All Rise of The Ronin Factions Explained

Rise of the Ronin promises to be a great game and one for which many have very high expectations, given the quality to which Team Ninja has accustomed us over the years. Although the release of the game is two months away, the developers wanted to release information regarding the various Rise of the Ronin factions that will be present in the game. In fact, players will have the opportunity to play a ronin, a samurai without a master, who will face a long journey to save the country, during which he can decide to ally himself with different characters.

All Rise of the Ronin Factions

In Rise of the Ronin, there are three factions that regulate the country: Sabaku, Tobaku, and Obei, each of which has different characteristics, peculiarities, and components. In a game where a lot is focused on narrative since you will have the possibility to shape your story based on the choices you make, knowing the factions that compose it is certainly a very important thing to make the best choices for you.

Sabaku

The first of the Rise of the Ronin factions that we present to you is that of Sabaku. This faction is part of the pre-shogunate forces and is therefore a supporter of Tokugawa. Their task, in fact, is to try to maintain his centralized and unchallenged dominion, defending him from the external forces that want to take his place. For this reason, we can say that this faction is driven by strong loyalty and determination. The main exponents are Naosuke II and Taka Murayama.

Naosuke II

Naosuke II is prime minister of the shogunate and lord of the Hikone clan. He deserves credit for Japan's openness towards trade with foreign nations, but he also has a very strong personality and is not afraid of his adversaries. In fact, in the country, he is known as “The Red Demon” for having mercilessly suppressed all those who went against him. Despite this, he is a man of class and discipline who has profound knowledge of Iai, tea, and poetry.

Taka Murayama

Taka Murayama is a renowned geisha from the Miyozaki pleasure district, located in Yokohama. Her fame came thanks not only to her good looks but also to her wit and determination in tackling things and knowing how to take advantage of the right moment. Not much is known about her past, but it is suspected that she had also been a geisha in Kyoto before leaving the city.

Tobaku

The second of the Rise of the Ronin factions that we present to you is that of the Tobaku. The Tobaku are practically the anti-shogunate forces, that is, those who oppose the Sabaku. Consequently, their aim is to suppress the current shogunate by any means possible and restore the imperial authority that existed before in Japan. For this reason, the followers of this faction are driven by a great desire for rebellion and the desire to change things. The main exponents are Ryoma Sakamoto and Kogoro Katsura.

Ryoma Sakamoto

Ryoma Sakamoto is a ronin who was once a member of the Tosa clan. His aim is to have a firm hand on the issue of Japan's opening up to foreign trade, but at the same time, he seeks any way to crush the shogunate once and for all. Thanks to his way of doing things, he manages to make himself loved by everyone and to have followers ready to join his cause. He is a skilled warrior with both swords and Western-style weapons.

Kagoro Katsura

Kagoro Katsura is a feudal lord of the Choshu clan and an associate of Shoin Yoshida. Being a man with a compassionate soul, his role in the clan is to act as a mentor to the younger ones. While he has managed to gain the trust of the Choshu clan's top officials, he is no stranger to sporadic scandals due to his Achilles' heel: his love for saké.

Obei

Finally, the third of the Rise of the Ronin factions is that of the Obei, the Western forces. These are both American and European powers trying by any means to open Japan to foreign trade in order to put an end to its isolationist policies and give the country greater opportunities. The main exponents of this faction are Matthew Perry and Rutherford Alcock.

Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry is a commodore of the United States Navy. His mission, on orders from President Millard Filmore, is to circumnavigate the world to reach Japan and push the shogunate to open the country to foreign trade. To reach his goal, he is capable of anything, especially beating the European competition.

Rutherford Alcock

Rutherford Alcock is a British diplomat who has the task of evaluating whether Japan's inclusion in world politics is the right move to make or not and then communicating his opinion to his superiors. While he has never been a supporter of Japan's isolationist policies, he is nevertheless an admirer of its craftsmanship. Also, since he was a surgeon in the past, he never backs down when there is someone who needs treatment.