Rise of the Rōnin

Release22 March 2024Genre(s)Action role-playingMode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rise of the Rōnin^[b] is a 2024 action-role playing video game developed by Koei Tecmo's Team Ninja and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 5 on 22 March 2024. Upon release, it received generally positive reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Rise of the Rōnin allows players to create a custom character.^[1] Combat features a wide array of weapons common during the Boshin war, such as katanas and various Boshin war firearms.^[2] The game features story choices at key moments, allowing players to side with or fight against various non-player characters, affecting the story.^[3] Historic cities Yokohama, Kyoto and Edo can be explored, as well as areas in the countryside. The player can traverse with various means, such as a horse, grappling hook or glider.^[4] The game features the ability to swap between three difficulties, as well as a three player cooperative multiplayer mode.^[5]

Story

Setting

Rise of the Rōnin is set in Yokohama, Edo and Kyoto, in the mid-19th century during Bakumatsu, the final years of the Edo period. The game depicts the leadup to the Boshin war between the Tokugawa Shogunate and various anti-shogunate factions displeased with the western influence after the forced reopening of Japan following the Sakoku period.^[3][6][7]

The story follows the Blade Twins, whose genders are selected by the player, and their involvement in the Veiled Edge resistance group after their family was murdered by oniwaban working for the Shogunate. Trained by the Veiled Edge's leader, the Bladesmith, the Blade Twins begin their mission to overthrow the Shogunate.

Plot

In the year 1853, the Blade Twins are tasked by the Bladesmith to assassinate Commodore Matthew C. Perry and steal a secret message in his possession. They are able to steal the message, but are unable to kill Perry due to the intervention of another assassin, the Blue Demon. Outmatched, one of the Blade Twins is forced to flee while their partner sacrifices themselves to ensure the Blade Twin's escape. After Shogunate oniwaban attack the Veiled Edge's village, the Blade Twin realizes that their partner is still alive and decides to desert the Veiled Edge to search for them. The Bladesmith forces the Blade Twin into a duel to the death to win the right to abandon the clan, with the Blade Twin prevailing and the Bladesmith wishing them luck with her dying breath.

The Blade Twin makes their way to Yokohama in 1858, where they befriend wandering ronin Ryoma Sakamoto. The social order of Yokohama and all of Japan has been thrown into turmoil due to the arrival of the Perry Expedition and increasing Western influence in the country. As Ryoma searches for his master Shoin Yoshida with his fellow students, the Blade Twin investigates the whereabouts of their partner, now known as Demonclaw Samurai, who is working for the Americans and British. Shogunate Chief Minister Naosuke Ii enacts harsh suppression and purges of anti-Shogunate and anti-foreigner sentiment, culminating in Shoin's arrest and execution in 1859 which angers Ryoma and his friends. Genzui Kusaka decides to take Shoin's place and rebel against the Shogunate. He rallies a small army of his own to attack Ii directly. The Blue Demon, whose true identity is Akikatsu Manabe, attempts to protect Ii but is struck down by the Blade Twin in retribution, and Ii is successfully assassinated. As a result of Ii's death, American influence in Japan wanes as British influence strengthens.

In 1863, the Blade Twin continues working with Ryoma's group in Edo upon learning the Demonclaw Samurai is collaborating with the British. After Genzui brazenly burns down the British Legation, Ryoma begins to balk at Genzui's increasingly violent methods. Genzui sets his next target as Kaishu Katsu, an important Shogunate official. The Blade Twin and Ryoma attack Katsu, who easily fights them off and instead wins them to his side by telling them his desire to reform the Shogunate and modernize Japan without the use of violence. They assist Katsu in recruiting additional followers to his cause. Eventually, they meet the Shogun Yoshinobu Tokugawa himself, who expresses his own desire to modernize Japan to match the West. Yoshinobu decides to travel to Kyoto as part of a ploy to lure his enemies into the open, and Katsu requests the Blade Twin and Ryoma to join the Roshigumi to protect Yoshinobu. However, shortly after their arrival in Kyoto in 1864, the leader of the Roshigumi, Kiyokawa Hachirō, is assassinated by the Blade Twin's partner and exposed as a traitor, throwing the organization in chaos. Roshigumi is disbanded, some of its members returning to Edo while those remaining in Kyoto form the Shinsengumi.

