Samurai

This might come as a shock, but "Bushido" is a relatively recent invention that didn't enter wide usage until the 20th century.  Before then the most commonly used expression was "Bushi no Michi."  In fact, most texts concerning samurai written before the 17th century basically read like combat instruction manuals.  Topics of interest were typically swordsmanship and archery.  Honor was rarely mentioned because such an ingrained part of society was rarely discussed in an abstract sense.  Samurai did what they were expected to do because that was the way things were.  What exactly that entailed depended on the time and place.  So, what does this little history lesson have to do with video games?  Well...a lot, actually, when it comes to Ghost of Tsushima.

In truth, I wouldn't have a problem with any of the stylistic choices in this game if it weren't for the fact that the developers (Sucker Punch Studios) evoked the name of Akira Kurosawa.  Here's the thing...there's a lot of samurai themed media and quite a bit of it is unrealistic or downright goofy.  There's nothing wrong with that, but Kurosawa was not that kind of filmmaker.  He was very much a stickler for historical accuracy, and would even go so far as to have movie sets torn down a rebuilt because the nails were visible (nails not being part of pre-modern Japanese building construction).  Kurosawa has long since passed away, but you can bet your silk kimono he would have never allowed a Kamakura Era film of his to have katana, haiku, or modern sounding Japanese names.  He also went to great lengths to mystify the time and place in which his samurai films took place in order to create the illusion of plausibility.  Ghost of Tsushima, though, doesn't show this kind of forbearance, and instead chooses a very precise time (November, 1274 A.D.) and place (Tsushima Island).  So, right away the game has problems in that the ruler of the island was a man named Sō Sukekuni and not some dude named Shimura.  

Kurosawa had a preference for making the protagonists of his films peasants and ronin because it made this sort of obvious historical inaccuracy easier to avoid.  He also didn't hold samurai in high regard (despite being descended from that social class).  The two films he made that did feature samurai lords in the leading role ("Throne of Blood" and "Ran") are Shakespearean tragedies that come across as fairly critical.  If anything Ghost of Tsushima feels more like "Last Samurai" than any of Kurosawa's films.  At best Sucker Punch has created something that is ahistorical, but respectful.  At worst though, they've perpetuated the false myths that surround many warrior cultures (vikings, Spartans, knights, etc.).  That said, if you're just looking for some chambara action in an open-world setting then enjoy...just leave Kurosawa's legacy out of it.