• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Rise of The Ronin | Review Thread

What Scores do you think Rise of the Ronin will get?

  • 60-65%

    Votes: 6 2.2%
  • 66-69%

    Votes: 7 2.6%
  • 70-75%

    Votes: 38 14.1%
  • 76-79%

    Votes: 75 27.8%
  • 80-85%

    Votes: 93 34.4%
  • 86-89%

    Votes: 44 16.3%
  • 90-95%

    Votes: 4 1.5%
  • 96-100%

    Votes: 3 1.1%

  • Total voters
    270
I've only played a couple of hours so far, but damn this is a lot better than I expected! Full disclosure: I was initially hyped for this game, but preview impressions made me lower my expectations considerably.

I was hoping for something that was closer to Sekiro's combat, and this is definitely scratching that itch (focus on parries, posture meter, deathblows, etc.). Enemy hyper armor keeps from spamming the attack button, so combat has a very deliberate feel to it. You die very quickly, so stealth and assassinations are the best way to trim down enemy groups until you can focus on 1v1 encounters.

Graphics aren't too shabby either (playing on graphics mode) and I think it compliments the art style quite nicely. One of the starting scenes takes place during the winter - all the falling snow particles being lit up by fire and the terrain deformation leaving trails in the snow was not something I would ascribe to "PS3-level graphics" lmao.

I've always been a fan of this era of Japanese history, so I'm personally loving the story so far. There's a QoL feature similar to what was implemented in FFXVI where you can pause during cutscenes to read about relevant characters and history. Playing with the Japanese dub and the VAs are good too, although I was hoping characters like Mathew Perry would still be voiced in English (kinda breaks the immersion a bit).
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
So far for me I like this more than ghost of T because it has better combat and challenge on hard mode.

Ghost of T obviously looks better and has more polish for things like voice acting and story, but the moment to moment fun is better.

I think Ninja Gaiden and Sekiro fans will find fun here for sure.
 
The character creator is fantastic.

Samurai Jill Valentine is gonna have the cutest nose.

edit-

WfEIYh4.png
 
Last edited:

Killer8

Member
Ironically for a Team Ninja game, the thing i'm most interested in is: how is the story and the side quests? The reason I say ironically is that, as a fan of the Nioh games, me liking the gameplay is practically a given. But the footage i've seen is giving me heavy vibes of how I envisioned a Yakuza Kenzan follow-up to look (of course, we got Ishin later).

I suspect that if this had the writing of Yakuza, paired with what is already there, it would be scoring in the high 80s...
 
Last edited:

Kamina

Golden Boy
Ironically for a Team Ninja game, the thing i'm most interested in is: how is the story and the side quests? The reason I say ironically is that, as a fan of the Nioh games, me liking the gameplay is practically a given. But the footage i've seen is giving me heavy vibes of how I envisioned a Yakuza Kenzan follow-up to look (of course, we got Ishin later).

I suspect that if this had the writing of Yakuza, paired with what is already there, it would be scoring in the high 80s...
The story takes sone time to kick off, but then it is quite interesting.
Side missions vary in scale. The companion side missions are pretty good.
Companions & Characters, and the system around them in general, are amazing. I just romanced one of them.
 
Last edited:

hussar16

Member
Thats not the whole game, he just picked one clip. And GOT had those segments too, clear area and turn into Japanese territory. Did you not play GOT?

There is alot more going on in towns when it comes to interacting with NPC’s, choices factions and doing stuff in towns in ROR than Ghost of Tsushima.
I'm talking about whole experience etc
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I'm talking about whole experience etc
Yeah its not an Ubisoft game Because you clear map areas.
Ghost os Tsushima is closer to an Ubisoft game. But with far superior combat, story presentation and gameplay.

RotR has Combat Ubisoft couldnt dream of making, and interactions with NPC's that dont exist in GOT or ubisoft games.
 
Last edited:
This game seems pretty cool so far. I can't even remember the last time I played a Team Ninja game. I like the combat but I will definitely need to git gud.

I like the graphics, I can see why some people say they are rough but I dunno, the game just has a really pleasant look so far. I like the colors, kind of muted but super rich. I love the run animation too, just looks cool to me. I'm playing as the female.

I still gotta finish AITD and Nier: Automata but I think Ronin is going to be a nice big as shit game to chip away at. The combat gives me motivation to play a bit each day so my muscle memory improves. I'm not above changing it to Easy but I'd like to complete the whole thing on Normal. I probably should just deal considering I want to get to Nioh at some point and I'm sure that game is more difficult.

I don't regret buying it. I wasn't paying attention at all to this game, only became interested due to all the preview backlash, lol. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 

Edmund

is waiting for Starfield 7
I'll buy gold for whoever makes an OT




It's already made lol.


 

Kokoloko85

Member
Just beat Matthew Parrry game rules so far
Its great. People are retarded judging it by biased reviews and some clips. It has alot more interactions with NPCs than alot of open world games like AC or GOT.
I loved GOT too but ROR has more stuff to do.

