The mid-19th century was an extremely turbulent time for Japan. Foreign influences, cholera, the collapse of the Japanese economy, and political and social crises threatened to engulf the country. It's no wonder that the period is considered one of the most important points in Japanese history.
This is exactly the story that Team Ninja wants to retell in Rise of the Ronin and even let the player influence it. Whether one cooperates with the current government or joins the rebels, one's decisions are intended to change the future of Japan. And you can also fight with numerous bosses in team ninja style.
We'll tell you whether Team Ninja pulled it off well or the premise is just too cool to be true.
The end of an era
Rise of the Ronin (buy now) is set in the Bakumatsu era of Japan. So at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which transitioned into the Meiji Restoration. In the game we therefore meet famous personalities such as Ryoma Sakamoto and Shoin Yoshida, as well as institutions such as the Shinsengumi.
But don't worry, the game doesn't expect you to study Japanese history before starting in order to be able to understand all the terms.
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You can simply pause cutscenes in which important historical moments are discussed and then call up a glossary in the game in which all the terms are explained in an easily digestible form.
A similar feature is known from various Assassin's Creed titles, for example, and it is once again extremely helpful in Rise of the Ronin, so that even players without prior knowledge can understand the story without any problems.
This is also quite important, because as players in Ronin we should ultimately be able to influence history ourselves and change the future of Japan with our decisions.
Source: Sony We join the supporters or opponents of the shogunate, change important historical events such as the assassination of Naosuke Li or witness the creation of Ryoma Sakamoto's eight-point program.
Most of the historical figures have been recreated fairly accurately, Matthew Perry is a little slimmer, but he can definitely be compared to his portraits of the time. However, a few characters received a real makeover. With Sakamoto, Team Ninja spared no expense or effort to make him as sexy as possible.
As wide as an ocean, as shallow as a flounder
Although Sakamoto is one of the most important and probably well-known characters from the period covered, his surprisingly good looks, especially at the beginning of the game, unfortunately remain his only interesting quality. In Ronin, the legendary samurai is a pretty ditzy guy who would like to hang out in the joy district all the time and occasionally trumpets that he wants to improve Japan.
In direct comparison with games like Like a Dragon Ishin, in which you take control of Sakamoto yourself, it quickly becomes clear that Rise of the Ronin tends to scratch the surface with all of its characters. Where in Ishin every character has a noticeable depth, in Ronin you often have to make do with one-liners and strange dialogue.
Team Ninja's storytelling has never been particularly outstanding, but the studio's games have always focused on the combat system. This is also an important part of Rise of the Ronin, but in contrast to older works, the plot here takes up a more important place than usual.
Source: Sony It is also quite ambitious and full of important and powerful historical figures who should be portrayed with the necessary respect. Unfortunately, the dialogues are quite clumsy and in many places do not do justice to the seriousness of the topic.
This gets a little better later in the game, but actually only because the weight of the situation makes you ignore the fact that the dialogue doesn't really fit.
Like older Team Ninja installments, Ronin relies heavily on cutscenes to advance the story. In the Nioh series, for example, the weak dialogue wasn't that bad, as you were regularly rewarded with cutscenes full of fantastic creatures and impressive bosses.
However, due to the historical setting, the cutscenes in Ronin simply don't have the same “wow” factor, which only makes the below-average quality of the dialogue stand out even more.
Rise of the Ronin is more of a history lesson than a gripping story, but Team Ninja did extensive research and integrated obscure personalities like Taka Murayama into the game.
In some places, however, the story is presented in an almost over-romanticized way. Above all, the scenes surrounding Shoin Yoshida, a now very controversial figure.
The Illusion of Choice
Since Ronin is just a retelling, in many cases your own decisions don't have as much weight as you might think at first. So you only have to decide at the end for the pro- or anti-Shogun faction and until then you can happily carry out missions for both sides and increase your loyalty.
You can also change your mind at the very end and if you are dissatisfied with something, you can simply play past missions again and decide on a different path.
If you kill the best character Gonzo at the start of the game, he can of course no longer accompany you on missions. Fortunately, the error can be corrected again. In general, though, decisions carry more weight when they can't be revised, which might have been more fitting for a game like Rise of the Ronin. By the way, the game is available entirely in German, but we would recommend that you choose the Japanese dub with subtitles. Overall, it just seems more consistent.