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https://twitter.com/AccessTheAnimus/status/1790056358579962194?t=YUgLVw0TQTJBcBmQ4Z5GtA&s=19
This logo is the exact same as the one from the leaked main menu from a few weeks back! This pretty much confirms that the leak was 100% real.
And on the menu we could see Naoe and Yasuke. So yeah, unless they changed their minds mid development, Yasuke is going to be one of the two protagonists!
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But it is actually Yasuke, or a character heavily inspired by him? I'm just asking cause we don't usually play as an actual historical figure.
His relevance is tied to him being the only African retainer in Japan and his proximity to Nobunaga, I feel like if it's just some other dude it'd be weird.
Also, they're shorter sequences, but we've played Jack the Ripper and Leonidas before.
So most probably (99%) we’ll get to meet Nobunaga, Akechi, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and many, many more
I'm almost certain we'll see Hattori Hanzo in some way as well.
Only if he pulls out a cat clock and references silly Anjin
I'm actually learning about Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and Nobunaga right now in high school. This game will further my interest in those figures even more if true.
Please read the books Taiko and Musashi if you can. They cover that period and are absolutely amazing.
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Doesn't matter. Yasuke also wasn't part of the Assassins brotherhood in real life either, Jack the Ripper never went to India, Leonidas didn't have a super-powered spear, etc.. Idk why everyone's suddenly all hung up on historical accuracy. One of the main parts of the lore of these games is that history isn't what you're told.
Wait what, maybe I didn't play the whole DLC lol
You know why
Hold on now, I'm pretty sure all of the games have been completely accurate. /s
Characters secretly interacting with elements of the AC Universe (namely the Templars, the Assassins, and Pieces of Eden) is part of what defines AC and part of the lore. But known historical characters being portrayed inaccurately within their historical context is something different. Nobody's gonna believe that Yasuke was an Assassin, but a lot of people are gonna falsely believe he was a Samurai. Just like people falsely believe that there were truly only 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, or that vikings had lots of tattoos and wore leather and plate armor.
AC is at its best IMO when it's filling in the blanks of history and working within those bounds, not when it changes things around to fit the narrative. If Yasuke never was a true Samurai (for the record, I don't know shit about Yasuke) then I don't think he should be presented like one in the game either. Either tell an exciting story about Yasuke the weapons' retainer Assassin, or tell a story about someone else.
I'm not saying AC hasn't changed up historical characters or cultures in this way before, I'm saying it is bad when they do it.
Edit: seems from other random comments that giving Yasuke a Samurai title would be within the bounds of "filling in the blanks". So if that's the case, and him becoming a Samurai and an Assassin makes for a good narrative and isn't just something shallow for marketing purposes, then I'm all in.
There's no records to suggest he never fought in battle(which would be weird as he was warrior/bodyguard prior to meeting with Nobunaga), he was present for one battle(forgot the name) but it's unclear wether he participated or was just in the camp with Nobunaga.
There's also no records to suggest Yasuke was made a samurai(at least officially), but Nobunaga was known to break traditions as he went on to make his slippers retainer a samurai; so Yasuke his trusted sword retainer becoming one isn't far fetched. Yasuke was also granted a stipend, his own house and sword.
So basically what I'm saying is, we can't certainly say he fought or didn't fight in a battle or if he did or didn't become a samurai. His history is foggy, so there's arguments for either side.
There actually never was a Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni or a Palazzo Auditore in Florence either...so who knows, maybe we got history wrong ;)
Didn't prevent Japanese studios to depict him as a samurai, isn't he in Sekiro ( I just checked on youtube but it seems not to be him lol )
and Samurai Warrior https://koei.fandom.com/wiki/Yasuke
Technically, he was.
He "was a retainer of Nobunaga and kashindan samurai"
"Kashindan were an institution of the retainers (kashin) of the shogun or a daimyo in Japan that became a class of samurai."
Wikipedia. Also interesting fact check by Britannica .
I can confirm that he was not the first foreigner to achieve samurai status, as Britannica claims. Korean and Chinese became samurai hundreds of years before Yasuke.
The English term 'samurai' is a bit misleading. In Japanese, it's a class-based term. 'Bushi' is a broader term encompassing all swordsmen and soldiers.
The Britannica article made a lot of assumptions without any basis or proof.
Yasuke was considered a part of Nobunaga's Sokkindan(entourage), not Kashindan. You need to be close to the core of the political structure to be considered a Kashindan. It is a false assumption to assume Yasuke holds much power in Oda's court. It is like saying a random knight who served under King Arthur is equivalent to the round table knights.
