Rise Of The Ronin

According to Koei Tecmo, the planning phase of Rise Of The Ronin’s development began before the release of Nioh, way back in 2017. Its lengthy development time speaks to the grand ambition of this new Team Ninja game, which is by far its biggest production to date, but on the flip side it also explains why it sometimes feel like a project from another time. Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda has spoken of taking notes from the Assassin’s Creed series when Ronin was conceived, and too often the game feels in thrall to others rather than having the confidence to carve out its own identity. In that sense, it cannot help feeling dated.
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That Ronin resembles an artefact from another era is appropriate given how much it leans into history. Set in 1860s Japan, during the Bakumatsu period, it portrays a nation coming to terms with influences from overseas. “If we don’t embrace the best parts of the west,” a character says at the beginning, “we’ll be left behind.” That is only one perspective, however, and the entire game pivots on the tension between the shogunate, which wants to grease the wheels of change, and the forces pushing in the opposite direction, determined to preserve Japan’s old ways. Naturally, you’re thrown into the middle, and in exploring the game’s most innovative feature you’re able to build alliances as you see fit, which affects how the story works towards its conclusion, giving you the option to choose where to place your support and who to fight alongside, and even decide the fate of certain key characters.
The freedom of choice isn’t nearly as open-ended as it first appears, but it is an illusion that presents enough options, with enough frequency, to stand out. It is especially important given the immense number of characters you encounter on your journey. Some are historical figures from the period, such as Yoshida Sh¯in, drafted in to lend some additional authenticity, some are archetypes, and others even provide potential love interest. In between are a few too many forgettable faces, which the game seems to concede at one point when you are given the option to tell one character that you don’t remember them, despite apparently having met earlier. Even if the size of the cast becomes overwhelming, though, these people are never rendered with anything but expertise during story sequences (which is more than can be said for the game as a whole – see Post Script). On the performance side, Japanese characters are voiced by what appear to be non-native English speakers, with varied results. Some line deliveries are much more confident than others, but even the wobbliest ones are charming in a retro kind of way that brings to mind B-movie dubs from the 1970s.
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This is a game of alliances and the power of those bonds, exemplified in the bonuses you can earn by working alongside certain characters (powering up skills and even opening up new combat avenues, say) and also, on a more materialistic level, simply loading them up with gifts that align with their interests. On missions – which are the meat of the game, strung out across the enormous open world, subdivided into three cities – you’re often given the opportunity to choose which associates to take with you, inevitably underscoring favourites while leaving others to dangle in the wind. Whatever the location, and whatever dirty deeds your opponents might be up to, missions inevitably play out via the tip of a blade. The combat syst...