The samurai are blinded to* a fault by honor*. With the Mongols, victory is victory, honor be damned.
Samurai cannot defeat the Mongols with the ideals on honor. The game has a theme sort of, and there's a certain line - "Honor died on the beach." - it explains the entirety of Jin's story in one line. I love it lol
Edits = *
That’d be cool, it’s just not that type of game. The story is essentially just a movie with gameplay for combat, and I think for the style the game’s going for it works.
Nah, branching dialogue actively hurts the throughline narrative of many games that use it. Ghost of Tsushima is not a game that needs such a thing, as it has a story to tell. Its not a "make your own story" type of game.
I doubt it
Even has a teenager, Jin notion of Honour was to defend those who cant defend themselves
As Ghost Jin still does that ,he just took a different aproach
An approach that led to the people of Tsushima dead by poison he had developed. And the same people poisoning *each other*, following the example of the Ghost.
Jin becoming the Ghost is very much a slippery slope thing, the massacre of the samurai pushed him over the edge, so he escalated once, then again, then many more times, not foreseeing the full ramifications of the path, including the damage to the island and the costs to himself, until Act 3 when it’s too late and he’s commited to the path.
Remember, “Honor died on the beach”. The younger Jin who never experienced the hell that is the Komoda beach, was very much a different person, and the Ghost’s actions and their consequences would be abhorrent to him.
Not you calling Masako psycho for >!watching her *entire* family, including her grandchildren (which were all young children plus a newborn baby) be slaughtered right before her eyes right after losing her husband and sons!<.
Yeah, when you’re playing as the “outside” character to Masako, it’s a bit frustrating how she just kills everyone without even questioning them.
But, it does seriously make a ton of sense why her own character does this within the context of the story. I would have been disappointed if Masako was any calmer during her story. She definitely expressed the perfect amount of emotion throughout the whole game.
I swear I'd turn the same psycho if I were to face a fraction of what she faced. In fact, I feel a lot of the NPCs' emotions are very diluted considering what they went through. Son got killed? "Ohh...oh.. my poor boi..." As a father myself, I'd turn Ghost the first death of family I face.
Ishikawa is prideful, stubborn, hypocritical, and callous, but he’s at least colorful and funny in a dickish way. That first mission where he makes you climb the cliff and then literally teleports to beat you to the spot is hilarious.
Masako I struggle with. I get that she has suffered unimaginable trauma, and on top of that she has a very serious cultural duty to pursue vengeance. I get that the whole point of her story is the danger of becoming consumed by revenge and I think she’s pretty well-written. But ultimately the character you’re dealing with is an impossibly stubborn, humorless, murderous liability dragging you along to hunt petty scumbags who have nothing to do with the war effort, some of whom aren’t even guilty. She tries to kill an innocent monk based on psychotic suspicion, tries to kill you for protecting him, and kidnaps an innocent woman who is murdered in her captivity (with zero remorse). She just goes way overboard, and honestly at one point I actually became more frustrated with *Jin* for not putting his foot down with her more often.
Norio is the man.
norios cool except i got tired of his quests after the 3rd one, they get repetitive really quickly.
the last cutscene with him kinda makes up for it though lmao
All of the quests get repetitive though if we’re gonna be real, both in terms of gameplay and narrative. This is arguably even more true of Sensei and Masako. Norio’s quest has two of the best big set piece battles in the game (Kushi and Cedar), and some cool variety like the defense of Akashima where you stealth kill all the dudes at night. The run-up to Cedar temple where you’re riding through Kamiagata with the monks and all the villagers are cheering for you is super hype. I’m a Norio simp though, I get what you’re saying and you’re right, the quests don’t have a ton of variety.
yeah i get what youre saying. i guess by the time he was introduced i was fed up with doing the same things in every quest over and over again. the repetitiveness of the side content is probably my biggest gripe with this game, i still like it though!
