- Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been criticized due to its main characters.
- Many Japanese locals have argued that Yasuke was not a proper samurai.
- A Japanese historian recently became the center of attention as he continuously called out Yasuke, leading to Ubisoft blocking him on Twitter.
Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows has received praise for its gameplay and next-gen graphics. It also marks the first Assassin’s Creed entry to use ray tracing. That said, the game became very controversial after the first trailer was revealed.
The Japanese fandom did not enjoy the reveal and bombed the trailer with dislikes on YouTube. Many claim that Yasuke is not even a samurai, and every Japanese person bowing to him as soon as he walks by is disrespectful towards the Japanese culture.
This has prompted further discussions from a Japanese historian. His voice even reached Ubisoft, but the gaming giant quickly blocked him on Twitter.
Why it matters: The Japanese audience holds its culture and values near and dear to its heart. Therefore, they hoped to see Ubisoft portray a more accurate representation of the past era.
Kenji Yamamoto has studied Japanese history in detail, so his opinion holds more weight than most others.
He has become controversial on X/Twitter after calling out Yasuke several times. The historian recently revealed that the official Assassin’s Creed page had blocked him after he spoke the truth.
“So the official Assassin’s Creed X page blocked me for speaking the truth. All I’ve been saying is that Yasuke was not a Samurai.”
-Kenji Yamamoto
We are no Japanese culture experts, but the main point of contention appears to be around Yasuke’s status as a retainer. While some argue that he was a proper samurai under Oda Nobunaga, others are still not convinced.
Kenji Yamamoto seems to agree with the latter camp.
Some have even claimed that after the first trailer was released, Wikipedia was edited, and mysteriously, Yasuke appeared as a legendary black samurai.
This controversy has been going on for a while and likely won’t stop anytime soon. Kenji Yamamoto has made some interesting points, such as why Yasuke was excused when Nobunaga was forced to commit Seppuku.
This event can appear strange, which adds weight to his statement. Nonetheless, Ubisoft decided to block the historian instead of simply ignoring him since the team is standing by its choices in portraying Japanese history.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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