“Rise of the Rōnin”, a 2024 action-role-playing game developed by Team Ninja at Koei Tecmo and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, hit the shelves for PlayStation 5 on March 22, 2024, receiving generally positive reviews from critics.
In this game, players have the freedom to craft their own character. Combat incorporates a diverse range of weapons typical of the Boshin War era, including katanas and various firearms. Choices in the storyline emerge at crucial junctures, allowing players to align with or oppose different non-player characters, thereby influencing the narrative. The game unfolds across historically significant cities like Yokohama, Kyoto, and Edo, along with rural areas. Players can traverse these locales using various methods such as riding horses, utilizing grappling hooks, or gliding. Additionally, the game offers three difficulty settings and supports cooperative multiplayer mode for up to three players.
“Rise of the Rōnin unfolds in the historical backdrop of Yokohama, Edo, and Kyoto during the mid-19th century Bakumatsu period, marking the twilight of Japan’s Edo era. The narrative delves into the events preceding the Boshin War, a conflict between the Tokugawa Shogunate and anti-shogunate factions resisting Western influence following Japan’s forced reopening after the Sakoku period. The story revolves around the Blade Twins, whose genders are player-selected, and their affiliation with the Veiled Edge resistance group. Their journey begins after their family is slain by Shogunate operatives. Trained by the leader of the Veiled Edge, known as the Bladesmith, the Blade Twins embark on a mission to dismantle the Shogunate’s grip on power.
In 1853, the Blade Twins are assigned by the Bladesmith to eliminate Commodore Matthew Perry and seize a crucial message from him. Despite securing the message, they fail to assassinate Perry due to the interference of another assassin, the Blue Demon. Separated and pursued by Shogunate forces, one of the Blade Twins escapes while the other, presumed dead, remains alive. Witnessing Shogunate brutality firsthand, the surviving Blade Twin resolves to locate their lost partner.
Their quest leads them to Yokohama in 1858, a city engulfed in chaos following Perry’s expedition and the encroaching Western influence. Here, they forge an alliance with the wandering ronin Ryoma Sakamoto, while also unraveling the whereabouts of their partner, now known as the Demonclaw Samurai, serving foreign interests. Amidst political intrigue and societal upheaval, alliances are forged, betrayals uncovered, and loyalties tested as the Blade Twin navigates the tumultuous landscape of Bakumatsu-era Japan.
As tensions escalate and the specter of war looms, the Blade Twin finds themselves entangled in the power struggles between factions vying for control. They confront adversaries, including the Blue Demon and the Demonclaw Samurai, as they strive to shape the destiny of a nation on the brink of transformation. Ultimately, the Blade Twin plays a pivotal role in shaping Japan’s future, whether by brokering peace between warring factions, confronting the Demonclaw Samurai, or safeguarding the ideals of democracy and progress advocated by figures like Ryoma Sakamoto.
Through the Blade Twin’s journey, Rise of the Rōnin offers players a rich and immersive experience set against the backdrop of one of Japan’s most tumultuous periods of history.
