Now that the year has passed since its release, here's what I think: ...... "Ghost of Tsushima" Review [Spoiler Alert!

On July 17, 2020, the open-world period action adventure "Ghost of Tsushima" for PlayStation®4 was released. The game's uncomfortably recreated mountain villages and people, the gruesome sword fighting, and the fierce battles with the Mongols were not the typical "Japanese" that had been portrayed so often overseas, but a life-size "Japan" that we Japanese would naturally accept even if we played the game. About six months have passed since the release of this game. I would like to take a look back at the appeal of "Ghost of Tsushima," which has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. This review will not cover individual elements, but will be a comprehensive review of "Ghost of Tsushima" as a whole. This review is full of spoilers, so those who have not yet played the main game should be warned. Also, please read our previous basic review of this title.

⇒"Ghost of Tsushima" Legends ( 冥人奇譚) Review

⇒Pre-release Review of "Ghost of Tsushima!

Game and Period Drama

I knew before the game's release that the producers of Sucker Punch Productions, who developed this title, had included elements that respected the Kurosawa films that had strongly influenced them. Thanks to this, when I opened the settings screen and saw the "Kurosawa Mode" for the first time, I did not need to read the description. The screen is in black and white with noise running through it, and the sound is stereo-like, making me feel as if I were operating the movie directly. Although everything is presented in black and white, which makes it difficult to find items and people, and sword fights are a little more difficult to control, I was happy just to think that I was in a Kurosawa movie.

Even in the fight against the Mongolian soldiers, you can see the respect for period drama. The supposedly rational enemies, including the general Kotun Haan, fight one-on-one with the lone hero, attack one by one, and rarely surprise Jin while he is fighting, all the while pushing "chambara" to its fullest, with its switching between four kata, defense, and bullets, The player is not put in a situation where he or she would perceive it as unreasonable.

The sight of a slain enemy slowly falling while clutching his wounds is truly cinematic!

The game offers several types of armor, some of which should have existed after the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and this was a hot topic at the time of the game's release. I am not an expert in the field, but I can tell you that the "samurai armor" you get at the beginning of the game looks just like the armor I saw in a manga about the Genpei wars, and compared to the "Sakai family armor" available in the middle of the game, it is not only made differently but is also more robust. However, if I am going to go to the trouble of becoming a samurai and moving around the world, I want to look cool and do all sorts of things. Fortunately, the armor in this game is basically defenseless, and instead of having no defense, it can be supplemented with protective charms and other equipment, allowing for a high degree of freedom in customization. Before historical research, games are for entertainment, and as long as you enjoy them, that's all that matters.

The Sakai family's armor (red armor ver.), which the author used for a while.

Ghost of Tsushima" is based on historical dramas such as Kurosawa films. A period drama is a "play" based on a specific era. A play is a creation, and creation means to deform. In this sense, it is a good match for games that transform a concept into something that people can play and enjoy. Overseas games tend to emphasize reality in terms of how to reproduce reality, which is different from the atmosphere of Japanese games, where deformation is popular. For this reason, I do not play many "Western" games. But even so, I spent more than 100 hours playing this game, perhaps because I found a Japanese atmosphere in the game, even before it was set in Japan.

The Way of the Jinni, the Way of the Player

The choice between being a samurai or a kurodo, or a kurodo, is at the core of this work's story. Jin, a lone samurai and nephew of the Shimura clan, fights fairly at first, but as the war against the Mongols grows tougher, he begins to resort to blackmail, night raids, and the use of tools in his warfare. The same is true on the player's side. In the early stages of the game, there are few enemies to fight against, so force is effective, but in the later stages, the player must fight a large number of people in the strongholds that appear, and the attacks with weapons such as fire spears and tetsuhau are also fierce. It is not a story that can be solved by breaking through head-on. Inevitably, the idealistic bushido must be replaced by the realistic underworld warrior. The story and gameplay are closely intertwined, and the player becomes emotionally involved with Jin, who is swayed by ideals and reality.

The ability to fight Mongolian soldiers throughout Tsushima also contributes to the storytelling. The best part of an open world is the exploration and side trips, but if too many of them are unrelated to the main story, it is easy to forget the flow of the story. In the case of "Ghost of Tsushima," the player is given the opportunity to consider how the Samurai and the Underworld fight each other, no matter where they are in Tsushima. The Samurai are the ideal, the Meijin are the reality. The flow of Jin and the player's way of fighting changes throughout the story and gameplay, which is rather understandable as the player becomes more and more absorbed in the challenging elements. The way of life of putting aside one's name and taking up one's fruit, for better or worse, may have been shocking to people overseas, who tend to know "samurai" and "bushido" through creation.

The final choice, which will he take?

It was probably after the battle at Yarigawa and when he was able to use the Meijin no Kata that Jin decided to fight as a Meijin. In the latter half of the story, he poisoned the enemy in the battle for Shimura Castle. The conflict with the Shimura clan, which valued honor, becomes decisive. Despite the hostility, Jin hunts down the Mongols for Tsushima and finally defeats Kotun Khan. The story does not end there, as Jin and the Shimura clan engage in a battle in front of the tomb of the Sakaii family. Shimura asks the victorious Jin to kill himself. Here, the player is faced with a choice: let him live or kill him.

Respect Shimura's honor or live the way of the underworld? The choice will depend on who plays this title. Letting Shimura live is a rational decision that is typical of Meijin, who has abandoned honor, and will help him clean up the Mongolian remnants that have infested Tsushima. Above all, he is Jin's only relative, so it is only natural that he should help. However, he would betray Shimura's wishes. Shimura is still suffering from the humiliation of having been mercied by the Underworld. If Shimura was killed, he would keep his honor as a samurai and leave his name as a warrior who bravely challenged the underworld and was scattered. The Shimura family will be cut off, but they will not be slandered or libeled. Jin, who has so far defied honor, can also respond to his father's last wishes. But Shimura will die.

This choice is the sum total of Ghost of Tsushima. Which will Jin (the player), who has abandoned honor to become a Pluto, choose in the end? What will the player think and what choice will he make through those days in Japan more than 800 years ago, when death was a fact of life? This is why he toured Tsushima, saved people, fought against the Mongols, and so much more. This is the kind of performance that can only be achieved through a game, and cannot be seen just by looking at the event scenes. The people who let him live, and the people who killed him, each have their own righteousness.

I played "Ghost of Tsushima" again after a long break, and I think I was able to understand the hidden charm of the game by playing it again after the fever of that time had cooled down. The developers were determined to faithfully depict Tsushima in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and to build the action based on a period drama so that players can enjoy the chanbara (sword fighting). Although the game did not win the "Game Of The Year" award at The Game Awards in 2020, it did win the "Player's Voice Award," an award given to the most entertaining game title of the year, as voted by the public. 's Voice Award. It is very typical of Pluto to win an award not publicly, but with the support of the general public.

（The work was awarded the "Player's Voice Award," the most interesting game title ever voted for by the public.)

Film Information
Ghost of Tsushima
Genre: Open world historical action adventure
Compatibility: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro
Release date: July 17, 2020 (Friday)
Price:
Normal Edition: 7,590 yen (excluding tax)
Digital Deluxe Edition: 8,690 yen (tax included) CERO: Z (for ages 18 and older)
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

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