opinion: An Assassin’s Creed in Japan has been a big wish in the community for a long time for a reason. The scenario lends itself perfectly to the series.
Nothing is official yet, but with Tom Henderson a very reliable and well-known insider announces what we will probably hear at Ubisoft’s event in a few days: After Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the series is finally going to Japan! And it’s not just a dream come true for me, if our survey from last year is to be believed.
Why I think Japan offers a perfect setting for Assassin’s Creed and you should look forward to it too, I’ll tell you in my column.
A fascinating culture
One of the great strengths of Assassin’s Creed is that it brings us closer to often foreign cultures in an impressive way and revives them for players. The best example so far for me is Assassin’s Creed Origins, which put a lot of effort into the world of ancient Egypt, which, while not always historically accurate, was convincing.
If Ubisoft could recreate sandy Egypt, the islands of the Aegean and medieval England in such a fascinating way, how impressive could the scenic and varied Japan be? Just imagine the pink shining cherry trees in spring, the great Japanese castles and the idyllic temples!
Ghost of Tsushima already successfully proved what a great world you can build from this template, which even inspires when it actually has serious weaknesses!
The perfect conditions
But even if Japan hasn’t been a topic for you so far, you might agree with me that the country offers perfect conditions for an Assassin’s Creed. With the shinobi or ninja, there is even a long tradition of specially trained fighters who served as assassins, spies, saboteurs and scouts in Japan’s history.
They mastered the use of numerous weapons, such as swords, sickles, lances and projectiles like shuriken or kunai, and were also trained in espionage techniques – if these are not the perfect assassins. They even had a code of sorts and apparently also used explosives, poisons and smoke bombs.
Samurai, on the other hand, could again serve as powerful opponents. Perhaps some of them are in cahoots with a secret organisation? But we ourselves could also play an outcast samurai, i.e. a ronin, who then perhaps for some reason learns the arts of the shinobi.
In addition, the cities of Japan have long had enough space for climbing and parkoure: the imperial city of Kyoto, for example, was already a large centre with parks, palaces and residential quarters in the 8th century. It would therefore be conceivable, for example, to have Assassin’s Creed Japan take place only in the city and its surrounding countryside.
Much to tell
And narratively, the history of Japan also provides a generous setting for a typical Assassin’s Creed story. Conflicts over rulership, intrigue and wars abounded here. A powerful shogun who wants to seize power in the empire and a group of ninja who stand in the way of his sinister plans? Surely there is an era here where Assassin’s Creed Japan could tell such a story.
The game would also have the opportunity to clearly distinguish itself from a Ghost of Tsushima with its story. For example, it could be set in the 19th century, a time when Japan was forced to slowly open up to the rest of the world after a long period of isolation. Here, too, there were certainly some conflicts and competing groups around whose history Assassin’s Creed Japan could wrap itself. Perhaps we could expect a plot more like that of the film “The Last Samurai”.
The suspense remains
Of course, we still know next to nothing about the Japan game that we can expect in 2024. It remains to be seen whether Assassin’s Creed will take a step forward with the next games, successfully return to its roots as Géraldine hopes, or not change much after all. In the latter case, however, fans like Kevin would probably jump off for good!