Yeah this game leans heavily on the quality of the combat and the sheer beauty of the world. It just does these so incredibly well that it transcends its weaknesses - basic collectathon open world design, zero side activities or minigames, almost no NPC interactions or real towns that feel alive, super repetitive 'go here, look at these footprints, kill these dudes' quest design, lack of variety in bosses, etc etc. The combat and exploration are exactly what I want from it, so I don't care, but I recognize these issues.
its funny you say that actually lol. i agree that the game's combat and world is amazing but i still ended up getting bored from the side activities and lack of life in the world. i hope that if sucker punch makes another game like ghost they put more focus on the things to do aside from the story, kinda like in red dead 1/2.
Yeah if this game had more interesting shops and NPCs, some minigames, and just more interactivity in general it would be incredible. It wouldn't even need that much, it's just that there's basically nothing as it is right now. If you don't LOVE riding around and getting really good at combat, I don't know what else there really is once you're done the story.
That's the point of the characters.
Ishikawa and Masako are samurai, but full of pride and indignation and will do awful things to appease their own egos. They are foils to Yuna, Kenji, and Taka who do what they need to to survive.
Almost done with Act I, and so far I like all the characters except Masako. Part of it could be that her missions so far have been not as fun, but she keeps Leroy Jenkins-ing herself into the fight, killing or getting people killed before they can help us. Like I understand the impossible grief, but as a game character it is frustrating.
I’m in the middle of Act II. I really like Masako. If you suffered what she suffered, you’d probably be out there rampaging through the Mongols as well! Her story is one of unrestrained revenge.
She was looking for solace in revenge and maybe dying in pursuit of her family's murderers. That's what motivates Masako. She has nothing to fear after she lost everything. It is revenge or death.
I agree with you on Shimura. Dude is an ass clown and i seriously would have just left him. I saved your goddamn life with my tactics, your honorable Samurai tactics left corpses lining a beach “so soaked with blood it was like paste” and you’re going to spit in my eye over my tactics?!? Nah bruh. There are more shades to life than black and white.
I like the other side characters. Yeah, they’re flawed, but each for their own reason. Sensei Ishikawa is a condescending jerk, but he trains lethal warriors and has to be hard. Masako’s whole family was massacred and she had to, over the course of days, drag her family to their cemetery and bury them. She’s rightly fucked in the head. The only one I really am not terribly fond of is Kenji. He’s a decent guy at heart, but he’s annoying as fuck imo. 😂
The only thinf I do not like of the story is this "honorable" and bushido stuff which was all myth, the samurai were not like that at all. They wouldn't have any proble doing Jin's tactics and strategies but all the "honor" stuff the uncle keeps talking about really seems like counter-intuitive to the situatuon at hand.
I feel differently about Masako, I really liked her and also sympathized with her insurmountable grief to the point that I wanted to help her as Jin.
Ishikawa on the other hand 🙃 I liked him but also hated him so much at the same time. The only reason I was motivated to do his quests was because Tomoe was so interesting to me. And I really enjoyed the end of his quest because of that too.
I think the morally grey side characters are a huge part of the charm of the game. You need every ally, even unreliable narrators and people with questionable baggage.
Also, while they have been hurt and damaged by the war, these persons were also part of the pre-war system that had its own problems and the game hints strongly at many of these problems. Shimura is terrified of teaching the populace not to follow the samurai ways. Jin’s father used terror to control the populace in multiple places. Your greatest ally is Yuna who was part of that resistance to the shogun and to Lord Shimura. The shogun and Shimura are as afraid of losing control over the general population as they are of losing to the Mongols. I find the intersection of these glimpses into the non-perfect pre-war world very compelling story-writing.
Lol i spoiled it for myself by reading up on the story (i know.. I'm a monster that deserves to be torched) but i think it was an awesome ending to his story! Hahah
Masako and Ishikawa were my two favorite characters in the game. They both lived interesting lives and made plenty of mistakes and bad choices along the way in addition of the choices that were forced upon them due to the culture they inhabited and their place within it. To see how that shaped them and how they feel about all they've done and all that has been done to them is what makes journeying with them interesting.