The bosses get pretty hard in the snow sequence.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I've only played a couple of hours so far, but damn this is a lot better than I expected! Full disclosure: I was initially hyped for this game, but preview impressions made me lower my expectations considerably.

I was hoping for something that was closer to Sekiro's combat, and this is definitely scratching that itch (focus on parries, posture meter, deathblows, etc.). Enemy hyper armor keeps from spamming the attack button, so combat has a very deliberate feel to it. You die very quickly, so stealth and assassinations are the best way to trim down enemy groups until you can focus on 1v1 encounters.

Graphics aren't too shabby either (playing on graphics mode) and I think it compliments the art style quite nicely. One of the starting scenes takes place during the winter - all the falling snow particles being lit up by fire and the terrain deformation leaving trails in the snow was not something I would ascribe to "PS3-level graphics" lmao.

I've always been a fan of this era of Japanese history, so I'm personally loving the story so far. There's a QoL feature similar to what was implemented in FFXVI where you can pause during cutscenes to read about relevant characters and history. Playing with the Japanese dub and the VAs are good too, although I was hoping characters like Mathew Perry would still be voiced in English (kinda breaks the immersion a bit).
Its not quire Sekiro combat but I think Sekiro has the best combat from last gen. Its hard to beat that. But ROR combat is great and gets better when the bosses get more complicated.

The review scores didnt do it justice at all.
 

havoc00

Member
Dunno how people score this lower than an 85 out of 100 maybe like a 82 if super critical although a lot of games if the super critical scrutiny is applied should be at that metric. A lot of highly reviewed games critics seem to gloss over stuff that a game with not that hype or whatever would get smacked for.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Dunno how people score this lower than an 85 out of 100 maybe like a 82 if super critical although a lot of games if the super critical scrutiny is applied should be at that metric. A lot of highly reviewed games critics seem to gloss over stuff that a game with not that hype or whatever would get smacked for.

Certain publishers are critiqued way more harder than others…. Performance is nowhere as bad as Shill-up said.
DD2 performance on the other hand… need I say more
 

hyperbertha

Member
Well crap mine was not delivered on friday. I loved Sekiro and GoT, so I'm in for Ronin despite mixed reception. Days gone had it similar but everyone's begging for a sequel now.
Very few are begging for a days gone sequel lol. It didn't turn around its reputation.
This game seems not that great. Ubisoft bloat is the prime sticking point. They should have stuck with a linear/metroidvania style. Instead had to ape ghost of Tsushima. As if aping from soft wasn't enough.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Very few are begging for a days gone sequel lol. It didn't turn around its reputation.
This game seems not that great. Ubisoft bloat is the prime sticking point. They should have stuck with a linear/metroidvania style. Instead had to ape ghost of Tsushima. As if aping from soft wasn't enough.

People need to stop with the Ubisoft talk. It just shows people dont know what they are talking about. The game has alot more going on with combat, NPC interactions, choices etc. So you have a map with cursors and clearing sections. The combat is better than most games out there
 
Okay these positive posts really have me interested. Any chance of somebody running down the similarities and combat differences between this and Nioh?
 
Last edited:

hyperbertha

Member
People need to stop with the Ubisoft talk. It just shows people dont know what they are talking about. The game has alot more going on with combat, NPC interactions, choices etc. So you have a map with cursors and clearing sections. The combat is better than most games out there
You seem to be in honeymoon phase with this game. Same happened the ff16 thread. Need to wait further to see if true opinions. 76 on metacritic isn't good.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
You seem to be in honeymoon phase with this game. Same happened the ff16 thread. Need to wait further to see if true opinions. 76 on metacritic isn't good.
And I enjoy FF16. Ive almost finished ROR, so there is no Honeymoon phase. Im not saying its a 10/10 but the game deserves an 8 easily.

Yes, I think the reviews were awfully unfair on the game. And people claiming its an ubisoft game when they havent played it shows they dont know much
 
Last edited:
Its not quire Sekiro combat but I think Sekiro has the best combat from last gen. Its hard to beat that. But ROR combat is great and gets better when the bosses get more complicated.

The review scores didnt do it justice at all.
Sekiro is my gold standard for sword combat. At the moment (about 12 hours in), I think Rise of the Ronin very much captures a similar feeling for me, if maybe not to quite the same level of polish as FROM (animations and attack choreography, in particular).

Yeah, the reviews really have me scratching my head, especially when so many of the criticisms could be leveraged at a lot of the games it gets compared to. I love Ghost of Tsushima, but this game already has managed to beat out when it comes to combat.

I'm also pleasantly surprised at how well Team Ninja delivered on their first attempt at an open world city (Edo/Tokyo). Ghost had virtually no large towns to speak of, barring maybe Komatsu Forge.

There's so many positive things here that I would argue largely outweigh the negatives (AC checklists, bandit camps, map markers).
 

hyperbertha

Member
And I enjoy FF16. Ive almost finished ROR, so there is no Honeymoon phase. Im not saying its a 10/10 but the game deserves an 8 easily.

