Rise of the Ronin Is the Culmination of Team NINJA’s Action Prowess; Companions Could Even Turn Against You

23.02.2024 - 18:58 / wccftech.com / Alessio Palumbo

Team NINJA is back today with another Rise of the Ronin Behind The Scenes (BTS) video. The Japanese developer said the action system featured in their open world game is the culmination of their previous titles, which include the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, to name a few.

Action remains at the core of Rise of the Ronin. It is the culmination of our previous work on action games as Team NINJA. Team NINJA's action is known for its high speed and difficulty, we feel it's part of the player's expectations.

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Looking at the Bakumatsu era, there were many philosophers with different schools of thought. They can be split into pro and anti-Shogunate ideologies. These ideologies fought and contrasted with each other. The goal was to look at how this fight would translate into the action, which weapons and fighting styles would be adopted, and first of all, why that fight was happening.

We looked at each personality along with the choice of weapon and worked out how to make these battles authentic within Rise of the Ronin. The more we researched, the more we found the Munen star and the Hokushin star as well demonstrated how these people lived their life through the katana, how it was their weapon of choice. It was here where we really felt the power of history from that period as we moved towards the modern era. Weaponry changed. For example, handguns were introduced. We had to think how to integrate them and balance their use with close combat, which meant we had to develop gameplay that incorporated both close combat and ranged attacks.

Bayonet was a logical addition when we thought of developing new weapons for Rise of the Ronin. It perfectly suits the Bakamatsu era. We dedicated time to working on adding new gimmicks in the fighting.

Team NINJA also introduced a Bond system with historical figures. According to the studio, these can either help you or become opponents. Moreover, having a certain character along will bring something unique to the table when it comes to available combat techniques. Switching between characters is also possible in Rise of the Ronin. Lastly, the Counterspark system parries enemy attacks, provided that you've picked the right timing.

In a previous video, Team NINJA showcased the game's cities and basic mechanics. Rise of the Ronin, their biggest and most ambitious project yet, launches on March 22 for PlayStation 5. A PC release is likely to arrive later this year.