Rise of the Ronin Preview – Rise up and defy the Shogun

thesixthaxis.com:

The mid-19th century was a period of enforced change and upheaval in Japan, as the United States and the West took rather forceful measures to open the country up to trading and end a traditionally isolationist policy. The move would impact everyone in the country from the Shogun, through the clans, and the regular people. Not everyone was happy with the possibility of such change, with Rise of the Ronin featuring the Veiled Edge, a group of skilled blade wielders and assassins who will defy the Shogun.

The opening couple of hours of Rise of the Ronin give a taste of what is to come, but before you get into the story, the first step is to create your character. Every facial feature can be meticulously tweaked and tailored to your preference, and you could easily lose an hour just perfecting your look.  On the other hand, you can use the randomiser to create a character for you, with results that would definitely make you stand out of the crowd. You actually create two characters as this falls into the Veiled Edge’s philosophy of Blade Twins. The Blade Twins are paired up from a young age to train together, and eventually go on missions together, working in perfect harmony.

It might be borderline blasphemous to say, but the more important choice is between the four combat styles you can adopt. Each one gives different advantages, has better proficiency with different weapons, and unlocks a special skill early. For example, the Killer style has better proficiency with katana and odachi. Choosing a style does not lock you out from using other weapons, nor does it close off any skill paths, so you can mix and match the skills you want to build a ronin that fits your playstyle.

The core of Rise of the Ronin is combat and in typical Team Ninja fashion, it’s a trial from the get go. You do get a tutorial of sorts using your chosen weapons, and the opening mission does go over the basics of both combat and the game’s structure. For example, enemy strength is donated by the