Topic: RISE OF THE RONIN

. I will admit I thought the combat felt awful to begin with, and hours later I still think the parry is terribly tuned, but you will eventually find a weapon and weapon style that clicks for you, and you'll really start to see how fun the combat here can be.

I didn't compare it to GoT as many have so wasn't put off by the early learning curve and as you say as you push on and gain more combat styles and weapons you find what works best for you.

I also haven't really seen people talk about how much of an RPG this is, with a story and cast of characters full of choices to be made.

I also am someone who loves a character creator and a fashion game in an RPG, and while I don't love how I feel like I am always drowning in trash loot,

I particularly like having the ability to switch characters when in big fights allowing you to get out of sticky situations.

I am loving the story side of things there is loads to do and lots to find i can see me spending many hours on this game.

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This is a very good guide for those starting out -

Ah yeah @Max_Headroom that is a cool shout too, facing the bosses feels less daunting because you basically have three lives, thanks to the character swap mechanic. It is a really interesting way to address difficulty.

Poor Gonzo. He had done a bad thing. I gave him a chance to change his ways and let him go. The charming Ronin Ryoma optimistically agreed that he may have a change of heart. Later in my travels, our paths would meet again. Things didn’t look good. Choices had to be made. He begged for another chance but mercy was in short supply that day. Who knows what could have been? Poor Gonzo.

27 hours in and just started Chapter 2.

Holy smokes does the story heat up when you get to Edo!

I've really struggled this year with how bloated it feels like every game release is, and so I've been really consciously avoiding as much of the bloat as I can here. I did all the missions and side missions I could find in Act 1 (as some you need to discover or won't show until you level up and liberate parts of the map) in around 8 hours, only really engaging with side content if it ended up organically on my journey to my destination, rather than really seeking out to check it all off like I would do usually. And honestly it's been so nice. I sorta forgot how enjoyable it is to experience hours of continuous story, rather than getting it in dribbles with hours of busy work in between.

@Pizzamorg I sometimes find it difficult to balance between doing the main story missions vs side missions when I play open world games.

If I focus on the side stuff, I can struggle to stay interested in the story. Plus you can sometimes become so OP that the rewards you get from the main story feels like a letdown, and it becomes too easy.

Happens to me with almost every open world game I play to be honest. I get really OCD about clearing the map and that usually means I end up burnt out and resentful of the title by the end. Really trying to buck that trend with Ronin. Like an addict breaking a bad habit 😂

@Pizzamorg @JohnnyShoulder I can relate. I’m another who usually gets caught off in the weeds of side content. If the open world is large enough, then I will end up ignoring a lot of it, but usually I feel the urge to ‘clear the map’ and check off every side quest I come upon.

@Pizzamorg @Th3solution All those pesky markers, inticing me to go off the beaten track! 😂

I do love a good bit of exploration though. One of the reasons why I loved Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring so much, it felt quite freeing to play em.

One thing I will say for Rise of the Ronin is that for as ugly as it seems to often look on video, I actually think they have built a really nice world here, visually. Sweeping Japanese vistas like something straight out of a painting, strikingly detailed landmarks, bustling urban centres, environments laid waste by poverty and disease, and the more modern areas of the map where cultures are literally colliding. Ghost of Tsushima was more of like a fairy tale version of Japan, whereas this does feel closer to say an AC, where it really wants to give you a real sense of place and time in history and make that one of the characters of the game.

@Pizzamorg I’m finding the world a joy to explore, full of interesting little details and some surprisingly high quality lighting and shadows. Team Ninja took big steps here. The more I explore, the more rewarding it is and I too am thoroughly enjoying the grounded depiction of 19th century Japan. I can’t wait to form a fuller opinion as I play.

On the other hand, I agree fully that Ghost of Tsushima presents its world through a romanticized lens. I always felt it plays like a memory, like how one remembers a place as something more than reality, oversaturated colours and all. This helps the player instantly bond to the island and Jin’s plight to save it from invaders. From there, the story rides on cliches, playing out like a Hollywood blockbuster so as to avoid any deeper political analysis. It’s all the better for it, mind you.

Yeah I have been regularly surprised by the lighting in Ronin too @Jimmer-jammer. Fighting at night or in the rain, and the way light reflects off of your blade, really cinematic stuff.

In the RadBrad early gameplay video i watched he started with paired swords i thought i would give them a try but soon moved onto heavier weapons thinking it would be a good move, having spent a good few hours on the game i have switched back to paired swords they may not deal as much damage but i like the speed and they work for me.