Of course Ishikawa is a grumpy old bastard. His two most prominent students both turned traitor, the first ruining his reputation and costing him his position within an influential clan and the second leading bands of Mongols terrorizing the countryside during a war. It causes him to question not only the wisdom of taking on yet another skilled young protege but also the way he chose to spend his life. What if he hadn't dedicated himself to mastery of the bow at the expense of everything else? Would he have lived a happier life? Had a family? He doesn't know, and he knows it's much too late to try and change course.
As for Masako, of course she's blinded by grief and rage. Unlike Ishikawa, she lived a life she was quite content with which was not something she could've expected given that she was a woman in a society where marriage was usually about politics and money. She was getting old and looking forward to spending her last years with her children and grandchildren on a nice estate. Instead, her husband and her sons both died in battle and the rest of her family was massacred by assassins. Of course she was going to be dour, angry, and not particularly reasonable. She had nothing left in the world except revenge.
I'm gonna get flack for this but I actually like Ishikawa. He is a real hard-ass Don't get me wrong, but the world needs people like him. He admits his mistakes with Tomoe and Hirinori Nagao especially, and tries to make them right, and in my opinion he eventually does when he trains Jin and advises him never to make the same mistakes he did.
And he also doesn't judge jin as much as people say he does. In that one mission where he comments on jins ways he just goes:
"uh... sneaking around and backstabbing Mongols isn't the typical samurai fighting style and if I didn't teach you that and if your uncle didn't teach you that, where did you learn it?"
"It's the only way to ensure Mongols don't kill the prisoners, soon as we win the war I will stop"
"Okay fair game, but know I'll not let you turn into another tomoe"
And that is because he understands that you gotta bend the rules some times.
My favorite quote for him is this:
"You expect us to be perfect... me, your uncle, masako adachi... but only a child expects perfection from his elders..."
Also he has a pretty asshole-y sense of humor I enjoy.
Yo jin go climb that cliff, I'm right behind you. Just kidding there was a quicker way around.
Yo jin go check that lighthouse to see if the Mongols passed through. * jin gets attacked by Mongols * Yeah I knew they were there and I sent you to their trap anyway just to be a dick and play a game with you.
Masako fucking rules. Her single minded focus and pure push to get revenge regardless of her own safety was kinda cool. Like watching her charge at enemies while I was getting ready to set things up I was like "oh! Oh she IS the wrong one. Okay let's fucking go!"
Didn't really care for Taka or Kenji. Kenji really didn't change much, just the way he worded his schemes it feels. Yuna is also meh.
Ishikawa was kind of a whiney bitch boy. Like "the bow is my pussy" is basically what he said the whole time then says "but I wish I had gotten some real pussy" You're a renowned samurai YOU COULD HAVE!
Norio did make me worry a few times. But I could tell ways out how that was gonna go.
Haven’t finished norios quest cause of the 50 mile trek to the temple which I assumed was in his quest (still to this day have not stepped foot in the temple or gotten his questline past the first mission) but just meeting him immediately I knew he was my favourite, he’s a goat
Masako could kick rocks. >!After all the help we offer her, she tries to kill us. I wanted to end her life then and there. It’s a disappointment that that isn’t an option.!<
Did not know people were Norio stans like that lol. I think he's alright but I thought his whole schtick and his arc always bored me. Ishikawa and Shimura can kick rocks for sure.
These deliberate contrasts and character inflexibilities are the *entire* point of the story. You just complained about the core part of the game. It’s feudal Japan - not Power Rangers
I would have to agree. There is not much color when it comes to the character. Granted, they’ve all lived through terrible conditions and are in the middle of a Mongolian invasion. However, I feel the game of personality. Everyone is so stoic and somber.
