Rise of the Rōnin

12.01.2024 - 09:18 / gameinformer.com / Marcus Stewart / Team Ninja / Fumihiko Yasuda

A Rōnin is a samurai without a master. Unshackled from bonds, these wandering swordsmen are free to carve their own path, and that freedom forms the foundation of Rise of the Ronin. The adventure is Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Nioh developer Team Ninja’s first choice-driven, open-world action game. We recently got another peek at the title during The Game Awards, and we spoke to the game’s lead designers to get some insight and context as to what the adventure entails. 

Set in 1863, Japan, players control a nameless Rōnin acting as a kind of work-for-hire warrior called a Veiled Edge. The game unfolds in the middle of what’s known as the “Bakumatsu” period. A decade prior, Japan’s centuries of isolation came to an end thanks to the arrival of the American “black ships” led by Commander Matthew C. Perry, kicking off the nation’s years-long transformation from its militaristic Tokugawa Shogunate government to the modernized empire brought about by the Meiji Restoration. Game director Fumihiko Yasuda tells us this collision of East and West and the resulting political and societal chaos was “the most exciting and eventful handful of years” of Japan’s history. 

“Nioh was set in what's called the Sengoku period, or which is sort of the Warring States period, where there were samurai who fought in the very traditional style,” says producer Yosuke Hayashi. “But we wanted this new Bakumatsu, which is sort of the end of the Edo era, …it's a lot more modern, so we thought it allows for a unique setting when we were thinking about creating a fiction story inspired by a certain moment in time. It allowed for a very unique setting for us.”

Unlike the fantastical Nioh and Wo Long, Rise of the Rōnin shuns those supernatural elements in favor of telling a more grounded historical drama. Yasuda believes this is necessary for players to fully immerse themselves into the story and setting. Expect to encounter several real-life figures of the era, such as Sakamoto Ryōma and Yoshida Shōin. Though the narrative weaves in real-life events, it’s a fictional tale that players have the freedom to mold thanks to the inclusion of choices. 

In another first for a Team Ninja action game, Rise of the Rōnin features decision-making that steers the adventure as players see fit. Conversations feature multiple responses, and key story moments present options such as choosing whether to kill or spare an assassination target. 

Don’t expect a large number of these branches to present themselves during the main story, but completing certain side missions related to the main narrative or centering on an important character will help steer the overall adventure toward one of several endings. These include Bond Missions, which involve