In “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” players are given a critical choice in the “Meaning of the Blade” quest: forgiving or attacking Hanzo. This choice, though seemingly large, really doesn’t have that much bearing on the overall plot. The choice merely serves to decide whether players have to battle through a tough boss fight or simply continue with the story. Yet, whatever the initial action, Hanzo’s eventual fate and his subsequent cooperation with Naoe are generally in line, calling into question the actual significance of player agency in this confrontation.
Should You Forgive or Attack Hanzo in The Meaning of the Blade
Players’ decision to attack or forgive Hanzo does make a difference, at least in the short term. As one would expect, attacking Hanzo results in a difficult boss battle. But in the long term, the choice doesn’t make much difference, as Hanzo ends up the same way either way. With that in mind, players who want a challenging fight should choose to attack, while those who prefer to keep the story moving can simply forgive him and move on.
Should You Forgive in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
If players choose to forgive Hanzo, Naoe delivers an emotional speech, and she and Hanzo agree to work together to uncover the truth about her mother. Their final conversation has slight differences compared to if players had chosen to attack Hanzo, but in the end, the two Iggans part ways in much the same manner.
Should You Attack in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
If players choose to attack Hanzo, he makes it clear that he won’t hold back. At this point, they’ll get another chance to forgive him. Choosing forgiveness leads to the same outcome as before, but if they decide to kill Hanzo instead, a tough and brutal boss fight begins.
Hanzo’s combat has two notably challenging aspects: his smoke bombs, which interrupt Naoe’s lock-on, and his triple kunai attack, which is hard to avoid because it has an irregular path. Though players can attempt to block or parry the kunai, it’s more convenient to prevent Hanzo from throwing them in the first place. The optimal approach is to remain close to him as possible and constantly attack whenever he’s not charging with his sword. Under constant pressure and proper timing of skills, players can keep him from using his kunai altogether. After that, the battle turns into parrying and dodging until Hanzo’s defeat.
After the battle, Naoe has the option to finish Hanzo off—but ultimately, she chooses to forgive him anyway, making her earlier decision to fight feel somewhat unnecessary. The two agree to work together to uncover the truth about Naoe’s mother, and Hanzo, battered but alive, limps away to fight another day.
