Check out this new Rise of the Ronin behind the scenes video. Rise of the Ronin is an upcoming open-world action RPG developed by Team Ninja. Take a look at the first episode of the Behind the Scenes series leading up to launch going over the development of Rise of the Ronin with gameplay to accompany it. Rise of the Ronin is launching on March 22 for PlayStation 5 (PS5).
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GamingTranscript
00:00 Rated M for Mature.
00:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:05 My dear sister, I write these lines with a heavy heart
00:15 as I find myself once more imprisoned by Shogunate forces.
00:21 These corrupt men accuse me of treason,
00:25 but I say it is they who betray our land,
00:28 leaving her in great despair.
00:30 They are scared and weak, clinging to power,
00:34 no matter the cost.
00:36 Let them pass judgment, for I chose my fate years ago
00:41 when the black ships arrived like mountains rising from the sea.
00:46 It struck fear into their hearts that night,
00:49 but for me, a flame was kindled,
00:52 flickering with the promise of a new Japan.
00:55 She can be sovereign, and she can be free.
01:00 Seize this opportunity, my sister.
01:03 Rise up and oppose.
01:05 Seek allies wherever you find them, and bring them to our call.
01:10 For if our vision is to succeed, the Shogunate must fall.
01:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:18 Rise of the Ronin is without a doubt
01:33 Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo's biggest and most ambitious project to date.
01:42 Team Ninja has always designed action games,
01:45 usually following a linear level design,
01:48 which leads to an all-powerful boss.
01:51 This time, I wanted to make a game where the player could fully immerse themselves
01:56 into the game's world, the universe and story.
02:07 You play as a powerful Ronin, trained from a young age as one half of a pair
02:12 by a secretive group known as the Veiled Edge.
02:16 Separated from your blade twin for the first time, you now find yourself alone.
02:22 The Bakumatsu era is a special period in history for Japan.
02:35 American gunboats, known as the Black Ships,
02:38 arrived off the coast of Japan in the mid-1800s,
02:42 forcing Japan to open up its market to the Western powers.
02:46 This caused great turmoil in the country between the ruling Shogunate,
02:54 who looked to maintain military power while containing both the threat from the West
02:58 as well as the anti-Shogunate forces, such as the Choshu clan,
03:02 who wanted to overthrow the Shogunate and change the way Japan was run.
03:06 You could say that Haji and the Shoka-Sanjuku school was the birthplace of this ideology,
03:23 following the teachings of its most influential figure in Yoshida Shōen.
03:28 Although it was a different world in a different time,
03:33 I believe he could be compared to Socrates.
03:37 I wanted to depict his teachings and his life
03:45 from the moment I started working on Rise of the Ronin.
03:49 It wasn't just a philosopher.
03:55 He insisted on the importance of taking action.
03:59 The people must rise and demand revolution.
04:06 How else can change endure?
04:09 Rise of the Ronin is set during the period known as Bakumatsu
04:19 and at the moment that is the darkest before dawn.
04:22 The darkness is represented by the constant political pressure piling on the Shogun,
04:27 widespread disease and several battles being fought and lost.
04:32 I wanted to show that energy building up in these darkest moments
04:44 while the people waited for everything to implode.
04:48 I was impressed how the team focused on every detail during the creation of this universe.
04:55 A great story unravels based on actual historical research,
04:59 from the cities and villages to the historical figures depicted,
05:03 such as Katsu Kasha or Sakamoto Ryoma.
05:07 There's also a specific energy from that period in history
05:10 that the team as a whole wanted to express within the game.
05:16 Looking at the Bakumatsu era,
05:19 it was a time where multiple schools of thought and cultures were merging together.
05:25 I wanted to express that chaotic world through sound.
05:34 When it came to the score,
05:39 we related with the black ships coming to Japan
05:42 by having an Occidental composer, Inon Zur, join us on the project.
05:47 It's interesting to notice that the two main instruments
05:52 that are carrying most of the melodies in the score
05:56 are one Japanese and one Western.
05:59 The cello on one hand is very Westernized,
06:03 but playing the Japanese melodies is almost like talking to this era.
06:09 And the shakuhachi on the other hand, such a strong Japanese signature.
06:14 But when it plays the music from the score,
06:17 I let it many times play melodies that are more Westernized.
06:22 So together, this choice really added to the whole soundscape of the score.
06:29 From an art perspective,
06:31 it was not just about building a large-scale world which would have been planned.
06:36 So, in order to avoid that,
06:38 we worked on building landmarks during the process.
06:42 Yokohama, Edo, Kyoto,
06:45 it's a place where we wanted to create a landmark.
06:49 We wanted to create a landmark that would be a landmark
06:53 that would be a landmark during the process.
06:56 Yokohama, Edo, Kyoto.
06:58 It turns out Koei Tecmo has offices in these three locations,
07:02 making them somewhat familiar.
07:05 So it was easy to start to build an image for them.
07:09 Obviously, these locations were very different back then though.
07:15 While we looked at these and continued our research process,
07:19 we realized we had to add more texture to the game.
07:23 We started working on the colors and the atmosphere
07:27 in order to build Ronin's environment.
07:31 As you wander through various locations,
07:38 some territories are dangerous as they are controlled by bandits.
07:43 Alternatively, a city would be ruled differently,
07:46 bringing in new types of challenges and battles.
07:49 You can feel how that was recreated as you play the game.
07:53 I believe players will be able to enjoy that.
07:58 It is time to end this.
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08:21 (((NO-SYSTEMS)))