After the release in 2020, the spirit of Tsushima, the American developer Sucker Punch, was generally well received from the fictitious presentation of the historical Japan. The director of the game, Nate Fox, recently talked about his involvement in providing the same type of cultural sensitivity to the upcoming spirit of Yotei, emphasizing the importance of research, respect and listening to cultural advisers.
While Ghost of Tsushima told us to take the role of Jin Sakai when he defends Tsushima against the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, Ghost of Yotei jumps to 1603, where we play as women -the warrior ATS in Ezo (state-of-the-art Hokkaido, northern north of Japan is the north of Japan). She is to take revenge on a group of banites who murdered her family.
Ghost of Tsushima paid tribute to the classic samurai films (with the black and white “Kurosaw mode” named after the legendary Japanese film director Akira Kurosaw), so it will be fascinating to see if Ghost of Yotei has any influence of many Japanese films with challenging women of warriors who are to be revolutionary, like the Lady Snowblood series.
In the last PlayStation blog post, Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei, Nate Fox, talked about how research trips to Japan were not only the “best part” of work on games, but also very inspiring and opening eyes.
“Everyone from Punch Sucker, which took place on reference trips, returned to the studio with passion for driving to bring a sense of authenticity to our fictitious presentation of these real places,” he said, emphasizing how critical the feeling of a personal place is, and then using this experience to create an original environment in a game that matches the spirit of real location.
Comments Made by Ghost of Tsushima’s English-Japonese Produter Location Daisuke “DICE” on Twitter / X in May 2024. Echo these sentiments: “The spirit of Tsushima Development, the band has developed that” we want to create a pleasant entertainment, not a history lesson … is an objective historical. Machine).
Indeed, Ghost of Tsushima read how a carefully studied love letter to historical Japan with a bit of a classic samurai film thrown into a samurai film. What is what it was, what an artistic license was to create a more fun and atmospheric experience for the player, and make a game more accessible to a wider audience. In order to present the Samurai, the spirit of Tsushima knocked in later centuries, and the image of samurai pop culture as Katana Wellerers, when they mainly used a bow and arrows in the 13th century (Ashikawa’s architect expert is probably the nearest figure of samurai this period). When it comes to availability, Jin can compose a haiku (most often a recognizable type of Japanese poem), but the haiku form has not developed only centuries.
Although Ghost of Tsushima’s Towns, Shrines and Envyronments have the impression that they are experiencing a journey of nature through Japan from the comfort of the sofa, the game has taken some freedoms, enabling the player to allow the player for all seasons of Japan. The real Tsushima is subtropical, located between South Korea and the island of Japan Kyushu most south. The bulky snow, which Jin meets in act 3, is anachronistic because the real Tsushima is too far south to experience such weather. However, this gave players the opportunity to experience the virtual postcard of the most iconic and known aspects of each season in Japan. Wandering the fictitious tsushima of the game, the player moves between different seasons: bulky pink cherry flowers bringing a little spring to the screen per second, just to replace the orange brown autumn list when you enter another area.
As Fox explained, the digital Tsushima was never to be a great reproduction of the island, but it was to faithfully capture the spirit of this place. In the post on the blog, PlayStation commented: “We felt that by listening to our cultural advisers and conducting research, we could ensure a full -time representation of what Tsushima was so unique … for Ghost of Yotei, we do the same.”
Fox revealed that Sony chose Hokkaido to Ghost of Yotei’s Scenera because it is “incredibly beautiful”. After visiting this place, Fox said that the developer team was hit with a contrast between majestic views and the potential threat created by the bears, which the Shiretoko Hokkaido National Park inhabit. “The perfect marriage of beauty and danger, that’s how we wanted to our game,” – Fox delighted. In addition, in 1603, when Ghost of Yotei is set, Hokkaido was a poorly populated, edged North Island, which programmers felt suitable for the story of a female warrior, so hellishly revenge that the locals are starting to believe that he is a demon.
However, the official information about Ghost of Yotei has not yet mentioned how and whether it would take up the complicated history of possible colonization by Hokkaido by Japan. How does Ghost of Yotei present the native population of Hokkaido, Ain and their language and culture? Did he present tensions between Japanese populations and Ain? It can be a arduous part of the game to be correct.
After the release of Ghost of Tsushima, he met mainly with a positive reception of Japanese media of games and people, winning a perfect result from Famitsu and winning two awards at the Japan Game Awards 2021. It was also adopted by the real island of Tsushima, with its popularity encouraging more tourists to visit the island. The director of the Game Nate Fox and original director Jason Connell were appointed cultural ambassadors on the island, for their role in attracting people’s attention to Tsushima and its history. If Ghost of Yotei succeeds like his predecessor, he can also bring more foreign tourists to Hokkaido. However, they should make sure they are better prepared than The British couple who have recently got stuck on Mount Yotei.
Verity Towsend is a Japanese independent writer who previously served as an editor, collaborator and translator on the Automaton West website. She also wrote about Japanese culture and films for various publications.
