Ninja Gaiden 4: How To Defeat Kitsune Courtesan

Everything you need to know about the Kitsune Courtesan boss fight in Ninja Gaiden 4, including strategies on how to defeat her.

Ninja Gaiden 4 (Image via Xbox Game Studios, Koei Tecmo Games)

Ninja Gaiden 4 has no shortage of spectacular and challenging boss fights. However, some of the bosses are on a whole other level of difficulty, especially in the earlier parts of the game. One such boss is the Kitsune Courtesan in Chapter 3. In this chapter, you encounter Kitsune twice. Although the first encounter against the boss will make you think she’s incredibly easy to defeat, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The final encounter against Kitsune in Chapter 3 is easily the toughest battle in the earlier “Yakumo sections” of Ninja Gaiden 4. While she’s not invincible, she’s certainly a challenge that will require you to master the game’s basics. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to easily defeat the Kitsune Courtesan in Ninja Gaiden 4.

Also Read: Ninja Gaiden 4: All Bosses In Order

Overview of Kitsune Courtesan in Ninja Gaiden 4

As mentioned earlier, you battle the Kitsune twice in Chapter 3. However, both these battles play out very differently. Apart from one combo (which gets an expansion in the second encounter), Kitsune has completely different movesets both times you face her. That said, much like the DDO Commander, Kitsune Courtesan is a boss that’s meant to teach you the importance of parries.

The first encounter is relatively easy, more so than the DDO Commander and the DDO Goliath. However, the second encounter is where the game truly pushes you and Yakumo. That said, defeating Kitsune isn’t that difficult if you know how to time your dodges and parries. Much like the DDO Commander, Kitsune has well-defined attack telegraphs, which you can easily predict and counter.

Additionally, most of Kitsune’s attacks can be countered by Yakumo’s Bloodraven form. If you master the timing to use the Bloodbind attacks, you can essentially trivialize this boss fight. The only spike in difficulty here is the second phase. In this phase, Kitsune gets two new attacks, a grab and an AOE. Both these combos deal a ton of damage and can be lethal.

However, you can easily avoid these two attacks with Fatal Flash or by simply timing your dodges.

Also Read: Ninja Gaiden 4: How To Parry and Counterattack

Tips To Easily Defeat the Kitsune Courtesan

Here are some tips for phases 1 and 2 of the Kitsune Courtesan boss fight in Ninja Gaiden 4:

Phase 1

In the first phase, Kitsune always starts with a 6-hit combo with her umbrella. Ideally, you want to use Fatal Flash to parry this combo and follow it up with a charged Ultimate. However, if you’re not confident with your parry timings, you can dodge this combo and retaliate with a counterattack (Bloodbind).
After the 6-hit combo, Kitsune can perform either a charged attack, which can be dodged, or better yet, countered with Bloodraven form. That said, do note that, unlike DDO Commander, Kitsune has a lengthy animation where she’s out of frame for Yakumo’s attacks. As such, you cannot hit her with a Bloodbind attack until she lands.
Hence, we recommend dodging this combo unless you can time your Bloodbind attack. That said, the timing for the Bloodbind attack isn’t that difficult. Essentially, don’t charge Bloodbind right at the start of Kitsune’s unblockable attack. Instead, charge your attack right after you see Kitsune perform a jump, and let go of the charge as soon as you see her land.
Kitsune’s attacks are incredibly easy to parry in the first phase. Parries are going to help you a lot in getting the boss’s HP down without taking a hit. We highly recommend practicing the parry timings in the Training Area before heading into this boss fight.

Phase 2

Right at the start of the second phase, Kitsune will perform her AOE attack. Basically, Kitsune lunges back, away from Yakumo, and splits her umbrella into five. The five umbrellas then follow Yakumo in a straight line, covering a big part of the arena. You’re essentially meant to Fatal Flash through these attacks. However, we found dodging sideways works much better here.
Kitsune can repeat the umbrella AOE twice throughout the entire fight. However, if you deal enough damage to the boss, you can technically skip the second AOE. That said, while this attack looks quite intimidating, it’s very easy to dodge.
Following the umbrella AOE, Kitsune will perform either a charged unblockable (akin to Phase 1) or a grab attack. For the second phase, you mostly want to rely on dodges.
We highly recommend saving your consumables for the second phase.

Once you defeat the Kitsune Courtesan, you’ll get access to the first Dark Dragon Seal and a new weapon for Yakumo – Yatousen.

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