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TalecoreJin's JourneyHardAct I — Rescue Lord Shimura

Shadow of the Samurai

The last mission before Castle Kaneda — allies gathered, equipment finished, and the assault on the castle holding Lord Shimura.

RoleMain story
Importancecore
  • TypeMain Tale
  • Act1 – Rescue Lord Shimura
  • RegionIzuhara
  • Quest giverYuna
  • PrerequisiteComplete "The Iron Hook"
  • RewardsMajor Legend Increase, Shoji Assassination
  • Steps31

Key tips

  • Ryuzo telegraphs with his feet, not his hands — left foot forward is the single Puncture, right foot forward the triple.
  • The Shoji Assassination unlocked here is permanent and changes how every interior plays afterwards.

OverviewSpoilers

Everything Act 1 has been assembling — Ishikawa's bows, Masako's blade, Ryuzo's ronin, Taka's hook — converges here.

Shadow of the Samurai is the act's closing move: the allies are confirmed, the equipment is ready, and the assault on Castle Kaneda goes ahead to free Lord Shimura. It is the payoff for every recruitment mission that came before it.

It is also the point where the game stops treating Jin's methods as a training exercise. The castle cannot be taken the way Shimura would take it, and the consequences of taking it another way are what Act 2 is about.

In the game’s own framing: Jin finally has the tools and the allies to get his uncle out of Castle Kaneda. It is the mission where the first act’s promises are collected — and one of them is not kept.

What to bring

The stances are a counter-table, not a preference: each one is the answer to a specific enemy, and this tale fields the ones below.

  • RequiredComplete "The Iron Hook"This tale does not appear until then.
  • RecommendedMoon StanceMoon staggers Brutes; nothing else in the melee kit reliably does.
  • RecommendedFirecrackersUsed here to split a guard pair before taking either.
  • RecommendedWind ChimesUsed to pull a single guard off a patrol route.
  • RecommendedLongbowNeeded for the armoured or distant targets here.
  • RecommendedGrappling HookThe route through this tale requires it.
  • RecommendedFocused HearingThe steps rely on it to place guards through walls.
  • RecommendedStealth approachThe tale is built around grass cover.

Objectives

  1. Travel to Komatsu Forge
  2. Speak with your allies
  3. Begin the attack
  4. Scale the cliffs
  5. Stay hidden
  6. Kill the alarm guards
  7. Move up to the courtyard
  8. Clear the upper courtyard
  9. Speak with Masako
  10. Reach the bridge
  11. Clear the bridge guards
  12. Cross the main bridge
  13. Go around the locked gate
  14. Open the bridge gate
  15. Fight the guards
  16. Advance to the main courtyard
  17. Get past the second gate
  18. Defeat Ryuzo
  19. Defeat the four guardsmen
  20. Cross the interior bridge
  21. Fight the brutes and archers
  22. Enter the keep
  23. Clear the first floor
  24. Climb to the second floor
  25. Assassinate through the shoji
  26. Reach the third floor
  27. Clear the third floor
  28. Reach the top floor
  29. Take the last two guards
  30. Fight beside Lord Shimura
  31. Defeat the second wave

Full walkthroughSpoilers

  1. 01
    Travel to Komatsu Forge

    Meet Yuna to set the assault in motion.

  2. 02
    Speak with your allies

    Optional, and worth it — Masako and Ishikawa both have something to say. Ryuzo has not turned up as promised.

  3. 03
    Begin the attack

    Approach Yuna for the cinematic: you climb the cliffs and kill the alarm, the others take the front gate.

  4. 04
    Scale the cliffs

    Grapple to the trunk at the top, cross the log bridge, jump to the branches and swing, then climb the handholds. Turn right, follow the path up the rocks and squeeze through the gap in the wall. Hold the grapple prompt until the line catches before jumping; releasing early drops you.

  5. 05
    Stay hidden

    Crouch straight into the pampas grass. Ronin Attire and stealth charms are correct here. Take isolated patrols only — the alarm is about sixty metres on. Crouch into the grass and let the patrol pattern settle before you move; the grass breaks line of sight entirely rather than just slowing detection.

  6. 06
    Kill the alarm guards

    Two Mongols across open ground. Firecrackers or wind chimes to split them, then take both. Throw the distraction away from your approach, not toward it: the point is to move the guard off the line you want to walk, not to bring him to you.

  7. 07
    Move up to the courtyard

    You and Masako are going for the hwacha. Guards in the way. The white circles on the ground are where the volley lands. Keep moving through them rather than stopping to fight, and heal between salvos.

