I feel like Mitsuhide is probably the natural antagonist for this game but because his real life motivations for betraying Nobunaga are still just about ambiguous enough you can take him in many different directions. AssMemories generally aligned the Assassins with Tokugawa (an interesting but kind of cynical writing decision probably based on Ieyasu 'winning' in the end lol) but it seems kind of unlikely that they'll bring back, say, Taka or his storyline for this game. A mainline title release will basically forge its own path, though I could see a Sword of Eden being relevant to the plot.
I admit there's a small place in me that wants it to be a incidental clusterfuck. Like I love the idea that Mitsuhide looks over at the temple, remembers his poetry getting trashed and the good dinnerware getting chucked in the pond (and you know his mom dying) and just goes "I'm setting this son a bitch on fire".

The templars and assassins are having a face off and then one goes "Guys did either of our sides set Honnoji on fire? Cause it's very on fire right now".
 
The templars and assassins are having a face off and then one goes "Guys did either of our sides set Honnoji on fire? Cause it's very on fire right now".

Honestly that doesn't seem too outrageous given how deemphasised the Assassins and Templars (especially the Templars) have been. It's been four whole games without that conflict in the centre frame even if the Cult of Kosmos and Order of the Ancients essentially serve in that role. As this game is set much more recently than even Valhalla I have to imagine that will be different this time around.
 
With that in mind one thing I wouldn't miss is Eagle Vision being a literal eagle. I've never disliked this gameplay element and it's fun for the games to have animal mascots lol, but we've had several games with Ghost Recon drone mechanics and I think it's worth moving on from it, especially as we have dual protagonists. Both Naoe and Yasuke having telepathic birds would be a bit much, at least imo.
 
Honestly that doesn't seem too outrageous given how deemphasised the Assassins and Templars (especially the Templars) have been. It's been four whole games without that conflict in the centre frame even if the Cult of Kosmos and Order of the Ancients essentially serve in that role. As this game is set much more recently than even Valhalla I have to imagine that will be different this time around.
On the one hand, I did kind of glaze over when they hit an apex of "The templars are succeeding in nearly every way possible and have also controlled history for nearly forever" that the original trilogy started to hit. They were amazingly competent as long as they weren't right in front of you at the time. However it was a neat aspect of it and did make it not just a "stabbing through history" franchise. That said I kind of think the writing staff doesn't really know where to take it, or at least that's an impression I got.

I think there's plenty of angles to have them come back and while it did say Tokugawa was friendly to the assassins, I can easily see the templars taking advantage through local agents there as well. Japan closing off definitely offers a fertile bed to cultivate even if that could be spun as a reaction to the templars too. Even offers something of a good target for a followup in the region if they want to do the restoration era just to see some kind of aftermath.
 
I might have rather played a Japanese fella than an African for the Japan game, even if most of the similar games out there have exactly that, but I don't mind that much ultimately. It's not like we don't have a Japanese woman still. Though I would still want him in the game if we got someone else, since Yasuke would have been great as an NPC.

That said, I am totally still going to play that glorious man as much as the game allows, I imagine even on plenty of missions where I'd be better off going stealth and playing Naoe. 'Cause while Ninjas are cool and I love stealth, getting to actually be the giant Samurai warrior for once is gonna be the best!

I want missions where the game says: "There's too many, it'd be better to approach this mission via stealth and assassination." But let me still stroll up to the front as Yasuke and declare open combat against some kind of large troop garrison.

Games where you actually get to feel much stronger than your opponent are awesome, and AC is at least always good at making impressive combat animations. Gonna get me a Nodachi and/or Kanabo and I will be set for life, so long as the combat is decently satisfying. I want that Kensei/Shugoki feeling. 🙏

I hope he's exactly as obtrusive as he seems too. It'll be a riot just wandering around as this towering foreigner in elaborate armour, with all the locals doing double takes, hahahaha! The contrast with Naoe being utterly mundane by comparison to the average citizenry beyond being a pretty woman will be great if they can implement it correctly.

With the practice on Syndicate, I really wanna believe in Ubisoft's ability to create a solid balance of differing playstyles between the two characters.

Here's to hoping!
 
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I might have rather played a Japanese fella than an African for the Japan game, even if most of the similar games out there have exactly that, but I don't mind that much ultimately. It's not like we don't have a Japanese woman still. Though I would still want him in the game if we got someone else, since Yasuke would have been great as an NPC.

That said, I am totally still going to play that glorious man as much as the game allows, I imagine even on plenty of missions where I'd be better off going stealth and playing Naoe. 'Cause while Ninjas are cool and I love stealth, getting to actually be the giant Samurai warrior for once is gonna be the best!

I want missions where the game says: "There's too many, it'd be better to approach this mission via stealth and assassination." But let me still stroll up to the front as Yasuke and declare open combat against some kind of large troop garrison.