Yes, I think the reviews were awfully unfair on the game. And people claiming its an ubisoft game when they havent played it shows they dont know much
The reviewers are claiming it's too ubi like. Sure some reviewers are frauds but there are also reviewers who play the game, and most have played it more than you.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
The reviewers are claiming it's too ubi like. Sure some reviewers are frauds but there are also reviewers who play the game, and most have played it more than you.
When they show me a ubi game that has combat like ROR or NPC interaction then that would be fair, but its not true. Which shows they are just lazy Reviewers and jumping on a bandwagon. As as people who have never played the game.

Lol I doubt they played the game more than me
 
Last edited:

Kokoloko85

Member
Sekiro is my gold standard for sword combat. At the moment (about 12 hours in), I think Rise of the Ronin very much captures a similar feeling for me, if maybe not to quite the same level of polish as FROM (animations and attack choreography, in particular).
Yeah Sekiro was the defo the gold standard for sword combat. Never has a game captured that feeling. I really wish a Star Wars game has similar lightsaber combat system as Sekiro.

Yeah, the reviews really have me scratching my head, especially when so many of the criticisms could be leveraged at a lot of the games it gets compared to. I love Ghost of Tsushima, but this game already has managed to beat out when it comes to combat.

I'm also pleasantly surprised at how well Team Ninja delivered on their first attempt at an open world city (Edo/Tokyo). Ghost had virtually no large towns to speak of, barring maybe Komatsu Forge.
Alot of the reviews seem lazy and biased. Seen it many times before.

I enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima too, the combat was good, the story, animations, presentation, graphics, atmosphere, music etc. And some of the missions. But the open world is nowhere as good as ROR and the things you can do, interaction with characters.
There's so many positive things here that I would argue largely outweigh the negatives (AC checklists, bandit camps, map markers).

Totally agree.
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
This game seems pretty cool so far. I can't even remember the last time I played a Team Ninja game. I like the combat but I will definitely need to git gud.

I like the graphics, I can see why some people say they are rough but I dunno, the game just has a really pleasant look so far. I like the colors, kind of muted but super rich. I love the run animation too, just looks cool to me. I'm playing as the female.

I still gotta finish AITD and Nier: Automata but I think Ronin is going to be a nice big as shit game to chip away at. The combat gives me motivation to play a bit each day so my muscle memory improves. I'm not above changing it to Easy but I'd like to complete the whole thing on Normal. I probably should just deal considering I want to get to Nioh at some point and I'm sure that game is more difficult.

I don't regret buying it. I wasn't paying attention at all to this game, only became interested due to all the preview backlash, lol. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
I put the game on hard and I felt like I was playing ninja gaiden sections. Enemies all swarm and attack at once unless you dispatch them or stealth them down one by one.

Rifle headshots are deeply satisfying too.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I put the game on hard and I felt like I was playing ninja gaiden sections. Enemies all swarm and attack at once unless you dispatch them or stealth them down one by one.

Rifle headshots are deeply satisfying too.
O yes the head shots feel good
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Weapons/Items/etc are similar to Nioh. Combat is more like Ninja Gaiden.
I’m curious if in Japan the director is also the combat director. I tried to google who was the combat director for this and prior team ninja games but only can find a director.

If so, the director for Wo Long wasn’t the same. The director here did combat for NG3, Sigma 3, Nioh 1, and Nioh 2.

These games play vastly different. The combat here leans towards a combination of Razors Edge and Sekiro. It feels that way in your movement speed and enemy speed too.

They basically took the stagger mechanic from Sekiro and expanded on it, while keeping combat fluid and fast like Razors Edge but with refinements now. I’ve been playing NG1-3 in the last few weeks, and was super down on this game prior to release thinking how far they had fallen.

The previews, videos, and reviews do not do this game justice.

That said it could all be down hill from here but early impressions have me giddy.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
The ninja character cameo was pretty cool too.
You can miss his move set and style, he's in the Mathew Perry (lol) building.

You get his style and move set if you build a friendship with him
 
Last edited:

SJRB

Gold Member
Game is good, simple as that.

Graphics are shit and a huge mistake because that's the main talking point, but the actual game is basically Sekiro on medium difficulty meets Assassin's Creed. In fact it's so much like AC that some people at Ubi who are working on AC Red are probably scratching their heads at this point.

It's not for everyone but I'm having a great time.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Glad to see people enjoying the game. Maybe it'll convince some score whores to rethink they're idea of what a good game is.
They seem pretty set. The reviewers did this game dirty, it deserves at least an 8.

Reviewers like IGN, Gamespot, GamesRadar, saying its fun and want to play more, but it brings nothing new to the genre. So I aspect from now on, every game has to bring something new to the table or its a 7…. That also means Elden Ring 2 has to have a different type of open world than the original, Witcher 4, Tekken 9 etc lol. If they dont bring something new, 7/10 :p
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom