Sucker Punch developer Theodore Fishman discussed the studio’s approach to its first ever super boss with Takezo the Unrivalled, what they learned, and why it’s still very satisfying to see the swordsman slay so many Ghost of Yotei players. Although not a direct sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch’s next game in the franchise proved to be just as successful. Ghost of Yotei continued building on the foundation set by its predecessor, and Sucker Punch even branched out by trying its hand at some new gameplay encounters as well.
Even though the game is set in a new region of Japan over 300 years after Jin Sakai’s story in Ghost of Tsushima, players were no doubt excited to jump back into this series. In fact, Sony eventually admitted that Ghost of Yotei exceeded the sales of its predecessor, helping to “significantly” contribute to the company’s financial results. According to Sony’s chief financial officer, Lin Tao, Yotei managed to sell over 3.3 million units through the first 32 days, exceeding the sales of Tsushima in the same period of time. The number will likely continue to rise as Ghost of Yotei releases additional post-launch content, including the just launched free to play Legends multiplayer mode.
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Sucker Punch Details Super Boss Takezo the Unrivalled
In an interview during GDC 2026, Ghost of Yotei lead combat designer Theodore Fishman discussed Sucker Punch’s first attempt at designing such an encounter. Fishman admits that Takezo probably isn’t well liked by most community members, and that’s largely on purpose, as the swordsman was designed to be an incredible challenge to overcome. Part of that revolved around pushing players to experiment with buildcrafting to ensure they were ready for the “super boss” fight after finishing the earlier Dueling Tree activities in Ghost of Yotei.
The term “super boss” typically comes from RPG-style games like Final Fantasy, that are usually optional and too difficult to defeat until the player not only finishes the main campaign, but also acquires most items and gear. At times, these bosses can also be hidden or secret, requiring players to do something in game to unlock them. Queen Sigrun from the 2018 God of War is a good example, as players needed to hunt down and defeat optional Valkyrie bosses to unlock the final mission. Even Clair Obscur Expedition 33 attempted a similar secret super boss through Simon accessed through an area on the map called Renior’s Drafts leading to The Abyss. At times, the fight is worth the struggle, offering players substantial XP or highly valuable items in return for overcoming the boss.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
As in the case with Takezo the Unrivalled, players likely had to wait to battle him until they were really deep within the game, fully upgrading Atsu with equipment, skills, and items in order to stand a chance. Fishman revealed that, “I personally really enjoy watching people die to this. I love it so much.” He acknowledges that it probably wasn’t perfect, but it achieved its intended goal of getting different emotional responses from players and offered a unique experience from what the studio has designed in the past.
Fishman then turned attention to Saito, Ghost of Yotei‘s final boss and leader of the Yotei Six, who, when compared to Takezo, doesn’t offer the same level of challenge. It goes without saying that final bosses are hard to design, with Fishman saying, “there’s a lot of expectations about how many phases there are, what the challenge is, and then players are going to play the game in completely different ways.” In terms of the Saito fight, the team leaned into the game’s major themes of trauma and revenge, ultimately coming up with multiple phases to help challenge the player’s, and Atsu’s, journey of mastery.
- Released
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October 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
