Ghost of Tsushima's Japanese localization producer responds to Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Although it has yet to be released, people are already comparing Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows unfavorably with another game set in historical Japan, Ghost of Tsushima. Daisuke “Dice” Ishidate, Ghost of Tsushima’s English-to-Japanese localization producer, responded to this discourse in a thread on X, explaining the goals that the Ghost of Tsushima team had when developing the successful title.

Ghost of Tsushima was developed by American studio Sucker Punch Productions. Set in 13^th century Japan, players take on the role of Jin Sakai as he defends Tsushima from a Mongol invasion. Upon its release in 2020, the game garnered very favorable reviews from critics and players alike. It was well received in Japan, gaining a perfect score from Famitsu and going on to win two awards at the Japan Game Awards 2021. It also sold over 2.4m copies worldwide in its first 3 days (Source: Gameinformer).

Looking back, Ishidate explains the vision that Sucker Punch had for Ghost of Tsushima:

『Ghost of Tsushima』の開発チームは「歴史の授業じゃなくて楽しい娯楽を作りたい」と言ってました。

（他には「日本人が侮辱されたと感じる作品にはしない」と「ハリウッドではなく時代劇にする」）

客観的な史実性ではなく主観的な時代劇らしさ（とケレン味）が成功の原因じゃないかと思います。
— Dais Ishidate／石立大介 (@d_ishidate) May 20, 2024

Post translation: The Ghost of Tsushima development team told me that “We want to create enjoyable entertainment, not a history lesson.”
(They also said, “We won’t make a game that Japanese people will feel is insulting” and, “We will make it like a Japanese period drama (jidaigeki), not a Hollywood film”)
I think that maybe the reason for Ghost of Tsushima’s success is not objective historical accuracy but its subjective period drama-like style (and flair).

（日本を含めた）世界に向けて作っているので、例えば海外版では「俳句」を作ってるし、鎌倉時代の誉れとは違う誉れの出し方だし、巨大大仏は座ってないし……でも、歴史アクションじゃなくて、時代劇アクションアドベンチャーですから。

ローカライズも時代劇として面白くなるようにやってました。
— Dais Ishidate／石立大介 (@d_ishidate) May 20, 2024

Post translation: Because it was being made for a global audience (including Japan), the overseas version used “haiku,” honor was portrayed differently from how it was in the Kamakura period, and the giant Buddha wasn’t sitting down. However, that’s because it’s not a historical action game but rather a period drama action adventure.
We also did the localization to make it like an interesting period drama.

Ishidate emphasizes that Sucker Punch focused on the Japanese feel of the game over historical accuracy, and points out that Ghost of Tsushima was historically inaccurate in many places. For example, the poetry that Jin can compose is referred to as “haiku” in the international version of the game, despite the haiku form not existing in 13^th century Japan. Also, many of the beautiful landscapes and landmarks you can stumble across in Ghost of Tsushima have never existed on the island, and instead reflect scenery and places found in other parts of Japan. The game’s events are merely inspired by history– in real life, the Mongols’ attempted invasion of Tsushima was foiled by a typhoon. Ishidate seems to believe that the reason for the game’s positive reception both overseas and in Japan was the way it embodied the spirit of Japanese period dramas (jidaigeki). The team was inspired by classic Japanese samurai films such as those by Akira Kurosawa- this is even evidenced by the fact that Ghost of Tsushima’s black and white mode is called “Kurosawa Mode.”

Ishidate goes on to discuss Assassins Creed Shadows, as well as the recent popularity of TV dramas set in historical Japan but made and funded by overseas studios and companies.

アサクリと『Ghost of Tsushima』は目指すところが違うゲームなので、単純に比較はできないんじゃないかと思います。

発売されたら「最高だ。本物の日本より日本らしい」ってなってるかもしれないし。
— Dais Ishidate／石立大介 (@d_ishidate) May 20, 2024

Post translation: Assassin’s Creed (Shadows) and Ghost of Tsushima are games with different aims, so I don’t think that they can be easily compared.
Maybe once Assassin’s Creed Shadows is released it will be perceived as “The best” and “More like Japan than Japan.”

ツシマ含め時代劇ゲームの「スタンダード」が日本の外で作られていることへの恐れは分かります。

Shogunも海外資本だし、ネトフリのBlue Eyed Samuraiも海外では大人気で時代劇の新機軸と言われていたし。

ただ、それを覆すには日本で時代劇の新しい本流を作るしかないよなあ。
— Dais Ishidate／石立大介 (@d_ishidate) May 20, 2024

Post translation: I understand peoples’ fears about the “Standard” for Japanese period drama games (including Tsushima) being created outside of Japan. Shogun is also foreign-funded, and Netflix’s Blue-Eyed Samurai is also very popular overseas and is being described as a new approach to Japanese period dramas. However, the only way to change this is to create a new mainstream style of Japanese period drama in Japan.

The producer of Ghost of Tsushima’s Japanese localization refrains from giving a direct opinion on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows game- except to comment that its aims are very different to Ghost of Tsushima’s. He also seems to think that it is too early to give a verdict on Shadows considering that it hasn’t even been released yet.

Read more about the discourse surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows in our articles on who Yasuke was in real life, and what Japanese people think of him. We have also covered Japanese people’s response to costume and architectural inaccuracies in Shadows’ trailer.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is scheduled to be released on November 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Mac.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut is available on PS4/PS5 and PC (Steam)