Ghost of Tsushima was one of the highlights of Sony’s 2020 lineup. An open-world samurai game was on the wishlist of many gamers, and Sucker Punch finally delivered that wish, especially because of the fantastic protagonist, Jin Sakai.
Jin Sakai is a strong samurai that has to balance his Samurai teachings, with his desire to save Tshushima at any price. We find out a lot about Jin through the telling of his story, but there may be some smaller details you may have missed.
15 The Ghost Vs. The Samurai
Historically, samurai were taught to live by a certain code: Bushido, something which is also reflected in Ghost of Tsushima by Jin’s uncle, Lord Shimura. This concept lays out how samurai should conduct themselves, especially in battle, and is based on maintaining the honor of the Samurai class.
For example, a samurai has to face enemies head-on. Khotun Khan takes advantage of this and creates scenarios where Jin has to either stay to his ideals or embrace the ways of the “ghost.” This battle rages on within Jin throughout the game. It defines his evolution and even creates conflict with other characters, namely his uncle.
14 Jin Is A Lord of Tsushima
The time during this game is set during the feudal period in Japan (popular during the 12th and 13th centuries). During this period, there were individuals in the country who were identified as lords, including landowners and powerful people with clans.
Jin isn’t just a samurai who knew how to defend others; this guy was a pretty big deal and had quite a bit of influence in his land. As the oldest member of the Sakai Clan, he is officially titled, Lord Jin Sakai.
13 Jin Is Able To Control The Weather
Ghost of Tsushima borders on the supernatural at times, especially through the way Jin interacts with the world. Take the guiding wind for example, which guides Jin to objectives and key places and is supposedly his representing his father.
Jin can control the weather using his flute, with each song producing a different weather effect ranging from cloudless skies to a heavy thunderstorm. Jin can also control the weather by how he defeats enemies, with the use of Ghost weapons making the weather more stormy.
12 Jin’s Voice Actor Is No Stranger To Gaming
Jin’s English voice actor, Daisuke Tsuji, has voiced a variety of other video game characters. He brought to life the Musician in Death Stranding and the Specialist Recon Character in Black Ops 4 before he voiced Lord Sakai.
He has also voiced a few characters on the small screen. His excellent voicework is one of the reasons players love Jin Sakai, and he continues to engage with the games community.
11 A Famous Manga Artist Captured His Journey
If you’ve heard of Afro Samurai, you’ve probably also seen the work of Takashi Okazaki. This person is the artist behind the iconic character. and this exceptional artist also went on to create four awesome-looking manga-styled posters that highlight Jin’s journey.
The colors are striking, and the symbolism makes these artistic renditions truly shine. If you need your manga fix, definitely check out these posters.
10 He’s The Only Member Of The Sakai Clan
Jin is the only living member of the Sakai Clan, hence why his Uncle, Lord Shimura, has such an influential role in his upbringing. His mother and father both died when he was young, with his father being murdered on Iki Island.
Jin has no siblings, or wife, meaning he is the sole member of his clan. At the time of the game, there had been at least seven generations of Clan Sakai.
9 The Japanese Voice Actor Is Involved With A Famous Franchise
Jin’s Japanese voice actor is Kazuya Nakai. If you are an anime fan, you may have seen this name come up in the credits of some pretty popular animes.
Nakai is known for voicing Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman character from the One Piece franchise. It’s pretty cool that the developers of this game sought out some exceptional voice talent. The work they did to recruit the best truly shows.
8 Jin’s Island Is A Real Place
Various directors, producers, writers, and developers have all made created fictional places at one point. Nevertheless, in this case, the developers didn’t have to make up a location since Tsushima is a real place.
The island is located in the Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. It is off the southeastern coast of the country. It is also still referred to as Tsushima to this day. How cool is it to know that you are playing as a character moving through a real location? Who knows? Maybe a story like this one played out at some point. This brings this list to the next point…
7 Jin Is The Reason Ryuzo Doesn’t Become A Samurai
Jin and Ryuzo were childhood friends, but a duel between the two at Lord Nagao’s tournament, which ultimately prevented Ryuzo from becoming a Samurai fractured the relationship.
He eventually becomes the leader of the Straw Hats, a group of Ronin’s who appear throughout the game’s story. Despite rekindling their friendship in Ghost of Tsushima’s first act, Ryuzo was never able to fully forgive Jin for defeating him at the tournament.
6 Part Of Jin’s Story Is Based On A True Historical Event
In 1274, the Mongols did in fact invade Japan, and Tsushima was one of their first targets. The first event in the game, the massacre of the Mongols’ small samurai army, really happened.
The developers did an excellent job bringing this actual historical event to life through Jin’s eyes. In real life, the Mongols were defeated by a terrible storm that wrecked their fleet - perhaps Jin is an embodiment of this storm?
5 The Evolution From Samurai To Shinobi
It has been mentioned that Jin had to balance adhering to the samurai’s honor code, while also trying to use dishonorable tactics to save his people. Ultimately, Jin does become what is known as a shinobi by embracing the ‘Ghost’.
These individuals are mercenaries or covert fighters that work outside of the confines of the samurai. This game gives us a front seat to Jin’s transformation from samurai to shinobi. You can choose how you play with Jin, but his descent into becoming the Ghost is inevitable.
4 Jin Was Overpowered
During the development of the game, the developers were concerned that Jin was too strong, mainly because he ended up being too fast for enemies.
As a result, the developers had to work to make things a bit more challenging, so they changed the combat system and adapted Jin’s play style for enemies. Thankfully, the difficulty balance in the final game is great, not being too easy or too hard.
3 Jin Wields A Tachi
Despite being called the Sakai Katana in-game, Jin actually wields a ‘Tachi’. The Tachi is a slightly longer blade, and worn cutting edge up, both features reflected through the Sakai blade within Ghost of Tsushima.
The Katana did not exist in the period the game is set in, appearing more commonly in battle 150 years after the Mongol Invasion of 1274. In Japanese localization, the blade is correctly called a Tachi.
2 A Poll On the Japanese PlayStation Account Ranked Jin As The Second Most Popular Character
A poll on the Japanese PlayStation account ranked Jin as the game’s second-best character, with the leader of Clan Sakai being beaten by a fox. The foxes lead players to shrines hidden across the island and are generally incredibly cute.
No matter how good of a protagonist Jin is, he just doesn’t have the cuteness factor that the adorable foxes do.
1 Jin May Be Fictional, But His Life Is Authentic
The developers did take some liberties with characters like Jin and Lord Shimura. These people did not exist in Japan, and one person did not defeat the Mongols. However, the way these two lived was pretty authentic to the time.
The development team enlisted the help of two real-life, modern-day samurai to bring Jin’s story to life. So, while he may not have been a real person, his journey becoming a samurai and notable person in Tsushima is likely one many other men went through during that time.
NEXT: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Ghost of Tsushima
