The beginning of 2024 is the time of exclusives for Sony, since Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has become the highlight for PS5 owners. However, under the radar lies Rise of the Roninthe new action RPG from Cow Tecmo y Team Ninja. An orchard of sword blows, blood and many doses of Asian culture that I have been able to savor in my first hours of adventure through Japan.
The biggest fans of the Japanese developer know the stamp that the studio gives to each of its works and there will be no shortage of those ingredients that we have seen in the Nioh saga, the irregular Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin and the most recent Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. In this case the context takes us to the Edo period, a time of great changes for the nation, since we are located late nineteenth century when many fronts open for the government and society. Diseases, tyrannical leaders and, especially, the influence of the West will strongly penetrate Japanese territory.
As if that were not enough, a constant civil war between the Tokugawa shogunate and the factions opposed to it is fought mercilessly in the streets of large cities and even in the most remote regions. Under this premise we will have to embody a protagonist who will be involved in these events in various ways, always under our choicebut first we must configure its appearance.
If in recent days the wonderful editor of Dragon's Dogma 2 has been praised, and rightly so, the truth is that the Rise of the Ronin It is not far behind. There is a huge number of options to create the most beautiful being possible or the aberration that you do not want to come across, putting the emphasis on very specific parts of the body. In addition, there are very useful aids such as instant comparisons with previous selections so that we are clear if we like the modifications.
Those who want deep customization of their appearance will have it, but at the end of the day the essence is to shed blood, which will be no small amount. Living up to the title, we will act as a ronin without a defined cause, so we can use the subtler arts of stealth or more direct confrontation with our steel. Whatever route we choose, the truth is that there are quite a few options on the table.
Stabbing in the back, shooting arrows at the head or pointing a rifle between the eyebrows are very useful possibilities to advance without attracting attention. Shurikens, clay balls and different elements of the scenario will serve the purpose of silently accumulating casualties, although AI does not stand out for being the sharpest in detecting us. We can unleash a combat very close to another enemy position and they will not notice the noise, not to mention that their field of vision is really reduced. As if that were not enough, it is sometimes difficult to detect where we are being seen from, since the visual markers do not always indicate the direction in which we should turn.
However, the warrior fury as soon as a group of fighters confront us and this is when Rise of the Ronin is unleashed. We have two weapons, a main and a secondary one, which vary from a selection in which we find katanas, double swords, naginatas or directly fighting with bare fists. Mastery in each of them is gained with the sum of experience, which further enhances the attacks of the different combat styles.
Ten (Sky), Chi (Earth) and Jin (Human) are the postures that we can adopt to better adapt to the rival in front of us and gain an advantage, but the fundamental thing is to execute good counterattacks. Those who profess the parry religion They are in luck, because it is the pillar that supports the skirmishes. Each character, including the protagonist, has a ki bar that determines how many actions he can perform before stopping to wait for it to refill.
Blocking and attacking consumes it, but the same happens for the opponent if we stop his attack at the exact moment and doing so consecutively will reduce his maximum ki until he is exposed to a lethal attack. This is when we can press triangle to show off a devastating execution, at the level of cutting off heads and amputating limbs with the corresponding river of blood gushing from the bodies. All of this is helped by martial skills, quite spectacular actions that are performed by holding down R1 while pressing square/triangle and achieving brutal damage.
Obviously, the endless tide of helmets, armor, shoes and accessories are the order of the day, and you can have a stock of up to 2,000 items on the menu. A small chaos in which we will need to filter what we need at each moment to incorporate it into the protagonist and obtain advantages such as greater damage, increasing maximum health or reducing ki loss. There are even greater power-ups if we add the different parts of the sets or if we go to the blacksmith to improve pieces that we use frequently. The Team Ninja's trademark of cramming statistics It is still present, for good and bad.
It's really entertaining to tear apart everything in front of you, even having to face bigger and more dangerous opponents, including animals. In addition, the precious hook also comes into play, which becomes, along with the gliding wings, the basis for the movement of the plane. Rise of the Ronin. We are in a Japan where industrialization had still penetrated timidly, so for now I only found the city of Yokohama as the most advanced exponent of society. A point where East and West meet with native inhabitants with their classic clothing and foreigners who have settled in the area with buildings typical of Anglo-Saxon neighborhoods.
Among them, as well as on the outskirts, we can propel ourselves, climb and glide through the skies with ease to travel great distances in a short time, which results in great pleasure. It is one of the most common routines in the Team Ninja title, whether it is crossing rooftops, sneaking through scaffolding or riding a horse to reach the town on the other side of the map. However, sometimes it is really frustrating when small fences or certain obstacles cannot be overcome and you have to take detours, since they become very uncomfortable artificial barriers to progress.
At the same time, Rise of the Ronin It is a game that falls far behind what is shown in the different promotional images. The artistic section is beautiful with the colors of the trees, the architecture of the structures and the occasional secluded corner, but in general we are talking about a work that graphically is far from what could be expected from a PS5 video game. It doesn't matter if we switch between the mode that prioritizes technical muscle or that of frames, so it seems like a difficult question to resolve in the absence of a pre-launch patch.
The plot, of which I have only been able to see a few drops, allows us to choose many dialogue options that tilt us in favor of the shogunate or against its regime. Convincing or intimidating are some of the various responses that we will have at our disposal to obtain the benefit we want from each situation, although they will have repercussions. The relationship with the characters is nourished based on how we treat them, being more or less favorable to them, and That attitude leads to a series of rewards juicy
It is early to judge the future of the plot, but for now it is difficult to empathize with what is happening because of how flat a good handful of secondary characters are. Of course, they are capable of accompanying us on different missions and providing us with bonuses for the skill tree, so it is best to keep them happy as much of the time as possible. Their requests can be found in multiple places in a really wide open world full of icons that we must cross off the list.
Petting cats, finding monuments and praying in front of a sanctuary are common missions when traveling around the map, but they still feel like a secondary task without any type of significance, beyond the reward we receive. For now, skepticism about Rise of the Ronin runs through my thoughts, although the last word will come with its launch scheduled for next week.
Ficha de Rise of the Ronin
Platforms:PS5
Multiplayer: Yeah
Developer: Team Ninja
Company: Cow Tecmo
Launch: March 22, 2024
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