Highlights

  • Ghost of Tsushima 2 could benefit from a protorelic-like system, encouraging players to explore via a questline that spans every location and has diverse gameplay in each area.
  • Part of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's success as an open-world game lies in its protorelic system, offering special activities and rewarding players with the best gear, as well as a special finale.
  • Implementing a similar approach to side content in Ghost of Tsushima 2 could enhance the open-world experience and make it more memorable for players.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Ghost of Tsushima 2 are two separate games and differ greatly in terms of gameplay, but they do share some common elements. Although Rebirth and the original Ghost of Tsushima were released four years apart, both games offer rich, vibrant worlds, immersive gameplay elements, and strategic depth in their combat systems. The recent release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been quite successful, and there is a certain reward mechanic in it that a potential Ghost of Tsushima sequel could borrow.

Having a rich, open-world is one thing, but Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth encourages exploring that world more than most games. This is because of the protorelic content present in the game, which consists of secret items, called protorelics, scattered around the game’s map and guarded by tough enemies or unique activities. Among other open-world games that could benefit from this same mechanic, Ghost of Tsushima 2 stands out as the one with the most potential.

ghost of Tsushima gold trophy
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What Protorelics Could Look Like in Ghost of Tsushima 2

If Ghost of Tsushima 2 is anything like the first entry in the series, it’ll have a vibrant world filled with side activities that are begging to be explored. A protorelic-like system could be introduced to provide more motivation for players to roam around and look for secrets. For instance, these secrets could include collectible weapons and tools that are both appropriate to the game’s theme and lore, including legendary samurai weapons, bombs, or other throwable items. Collecting these could lead a player toward unlocking a new arena or an exclusive battle that is otherwise not available, just like Rebirth does with Gilgamesh. Upon completing these special side quests, the devs could put together a payoff akin to that of Ghost of Tsushima's duels.

Expanding Upon an Existing Ghost of Tsushima Mechanic Could Make For a Protorelic-Like Experience

Ghost of Tsushima has previously already incorporated a system that, to some extent, resembles Protorelics. The first game featured a ton of duels scattered across the map against tough opponents in the game’s lore who have ties to Tsushima Island, and Jin Sakai, the main protagonist. In the first installment, there are eleven duels throughout the map not tied to the main story, side quests, or enemy bases, and all of them have cinematic battles. In some of these duels, the player is rewarded with a special ability if they are victorious. These battles can return in the sequel, perhaps just with better loot and legendary gear hiding behind the challenge. However, to better resemble the Protorelic system, the sequel's special side questline should offer more gameplay diversity.

How Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Benefits From Protorelics

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has found a lot of success by incorporating protorelics, as the benefits go beyond just encouraging exploration. Rebirth uses the protorelic system to introduce special activities in each location, with the protorelic quest chain spanning seven questlines (comprised of four phenomenon intel nodes in each region of the game’s map). These ulitmately reward the player with some of the best gear in the game upon completion, but they also contain story payoffs for certain side characters and would be fun to play through even if no rewards were attached.

Jin Sakai, or whichever protagonist the sequel decides to focus on, can have an optional (but high quality) side quest line to obtain the best gear scattered around the map. However, like Protorelics, there should be other gameplay types used beyond combat when gathering this gear, and once it has all been collected, a special endgame fight should be unlocked. If the content is on par with the Protorelic missions, exploring Ghost of Tsushima 2's open-world could be significantly more memorable.