Sensing weakness, Genzui leads the Choshu clan to attack Kyoto. The Shinsengumi, along with the Satsuma clan armed with British cannons, are able to defeat the Choshu. The Blade Twin confronts the Demonclaw Samurai, who reveals that they have been behind many of the events accelerating the Shogunate's decline as revenge for their village's destruction. The Blade Twin disagrees with the Demonclaw Samurai's path of violence and refuses to join forces with them. The Demonclaw Samurai flees while Genzui commits seppuku to avoid capture. Realizing that both the Satsuma and Choshu want to overthrow the Shogunate, in 1866 Ryoma manages to convince Satsuma general Saigo Takamori to join forces with the Choshu despite being traditional enemies, forming the Choshu-Satsuma Alliance. Shortly after, the Blade Twin infiltrates the Shinsengumi to investigate an assassination attempt on Ryoma. The Blade Twin roots out the traitor within the Shinsengumi and accompanies Ryoma to the Shogun's palace where he manages to convince Yoshinobu to dissolve the Shogunate and effect a peaceful transition of power.

In 1867, despite Yoshinobu engaging in negotiations with the Choshu-Satsuma alliance, the Demonclaw Samurai begins to stage false flag attacks to stoke tensions between the two sides, culminating in them attempting to assassinate Ryoma, who envisions a Japan under democratic rule. Ryoma is either killed or severely wounded. Without Ryoma's mediating influence, relations between the Shogunate and the alliance collapse, leading to the Boshin War in 1868. After an assassination attempt by the Demonclaw Samurai, Yoshinobu is forced to retreat to Edo, allowing the alliance forces to seize Kyoto after the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. Katsu makes plans to burn down Edo to prevent its capture, but the Blade Twin is able to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the two sides that spares the city. As the peace talks are being finalized, the Blade Twin confronts and defeats the Demonclaw Samurai one last time, choosing to either spare or execute them. If spared, the partner comes to realize the error of their ways, and as penance decides to leave Japan to observe its development from afar.

Afterwards, the Shogunate is dissolved and Yoshinobu retires to live quietly as a civilian while the leaders of the Choshu-Satsuma alliance begin the process of reorganizing Japan's government as well as rapidly modernizing its army and navy, while the remnants of the Shogunate and Shinsengumi sail towards Hakodate to form the Republic of Ezo. If the player manages to save Ryoma's life and spares the Demonclaw Samurai, a post-credits cutscene shows Ryoma running into the latter in New York City.

Development

Development on Rise of the Rōnin started in 2015, with PlayStation Studios' XDev assisting.^[8] According to Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda, they wanted to create a game that depicts Japan in its darkest times, citing the Bakumatsu-period as an era video games would "shy away from". The game's setting would also lend itself well to their expertise, due to their experience making games focused on ninja and samurai, such as Ninja Gaiden and Nioh. According to Yasuda, Rise of the Rōnin is the most ambitious project Team Ninja has developed.^[3][2] Developing an open world title has been a particular challenge for Team Ninja, as they only developed linear, level-based games until now. Yasuda cited creating passive non-player characters as "impactful" and "challenging", as in their previous titles everything on-screen was for the player to defeat.^[4]

Release

Rise of the Rōnin was announced on 13 September 2022, at PlayStation's State of Play livestream.^[3][6][2] On 7 December 2023, at The Game Awards 2023, a pre-order trailer was released, with a release date of 22 March 2024.^[9] Pre-orders opened in Japan on 14 December 2023, revealing that the game would be sold in two versions, Cero D and Cero Z, due to the violence deemed to be excessive by the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization of Japan.^[10]

South Korea controversy

Rise of the Rōnin will not release in South Korea. Early reports indicated that this is due to comments by Fumihiko Yasuda comparing Shoin Yoshida to Socrates, which sparked controversy in South Korea. Although Yoshida played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, he is also considered an integral person in what would lead Japan to conquer and occupy Korea. Sony later confirmed that the game would not release in South Korea, but did not provide an official reason.^[11]

Reception

Rise of the Rōnin received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.^[12]

References

Notes

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