors dashed towards each other.
FIGHT!
William's and Wolf's swords clashed together once before this was repeated numerous times, showing sparks as the two attempted to get a hit in on the other. William in particular went on the offensive with rapid strikes of his sword, forcing Wolf to just as quickly deflect the attacks. One of William's attacks suddenly sent Wolf skidding back several steps, but the shinobi recovered to hurl a shuriken from his prosthetic arm. William instinctively deflected the incoming projectile but this gave Wolf the opportunity to charge forward and take a slash at William, who was fast enough to also deflect this attack with a sword swing in the opposite direction as his first. With Wolf now back within his range, William swung his sword down from overhead. Wolf blocked the attack by bracing his sword with the palm of his prosthetic hand upwards.
As the two blades grinded together, William and Wolf locked eyes with each other.
Wolf: You are strong indeed.
William: So are you, but only one of us will be the strongest by the end of this.
They pulled their blades back and Wolf took action first, performing a Whirlwind Slash attack to slash twice at William, who blocked both attacks but ended up being pushed backwards. Wolf didn't let up and lunged forward with the Nightjar Slash, forcing William to dodge to the side in order to avoid the downwards slash. But Wolf still wasn't done and he sheathed his sword for a brief moment, charged up a little power before unleashing a Dragon Flash, sending a vertical slash of air towards William; with no time to dodge, William was forced to block the attack but the resulting success completely broke his ki, leaving the samurai panting and exposed. From his own end, Wolf saw an opponent with a ripe opening for a Deathblow. Thus, the shinobi charged forward and stabbed out at William.
Suddenly, however, he wasn't there to be stabbed, because he had suddenly vaulted himself over Wolf's head with his spear, landing behind the surprised shinobi before whipping around and swinging his spear in a large arc, forcing Wolf to use the Mist Raven to phase away from the attack. Wolf was instantly beset by William charging at him, twirling the spear in front of him, forcing Wolf to dart backwards to avoid getting hit before William finished by stabbing out with the spear. But Wolf stomped down on the spear as it neared him, canceling the attack although not slowing William down in the slightest as he yanked the spear upwards, forcing Wolf to retreat as his footing was displaced. William then brought the spear down at Wolf, who used the Divine Abduction to re-position himself behind his opponent, slashing William across the back, forcing him to let go of his spear. William only let out a grunt of pain before drawing his duel swords, whipping around and slashing at the shinobi, who slid under the attack. The instant the shinobi got back to his feet, William attacked him with a flurry of sword slashes. Wolf quickly blocked the slashes until William slashed upwards with both his twin blades at the same time, knocking the shinobi off-balance. Taking advantage of this, William sheathed both the blades before unleashing a double Iaido Slash at Wolf. However, the shinobi whipped out his Sabimaru blade, using it to catch one of William's blades and using his usual sword for the other one. The twin blade locks grinded together briefly before Wolf was able to free Sabimaru and slash at William, who quickly twisted his head to the side to avoid the poisonous blade before drawing out his axe, slashing upwards to force Wolf away before delivering a kick to the shinobi's chest, causing Wolf to fly back and crash against a tree. William then ran forward and slashed down at Wolf with the axe; unable to dodge anywhere, Wolf unfolded the Loaded Umbrella, blocking the powerful attack once then twice. But at the third time the axe cut completely into the shield and with a pull William wrenched it from Wolf's prosthetic arm before swinging it down at the shinobi himself.
But Wolf had another trick up his prosthetic and he swung it out to unleash the Shinobi Firecracker, blinding William and causing him to miss his swing, instead burying the axe head into the trunk of the tree. As soon as the blindness cleared, William saw that Wolf had vanished before sensing danger from above and he darted back as a shuriken embedded itself in the ground. The samurai looked up to see Wolf darting among the branches of the trees lining the field using his prosthetic's grappling line, hurling more shuriken at William, who dodged back from the projectiles before drawing out his rifle, aiming and firing. Wolf ducked under the shot as it smashed through a branch behind his shoulder before grappling to another tree to avoid a second shot, doing this numerous times at each time William fired. Eventually, William's gun clicked empty and Wolf stopped leaping from trees to turn and ready a shuriken.
Instead, his eyes widened in shock at seeing William aiming a hand-cannon not at him but instead the trunk of the tree. The cannon was fired and the cannonball smashed through the trunk, causing the tree to begin toppling forward. Wolf sent out his grappling hook to try and snag onto another tree but it was intercepted by William sending out the chain of his Kusarigama, which wrapped around Wolf's tether mid-flight. With a yank, William pulled the Shinobi towards himself and as he passed, William held up the blade of the Kusarigama and slashed out out, cutting into Wolf's throat and opening it up. The shinobi gagged on blood before slamming face first into the ground, leaving his back exposed for William to drive the hooked blade into his back, killing the shinobi.
William pulled the blade from Wolf's back and nodded in respect at his body before turning to walk away. But almost as soon as he did a red blossom of spiritual energy erupted from Wolf as he resurrected himself. Just as William noticed, Wolf had stabbed him through the back. William let out a cry of pain and surprise but gritted his teeth and lashed out with his elbow, catching Wolf in the side. Wolf grunted as he realized William still wasn't going down and so he grabbed the end of his sword that was sticking from William's chest, collecting the blood and using it to perform the Bloodsmoke, throwing up a red cloud to vanish into, pulling his sword out of William as he did who collapsed forward.
The western samurai observed the red cloud around him as he tried to pick out Wolf before a voice resonated in his head.