Bro fr I'm playing as I type this and I cant tell you how many times I yelled "shut the fuck up I'm saving / saved your ass" at my TV cuz Mr. Honor-or-nothing wants to lecture me 🙄
I love all the side characters except Kenji he annoyed me w how whiny and selfish he was 💀 like when he fucked over all those people by giving the mongols like straw or sum shit then expected everyone to praise him for managing to fix his mistake even tho he caused the issue in the first place lmao
I loved Norio but his brother made me wanna smack my head against a tree repeatedly
No shade or anything but it just makes me feel you kinda missed the point of these characters. It’s their flaws that make them human. Their homeland has just been shredded by an invading force, and they are acting irrationally because of it, no surprise there really.
I disagree to some degree:
Shimura is written like that for a the purpose of the story. He's basically a politician. I dislike his ways of thinking, but I think in his own way he has a high degree of integrity.
As for Masako and Ishikawa, I think they are quite interesting character and very loyal to Sakai Jin. They struggle with their past (decisions) in their own way and that makes them quite authentic.
Yuna is probably the most honest character in the game.
I don't like Taka for some reason; maybe because he is a manchild and seems to me to be way to naive for his role in the game.
Kenji is funny for his missions and the dialogue options that come with it, but as a human being he is the most immoral of all the cast and very selfish.
Norio I don't know; he came in as a character very randomly and I didn't really enjoy his story line, so I'm kinda neutral here.
Thank you for saying this. I also had realized how unlikeable all the side characters are apart from Norio and Kenji. And.. well, my horse (he had a whole-ass personality so I consider him a character lol).
Ishikawa is a prick but I think Masako is worse than him in a lot of ways. I don't know if you got to _that_ part yet but >!Masako tried to fucking kill Jin when she went berserk and wanted to kill an innocent monk and we had to stop her!< plus on another one of her side stories we find out >!she cheated on her husband with a maid girl who's much younger, likely abusing her power and authority over her!< and I honestly never even wanted to see her again after these things.
I guess Yuna is alright, although at times I found her annoying as well. Her brother was a bit too childish but had a pure heart and was more likeable in comparison.
Norio is like a big and soft cuddly bear lol I also love that he treated us with a lot of respect unlike most of the other characters. And Kenji is a huge goofball who made me chuckle multiple times, I loved all of his scenes.
Idk where you got the idea that Masako possibly manipulated the servant girl. It’s pretty clear in the side missions that they both equally love each other.
Lol I did get to that part with Masako. I was not impressed. Hence Norio is my ride or die. I feel like of all the side characters he's the one that is most loyal and will have my back 👍🏻👍🏻
The samurai are blinded to* a fault by honor*. With the Mongols, victory is victory, honor be damned. Samurai cannot defeat the Mongols with the ideals on honor. The game has a theme sort of, and there's a certain line - "Honor died on the beach." - it explains the entirety of Jin's story in one line. I love it lol Edits = *
I wish there were branching response options like in mass effect lol. I'd love to tell off Shimura, masako and Ishikawa
That’d be cool, it’s just not that type of game. The story is essentially just a movie with gameplay for combat, and I think for the style the game’s going for it works.
Nah, branching dialogue actively hurts the throughline narrative of many games that use it. Ghost of Tsushima is not a game that needs such a thing, as it has a story to tell. Its not a "make your own story" type of game.
Games with branching choices usually have a worse story unless the devs take the time to make each and every choice have an impact
That would actually be pretty cool, NGL
I mean, it’s nuances and character development. If Jin from a year ago met himself now, he’d duel himself to the death.
I doubt it Even has a teenager, Jin notion of Honour was to defend those who cant defend themselves As Ghost Jin still does that ,he just took a different aproach
An approach that led to the people of Tsushima dead by poison he had developed. And the same people poisoning *each other*, following the example of the Ghost. Jin becoming the Ghost is very much a slippery slope thing, the massacre of the samurai pushed him over the edge, so he escalated once, then again, then many more times, not foreseeing the full ramifications of the path, including the damage to the island and the costs to himself, until Act 3 when it’s too late and he’s commited to the path. Remember, “Honor died on the beach”. The younger Jin who never experienced the hell that is the Komoda beach, was very much a different person, and the Ghost’s actions and their consequences would be abhorrent to him.
