One of the great and long-awaited PlayStation 5 exclusives for this 2024 is Rise of the Ronin. This is the latest title from Team Ninja, who gave us the much-loved Ninja Gaiden as well as the pair of titles of Nioh. This time they return with a plot with historical overtones.
After its arrival on March 22, 2024, I had the opportunity to play it and try everything it offers. What I found was a fun adventure that made me feel like a skilled samurai, but still has some flaws. Here I explain more about my experience.
Key points from our Rise of the Ronin review
What is Rise of the Ronin about?
Rise of the Ronin puts us in control of one of a pair of twins raised by a mysterious sect of Japanese assassins. After the failure of a mission to assassinate an American diplomat, our protagonist becomes involved in the Japanese revolution at the end of the Edo period.
Similar to what was done by the Assassin's Creed saga, here we find a narrative that combines fiction with historical facts. Followers and lovers of Japanese history will surely be happy to meet several of the most important characters in this conflict.
Since even in real life this conflict was full of betrayals, conflicts and political intrigue, Rise of the Ronin It has a pretty interesting story. Even if you know some history, you're sure to be surprised at how certain things play out in the game.
Furthermore, since it gives us the option to choose between both sides of the revolution, it opens up the possibility of replaying certain missions. This way you can see how things would have happened if you made different decisions.. In addition, allies change, expanding the possibilities in combat.
Teamo Ninja once again shows that they are masters at creating combat
Now it's time to talk about the gameplay of Rise of the Roninwhich I consider the strongest point of this title. Team Ninja demonstrates once again that it is capable of creating very entertaining and challenging combat that makes you feel like a master samurai once you understand it.
The main button for combat is square, with this we can make combos simply by pressing it or by combining it with movements of the lever. While with triangle we can make a movement that, used at the exact moment, serves to reduce the opponent's energy and open him to a counterattack.
In terms of defense we have the typical guard with R1 and a circle used to dodge those attacks that cannot be blocked. Of course, it is not enough to press these buttons on Rise of the Ronin, Well, you have to take into account your Ki, which decreases when doing blocks, dodges and special attacks.
Don't expect to get through battles by just mindlessly pressing square. There is a strategy component present due to the ki level, as you must take care of yours while lowering the enemy's. Especially because once you diminish the opponent you can make an attack that takes away too much life or can even kill them.
Rise of the Ronin gives you many possibilities to experiment
What I mentioned in the previous point are the basics of combat, however Rise of the Ronin It has a wide catalog of weapons at our disposal. From the trusty katana, to European greatswords, swords with shields, sabers, bayonets, spears, sais and many more. Each one of them feels different when using them.
As if that were not enough, they also have their own fighting styles. You can equip a weapon with up to three fighting styles at a time. These grant advantages against certain enemies and you will know their effectiveness thanks to a symbol that appears next to the opponent's life bar. If it's blue, your style is effective against it; If it's red it doesn't work very well and finally gray is a style that your opponent is indifferent to.
The variety of enemies and the weapons they use will make you be alert in battles. Rise of the Ronin. While with a couple of buttons you can change your fighting style, some enemies are also capable of this. Especially the bosses who can change their weapons in the middle of a confrontation to take you by surprise.
Fortunately you also have the option to take allies with you on missions. These can be characters controlled by the computer or another player who has their copy of the game. This makes the experience a little easier, especially against bosses. In addition, it greatly expands combat experimentation, especially if everyone uses different weapons and combat styles.
Real bosses will test all your combat skills
Something I should highlight Rise of the Ronin is that in general its level of difficulty is somewhat high. Even when you are at more advanced levels, the enemies that you find freely on the map can kill you if you are not careful. Of course, if we talk about bosses, the degree of challenge increases considerably.
Team Ninja has us used to complicated boss battles and this game is no exception. It's loaded with fights that are sure to make you sweat and test everything you've learned. Not to mention that they have a tendency to change the play when you already feel quite confident of your victory.
Some bosses use firearms against you, call allies when they feel in danger, or even heal themselves to keep you fighting for a few minutes longer.. Although several of these moments are unexpected, I wouldn't say that they make it unfair to Rise of the Ronin. Rather, they invite you to always be alert and never trust yourself even though you apparently have the upper hand.
Also because of their importance to the narrative, some of these boss battles feel more exciting and weighty. They will undoubtedly make you excited and want to succeed, so winning, after several attempts, fills you with a great feeling of achievement..
It is noted that Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja's first open world game
Out of combat, Rise of the Ronin drops us into a vast open world set in the final years of feudal Japan. Here we can do several extra activities and of course secondary missions. However, this is the weakest link in the entire experience.
The settings themselves are beautiful, but the activities are not very varied among them. Perhaps the most unique are those of finding cats to pet, flying competitions and others of taking photographs of iconic places.. Outside of these, most are summarized in 'go to this place and kill the thugs'.
Of course, doing these activities gives you experience and new equipment for your character, so it is advisable to do them. Although when it comes to new weapons and clothing, they usually give you a lower level or quality than the ones you already use. So don't be surprised if you end up with your inventory full of things you don't use, that's why I recommend going to the stores to sell them or dismantle them to obtain materials and improve the ones you do use the most.
What saves Rise of the Ronin of a very monotonous open world is its combat and the way of traveling through the map. After all, you have a kind of hang glider with which you can glide from high areas, which makes it fun to cross great distances.
But even with the combat and travel, it's not that striking being in the open world of Rise of the Ronin. Even the side quests feel weightless and very rarely have interesting stories. The best thing about the game is in its main story, so you should focus more on it and only touch on the secondary story if you want more.
Some technical aspects take it away from the samurai path
I must also talk about the technical aspect of Rise of the Ronin. Graphically, you can't see why it is a title from the PS5 generation, as it looks backward. It is also more noticeable with the archaic animations of the characters in several scenes, along with the fact that most of the time their voice does not match their mouth movements.
The game offers graphical mode and performance mode. After playing both, the recommendation is from the beginning to go with the performance mode, as it offers a more fluid experience in terms of FPS. I don't think the graphic mode makes it look better and it also comes with the problem that it presents very noticeable and even annoying drops in FPS. So put that performance mode on and never change it.
Should you play Rise of the Ronin?
Rise of the Ronin It is a game that can be quite fun if you give it a chance. Its combat is its most attractive aspect as it is quite complex, gives you a lot of opportunity for experimentation and makes practically every fight feel unique. It is also complemented by a very interesting plot full of twists located in one of the most important historical events in Japan.
Although it gives us an open world without much reason for being and its graphics are not the best, it still provides quite a bit of entertainment. Even if you focus on just its story it can take up to 12 hours or more to reach its end.
Of course, I don't consider it a completely unmissable game that you absolutely must play. But if you dare to give it a try it is very likely that you will find a lot that you like. Especially if you are a fan of the era, samurai titles or the work of Team Ninja. If you get to try it, don't forget to share your opinion with us on our Discord.
We play Rise of the Ronin on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by a Sony Interactive Entertainment representative in the region
(Visited 8 times, 8 visits today)
#Review #Rise #Ronin #fun #imperfect #samurai #TierraGamer #news #entertainment #anime #series #video #games #technology
