Rise of the Ronin /IMPRESSIONS
No, I still haven’t gotten to watching Shōgun on Disney+. Yes, of course I want to watch it — not only because I’m into Japanese culture and history, but also because of the great Hiroyuki Sanada. And the reason I haven’t started it yet is simply lack of time, which was in especially short supply recently. I mean, in a span of just a few weeks, we got Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Dragon’s Dogma 2, as well as the newest game by Team Ninja.
And it’s that last one that got its hook in me the most, stopping me from watching Shōgun by — ironically — sending me on my own historical adventures across the Land of the Rising Sun. But, unlike many other pieces of historical fiction set in Japan, Rise of the Ronin is interested in a slightly later period of time, after Japan has already opened its borders to Westerners, resulting in some interesting sights, sounds and conflicts that I haven’t experienced in games before.
Take, for example, the city of Yokohama as it’s depicted in the game, with half of its buildings built in traditional Japanese style, and the other half built in a style more reminiscent of London of old and early American architecture. Or, let’s say, the game’s factions, of which some are pro-shogunate, trying to keep foreigners out of Japanese society and politics, and some are more open to Westerners — and their guns.
Speaking of guns, it’s worth remembering that they aren’t something new for Team Ninja’s take on the Soulslike genre — after all, we had them in first Nioh years ago, and they work just the same here. On the other hand, many other aspects of the game are significantly different when compared to Team Ninja’s previous games, while still fitting well with the rest of the game.
First of all, there’s the open world that you can roam around freely in between missions, and the game will definitely be nudging you to explore various nooks and crannies of 19th century Japan in search of side quests and activities, ranging from archery challenges, to petting different cats. Then, there are a few additional ways you can traverse that world, including a simple grappling hook for quickly getting up, a horse for quickly getting across horizontal surfaces, and a glider for quickly getting down from higher positions (obviously inspired by recent Zelda games).
What’s even better is that those tools can be used for combat and/or stealth, and not just for traverssal, whether you want to use the grappling hook for throwing barrels of oil at enemies or to quickly get in their face, whether you’d like to jump off of a cliff, and then glide into an enemy base, where you’ll silently assassinate one enemy from the air, before slicing throats of his shocked colleagues.
All that, combined with traditionally good Team Ninja combat, rich variety of weapon types and tons of loot — results in a game that’s a joy to play, despite it not bringing anything new to the table. I mean, why focus on the lack of innovation and new ideas, or maybe some graphical imperfections and stiff animations, when you can enjoy some good combat and open world exploration? And that’s not even mentioning some other RPG elements, like dialogue choices leading to different outcomes in the story (accompanied by unlockable skills that will give you even more dialogue options), or companions that you can recruit, and then take with you on missions, before learning new combat styles from them. Or talking with them in your improvised base…
As you can see, I could go on and on, but the point remains — despite not having combat as good as Sekiro, nor the elegance and polish of Ghost of Tsushima, Rise of the Ronin is a damn solid game, taking us back to a rarely seen time period in Japanese history, and giving us an opportunity to explore, fight and talk our way through it.
Rise of the Ronin | developer: Team Ninja | publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | platforms: PlayStation 5
