5 Things Ghost Of Tsushima Gets Historically Right (And 5 It Doesn't)
More like Khotun KHAN'T EXIST, amirite?
Ghost of Tsushima sees players in the role of Jin Sakai: A katana swinging, poetry writing, fox loving Samurai who's just a little bit fed up with those dastardly Mongols.
Sucker Punch's latest title has been met with sweeping critical acclaim, that seems to flow gently from every media outlet like the gorgeously animated grasslands of Tsushima itself.
Significant praise stems from GOT's subtle nods to Japanese culture and media, especially since Tsushima is indeed a real island off the coast of mainland Japan. However, the developers haven't been shy in admitting they've taken a few discreet liberties when crafting their open world invader dismemberment simulator.
That's not to say the entire game is a pack of lies, but it can be hard to recognise what's true and what isn't without slicing through a dry, old textbook like a stack of bamboo.
So just who were the Sakai clan? How historically correct are Jin's weapons? Why's Khotun Khan such a dick? All these questions and more will be meditated upon, as we delve deep into real Japanese history to separate the honorable truth from the sneaky, ninjutsu fiction.
10. Fact: The Weather
This first one may seem a little reductive. After all, it's the weather, so what?
Well, aside from eviscerating your eyeballs with its sheer beauty, GOT's weather actually plays a key role in gameplay elements.
There are no annoying quest markers polluting the landscape like unintended, belligerent squatters, nor is there any minimap to drag your eyes inevitably downwards towards the bottom left of your TV.
Instead, GOT uses the wind as gentle directional guidance in order to point Jin where he needs to go, incorporating the land into an intrinsic gameplay feature. While this is fantastic game design, and something that should be mandated here on out for all open world games, it does leave the player with the nagging sense that this much wind is a tad impossible.
Turns out it isn't, actually. Tsushima itself is a coastal island, situated about halfway between Japan and the Korean peninsula. It is constantly subject to typhoons and strong, chaotic monsoon winds. Try pegging your washing out in that stuff.
In fact, in the real Mongol invasion of Tsushima, the Mongols were defeated not by Samurai, but by a huge typhoon that destroyed the Mongol's fleet. And this happened not once, but twice. Some luck, eh?