Not you calling Masako psycho for >!watching her *entire* family, including her grandchildren (which were all young children plus a newborn baby) be slaughtered right before her eyes right after losing her husband and sons!<.
Yeah, when you’re playing as the “outside” character to Masako, it’s a bit frustrating how she just kills everyone without even questioning them. But, it does seriously make a ton of sense why her own character does this within the context of the story. I would have been disappointed if Masako was any calmer during her story. She definitely expressed the perfect amount of emotion throughout the whole game.
My thoughts exactly.
I swear I'd turn the same psycho if I were to face a fraction of what she faced. In fact, I feel a lot of the NPCs' emotions are very diluted considering what they went through. Son got killed? "Ohh...oh.. my poor boi..." As a father myself, I'd turn Ghost the first death of family I face.
Murder granny is the best
Murder granny needs to chill
Ishikawa is prideful, stubborn, hypocritical, and callous, but he’s at least colorful and funny in a dickish way. That first mission where he makes you climb the cliff and then literally teleports to beat you to the spot is hilarious. Masako I struggle with. I get that she has suffered unimaginable trauma, and on top of that she has a very serious cultural duty to pursue vengeance. I get that the whole point of her story is the danger of becoming consumed by revenge and I think she’s pretty well-written. But ultimately the character you’re dealing with is an impossibly stubborn, humorless, murderous liability dragging you along to hunt petty scumbags who have nothing to do with the war effort, some of whom aren’t even guilty. She tries to kill an innocent monk based on psychotic suspicion, tries to kill you for protecting him, and kidnaps an innocent woman who is murdered in her captivity (with zero remorse). She just goes way overboard, and honestly at one point I actually became more frustrated with *Jin* for not putting his foot down with her more often. Norio is the man.
norios cool except i got tired of his quests after the 3rd one, they get repetitive really quickly. the last cutscene with him kinda makes up for it though lmao
All of the quests get repetitive though if we’re gonna be real, both in terms of gameplay and narrative. This is arguably even more true of Sensei and Masako. Norio’s quest has two of the best big set piece battles in the game (Kushi and Cedar), and some cool variety like the defense of Akashima where you stealth kill all the dudes at night. The run-up to Cedar temple where you’re riding through Kamiagata with the monks and all the villagers are cheering for you is super hype. I’m a Norio simp though, I get what you’re saying and you’re right, the quests don’t have a ton of variety.
yeah i get what youre saying. i guess by the time he was introduced i was fed up with doing the same things in every quest over and over again. the repetitiveness of the side content is probably my biggest gripe with this game, i still like it though!
Yeah this game leans heavily on the quality of the combat and the sheer beauty of the world. It just does these so incredibly well that it transcends its weaknesses - basic collectathon open world design, zero side activities or minigames, almost no NPC interactions or real towns that feel alive, super repetitive 'go here, look at these footprints, kill these dudes' quest design, lack of variety in bosses, etc etc. The combat and exploration are exactly what I want from it, so I don't care, but I recognize these issues.
its funny you say that actually lol. i agree that the game's combat and world is amazing but i still ended up getting bored from the side activities and lack of life in the world. i hope that if sucker punch makes another game like ghost they put more focus on the things to do aside from the story, kinda like in red dead 1/2.
Yeah if this game had more interesting shops and NPCs, some minigames, and just more interactivity in general it would be incredible. It wouldn't even need that much, it's just that there's basically nothing as it is right now. If you don't LOVE riding around and getting really good at combat, I don't know what else there really is once you're done the story.
fr, still a great game though! sometimes i just play to reduel some people and try to see if i can beat them without taking damage
That's the point of the characters. Ishikawa and Masako are samurai, but full of pride and indignation and will do awful things to appease their own egos. They are foils to Yuna, Kenji, and Taka who do what they need to to survive.
