The core part of any action game is its enemies. What good is a great combat system if the enemies themselves are no fun to fight? There're the angels and demons of Bayonetta, the many mythologised foes of Souls games, and Nioh has its wonderful and weird Yokai, coming in all shapes and sizes.
RELATED: Best Soulslike Games Of All Time, Ranked
A big addition in the sequel, Nioh 2, is that almost every enemy can drop a soul core that contains a unique active ability and various passives to give you a unique edge in combat. There is plenty of variety in them beyond simple damage dealing and so all of them have a place, but some are still a bit more potent than others.
10 Onryoki
Famed (or rather infamous) boss-turned-regular enemy in the original Nioh, Onryoki returns in the sequel much more sparingly, though just as fearsome. Swinging their great chained iron balls at you, or even using them as projectiles, Onryoki's great size and strength commands the battlefield.
It's only fitting then that their soul core works much the same. There's a bit of a warm-up before the attacks hits, but it's a pretty powerful swing of the chains to knock enemies back. On top of that, it comes with the passive ability to reduce any damage you take in the middle of an attack, letting you shake off any strike with ease.
9 Ubume
One of the more unique enemies introduced in the game, Ubume is a yokai that more than others just wants to be left alone with its child. It will be provoked if you get too near, though if you destroy its amrita baby, it will chase you down with all its strength.
RELATED: Games To Play If You Like Devil May Cry
A signature feature of Ubume is the loud cry it unleashes, stopping you in your tracks and draining massive amounts of ki. As a soul core it does the same, stunning enemies and draining their ki, even reducing the maximum ki of yokai. On top of this, it also makes all your strong attacks deal extra ki damage.
8 Namahage
Originally introduced in the first DLC for the original Nioh, Namahage reappears here. Just like their first appearance, they strike with wide, sudden hits that make them incredibly unpredictable and a thrill to fight. They can even throw their crude saws at you to halt you.
Those sudden movements are translated well into their soul core. When used, you transform in Namahage and dash at the enemy with your saws, attacking multiple times to let you rack up some serious damage and move a good distance at the same time. It's even more devastating against enemies with no ki.
7 Lightning Gods Of Yomi
A terrifying yokai encountered as the final boss of the second Nioh 2 DLC, the Lightning Gods of Yomi manifest as a single enemy, wearing the nine masks of the undead yokai. In battle, they command lighting with ease, dashing about at speed and slowing you to a crawl.
Their soul core gives you their signature dash. Using it, you can dash in any direction and leave a trail of lighting in your wake. Thing is, it's guaranteed a certain amount of lighting strikes, so it's just as effective, if not more so, in confined spaces where you can electrify all the enemies around you. Utility and damage in one.
6 Nuppeppo
Nuppeppo is a funny little guy introduced in the Nioh 2's first DLC. Just a mass of flesh that looks human, they waddle about the battlefield with a deceptive speed. They have incredible defense, can cast berserk on you and even eat you up.
RELATED: Best Games Based On Japanese Mythology
They offer a risk-reward playstyle in their soul core. With it, you do a small dash forward while swinging your arms around you. It's not a highly damaging move, but respectable all the same. The main thing is that it puts you in the middle of enemies with the berserk status. At least it gives you some extra health too, in case things go awry.
5 Yatsu-No-Kami
One of the earliest bosses of the game, Yatsu-no-Kami is a great snake with a sharp horn and smaller snakes for arms. They slither about the battlefield like, well, like a snake in the grass. Their two arms can even detach and attack you independently.
Their soul core is just as unique, and just as powerful too. When used, you summon a slightly smaller Yatsu-no-Kami that dashes towards enemies. If it hits a wall it rebounds and continues attacking, meaning in tight, enclosed spaces, it can deal incredible damage.
4 Ippon-Datara
Ippon-Datara is one of the best yokai in the game, a simple blacksmith that died with regrets, their life's ambition unfulfilled. As such, they chase you down by hopping after you with the hammer of their forge or a self-made odachi as a leg.
As a soul core, they come only in the hammer variety. Quite simply, you summon them to perform a quick overhead strike with the hammer. The damage is nice, but the real perk is the speed at which it can be pulled off, and the incredible knockdown strength it has. In the yokai realm it can even scorch enemies, which it deals bonus damage to.
3 Kasha
At the site of the Honnoji incident where Oda Nobunaga met his end, you might have some idea of what to fight there. Some powerful yokai, a harbinger of death, maybe all of the above. That's exactly what you get, though perhaps a scantily-clad catgirl with a whip might not be the form you were expecting.
RELATED: The Most Realistic Video Games Cats
Kasha is a terrifying beast, dashing about on her wheels, leaving a blaze behind her. One of her signature moves, to summon a flaming spinning top, is the ability of her soul core. It chases down enemies and rebounds off walls. Even more powerfully, you gain health every time the wheel hits an enemy.
2 Ryomen Sukuna
The first boss you encounter immediately after Kasha and the Honnoji incident, Ryomen Sukuna is a two-sided yokai. One side is focused on fire and melee, while the other is personified by water and ranged. They each literally cover the weaknesses of the other.
In their soul core form, they are perfectly encapsulated. When used, you dash across the battlefield as Ryomen Sukuna, dealing plenty of hits of both fire and water, easily building up confusion on enemies. The big benefit of this is that it gives you back anima for every confused enemy, meaning the ability basically funds itself.
1 Otakemaru
Though perhaps unknown as such until late in the game, Otakemaru is the main antagonist of Nioh 2, and they are indeed a worthy final boss. Using many of the same skills as you, Otakemaru alternates between all three elements and yokai shifts at will.
Just as intense is their soul core. By default, their soul core increases your anima by a full bar, giving you more energy to perform yokai abilities. The active skill, Sanmyo Storm, calls down multiple blades of all three elements, inflicting enemies with all of them at once, causing both their respective effects and confusion. As another bonus, plenty of this anima is refunded on confusion, too.
NEXT: Best Games Set In Feudal Japan
