Team Ninja’s open-world samurai action title, Rise of the Ronin, was recently released, sending fans on a sweeping adventure through the waning days of the Edo era of Japan, during a time of great transition in the mid-1800s. While broad comparisons to other adjacent games channeling the samurai vibe, like Trek to Yomi or Ghost of Tsushima, have been made, its time and setting along with various other factors serve to separate Rise of the Ronin from getting lost in the general crowd.
One title Rise of the Ronin can be said to share much in common with, though, is developer Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey from 2018. As the second entry in the franchise’s “RPG cycle,” AC: Odyssey saw players journeying through Ancient Greece, also during a period of political unrest and armed conflict. Along with its narrative framework and plot, Rise of the Ronin‘s main characters bear a strong resemblance to AC: Odyssey‘s dual protagonists, and there are a myriad of other design elements and gameplay mechanics in RotR that are strikingly similar to it as well.
Spoilers for Rise of the Ronin below.
Rise of the Ronin’s Blade Twins Mechanic is One of its Secret Weapons
Rise of the Ronin’s blade twins feature makes it stand out in the third-person action-adventure genre due to its excellent integration and feel.
How Rise of the Ronin Mirrors Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey in Multiple Ways
Rise of the Ronin’s ‘Blade Twins’ Protagonists Reflect Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey’s Alexios and Kassandra
Both Rise of the Ronin and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey center around two close-knit characters, who, after being separated due to tragic circumstances, believe the other dead before discovering otherwise. Further, they find themselves at opposite ends of opposing factions, having to square off repeatedly against their former partner/sibling in search of answers as to how, and why, they seemingly turned into the right hand of the antagonistic forces. In a similar dynamic, players are given the starting choice in each title between one of the two as their avatar, with the other playing the role of the foil throughout the plot, as they uncover more details through the unfolding story.
There are some noticeable differences, though, as the titular ronin is not as fully fleshed out in terms of personality and demeanor in the way Kassandra and Alexios in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey are, at least initially. Rise of the Ronin allows players to instead create their physical appearance and class/weapon specialties, imparting some of their own personal style and preferences onto their Blade Twin. However, they do still have an established backstory that informs the direction of the overarching narrative. And while fans don’t encounter their Blade Twin’s counterpart in Rise of the Ronin‘s tale quite as often as Kassandra and Alexios crossed paths in Odyssey, they do eventually face off against each other in an emotional reunion, and both games’ ending decision of slaying or sparing their partner affects the tone of the epilogue.
Rise of the Ronin Also Utilizes Recognizable Design Elements from AC: Odyssey
There are traces of other aspects from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey apparent in many areas of Rise of the Ronin, specifically some of its design philosophy and mechanical loops. Numerous recognizable elements of Ubisoft’s open-world designs can be seen in Rise of the Ronin, from clearing out regions of the world map, to side activities like hunting down bandit leaders and assisting a plethora of NPCs with gathering and delivering items and resources.
This holds true for Rise of the Ronin‘s loot and gear systems as well, with a color-coded hierarchy of equipment complete with ability and stat boosts/bonuses for an array of playstyles and weapon types. And while this has certainly been seen in other titles before and since, it is nevertheless striking how close the overall layout and feel can seem between RotR and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, especially when held in direct comparison. This is not to say that this is a negative, as many of the same interconnected elements do gel together well in each, and any fans already familiar with them will have an easier time learning and settling into Ronin‘s rhythm. Overall, both games provide engaging gameplay experiences with a well-integrated story setup and interesting historical backdrops filled with intriguing characters and details.
Rise of the Ronin
- Released
- March 22, 2024
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
