Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Yōtei is huge. Exploring its maps is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon, and in doing so, players will naturally come across Easter eggs. Sucker Punch’s past games get fun nods, and the previous entry in the series, 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, is celebrated more than any other.
Tsushima follows Jin Sakai, a samurai who struggles to balance his honor as a samurai with the unhonorable necessities of fighting off Mongol invaders. Instead of a direct sequel, Sucker Punch set the next game in the series some 330 years later with a new revenge-seeking protagonist, Atsu. Though Ghost of Yōtei takes place a different part of Japan than Ghost of Tsushima, players were naturally curious if the second game would contain any callbacks to Jin. Sucker Punch does more than just nod to the first game’s hero, and has crafted an entire quest celebrating Tsushima‘s Ghost.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for a late-game Ghost of Yōtei quest.]
Depending on the pace at which you play, accessing “The Storm Blade” quest may take a while. It’s located in Oshima Coast, an area that becomes available after Atsu has defeated the Oni and the Kitsune of the Yōtei Six through main storyline quests. “The Storm Blade” refers to the katana sought by the storyteller Ugetsu. He tasks Atsu with tracking down the weapon as he’s not sure which story belongs to the sword, and will only know once he can see it.
During the mission, Atsu comes across a haiku Jin wrote that describes his loneliness. She then wanders through the Lost Shinobi Den, which houses Jin’s helmet, before coming across the Storm Blade. Before she can claim it, Atsu is ambushed by a group of Nine Tails enemies. She defeats two before chasing after the third, who took the katana. Eventually her path takes her past Jin’s home and to the Grave of the Warrior of Storm. After a duel against the Nine Tails in front of Jin’s gravemarker, the katana is hers for the taking.
Ugetsu then shows up to examine the blade and recounts to Atsu Jin’s story from Ghost of Tsushima, which was “outlawed by an old Shogun hundreds of years ago.” He tells her of a legendary warrior who was forced to abandon his samurai principles and become a shinobi to halt the Mongol invasion. He became a wanted man and fled. Jin spent his last days in Ezo, underneath the shadow of Mount Yōtei, according to legend.
With the mythic tale complete, you can grab Jin’s mask from his gravemarker. You can also spend some time exploring Jin’s home near the gravesite, in case you rushed through it while beelining for the Nine Tails. Jin’s home is full of Easter eggs, including some intriguing clues about his days in Ezo. All in all, the quest is a very touching celebration of the first Ghost, and after finishing it, you can also spot an Easter egg honoring the development team.