Welcome to A LINE THROUGH T⌛ME, where I take the time to look
through your favourite franchises and work out how it all lines up.
Nioh 2's second expansion, Darkness in the Capital, releases today,
sending Hide on another time travel adventure. So, what better way to
celebrate than to talk about a time travel adventure featuring our previous hero, William?
William was featured in Warriors All-Stars just under two months after his debut adventure,
alongside characters from Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, which I've already proven are set in the
future of the Nioh universe. But, the question we're going to answer today is, what point in
his personal timeline is William plucked from to take part in this this crossover adventure?
One's first assumption is probably that William is brought from the middle of his return to England,
seeing how the Nioh stage in All-Stars is the Tower of London, and William is sporting his
samurai gear and has Saoirse back. However, there is evidence to suggest that, while the stages are
formed from the memories of the warriors, they aren't necessarily based on the same point in
time that the hero comes from. The Ninja Gaiden stage is based on the climax of Ninja Gaiden III,
but Ryu expresses no urgency in getting home to resolve that matter, and he's got the Dragon Sword
which he doesn't have at that point. Additionally, in his recruitment mission, Yukimura recognises
Osaka Castle, but not the additional fortification built out front. Y'know, the Sanadamaru, which
he built. And it has nothing to do with Mitsunari or Naotora, since both of them were dead by then.
So, the Tower being the location plucked from Nioh has nothing to do with William's timeline.
Fortunately, with Koei having so many other series based on the Sengoku Era,
there are plenty of opportunities for William to reference his world's
counterparts to these other famous figures. The two notable instances of this are with
Ishida Mitsunari and Oda Nobunyaga. William's conversation with Oda's feline counterpart can
be interpreted as an acknowledgement of his having met the undead form of the warlord.
William: "There was a man much like you in my world. I wasn't able to meet him while he lived."
If interpreted this way, it suggests that he's already had his fight with Nobunaga,
which leads immediately into the Kelley and Yamata-no-Orochi fights that cap off
William's time in Japan. Soon after this, Mitsunari is executed. This explains why
William refers to him in the past tense when speaking with the Warriors version.
William: "Ishida was unpopular among friend and foe alike."
William: "He was determined to fight for what he believed was justice."
Our final piece of evidence is actually the first
thing we hear from William when he meets with Ryu and Ayane in their first stage.
William: "Where am I? I should be in Japan, but..."
William: "I am William. I was supposed to be in a place called Japan."
Evidently, if he was in Japan at the time, he's either not gone back to England to deal
with John Dee yet, or he's already done so and just returned to Japan for the Dragon of the
North expansion. With said expansion over a month away at the time of All-Stars' Japanese release,
I find it unlikely he was intended to been from during or after it. All we had at the time was
the main game, so it would only make sense for him to be from no later than the end credits. And yes,
he does refer to Nekomata in present tense in All-Stars, despite him being dead as far as
William knows at this point; but if William had arrived back in Japan already, Nekomata would
have been brought along with William as Saoirse was, since he's possessing him again by then too.
To me, it seems that the most likely point in time, based on our evidence, is after Mitsunari's
execution, while William is preparing to return to England, but before he actually sets off.
And that's that. I really want to see an All-Stars 2 or to have William show up in another crossover
that acknowledges All-Stars, just to see how his friendships change in light of his having
now met his own world's Yukimura, and having had his duel with Jin Hayabusa. And we could
get some of the more obvious comparisons now that they don't have to be vague about
Nioh's plot, like comparing Ayane to Okatsu, or comparing Seiryuu to Masamune's Blue Dragon.
I've been planning to make this kind of video for a long time now, piecing together what point in a
character's personal timeline they're from in a crossover. Would you guys like to see more like
this? Be sure to let me know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a capital to illuminate.
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Today's recommended playlist is The Night Parade by DrakeVagabond. Half
of them are about Nioh characters and even a couple bits of obscure,
but really interesting lore, based on historical context.