Games where you actually get to feel much stronger than your opponent are awesome, and AC is at least always good at making impressive combat animations. Gonna get me a Nodachi and/or Kanabo and I will be set for life, so long as the combat is decently satisfying. I want that Kensei/Shugoki feeling. 🙏

I hope he's exactly as obtrusive as he seems too. It'll be a riot just wandering around as this towering foreigner in elaborate armour, with all the locals doing double takes, hahahaha! The contrast with Naoe being utterly mundane by comparison to the average citizenry beyond being a pretty woman will be great if they can implement it correctly.

With the practice on Syndicate, I really wanna believe in Ubisoft's ability to create a solid balance of differing playstyles between the two characters.

Here's to hoping!
To bring back an ancient bit from the internet, I kind of hope they accidentally implement gaijin smash as a game mechanic. Yasuke's presence alone can cause a level of confusion and social obstruction that leaves your targets open.
 
I've just seen something so funny it bear mentioning, it was a screenshot posted on French twitter of a rant against Yasuke's inclusion in the game. The way Nobunaga is described is so wild I had to translate and share it here :

"What you have to know about the "legendary" Yasuke is that he was merely a man-at-arms brought by the Jesuits in Japan, then recruited at the time by an eccentric leftist noble, hated by his peers because of his outrageous behavior. So, he was utterly inconsequential."

Here's the original post : x.com
 
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I don't know that we should import too much twitter culture war stuff here, but describing ODA NOBUNAGA a LEFTIST is genuinely extremely funny, what a lunatic thing to say lol

It's actually the case that Nobunaga was pretty unconventional for the time, but lmaoooooo
 
Yeah, I certainly can't pretend to be very knowledgeable about Japan's historical figures but even to me that sounded absolutely bonkers.
 
I don't know that we should import too much twitter culture war stuff here, but describing ODA NOBUNAGA a LEFTIST is genuinely extremely funny, what a lunatic thing to say lol

It's actually the case that Nobunaga was pretty unconventional for the time, but lmaoooooo

There was the post in the Unpopular Opinions thread that said Oda Nobunaga should be allied with the Assassins because he was unconventional, which kind of feels like the same claim.

His disdain for tradition included traditions like "honouring treaties", "not betraying alliances", and "not slaughtering the entire population, women and children included". All in the service of his ambition to conquer all of Japan, and reportedly beyond.
 
His disdain for tradition included traditions like "honouring treaties", "not betraying alliances", and "not slaughtering the entire population, women and children included". All in the service of his ambition to conquer all of Japan, and reportedly beyond.

'Before Nobunaga, no warlord in Japan ever engaged in betrayal, mass slaughter or attempted national conquest' lol
 
Theres a whole game of telephone around Nobunaga, I imagine likely due to limited sources available eitheri n english or just standard academic book pricing (If i learn chinese there' a 480 dollar discount on a cao cao biography I'd like to get). Nobunaga was kind of a weirdo, and had some level of meritocratic approaches given hideyoshi's ascendence, but I've seen it get pushed a lot further than it seems to be historically. He wasn't enlightened by western ideals, he just really fucking liked guns and his favorite sect of buddhism was soup so the portugese were aok.
 
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It took Ubisoft one month to respond? :???:
www.france24.com

'Assassin's Creed' makers defend 'creative liberties' in black samurai row

The makers of "Assassin's Creed" defended their "creative liberties" on Tuesday after nearly 100,000 people signed a petition launched in Japan against the introduction of a new black samurai character.
Critics in Japan launched a petition on June 19, a month after game-maker Ubisoft unveiled a trailer featuring the protagonist, lamenting a "serious lack of historical accuracy and cultural respect".

Its author accused Ubisoft of having made factual errors and "a serious insult to Japanese culture and history that can be understood as racism" against Asians.

While the petition did not dispute the existence of Yasuke, it claimed that he had never received the samurai title. It was signed by some 95,000 people as of Tuesday.

The plea called on France-based Ubisoft to halt the game's release and show greater respect for Japan's culture and traditions.

The game's makers responded on Tuesday in a statement addressed to its "esteemed Japanese community" which explains its "creative liberties and historical inspirations".
 
It took Ubisoft one month to respond? :???:
www.france24.com

'Assassin's Creed' makers defend 'creative liberties' in black samurai row

The makers of "Assassin's Creed" defended their "creative liberties" on Tuesday after nearly 100,000 people signed a petition launched in Japan against the introduction of a new black samurai character.
That's one of the stupidest shit I've heard this week. "Your video game called a black guy a samurai and isn't historically accurate so its racist". This is the same country that made and widely likes Fate. Serious lack of historical accuracy and cultural respect my ass.
 
Basically every prominent 'Japanese' person I've seen talk about this game has been an American larping. The loudest voice belongs to a guy named Garrett pretending to be a Todai professor that shares a name with a famous plagiarist. While it's not like there are no negative comments (I've seen quite a few about liberties taken with architectural design and the seasons) out there this feels a lot like Ubisoft falling for an outrage produced mainly in English speaking countries.
 
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