Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin is about eight days from launch, and the hype is starting to build. Perhaps it’s because of its PS5 exclusivity or that it’s been in development for seven years, serving as the studio’s biggest project yet. Even though it’s launching on the same day as Dragon’s Dogma 2, it’s still holding up in the public eye.
Part of that could be the demand for a new Ghost of Tsushima-style game. There are several differences between the two titles, but with Sucker Punch yet to announce a sequel, Rise of the Ronin is likely where fans will gravitate for their fix of open-world hack-and-slash samurai action. However, its combat may not be to everyone’s speed and that’s not necessarily bad.
Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is methodical but relies on swapping between its Stances to counter different enemy types. Stone is your starting Stance and works well against swordsmen. It emphasizes piercing stabs with its heavy strikes, which, coupled with upgrades to Stagger damage against other sword-wielders, makes it very potent against them throughout the game.
However, as you encounter different types of units, fights become trickier. You can use Ghost Weapons like kunai, black power bombs, sticky bombs, and the bow to even the odds (though these aren’t all immediately available). Even throwing down a smoke bomb and assassinating threats is a viable strategy, but you need to spend some time observing and killing Mongol leaders to pick up the other stances.
Rise of the Ronin functions differently. Instead of Stances, it has Styles, and these fall into three different types – Ten (Sky), Chi (Earth) and Jin (Human). These also provide advantages against each other in a rock-paper-scissors-like triangle. However, the Styles themselves consist of different abilities for each weapon.
By holding down R1 and pressing a face button, you can execute different Martial Skills, like a piercing strike with the katana or dash through and slicing an opponent with the dual blades. Team Ninja’s behind-the-scenes video for the combat showcased multiple different Styles for each weapon type, and in its preview, the PlayStation Blog said there appear to be “dozens” of Styles to discover. Based on its work with the Nioh series, where players could alternate between different Low, Medium and High Stances, we could see the same approach to Styles in Rise of the Ronin. Nothing is confirmed, but it would make the most sense.
Several other mechanics carry over from Nioh and even Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. You and your opponents have Ki, which depletes when performing actions like attacking, blocking, etc. It’s like stamina in a Souls-like title, regenerating over time. The difference is that by parrying (known as Counterspark) and hitting an opponent with Martial Skills, you can reduce their maximum Ki. When their Ki fully depletes, you can perform a devastating critical hit.
However, when your Ki is empty, enemies can do the same. Counterspark can also be used against unblockable attacks to deal significant Ki damage, like a Burst Counter from Nioh 2 or a Deflect Counterattack from Wo Long. As such, performing parries in Rise of the Ronin is noted to be significantly tougher than Ghost of Tsushima, and with how Ki-focused it is, some may find it more challenging.
It’s interesting to hear from previews that the opening hours aren’t difficult. There are three difficulty options, but whether the toughest provides a challenge akin to Nioh 2 or the lowest is a walk in the park remains to be seen. Again, it’s the initial hours when you don’t even have that many Styles to start, so we’ll need to wait and see.
Of course, some have also pointed out how “simple” the combat in Rise of the Ronin is next to Nioh 2 or Ghost of Tsushima. You have one button for attacking, which is pressed for light attacks and held for charged attacks. You can also perform an advancing attack by pressing it, and forward on the left stick.
However, there are many other things to do, like grappling an enemy while in mid-air to close the distance or pulling them towards you. The grappling hook can also toss explosive barrels and other objects at enemies. Firearms are a major part of combat, and while you could hang back and fire with a musket or bow, there’s also a flamethrower for torching multiple enemies at once and a revolver for quick mid-range shots. The bayonet also provides an in-between point with melee combos and projectile shots.
If that weren’t enough, you can also bring allies on missions. Unlike Wo Long, which left their control up to AI, you can switch to and play as the other character. So if you’re running low on Ki, switch to your partner and continue the assault. There are some other possibilities, like attacking from afar with ranged shots, switching to your ally for some close-quarters Martial Skills, and then switching back to continue the assault from afar.
Having an ally also means shoring up potential weaknesses in your Style Type strategy. If you think a mission will have more enemies weak to Ten and Chi attacks but still want to have a Jin Type on hand as a backup, you can take along an ally with a corresponding weapon and Style for that purpose. Building Bonds with different characters also unlocks other benefits, like raising stats. While it doesn’t sound like much, being able to intimidate enemies before a fight and lower their maximum Ki is pretty beneficial.
This is on top of all the other combos, as players can seamlessly transition between melee and ranged weapons while working in the grappling hook and finishers into combos. We also don’t know much about the loot and the benefits it can offer further into the game or the various elemental effects players can apply to their weapons, like lightning. The pace showcased thus far looks much faster than Ghost of Tsushima, though slower than Nioh 2.
There’s understandably some concern about the skill floor and ceiling, especially if the game doesn’t present enough challenges over its runtime. Once again, it’s too early to tell based on footage and impressions thus far. However, if there’s one thing that Team Ninja has excelled at, it’s implementing fights that test the limits of your combat prowess. As much as Rise of the Ronin appears to cater to a wider audience with its open world and easier-to-pick-up combat, there will likely be some battles that cater to more battle-hardened players.
As it currently stands, Rise of the Ronin is an amalgamation of everything the developer has offered in its games till now, with some new twists here and there. Even the Styles, seen as inspired by Ghost of Tsushima, go further by offering several different abilities for players to experiment with. Comparisons between the two are inevitable just by sheer virtue of their genres.
However, it’s nice to see Team Ninja establishing a unique approach and building off the fundamentals it perfected throughout the years. Whether it will be enough to sustain interest over the many hours Rise of the Ronin takes to complete is the real question. We’ll find out when it launches on March 22nd.
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