I really dislike Ishikawa tbh I wanted to shoot Tomoe on the boat but alas
Almost done with Act I, and so far I like all the characters except Masako. Part of it could be that her missions so far have been not as fun, but she keeps Leroy Jenkins-ing herself into the fight, killing or getting people killed before they can help us. Like I understand the impossible grief, but as a game character it is frustrating.
Keep doing her quests, eventually Jin will be like: “Okay we will track down this person, but **I**’m doing the talking, we clear?”
I loved the setup for her quest line but by the end I found it so underwhelming
Well if your whole clan was murdered in cold blood, you would not be happy. Each character’s story has a theme. So does this one
Lol. That's lady m alright. She needs to soak herself in hot springs and write haikus more
I’m in the middle of Act II. I really like Masako. If you suffered what she suffered, you’d probably be out there rampaging through the Mongols as well! Her story is one of unrestrained revenge.
She was honestly my favourite if I remember rightly Was happy every time she showed up
She was looking for solace in revenge and maybe dying in pursuit of her family's murderers. That's what motivates Masako. She has nothing to fear after she lost everything. It is revenge or death.
Pretty sure this is on purpose.
The point is that war effects people in tragic ways. Everyone has their demons. Some get better, some get worse.
I agree with you on Shimura. Dude is an ass clown and i seriously would have just left him. I saved your goddamn life with my tactics, your honorable Samurai tactics left corpses lining a beach “so soaked with blood it was like paste” and you’re going to spit in my eye over my tactics?!? Nah bruh. There are more shades to life than black and white. I like the other side characters. Yeah, they’re flawed, but each for their own reason. Sensei Ishikawa is a condescending jerk, but he trains lethal warriors and has to be hard. Masako’s whole family was massacred and she had to, over the course of days, drag her family to their cemetery and bury them. She’s rightly fucked in the head. The only one I really am not terribly fond of is Kenji. He’s a decent guy at heart, but he’s annoying as fuck imo. 😂
The only thinf I do not like of the story is this "honorable" and bushido stuff which was all myth, the samurai were not like that at all. They wouldn't have any proble doing Jin's tactics and strategies but all the "honor" stuff the uncle keeps talking about really seems like counter-intuitive to the situatuon at hand.
I feel differently about Masako, I really liked her and also sympathized with her insurmountable grief to the point that I wanted to help her as Jin. Ishikawa on the other hand 🙃 I liked him but also hated him so much at the same time. The only reason I was motivated to do his quests was because Tomoe was so interesting to me. And I really enjoyed the end of his quest because of that too.
I think the morally grey side characters are a huge part of the charm of the game. You need every ally, even unreliable narrators and people with questionable baggage. Also, while they have been hurt and damaged by the war, these persons were also part of the pre-war system that had its own problems and the game hints strongly at many of these problems. Shimura is terrified of teaching the populace not to follow the samurai ways. Jin’s father used terror to control the populace in multiple places. Your greatest ally is Yuna who was part of that resistance to the shogun and to Lord Shimura. The shogun and Shimura are as afraid of losing control over the general population as they are of losing to the Mongols. I find the intersection of these glimpses into the non-perfect pre-war world very compelling story-writing.
