If you’re anything like me, you probably thought the new Koei Tecmo title Rise of the Ronin was another action-adventure game set in Samurai-era Japan with a campaign that wasn’t too difficult if you could master one or two different mechanics. If you were and you bought the game, I imagine you had the same look on your face as I did when you fought Matthew Perry (not that one) for the first time at the end of the first mission. While Rise of the Ronin’s Matthew Perry definitely didn’t want to be friends, the ferocity with which he smacks players down may have come as a shock to many people. It did to me.
I had done minimal research in the lead-up to Rise of the Ronin. The gameplay Koei Tecmo released before launch and the trailers did a good enough job of selling me on the title. As such, I did minimal reading on a particular aspect of the game — its difficulty. Had I done so, I would have been informed the game was designed to be a difficult and samurai-based version of Demon’s Souls or any other From Software title where the player experience is designed around failing and failing often. Even on its easiest setting, known as Dawn, the game is still pretty dang tough in the early going.
But before we get more into the difficulty settings and whether or not that ultimately prevented me from enjoying the game, let’s first set the table for what Rise of the Ronin is and the experience the game is trying to deliver. Set in 1863, during the Bakumatsu period in Japan, the game introduces the conflict between the ships arriving from the West, led by the aforementioned Matthew Perry, and the increasingly failing Shogunates as their ideals had given way to the chase for power and supremacy.
Taking place in Yokohama, Kyoto, and Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Rise of the Ronin features stunning landscapes and distinctly unique locations in 19th-century Japan. While the game focuses more on urban life rather than rural Japan like Ghosts of Tsushima, players can still check out the countryside in this game even though the vast majority of their experiences will occur within the cities. The map, as a whole, is more than big enough to keep players exploring and digging for extras and upgradable materials.
That said, you didn’t come here to learn about the architecture in this game, you came to learn how to kick ass as a samurai, and Rise of the Ronin has you more than covered in this area. When the game begins, you’ll begin play as two characters called “the Veiled Edge.” Eventually, you’ll be forced to make a Doom-like decision on which one of these characters gets to live and that will be the character you main for the rest of the game. As you’re selecting your character, you’ll get to pick between your main weapon and your secondary weapon. I went with the paired swords and the odachi, but they have items like katanas, spears, polearms, bayonets, great swords and more.
The game also takes place well after the invention of gunpowder and features the West arriving with their sights set on foreign conquest. This means your character can equip rifles, revolvers, and other small arms available during that era. Longbows, fire pipes, and Shurikens also feature in the game, as we are talking about the ninja era. Learning how to master these weapons is the difference between success and failure in Rise of the Ronin. This segues perfectly into a discussion about the difficulty of the game and why that happens.
If you were hoping for a completely open system of combat where your player could block when being attacked and go all out when they were on offense, you’re going to need to rethink your strategy. Not only is the combat pacing of this game much different than most action RPGs, the mechanics involved in surviving the fight are going to take you several hours of play just to adapt, never mind the dozen or so hours you’ll need to master them. As for what makes it so difficult, I think Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out will provide a perfect example of what I mean.
For those of you who grew up on the NES, Punch-Out was probably the biggest measure of a gamer’s ability on the school playground. If you could get to Mr. Sandman, you were considered to be a very good gamer, but beating Mike Tyson was reserved for the best among you and those willing to lie about it. In truth, Punch-Out is honestly a great template for the modern Souls-like.
Your character had a limited amount of stamina and you absolutely could not block your way through the power attacks of the later opponents. Doing so would put you on the canvas and knocked-out within seconds. Their attacks were just too powerful. As Little Mac, you had to master the art of the well-timed counter, judiciously using your uppercuts, and mastering the dodge timing. Every boss had a tell that would initiate their super move and learning those tells was essential to surviving the fight.
Everything I just typed out above in terms of learning to dodge, mastering the art of the counter, and picking your heavy attacks at the right moments all apply to Rise of the Ronin. Your ability to dodge and fly around the screen is controlled by your Ki, which is just your stamina. Use it too much and your character becomes sluggish and slow to react. If you get hit, your character becomes sluggish and slow to react. If you do not time your counter, known as Counterspark, properly, you run the risk of exposing yourself to their Martial attack following your miss.
Similar to Ghosts of Tsushima, Rise of the Ronin utilizes fighting stances and styles to enable players to employ another layer of strategy to their duals. These fighting styles offer different attack angles and the ability to overcome particular offensive move sets or a particular defensive strategy. But enemies will also adapt to you if you become reliant on a set strategy too often. The wrong style at the wrong time can leave you open to a host of problems.
The story that I have been able to experience thus far is written well and heavily focuses on the politics and goals of the era for the individuals involved. The mission structure is done well, with a healthy balance of objectives and increasingly interesting side-missions including the fan-favorite Human Bond missions where you’ll learn more skills you can apply in later fights. It’s almost like they slapped a relationship builder into a game written by James Clavell. I genuinely mean that as a compliment.
So, was Rise of the Ronin’s difficulty too much for me and was I able to enjoy it? Hell no and hell yes. When the game got too difficult for me in different stretches, I simply turned down the difficulty in the settings and did my thing. I don’t play games for Kleos and other people’s approval. I play them to enjoy them and beat them. If I need to tone down a game’s difficulty, I’ll do it without a second thought because while I agree with the principle of getting better, I also believe in the idea that you shouldn’t force yourself to enjoy something when you have other options available.
Rise of the Ronin is no doubt a difficult game. If you’re looking for a Ghosts of Tsushima-like experience, you will not get that with this title. This is the same team that made Ninja Gaiden Black, one of the most notoriously difficult games ever made. While this title is nowhere near as frustrating as that one, it is definitely designed with failure as a feature. If you find rewards in sticking with something and gradually seeing signs of improvement over time, you’re going to have a fantastic time with Rise of the Ronin.
The best advice I can give is to learn the Counterspark system like the back of your hand. Learn how to read enemies and use the parry system after you’ve blocked several of their attacks. You should never be afraid to tone it down if you’ve been stuck for too long, and get comfortable with the idea of failing. The amount of satisfaction you get from beating just one boss in Rise of the Ronin was probably on par with the satisfaction I got from beating the entire Ghosts of Tsushima series.
BSO Rating — 7.75 of 10