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Don't worry. You'll hear 'real history ' in the bts videos about how powerful and influential Yasuke was. Just like odyssey and Valhalla.
I think the historical records for large periods of his life and where he's from are vague enough that they can take a lot of creative liberties.
But realistically, would the historical records of one of the only black people in Japan at the time be vague if he did a fraction of the things AC protagonists do? You’re trying to make sense of it, but it still doesn’t make sense to use a historical figure imo, especially a highly-conspicuous total outsider like Yasuke.
Probably not, but this isn't a historical reenactment game it's a work of fiction and his vague story gives them creative licence to write whatever story they want about him.
If we question the validity of things that happen in Assassin's Creed we might as well read history books under candle light.
I see your point, but the series has always strived for some level of historical accuracy and realism. We all just have different levels of what we accept.
What we actually know of the real Yasuke doesn’t fit with what I’d want from an AC protagonist. If they’re gonna change who he actually was, I question why they’d use a historical figure in the first place.
Tbf it’s already established that abstergo/Templars have and do change recorded history to fit their narratives
Toooo be fair...the idea with assassins creed is the templars rewrote history. We only don't hear about most protagonists cause the templars remove all mention of them. Especially their interactions with real historical figures. Maybe with Yasuke, he's such an outsider they legit couldn't remove mention of him entirely because there was to much a risk of missing something or suspicious gaps. They leave a trail as it is. Sometimes they can only rewrite things to downplay his importance
Why should that matter. Robespierre wasn't shot through the mouth, Leonidas didn't wield a magic spear and George Washington wasn't running fades with the templars, this is fiction. AC always takes liberties.
Yasuke poses a problem in a broader reality sense. It's not just about taking liberties with historical records, it's about taking liberties with logic and common sense. How does one of the only black men is feudal Japan kill one person on Robespierre's level let alone several without being noticed and remembered?
Leonidas' spear is explained by Isu magic. Isu magic has always been a part of the series, so I accept it. Leonidas also lived MUCH further back in time, so that helps his case. Will Isu magic explain Yasuke? Maybe, but it's hard to imagine it being anything but extremely contrived.
Probably a character loosely inspired by him and the stories since there's not much well documented information about him.
It's gotta be him. There's really no other recollection of black samurai in Japan. Maybe Ubisoft will do a Leonidas and we'll play as his son?
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I don't know. I'm not Japanese so I'm not offended by this. And i understand people that might be. All I'm concerned about is that a 6'2 black man will make stealth impossible in this setting
I wonder if Yasukes play style is more like the Samurai side of Jin (Tsushima) and the Kunoichi (Aoi?) will play like the Ghost side of Jin from Tsushima. Or if anyone's played Splinter Cell Blacklist it's like the playstyles of Panther/Ghost vs Combat.
You'll be playing a Japanese ninja too so
you also will play a japanese person in the game like the leaks said?...
epic games store page confirms it. it is indeed him. tho its weird that preorders are out without gameplay. not a smart move considering the "not owning your games" comments ubisoft has made
So it’s official, first AC game were you actually play as a historical person for an MC (not counting Leonidas).
If you count the spin-off games, you play as Anastasia in Chronicles Russia
Now I need to check them out
Not necessarily, it could just be an original protagonist directly based on him which I think it's highly likely.
Anastasia
And JTR
JTR?
Jack the Ripper
Oh right we did play as Jack forgot about that
Jetorare
I thought Yasuke was confirmed a while back or did I just pull that out of my ass at some point?
I think it's just been heavily leaked and rumored.
He was pretty much leaked by multiple sources but nothing was confirmed. This is the first confirmed appearance of his
Sorry how does this confirm it? I missed the original leak you're referring to so I'm a little confused
It was a leaked main menu pic. The logo was the exact same (I checked it and they 100% match)
In the menu we could see a black male with a samurai helmet and the same female shinobi that was posted as someone's banner on a platform.
What's more, Ubisoft took down 2 of my posts of the leak plus other ones on the gaming leaks sub + images of it from imgur
So the leak was 100% real. Unless they have cut Yasuke last minute, he's gonna be in the game and he'll play an important role
That's honestly a little disappointing. I'd prefer if it was an original character imo. The idea of a character inspired by Yasuke would be kinda cool but it actually being the guy rubs me the wrong way
I find the fact that we almost know nothing about him IRL gives a sense of real mystery around the character. Very cool for a game about being part of secretive organisation.