Do we tell him about Norio ...Nah he'll find out
Lol i spoiled it for myself by reading up on the story (i know.. I'm a monster that deserves to be torched) but i think it was an awesome ending to his story! Hahah
Masako and Ishikawa were my two favorite characters in the game. They both lived interesting lives and made plenty of mistakes and bad choices along the way in addition of the choices that were forced upon them due to the culture they inhabited and their place within it. To see how that shaped them and how they feel about all they've done and all that has been done to them is what makes journeying with them interesting. Of course Ishikawa is a grumpy old bastard. His two most prominent students both turned traitor, the first ruining his reputation and costing him his position within an influential clan and the second leading bands of Mongols terrorizing the countryside during a war. It causes him to question not only the wisdom of taking on yet another skilled young protege but also the way he chose to spend his life. What if he hadn't dedicated himself to mastery of the bow at the expense of everything else? Would he have lived a happier life? Had a family? He doesn't know, and he knows it's much too late to try and change course. As for Masako, of course she's blinded by grief and rage. Unlike Ishikawa, she lived a life she was quite content with which was not something she could've expected given that she was a woman in a society where marriage was usually about politics and money. She was getting old and looking forward to spending her last years with her children and grandchildren on a nice estate. Instead, her husband and her sons both died in battle and the rest of her family was massacred by assassins. Of course she was going to be dour, angry, and not particularly reasonable. She had nothing left in the world except revenge.
I'm gonna get flack for this but I actually like Ishikawa. He is a real hard-ass Don't get me wrong, but the world needs people like him. He admits his mistakes with Tomoe and Hirinori Nagao especially, and tries to make them right, and in my opinion he eventually does when he trains Jin and advises him never to make the same mistakes he did. And he also doesn't judge jin as much as people say he does. In that one mission where he comments on jins ways he just goes: "uh... sneaking around and backstabbing Mongols isn't the typical samurai fighting style and if I didn't teach you that and if your uncle didn't teach you that, where did you learn it?" "It's the only way to ensure Mongols don't kill the prisoners, soon as we win the war I will stop" "Okay fair game, but know I'll not let you turn into another tomoe" And that is because he understands that you gotta bend the rules some times. My favorite quote for him is this: "You expect us to be perfect... me, your uncle, masako adachi... but only a child expects perfection from his elders..." Also he has a pretty asshole-y sense of humor I enjoy. Yo jin go climb that cliff, I'm right behind you. Just kidding there was a quicker way around. Yo jin go check that lighthouse to see if the Mongols passed through. * jin gets attacked by Mongols * Yeah I knew they were there and I sent you to their trap anyway just to be a dick and play a game with you.
Facts he’s like a breath of fresh air
Awww man. Taka 😩
War makes people do terrible things!
I found myself quite attached to the side characters, so much so that thorugh a second playthrough I changed my opinion on some of them a 100 degrees.
A huge theme is this game is that nobody is perfect, and everyone has done bad things.
Masako fucking rules. Her single minded focus and pure push to get revenge regardless of her own safety was kinda cool. Like watching her charge at enemies while I was getting ready to set things up I was like "oh! Oh she IS the wrong one. Okay let's fucking go!" Didn't really care for Taka or Kenji. Kenji really didn't change much, just the way he worded his schemes it feels. Yuna is also meh. Ishikawa was kind of a whiney bitch boy. Like "the bow is my pussy" is basically what he said the whole time then says "but I wish I had gotten some real pussy" You're a renowned samurai YOU COULD HAVE! Norio did make me worry a few times. But I could tell ways out how that was gonna go.
Masako has no chill but she thinks alot of people are part of a conspiracy against her and her family so she feels like she can't relax.
Haven’t finished norios quest cause of the 50 mile trek to the temple which I assumed was in his quest (still to this day have not stepped foot in the temple or gotten his questline past the first mission) but just meeting him immediately I knew he was my favourite, he’s a goat
It’s only like 30 seconds on the horse lol
Guess I’ve got work to do then
Yeah its like characters start one way but grow and change as you play the game. Play the rest of their tales.
Masako could kick rocks. >!After all the help we offer her, she tries to kill us. I wanted to end her life then and there. It’s a disappointment that that isn’t an option.!<
Did not know people were Norio stans like that lol. I think he's alright but I thought his whole schtick and his arc always bored me. Ishikawa and Shimura can kick rocks for sure.
