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Initial release date: March 22, 2024
Platform: PlayStation 5
Developer: Team Ninja
Mode: Multiplayer video game
License: proprietary license
Composer: Inon Zur
Genres: Action role-playing game, Adventure game, Fighting game
SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Twenty-plus hour main story campaign
- Multiple combat stances and play styles
- Five skill trees to use XP
- Combat was dynamic and fun
- Pistols, Rifles, Shurikens, Bows
- Double agent samurai story
- Lots of content
- Lots of cutscenes with dialogue trees
- Visuals below average
- You fight every ally at some point
- Story lost me near the end
- Allies vary from pro, neutral, anti shogunate. Some manipulatable
- Story is basically about taking down your Twin Blade and Shogunate shaping Japan’s future
- Lots of weapons and armor loot like Nioh
Introduction
Rise of the Ronin is a action adventure video game developed by Team Ninja, the creators of Nioh, Wo Long, Stranger of Paradise and Ninja Gaiden. Like it’s previous creations Rise of The Ronin has that balance of challenging yet engaging combat coupled with loot collecting.
I enjoyed Rise of the Ronin most for it’s grounded yet historical fictional Japan storylines where you can altar Japan’s future in regards to the Shogunate and incoming western influence.
Rise of the Ronin is different yet similar to past Team Ninja outputs. I’d say it’s grounded reality (you only fight humans no monsters) and historical setting albeit fictional alternate timelines sets it apart from past titles grounded in fantasy.
Presentation
Presentation-wise aside from it’s lack luster visuals I can clearly state Rise of the Ronin is a great video game. Mostly due to it’s combat gameplay and world building created by creating bonds with allies.
Technically, there was too much jank within animations in regards to traversal on roof tops and whatnot. Rise of The Ronin’s world is a open map design centered around three or four maps grounded in real life periods during Japan’s history such as Edo and Kyoto.
Riding horseback around various cities during 1860’s Japan transmogrified my mind into a Ronin reshaping Japan’s future during one of it’s most historical timeline. Voice dialogue and music were plentiful but not good in English.
Story
Rise of The Ronin’s story centers around your created Twin Blade character. The Twin Blade are hand picked members of the Veiled Edge revolutionary group created to overthrow Japan’s Shogun.
The game start’s off after Twin Blade’s family was murdered by the Shogunate. Twin Blade are two people, a male and a female. Much of Rise of The Ronin has you chasing after said twin while participating in Japan’s politics and reshaping it’s future.
You basically play a Ronin double agent brokering deals and building bonds with allies who are pro, anti shogunate, natural or not. Quite a few allies get killed along the story’s path as it progresses.
After doing a bit of research I learned quite a few allies in Rise of the Ronin were real historical influential figures that captivated Japan’s history such as Ryoma Sakamoto (your first ally in the game). All in all compared to past Team Ninja games I thought Rise of The Ronin was grounded and had a pretty good story.
Gameplay
Gameplay is third person action RPG featuring a plethora of melee weapons such as swords to spears. You also have a range weapon arsenal with Bows, Rifles and pistols. Not to mention shurikens and pots. Each main weapon has various skills and stances you can use in battle.
Completing main missions gives you XP for unlocking skills for pretty much everything from increased health to speechcraft. You get a horse early on for traversal. You can fast travel. Defeating outposts with strong enemies unlocks map perks.
Content-wise Rise of the Ronin is stacked. Japan is filled with activities, animals, bounties, side missions and everything else you can think of. This isn’t a short game. Just saying.
During main missions you can choose two allies to control adding up to three playable characters in some instances. Combat features counterspark parries which are Rise of the Ronin’s main combat mechanic. Think Sekiro parry system where it’s depletes enemy stamina and knocks the enemy’s balance off.
The gameplay and it’s loop in Rise of the Ronin is it’s best asset. If you managed to play either Nioh, Wo Long or Ninja Gaiden you kinda know what to expect gameplay-wise. Now lay on top that a historical grounded Japan setting enriched in political intrigue and western influence. The latter is Rise of the Ronin.
Visuals | Graphics
The weakest link hands down in Rise of Ronin’s are it’s visuals and animations. For me, the graphics stood out only in-game and not during cutscenes. Did the graphics hamper the score a little? A little yes. Did the graphics make the gameplay any less fun? Hell no.
Sound | Music
I thought the English voice acting left something to be desired along with the writing for most of the game. The music was better than the English voice overs if that means anything to you. Overall sound design was okay. I did enjoy listening to rain while on horseback during the Edo period.
Rise of the Ronin: A twenty hour main story campaign. Play as the Twin Blade double agent samurai. Deep functional fun third person action rpg gameplay. Visually disappointing. Story confusing near the end. Not as good as Ghosts of Tsushima but really good in it's own right. – Jason
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