Paired Swords: A pair of dual swords that are fast at the expense of power

I am currently using paired swords and an Odachi. Even after 10ish hours I still feel like I am very much in the learning phase with combat, so am constantly swapping out weapons as I learn new styles and moves. The polearm might be one of the best beginner friendly weapons, as all of the styles are very easy to understand and use. Versus like the bayonet weapons where its like 'press the button six times, spin around, hold the button, do a backflip' - I can't remember all that 😂

Actually told you all a little porky here (unintentionally). My console says I have been playing for four hours, and my app says 8. However this hasn't updated... ever? So I guess cause I don't leave my console connected to the internet this stops an accurate record? I only realised this because in game, your save file records your playtime as well (at least I hope I am reading that right) and I am up to almost hour 30 if I am reading that properly, which would probably make more sense. So I actually cleared Act One in probably around 15 - 20 hours instead. I guess props to them that it felt so breezy, I could believe it only took me around 8.

I gingerly reach inside my robe, producing a snow white cloth. A gentle pitter-patter begins to cleanse the crimson street. Rain. Still, I wipe the blood from the steel of my blade and return it to its shelter. I am faithful. Our bond deepens. Pain.

His cries echo between mud and mortar. It’s not mortal but he is wounded. His master nods in my direction. He approves. We both know the flesh will heal long before his pride and I return the gesture. An unspoken understanding; the apprentice is in the hands of an astute lapidary. Gain.

My attention is drawn to the observant mob now rushing to escape the downpour. I calmly embrace it. Like a cricket, there and gone, I grapple to the rooftops. The people scatter, I am centred. I raise my gaze. Sun-rays warm the drops. Sustain.

@Black_Swordsman

@Jimmer-jammer Very eloquent and literary. Exceptionally well-written and it has truly whet my appetite for my upcoming time with the game. Well done my friend, my deepest respect. I bow to you in the traditional Japanese style.

@Black_Swordsman Thanks, man! I wanted to do something different than regular old updates. Seemed like a good opportunity for a creative writing exercise. Hope you can enjoy the game when you get to it!

I am around hour 30 now. Still enjoying my time with it, and I've definitely been burned out on other games far earlier than this this year, but I kinda feel like something must have happened to this game in production. Some kind of shift in focus, or some sort of budget cut or some sort of race to meet a deadline or something. Whatever it was, I can't remember the last time I played a game that felt unfinished in quite the weird way this does.

Like, for example, they've created this really detailed slice of history, teaming with life and authenticity yet there is almost no way to meaningfully interact with any of it. You'll visit sprawling urban centres, bustling markets, farming or fishing villages, famous landmarks and other such things, and there is rarely even a single NPC to even talk to in these spaces, let alone something to actually do. It is like the world is finished, but is still waiting for most of the game to actually be added into it.

It is mostly striking through in the core narrative. I am a good chunk of the way through Act 2 at this point and what starts as a game about the player making choices - what factions to side with, what views to align with, who gets to live or die. This has all basically vanished in Act 2 entirely so far. Yet, the way the game is playing out feels like there were meant to be choices still, but they were either removed or never finished.

It kind of makes everything into a bit of a mess as a result because characters will wander into the narrative and just vanish, and there is clearly something missing here that would have made this made sense. Or a character will be introduced as an ally, but then be a boss in the next mission, and then an ally again in the mission after that, because the faction system that was clearly meant to be opening and closing missions off to you depending on the choices made isn't actually in here, so you are just whatever faction the mission you are doing is at that time, but it is in a vacuum with no cause and effect or repercussions - despite the game constantly telling you there are.

Again, it feels like the missions were all finished here, but the RPG that was meant to thread, connect and define all of this into a cohesive experience seems to have for some reason never made it in. But you can't ignore this, because it seems like everything else that is here was purpose built around a core faction / player decision lead RPG that actually does not exist.

Took me about 20 - 25ish hours, but I cleared Act 2. I was excited at the end when it asks you to pick a faction and says you will be locked into this choice going forwards... only for you to immediately go back to playing both sides anyway.

This choice is weird too, because it is hard to know what the game really wants you to do here. You are introduced to the rebels first, so this means you spend the longest amount of time with them, but their motivations are so specific to this time and place, I don't know how anyone is able to relate to this faction at all. They are just a bunch of narrow minded, violent, psychopathic thugs. But it also makes it super clear the Shogunate faction is rotten on the inside, full of traitors and your role within this faction is just a tool to be used and disposed of when you are seen as no longer providing value.