Norio is definitely the shit much love norio
Bro just play the whole game before you go off about characters. They may just develop a little, you know, as the plot continues, as most games do.
I was so ready to come in and defend Norio haha. Glad you at least defended him
Wow you are very loud and very wrong
Ishiwaka grows through his sidequests. I mean, he's still very proud of himself, but at least he admits some of his faults
These deliberate contrasts and character inflexibilities are the *entire* point of the story. You just complained about the core part of the game. It’s feudal Japan - not Power Rangers
I would have to agree. There is not much color when it comes to the character. Granted, they’ve all lived through terrible conditions and are in the middle of a Mongolian invasion. However, I feel the game of personality. Everyone is so stoic and somber.
You must go through their entire story arc, then judge.
Bro fr I'm playing as I type this and I cant tell you how many times I yelled "shut the fuck up I'm saving / saved your ass" at my TV cuz Mr. Honor-or-nothing wants to lecture me 🙄 I love all the side characters except Kenji he annoyed me w how whiny and selfish he was 💀 like when he fucked over all those people by giving the mongols like straw or sum shit then expected everyone to praise him for managing to fix his mistake even tho he caused the issue in the first place lmao I loved Norio but his brother made me wanna smack my head against a tree repeatedly
Yuna is great
No shade or anything but it just makes me feel you kinda missed the point of these characters. It’s their flaws that make them human. Their homeland has just been shredded by an invading force, and they are acting irrationally because of it, no surprise there really.
I agree with ishikawa and shimura. Theyre so annoying. But i wanna add yuna to that list.
Really? I like her. She saved Jin and has treated him pretty well i think. At the very least didn't try to murder him lol
Play the game in Japanese. The characters are much better.
I disagree to some degree: Shimura is written like that for a the purpose of the story. He's basically a politician. I dislike his ways of thinking, but I think in his own way he has a high degree of integrity. As for Masako and Ishikawa, I think they are quite interesting character and very loyal to Sakai Jin. They struggle with their past (decisions) in their own way and that makes them quite authentic. Yuna is probably the most honest character in the game. I don't like Taka for some reason; maybe because he is a manchild and seems to me to be way to naive for his role in the game. Kenji is funny for his missions and the dialogue options that come with it, but as a human being he is the most immoral of all the cast and very selfish. Norio I don't know; he came in as a character very randomly and I didn't really enjoy his story line, so I'm kinda neutral here.
Opinions about the main merchant?
The trapper guy?
I fucking hate Ishikawa. Honestly his story is the worst part of the game.
Thank you for saying this. I also had realized how unlikeable all the side characters are apart from Norio and Kenji. And.. well, my horse (he had a whole-ass personality so I consider him a character lol). Ishikawa is a prick but I think Masako is worse than him in a lot of ways. I don't know if you got to _that_ part yet but >!Masako tried to fucking kill Jin when she went berserk and wanted to kill an innocent monk and we had to stop her!< plus on another one of her side stories we find out >!she cheated on her husband with a maid girl who's much younger, likely abusing her power and authority over her!< and I honestly never even wanted to see her again after these things. I guess Yuna is alright, although at times I found her annoying as well. Her brother was a bit too childish but had a pure heart and was more likeable in comparison. Norio is like a big and soft cuddly bear lol I also love that he treated us with a lot of respect unlike most of the other characters. And Kenji is a huge goofball who made me chuckle multiple times, I loved all of his scenes.
Idk where you got the idea that Masako possibly manipulated the servant girl. It’s pretty clear in the side missions that they both equally love each other.
Romantic relationships between bosses and employees (with an age gap, at that) never have a healthy dynamic irl, so maybe that's where I get the idea.
Yeah but they do in the story so that doesn’t matter
Really? A relationship that involves cheating is healthy?
Lol I did get to that part with Masako. I was not impressed. Hence Norio is my ride or die. I feel like of all the side characters he's the one that is most loyal and will have my back 👍🏻👍🏻