Ghost of Tsushima‘s ending varied depending on how players chose to conclude their gut-wrenching final battle, which split the narrative wildly in different ways and could cause complications for a sequel. Given the title’s huge success, and how it was widely considered to be one of the best games of 2020, a sequel seems practically inevitable. It’s unlikely that Ghost of Tsushima 2 will see developers Sucker Punch giving players two completely different narratives depending on their choices, so the developer will probably have to choose one of these endings to be canonical going forward.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Ghost of Tsushima.]
Ghost of Tsushima‘s story saw Jin Sakai struggling to maintain the way of the Samurai and honor his family’s legacy while protecting Tsushima Island from enemy forces that deployed more devious tactics. His relationship with his uncle, Lord Shimura, was key in this internal conflict, as Shimura was determined to fight the Mongolian forces honorably. Ghost of Tsushima‘s combat, however, leveraged Jin’s witnessing of various terrors inflicted upon the island’s residents firsthand, adopting new tactics to overcome his foes such as stealth and poisoning, becoming the legendary “Ghost of Tsushima.” Ultimately, such a rift came between Jin and his uncle that Shimura was forced to hunt and fight his surrogate son for the “crimes” he committed to save Tsushima.
Ghost Of Tsushima 2 Should Make The Dishonorable Ending Canon
The final battle plays out the same for the most part, with Jin and Shimura dueling by the Sakai family graveyard. It splits after defeating Shimura, with players given the option to go through with Shimura’s wishes, and honor the Samurai code by killing him, which was deemed the Honorable path. If players chose not to go through with this, they unlocked the Dishonorable ending in which Jin spares his uncle, fully cutting his ties with the ways of the Samurai and becoming The Ghost.
The Dishonorable path would be far more compelling for the sequel to pick up from. It truly showed Jin carving out his own path and offers far more storytelling opportunities going forward with him no longer tethered to his Samurai past. Throughout the game, The Ghost became a mythical legend among the residents of Tsushima for exacting vengeance upon the Mongolian invaders with brutal-yet-effective new tactics, but he was always seen as a protector of the island’s residents first and foremost.
To kill one of the last of Tsushima’s remaining Samurai may have been honorable between Jin and his uncle and respected the latter’s wishes, but it would not have made sense for the Ghost of Tsushima as a legend to have killed Shimura as he didn’t do anything wrong except fail to follow the well established Samurai code of honor. If anything, the option to kill him could result in Jin being feared by the very people he is trying to protect, showing that nobody is safe from The Ghost’s blade.
Ghost Of Tsushima’s Honorable Ending Is Easier For A Sequel
The canonical ending will likely be the Honorable one in which Jin’s uncle, Lord Shimura dies an honorable death at the hands of Jin. Given how reluctant Jin was to kill his uncle, this decision will obviously take its toll on the protagonist throughout the sequel, and it would be interesting to see how Jin’s interactions with other authority figures and civilians are impacted as a result.
If players had chosen to spare Lord Shimura, and Sucker Punch implemented an option to read and transfer past game files from Ghost of Tsushima to its sequel, this Dishonorable decision could be rewritten to say Shimura later succumbed to his injuries and died regardless. This would be a far easier option for the writers when creating a single narrative than bringing him back from the dead and could be explained with one line of dialogue, as Jin wouldn’t have been present for Shimura’s death in this scenario due to being on the run. This could also make Jin question his decision, and whether he should have honored his uncle’s wishes if the result is the same regardless.
Regardless of whether Jin spared or killed Shimura, either ending brought Ghost or Tsushima‘s story to a natural conclusion. Sucker Punch has yet to announce Ghost of Tsushima 2, but job listings at PlayStation and Sucker Punch have all but confirmed it’s in the works. While players will have factored in their own thoughts when deciding Lord Shimura’s fate at the end of Ghost of Tsushima, and will have their own ideas of what should be canonical, it ultimately will come down to Sucker Punch’s writers to determine what happened to Jin’s uncle and surrogate father going forward.
