Not All Assassin’s Creed Shadows Fans Buy in to the Yasuke Controversy
Has the Assassin's Creed franchise ever been completely historically accurate?
Ever since the dual protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows were revealed, one of them has become the center of controversy, igniting several debates and arguments from fans of the series on numerous social media forums. The Ubisoft player base had been waiting for a very long time for the studio to finally visit the Feudal Japan setting for an Assassin’s Creed title, but many gamers’ hopes seemed to shatter, as the game is not shaping up to be the experience they wanted to get.
While a huge number of Assassin’s Creed fans have argued against the inclusion of Yasuke as a main character in the upcoming installment, there are some who are not really bothered about the samurai’s debut in the long-running series.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Protagonist Seems to Have Some Supporters
As the iconic eras of Altaïr and Ezio Auditore da Firenze came to an end more than a decade ago, it was inevitable for the Assassin’s Creed series to introduce new protagonists to ensure its overall longevity.
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Perhaps the biggest advantage that Ubisoft has had with its flagship franchise is the endless potential that it has due to all the possibilities in terms of diverse settings and characters. However, while many fans may have expected Assassin’s Creed Shadows to feature an Asian hero instead of one with African origins, some members of the community seem to be on board with the route that the developers are taking.
The main argument that has plagued Yasuke’s inclusion in the upcoming action role-playing game is that there are plenty of sources that claim that he was never actually a samurai in real life, so portraying him as one in an Assassin’s Creed title does not sit right. As a counterargument, “an Asian” fan points out that although Assassin’s Creed has always revolved around historically real events and personalities, what it usually does with them is obviously fictional.
Therefore, it does not make much sense to argue over Ubisoft’s decisions, considering that there are clear artistic liberties taken, and if Assassin’s Creed Shadows turns out to be an amazing gaming experience, do the historical accuracies even matter?
Fans Are Still Excited for the Game Despite the Yasuke Controversy
Ezio was an Italian man and Kassandra was a Spartan warrior, so their inclusions in their respective settings were easily accepted, but Yasuke does not have that luxury since he is not a Japanese male, as fans may have wanted someone like Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima to take center stage in the Japan-set Assassin’s Creed.
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What the community seems to be forgetting is that Assassin’s Creed Shadows does in fact feature a Japanese protagonist, the shinobi assassin Naoe, and some fans are gradually making their peace with Ubisoft’s upcoming effort.
The Assassin’s Creed series has featured various elements in the past that would not really be considered historically accurate, but not many fans used to have a problem with those, so why now?
Regardless, if the epic trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is any indication of the game’s quality, perhaps the controversy surrounding Yasuke will blow itself away once Ubisoft’s title hits the shelves later this year.
