Rise Of The Ronin: Early Party Members You Should Recruit

Highlights

Rise of the Ronin introduces AI party members for easier gameplay, offering various skills and benefits to players' missions.
Characters like Ryoma, Gonzo, and Genzui bring unique abilities like fire damage, money earning, and reduced stamina consumption.
Recruiting allies such as Shinsaku, Kogoro, and Yukichi offer increased sub-weapon damage, stealth advantages, and new combat possibilities.

Team Ninja grew in popularity because of their Dead or Alive fighting series along with the brutal combat of the Xbox-based Ninja Gaiden reboot. Years later, they would prove they are still hardcore with both Nioh games, taking inspiration from From Software and their many Soulslike adventures. Then, in 2023, they showed that they also knew how to create a more balanced and less challenging Soulslike via Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

Your Blade Twin and punching an enemy in Rise of the Ronin

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One way it became easier for players was the AI-based party members. Team Ninja brought back party members in Rise of the Ronin. Most missions can support two AI-controlled partners, and there are a lot of them to find in the game. There are also party members that serve other roles like upgrading gear. Let’s get into the best party members in the early stages of Rise of the Ronin.

8 Ryoma Sakamoto

Mission: Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises

Ryoma Sakamoto is the first ally that players can meet in the game. Players will run into him as they are trying to find a passport into Yokohama, which will lead them to the mission “Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises.” Players will get introduced to the concept of being able to control another character, and this will be Rise of the Ronin’s first mission that can later be replayed through co-op.

Ryoma’s best quirk is that he can rapidly fire his revolver like a cowboy in of Red Dead Redemption. He can add fire damage to handgun weapons as well, along with more bullets.

7 Gonzo

Mission: The Bad Bunch

“Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises” will end with players having to make a choice: Should they kill the bandit leader, Gonzo, or let him go? If players let him go, they can recruit him during the mission “The Bad Bunch.” It’s a side quest that will task players with tracking down a thief, Gonzo, who has been framed.

Players can decide to kill him again, or they can take his side, leading to Gonzo joining them in the end. Gonzo is not as great as his Muppets counterpart, but this thief is good to have around because he can earn players more money through kills.

6 Genzui Kusaka

Mission: The Way of the Warrior

Genzui Kusaka will come off as a bit arrogant when players first run into him. He’s too into himself and confident that he is the finest samurai in the land. In “The Way of the Warrior,” players can teach him a lesson through defeat in a dojo.

Your Blade Twin and Ryoma in Rise of the Ronin

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After defeating him, he will humbly join the group and vow to get stronger, which is a typical samurai sentiment. Having him in the party will reduce the Ki consumption of abilities, and Ki is Rise of the Ronin’s version of stamina, so it's a valuable bonus to have.

5 Shinsaku Takasugi

Mission: Try Your Luck

Shinsaku Takasugi is a lot more laid back than Genzui, and the two come from the same school of training. He even has a guitar, or to be more precise, a shamisen, that he plays while gambling. That’s actually how players can recruit him, as “Try Your Luck” will send them into a gambling den.

It’s an easy-to-understand mini-game that revolves around betting on dice. No matter how players do, Shinsaku will join the cause and with him, damage dealt by sub-weapons like bows or guns will go up.

4 Kogoro Katsura

Mission: The Plot To Assassinate Harris

“The Plot to Assassinate Harris” is a main mission that kicks off second act of the game. Players will go into a local mansion within Yokohama to kill Harris for the Anti-Shogunate agenda. Kogoro Katsura is kind of like the makeshift leader of this rebel faction, as the true master has been caught.

There’s a big story spoiler in this mission, but there’s no need to go into it now. Suffice it to say, Kogoro will be pleased with the results, and he can be recruited on missions afterward. With him, sneaking around missions will be easier for the stealth game enthusiasts out there.

3 Yukichi Fukuzawa

Mission: Tracking Down Harris

Yukichi Fukuzawa is a samurai who is fascinated with Western culture. He is working with the Shogunate to build peace between the Western army encroaching on Japan’s shores, but he is not a mindless puppet. He will help players defy the Shogunate if it means sticking with his morals.

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Players can first meet him on the “Cultural Exchange” mission, but he won’t be recruitable until “Tracking Down Harris” is completed. That’s how players can meet another ally in Rise of the Ronin, Jules Brunet.

2 Yasusuke Sawamura

Mission: In Search Of New Knowledge

Yasusuke Sawamura is one of Yukichi’s friends, which is funny considering he is a hardcore ninja and Yukichi is so nice. It seems like Yasuke is in this for one thing; cold-blooded murder through ninja tactics. Players can get him to join the team following the “In Search of New Knowledge” mission.

Yasusuke’s internal ability will grant players more damage if they use shuriken or if they attack with the grappling hook. Players have to go into Rise of the Ronin’s skill trees to make the most out of the grappling hook in general though.

1 Matthew Perry

Mission: Test Of Friendship

Matthew Perry, like most of the characters in Rise of the Ronin, is based on a real person, and not the late Friends actor, Matthew Perry, which is spelled the same way. He is actually the first boss players will fight in the game, but he’ll somehow survive. He’s not bitter about it though, as he will tell the player character that he understands why they did what they did.

With water under the bridge, Matthew Perry will join after “Test of Friendship.” With him, players can do more damage with handguns, so a good party combo would be to have Matthew and Ryoma join a mission together if possible.