Like when you have photos with recurring background characters in conspiracy theories
You kinda have to….if they made a character inspired by him the character would get shredded as “woke”, “dei”, “forced diversity” etc etc
So the historical aspect is his saving grace (which some individuals will still ignore)
That's...an excellent point actually
It IS getting shredded as woke right now. Lmao.
It is getting shredded as being woke and DEI anyway. There's no pleasing racists
I would be kinda cool with him being a supporting character, but having him as main male counterpart is a no for me.
Shame, he could be some kind of mentor that would bring assassin way of life to the Japan.
Oh my god that him being a mentor who brought the creed to Japan would have been so cool.
I think he was close to some important people, so there could have been some political influences.
I thought that he should have been an important non-protagonist character from the start anyway.
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Yeah if you look at this guy historically too, from what I could tell he was barely even a glorified bodyguard. More like a slave that carried things and just looked interesting to the natives.
Yea it's dumb as hell. Imagine playing Valhalla for the first time and the main character is Basim. It would be beyond stupid.
Or imagine playing Mirage for the first time and the main character in Baghdad is Evior. 😂😂 Lol
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That’s racist /s
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Ubisoft is French Canadian. Yeah just Americans for everything.
Why is yasuke a point if interest? I dont have much of an idea about him at all. Why not have a Japanese as the protagonist, why does it have to be him, an African in Japan? Genuinely curious guys and I’m not trying to be racist.
Coz he's black
Yasuke was an African from Mozambique who traveled to Japan with Jesuit missionaries. He may or may not have been a slave, we don't know much about his life (sadly, we don't even know his original name). When he came to Japan, he was introduced to a man called Oda Nobunaga, who was a local daimyō (a powerful feudal lord). Nobunaga really liked Yasuke and (if I recall correctly) Yasuke was super strong - I think Oda said he had the strength of ten men, which is pretty cool - so Oda Nobunaga took him into his service as a retainer and called him the Japanese name Yasuke. I say "retainer" as that's what I remember reading - rather than a samurai proper. Although, if I recall, he was given a sword, so maybe there is some significance there - I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will tell me. He remained in service with Oda Nobunaga for around 2 years, I think. I don't really want to go into any more detail at the risk of giving you historical spoilers! But that's the main gist of things, anyway.
As for why Ubisoft would make him a protagonist, I think there are two reasons - the first is that his story is, basically, kinda cool, and the sort of character Ubisoft would have written if he hadn't really existed. The second reason is ✨diversity✨ - Japan was and is a rather homogeneous place, so having someone from Africa means that they get to, I don't know, look more diverse, which is very important to an American audience in particular.
Ultimately, Yasuke seems like he had an interesting story, but I'm really not sure how I feel about an actual protagonist being a real, historical character. I don't think I'm for it - I like a main character who interacts with history, is a spectator or participant for grand events, but isn't directly part of the historical record. I don't know, maybe my unease is unfounded. But these games do some crazy things with their protags, and Yasuke was a real, living, breathing person, and deserves to have his story told with respect and dignity, rather than to find out somewhere along the lines that "Aha! You're actually the reincarnation of Amaterasu!" or whatever... but maybe I'm being paranoid.
It isn't even important to anerican audiences, that's what's fucking annoying, they're trying to appeal to a small group of crazy people
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Be fine if Yasuke was there as a quest giver. That's how historical characters of interest are usually handled, like Leonardo or Socrates or Karl Marx or whatever. If you really want a black protag, that's great, set it during the US Civil War or something, and your guy is an escaped slave who joins with the Assassins to stab slave-owning Templars or something, I'll play that. But if I'm playing a game in feudal Japan I want to be a Japanese guy
he was given the rank of a koshō so like a step below samurai before being given a sword ala a squire BUT he was given the full gear and everything along with privileges due to him being the personal bodyguard to Nobunaga so basically a samurai.
I'm interested, its not really going to change the history of things as any more than previous titles anyway. Not like were playing Peabody and sherman to go look and learn about historical events anyway. Davinci made an assassins blade for us in AC, Yasuke will just be playable ultimately doing what he did in history anyway, fighting.
2 protags in this game.
Because having a charavter who doesn't know the place or understand the culture allows the audience to learn through him. It's classic fish out of water storytelling, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Wonder Woman.
It's going to be a heavily romanticized version of Yusuke. He was a retainer for Oda, but the game is probably gonna show him as some glorious samurai.