Saoirse: Get ready William; you now have enough Amrita to summon me.
William nodded and tensed himself for the moment to attack, which came when Wolf came out of the mist from behind William, preparing his Flame Vent. As he heard the 'fwoosh' of the weapon, William activated the Living Weapon, imbuing his newly draw sword with Saoirse's power, wrapped it in an aura of water which he then swung at Wolf before he could fire off the Flame Vent, smashing apart his Prosthetic. The power of the attack caused an explosion of fire and water that blew away the Bloodsmoke, revealing Wolf now lacking his artificial arm and breathing heavily. With his Living Weapon still active, William took a stance with his sword pointed at the shinobi as the latter, unphased by the loss of his prophetic, sheathed his main sword and drew the Mortal Blade, red energy coursing off the weapon as he readied it for a Mortal Slash.
Both the samurai and ninja stood there for a few seconds, sizing each other up and knowing they both only had a single chance to end the other.
And they took it, both dashing forward with a single slash of their weapons, ending up with their backs to the other. Neither moved for a moment, before Wolf coughed once and blood erupted from his chest. The shinobi collapsed forward onto his knees, dropping the Mortal Blade as he did. The western samurai turned to look at the back of the defeated Wolf.
Wolf: Do it!
William sheathed his sword, dispelling the Living Weapon, before unleashing it with the Iaido Draw, slicing Wolf's back and dealing the finishing blow to the shinobi.
Wolf: Ah...you were...impressive.
Wolf collapsed onto his front as William sheathed his sword and bowed in respect.
William: As were you.
KO!
Outcome[]
Boomstick: Just goes to show you don't need to come from FromSoftwear to be an effective Souls protagonist.
Wiz: This was not an easy match-up to decide the victor of. In fact, our analysis was pretty back and forth on who would win.
Boomstick: Mainly because both William and Wolf had impressive skill-sets that actually ended up being suited to countering the other's at nearly every turn.
Wiz: Wolf was trained all his life, William is a fast learner. William has a wider range of proper weapons but Wolf’s prosthetic tools made up for this. Wolf has techniques to counter weapons like the kind William uses and to level the playing field, but William is experienced with fighting ninjas and adversaries like Wolf. With the two warriors being so equal in skills and experience, the answer to who would win lay in who was faster, stronger and tougher.
Boomstick: With the reflexes to dodge at Mach 71, Wolf was nearly 4 times faster than the Mach 18 William, so one point to the shadowy shinobi.
Wiz: But our other two points of strength and durability went to William Adams.
Boomstick: Let us explain; Wolf could block attacks worth 16 kilotons of TNT and in terms of attack output was able to cut through the hide of the Great Serpent which was tough enough to withstand it's own 262 tons of TNT generating movement, as found by Mr. Bambu. By stacking what this attack must have been worth with the Memories Wolf had at this time, along with dividing them for each Memories' individual most likely power increase, and even highballing to include the maximum amount of times attack power can be upgraded to , then Wolf's highest possible attack output is 6 kilotons of TNT.
Popup: The attack potency can be upgraded via the Dragon Mask in even one playthrough.
Wiz: William, on the other hand, was able to battle against the corrupted Guardian Spirit, the White Tiger, which had just absorbed several spirits which collectively possessed enough power to destroy an entire city. Such a feat would require 6.3 megatons of TNT.
Boomstick: And since William was able to match the White Tiger in battle, then he must be capable of taking hits worth that much power and don't forget when he defeats someone he absorbs their Amrita which he uses to increase his power, so he should at least ended up with a similar level of power as the White Tiger.
Popup: This argument can be further supported with the fact that Edward Kelley had stolen the Amrita used to seal away these destructive spirits, before using it to summon and power Orochi. William was both able to defeat it and take it's Amrita, which included the amount stolen by Kelley. Since an equal source of power would have been needed to keep the spirits at bay, it leaves no question William would have obtained a similar level of power.
Wiz: With higher durability than Wolf's attack power, Wolf wouldn't be able to render William vulnerable to a Death Blow, or even an immortality severing attack with the Mortal Blade, as it seems an opponent needs to be incapacitated for the Mortal Blade to be used.
Boomstick: So even with his superior speed, Wolf couldn't leave or get in a fatal blow. And before you say 'Wait, they can just resurrect endlessly', we were deliberately going on a single-death victory, barring Wolf's one usage recovery during battle.
Popup: It's possible that William could have taken Wolf's Immortality Severing Blade upon killing him the first time, as he often loots his enemies' bodies when they die, and could have used it to permanently kill Wolf.
Wiz: So in conclusion, both held the experience, arsenal and techniques, Wolf held the speed and William held the durability and power, making this a hard fought victory for the Westerner Samurai.
Boomstick: The battle was all over in less than a Sekiro.
Wiz: The winner is William Adams.
Next Time[]
Unfathomable power
Held by former scientists
Silver Surfer vs. Doctor Manhattan
Trivia[]
- Connections: They are both the protagonists of Dark Souls-like games who are respectively a samurai and ninja, which are historical enemies. Both also wield blades, can return from the dead due to their connections with supernatural allies and are attempting to rescue said allies.
- Animation Style: 3D.
- OST Idea: 'Guardian Shadows', referring to William's Guardian Spirits and the title of Wolf's game
Description[]
Introduction[]
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle!
William Adams[]
Wolf[]
Interlude[]
Wiz: Alright the combatants are set, and we've run that data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!