Ghost Of Tsushima’s Daisuke Tsuji is ready to play an older Jin Sakai
Originally released in 2020, developed by Sucker Punch Productions, Ghost of Tsushima is considered to be amongst the best Sony exclusives in recent years.
Ghost of Tsushima was revealed during Paris Games Week in 2017 but it wasn't until E3 2018 that we got to see the first gameplay trailer. Set in a stunning Feudal Japan,1274, it tells the story of Jin Sakai, a samurai warrior forced to question his morals to save the people on his island and those he loves following a brutal Mongol invasion.
Check out the Ghost of Tsushima trailer below!
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Ghost of Tsushima came with high expectations years before it was released. “I wasn't aware of how big it was going to be. When the trailer came out, Billy Harper, one of the directors warned me that Sucker Punch Productions is a big deal because of the Infamous games, which at the time, I knew nothing about,” Daisuke tells me when we spoke at MCM Comic-Con in Birmingham.
“I began to feel the anticipation for Ghost of Tsushima soon after the first trailer, but when it got to release year, I began to get worried whether fans would like it or not. Luckily, once the game was released, a lot of people seemed to really like it and that felt great.”
Ghost of Tsushima takes players on an emotional journey from start to finish and with that comes the challenge of portraying those emotions to the player. To deliver such a performance, Daisuke utilised inspiration from his life experiences.
“This was my first main character role in a video game and I was learning a lot on the fly. But I think there are also a lot of parallels between me and Jin Sakai,” Daisuke explains.
“In the game, Jin learns how to become a reluctant leader, a role that he struggles to get used to. As an Asian American living in the US, I'm not used to playing the lead but to have the lead role in Ghost of Tsushima was a great opportunity and responsibility. It's also one that I had to learn on the job, just like Jin.”
Set roughly 750 years ago, during a period many of us are not familiar with, the setting of Ghost of Tsushima is as vital as any main character in the game. On top of that, the world created by Sucker Punch Productions is not only gorgeous but it’s heavily researched to give the most accurate and respectable representation of that time.
“I was never very good at history, it wasn't my favourite subject. So, I'm very grateful that Sucker Punch did its homework and was very respectful. They even hired a Japanese culture consultant, so the developers were really on top of it, and I appreciate that. I think that respect is a big reason why the game was so successful because it felt authentic and the developers went as far as visiting the real island of Tsushima for research and I eventually visited the island too.
“Don’t get me wrong, the video game is beautiful but you can’t beat the real thing. Embracing its nature such as the mountains and the Pampas grass seen in the game is such a stunning visualisation. It was so cool to see all that in real life and the game.”
If fans wanted more Ghost of Tsushima, then there’s plenty of goodness to go around, not only with the recently announced Ghost of Yotei but we’re also getting a live-action movie brought to life by John Wick director, Chad Stahelski.
As any gamer will know, video game adaptations have mostly resulted in more failures than success, however, judging by The Last of Us and Fallout series, it seems that a positive corner may have turned.
“Adaptations of video games are always tricky. Some are great, and some are not. But with Ghost of Tsushima being such an authentic video game of the period it represents, it makes sense for the movie to follow its lead and with it being inspired by Akira Kurosawa productions, a famed Samurai movie director, hopefully, that bodes well.”
Daisuke has already expressed his desire to reprise his role as Jin Sakai in the movie but if that dream doesn't come to fruition, he has another character in mind such as Jin’s uncle, Kazumasa Sakai but there is another, that will express Daisuke’s love for comedy. That character is the lovable and mischievous Kenji.
Kenji is a shady, drunk trader in Ghost of Tsushima who eventually becomes quite pivotal to the plot. As the story unfolds, his interactions with Jin Sakai provide some of the game's most fun moments. “Kenji would be fun to play and I feel I could play a great comedic drunk,” says Daisuke with a smile.
Towards the end of last year, Sucker Punch Productions announced Ghost of Yotei, a new standalone tale set in Hokkaido, Japan, roughly 330 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima in 1603. It stars a female warrior named Atsu played by Erika Ishii.
As good as Ghost of Yotei looks, not to mention the quality of titles that Sucker Punch Productions tend to bring, some fans were disappointed that Jin Sakai is not returning for the foreseeable future. Daisuke sheds some light on why that direct sequel may not have been announced.
“Sucker Punch is going to do what they want to do, and I respect that,” Daisuke explains. “For any artist, it has to be something that they are passionate about, and that's why Sucker Punch went with Ghost of Yotei because they wanted a different era, different characters, and different stories.”
“If they do go back to Jin, it would have to be because the fans want it and ultimately something that Sucker Punch is passionate about and feel the need to continue his story. Sadly, I don’t see that happening right now. If I were to play Jin again, it would have to be an older version, which could be interesting.”
Sadly, there was a negative reception from some corners of the fan base following the announcement of Ghost of Yotei. “I’m really looking forward to playing the game and streaming it on my Twitch channel,” Daisuke tells me. “I think negativity is often louder than positivity. I think the majority of fans are excited for Ghost of Yotei. Sucker Punch is a fantastic studio and I think Erika will knock it out of the park. They're very passionate actor and I can’t wait to see that passion shine in the game.”
Given the success that Daisuke Tsuji has earned playing the role of Jin Sakai, it would be easy to forget that he’s also played other major roles in popular video games such as Scorpion and Kang Liang in Mortal Kombat 1 as well as Toranosuke Shimada in Rise of the Ronin. But Daisuke also let me know of a role he really wanted that slipped through his fingers.
“Some roles you imagine yourself in and because of that, they’re the hardest to lose. One of those roles was when I auditioned for Jesse in The Last of Us Part II. However, because I envisioned Ellie still being young from the first game, I portrayed Jesse as a younger character too, not realising he was a young man in the sequel. That one hurt. I also auditioned for the HBO TV show and never got that either. So yeah, it’s fair to say that The Last of Us keeps kicking my butt.”
Ghost of Tsushima is out now on PC and PlayStation. Ghost of Yotei will launch at some point this year for the PlayStation 5.
Topics: Features, Interview, Ghost Of Tsushima, Sucker Punch, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sony