Assassin's Creed Shadows: Developer Insights on Story Details & Naoe Background Analysis.

Two months left, that is all that separates us from wandering across the majestic scenery Assassin's Creed Shadows is ought to deliver us with the long-awaited setting of Feudal Japan, most specifically in the Sengoku Period (AKA Era of the warring states) or Azuchi-Momoyama period.

Yesterday, Entertainment Weekly released information pertaining the upcoming Assassin's Creed protagonist; Naoe Fujibayashi exclusively revealed by Ubisoft's Québec's developer and Assassin's Creed Shadows director Jonathan Dumont, strongly emphasizing on Naoe's role on satisfying the Ninja-Assassin fantasy that many fans of stealth and back-to-the-roots-like gameplay are craving for.

The Assassin from Iga

The story of the game, as many of you already know if you have been following our threads or simply out of curiosity for history, will be taking place in the 1570's when the Portuguese Jesuits aiming to expand their religion in the spiritually unconquered lands of Japan already have a strong foot in their culture, having made many alliances to stay ahead of the curve in Europe's political theatre at that time, securing import-export trade routes and influencing many Daimyos across the islands, a perfect fit for the Templars that, by then, were attempting to expand their ideology in other parts of the world after their numerous defeats at the hands of the Assassins in Europe.

Unbeknownst to her, Naoe is apparently descended from a long line of Assassins similarly to many other characters in the franchise, this knowledge hidden to her by her father, Nagato, apparently connected to the Assassins in some way or in this case, maybe her mother who according to Dumont "She doesn’t know much about her origins. Her father’s been training her, but she doesn’t know much about her mother, who’s been gone."

Possibly being the missing link, this enigma may only to be solved when the game is finally released as he declined to give more details on the story surrounding her involvement with the Brotherhood however, he did comment on her discovery of such an heritage as "She will start a bit of a path of vengeance or fulfilling a promise that she made to her family, but she discovers a world in need, she begins to really value the community values her father taught." Clearly teasing the core moral values tied to the Brotherhood and the self-development process one goes through upon understanding the motives of the Creed, setting aside personal goals for the greater good.

A Story Tailored By Her Equipment

According to Jonathan Dumont's description of Naoe's use of her gadgets to navigate through Japan amidst the warring clans, all the equipment is tied to a moment of her life and backstory which we will see in the game as she develops and becomes stronger as we progress through the game's narrative and while upgrading her character, he also mentioned how important the Hidden Blade will from a symbolic point of view, stating that "The Hidden Blade is given by her father, and we're going to learn a little bit more what that means" possibly assisting to her initiation or some kind of similar induction into the Brotherhood given her Ninja training that is also heavily rooted in doctrine.

Naoe's hope for the future of Japan: Junjiro

The name itself having many different meanings due to the complexity of the Kanjis and their subsequent variations depending on context and phrasing, we'll go with the one that aligns the most with what Naoe sees in this boy that will be part of the story as revealed by Dumont in the interview hinting at his importance in the plot, which in this case could be "Pure, Unpretentious or To be in one's natural state."

With little to go by except that "He's the future Naoe hopes Japan will be". We'll have to stay on the lookout for more information regarding this boy that will have some degree of importance throughout Naoe's journey and maybe self-growth for that matter.

Article adapted from an Isu_Network Twitter Article by UbiCypher