All The Brilliant Side-Quests In Ghost Of Tsushima

Ghost Of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is a new open-world game with a huge map to roam around, which means you will spend a lot of your time undertaking side-quests. Having completed all 92 quests in the game, here are some of the best quests which you do not want to miss.

Quests in Ghost of Tsushima are broadly categorized below:

  • Gold quests are Jin’s Story. These are the main missions.
  • White quests are “tales of Tsushima.” These are regular side-quests—small vignettes that change in how challenging or compelling they are. If a story of Tsushima has a face etched in the journal, that means it’s a side-quest focused on a character who’s important to the main story.
  • Blue quests are “mythic quests.” These unique missions usually require a longer undertaking than a regular tale of Tsushima, but always bequeath some sort of game-changing bonus: an important move, weapon, or set of armor.

Many side-quests follow a script: go to a place, battle some Mongols. If you’re fortunate, you might do some Witcher-style examining. Sometimes, you’re tasked with saving someone, in which case you’ll normally end up giving them a minute too late. (Ghost features a lot of “Sorry, but this person you loved is now dead” conversations.) But some of the side-quests are real standouts, check out the ones below.

 

“Unfinished Business”

One story mission at the start, “The Broken Blacksmith,” needs you to sneak through Azamo Bay, a Mongol-occupied hamlet on Tsushima’s southern coast. For narrative ideas, you can’t get into the combat. So you’re forced to meekly worm your way through the enemy’s columns, thinking of ways you can take them out all the while. “Unfinished Business” gives you that opportunity.

Once you finished“The Broken Blacksmith,” you hear the word that some Azamo Bay village old people are still held captive by Mongols. That, clearly, cannot stand, so you go back to set them all free. There’s no narrative twist here, but, from a gameplay aspect, no side-quest comes close to meeting the brilliance of “Unfinished Business.”

There are many neighborhoods in Azamo Bay, each with a jailed elder and a small cadre of Mongol troops. You’ll need to go to them all differently, with a mix of stealth and combat, if you want to make it through with the elders all alive and healthy. The whole quest finishes with a grueling one-on-one duel that beat my ass for 20 minutes. “Unfinished Business” is the very first side-quest to truly test your abilities by forcing you to use all of the gadgets at your disposal.

GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

Sensei Ishikawa’s Quests

In Sensei Ishikawa’s very first quest, “The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa,” you discover that one of his former students, Tomoe, has carried up a teaching post in the Mongol army. To protect herself, she’s accepted to pass along Ishikawa’s signature Way of the Bow to the invading army’s archers. To start a game of cat-and-mouse that crosses all three acts and all three areas of Tsushima.

Over the passage of nine missions, you watch as Ishikawa comes to agree with carnage wrought on his country because of the methods he discovered. The plotline is more emotionally impactful and very surprising than the main story. There’s also one entertaining mission that peels back Jin’s veneer of composure by showing just how small a game he has.

Standout Missions: “Friends In Passing,” “Laid To Rest,” “The Ghost and the Demon Sensei”

Lady Masako’s Quests

Ghost of Tsushima begins on Komoda Beach, where the Mongols planning their invasion. In the ongoing battle, the huge majority of Tsushima’s samurai is killed out on the spot, kickstarting the game’s plot. For the most part, the game doesn’t count on this outside of some narrative hand-waving. Lady Masako’s questline requires you to go back to Komoda Beach, where the bodies are still burning and smoking.

That’s just one of many resonant times in Lady Masako’s questline. At the start, when you’re seeking to recruit her to help you in the rescue of Lord Shimura, you discover that her whole family has been murdered in cold blood. Your mission involves tracking down the accused and doling out some justice. It sounds much like the main plot but there are lots of twists and shocks here. That it’s all tied around Lady Masako, one of the game’s most completely realized characters is even more incentive to dive in.

As with Sensei Ishikawa’s questline, Masako’s nine-mission narrative spans the course of Tsushima’s 3 acts and areas. In the fabric of plots that are Ghost of Tsushima, the end of Lady Masako’s thread packs the most powerful punch.

Standout Missions: “A Mother’s Peace,” “The Family Man,” the ninth one (name withheld for spoiler purposes)

 

“The Other Side of Honor”

“Fit For the Khan”

Of Tsushima’s 3 regions, Kamiagata is the most difficult to defog. The wintry wastelands are indeed pretty, but, in its snowy representation, it can be tough to navigate. Occasional blizzards sure don’t help. Many optional objectives are more limited than they are in the south, too; you can simply trek 800 meters or more before coming across a shrine or a hot spring to use as a point.

“Fit For the Khan” doesn’t offer anything new in terms of storyline. It won’t blow your mind with smart level design. But it will give you three waypoints that support a lot with clearing up the cartography of Kamiagata. You’ll also receive a combat-based set of armor. For an easy Act III, do this side quest as soon as it becomes available for you to complete.

GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

“The Art of Seeing”

When you get to Toyotama, you meet Yuriko, an aged woman who cared for Jin while he was a pup. Her initial quest, “The Proud Do Not Endure,” will give you real prizes, including one nifty tool that changes how you can get to the stealth sections. Her second quest, “The Art of Seeing,” will not give you such items.

“The Art of Seeing” is one of some quests in Ghost of Tsushima that doesn’t highlight a single second of Mongol-killing. Rather, it’s spent taking in the landscape while on a reflective stroll with a woman who’s lived a complete life—one of those quiet times that this game could really use more of. Take a minute to hear what she has to say. You can get back to slicing and dicing and using that other thing Yuriko gave you later.

 

These Five Mythic Quests

If you have the tolerance for some mythic quests, prioritize these:

“The Curse of Uchitsune” and “The Legend of Tadayori”: The first quest gives you a unique bow that enables you to zoom in from large distances. The second one gives you armor that replaces your concentration meter—the experience that allows you to slow downtime when you are aiming a bow—with every headshot. Of all the game’s potential load-outs, providing these two prizes gives you the most stopping force.

“The Heavenly Strike”: There are some combat moves that are better than the Heavenly Strike. For one, it cuts through the defense of any opponent, no matter how big their shield. For another, it needs just one resolve point. Pair that with the whole parry—which restores some resolve whenever you triumphantly pull it off—and you can more or less use this move with enthusiasm.

“The Six Blades of Kojiro”: Those who love Ghost’s one-on-one fight will get a real kick out of “The Six Blaes of Kojiro.” In Toyotama, you hear that a guy named Kojiro wants to duel you to death. To get to him, you first require to duel his five disciples. These bouts are all set in some of the game’s most beautiful backdrops: at the bottom of a waterfall, or amid an autumnal forest clearing at the end of a cliff. The final battle is framed with such grace that you really just need to see it for yourself. You get armor at the end of this map.

“The Undying Flame”: “The Undying Flame” is the single side-quest that makes the greatest of Ghost’s platforming potential. In the swirling vortex of the blizzard, getting to know how to spot footholds and places to join Jin’s grappling hook become vital, and when you’re done, you can light your awesome sword on fire.

 

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