  8. 08
    Clear the upper courtyard

    Climb the rock wall right of the gate and assassinate at the ends of patrol routes, chaining with distractions. If it goes loud, switch to Samurai Clan Armor and combat charms. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

  9. 09
    Speak with Masako

    Tell her to take the hwacha. The white circles on the ground are where the volley lands. Keep moving through them rather than stopping to fight, and heal between salvos.

  10. 10
    Reach the bridge

    Yuna is at the waypoint behind the barrels.

  11. 11
    Clear the bridge guards

    Climb the stone wall and use the wooden boards for cover. Focused Hearing to place them: four to six on the ground and one elevated, which is a longbow shot. Chase down anyone who goes to investigate a body. Focused Hearing shows enemies through walls and floors, so use it to place everyone before committing rather than to react once you are seen.

  12. 12
    Cross the main bridge

    The gate on the far side is locked.

  13. 13
    Go around the locked gate

    Handholds right of the gate. Descend twice, jump the bridge supports, grapple the branches to the next cliff, follow it, jump to more branches and swing again. Right, up the handholds, grapple to the top, then through the hole in the wall and out of sight. Hold the grapple prompt until the line catches before jumping; releasing early drops you.

  14. 14
    Open the bridge gate

    Drop to the gate and open it for Yuna.

  15. 15
    Fight the guards

    With Yuna alongside. Stealth is finished in this area.

  16. 16
    Advance to the main courtyard

    Up the ramp to another locked gate.

  17. 17
    Get past the second gate

    A gap in the wall to the left, which triggers the cinematic.

  18. 18
    Defeat Ryuzo

    The betrayal. Samurai Clan Armor and combat charms. Blue unblockables can be parried with Unyielding Sword Parry or sidestepped with a single press. Read his feet: left foot forward and a one-handed wind-up is a single Puncture, right foot forward and two hands is the triple. Counter the triple immediately after a sidestep, before he rotates; without the parry skill, roll clear and wait. Answer his red sheath attack with your own Puncture from range, and dodge right through the spinning upward slash before hitting back.

  19. 19
    Defeat the four guardsmen

    They open the gate and rush you, then the path is clear.

  20. 20
    Cross the interior bridge

    Through the gate and over.

  21. 21
    Fight the brutes and archers

    Two of each on the far side. Switch to Moon Stance for the Brutes: they shrug off ordinary damage and Moon's heavy overheads are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are unblockable, so dodge rather than block and answer in the gap afterwards. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  22. 22
    Enter the keep

    The rescue proper starts here.

  23. 23
    Clear the first floor

    A standoff with four Mongols opens automatically. Open with the standoff. Hold until the enemy actually commits rather than pressing early, and each won standoff kills outright — against unarmoured ronin it can gut a group before the fight starts.

  24. 24
    Climb to the second floor

    The ladder is on the left of the room.

  25. 25
    Assassinate through the shoji

    Focused Hearing places the Mongol behind the paper door. Doing it here is what unlocks Shoji Assassination. Focused Hearing shows enemies through walls and floors, so use it to place everyone before committing rather than to react once you are seen. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

  26. 26
    Reach the third floor

    Two more guards waiting.

  27. 27
    Clear the third floor

    Open the door and take both.

  28. 28
    Reach the top floor

    One more climb.

  29. 29
    Take the last two guards

    Shoji assassination on the first, then the one standing over Lord Shimura, which triggers the cinematic. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

  30. 30
    Fight beside Lord Shimura

    Seven armoured Mongols, uncle and nephew together.

  31. 31
    Defeat the second wave

    Another group comes through the gate; your allies arrive for it.

    Checkpoint

Enemies in this tale, and how to fight them

Strengths

  • Archers — Deal with them before you commit to the melee, because everything else in the fight becomes harder while arrows are landing. Take them with your own bow, drop them from stealth before the fight opens, or close the distance immediately — archers are poor at close range and fold quickly once you are on them. Where the tale gives you high ground, use it: an elevated position means only one side of the field can answer you.
  • Brutes — Moon Stance. Brutes soak an enormous amount of ordinary damage, and Moon's heavy overhead strikes are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are usually unblockable — red marker — so dodge those rather than trying to block, and answer in the window afterwards rather than trading. Some carry explosives. If you have Resolve banked, a Brute is the right place to spend it.
  • Straw Hats / ronin — Japanese swordsmen rather than Mongols, and they fight like it — faster and more technical than the invaders, with less armour. Stone Stance still applies. Standoffs work well against them, and against unarmoured ronin a won standoff often kills outright.

Rewards

  • Major Legend Increase
    A large step toward the next Legend rank. Legend gates your Ghost Weapon unlocks and your health and Resolve upgrades, so main and Mythic Tales are the fastest way to raise it.
  • Shoji Assassination

What this unlocks

Characters in this tale

Sources