Rise of the Ronin ships with 13 romanceable characters courtesy of Team Ninja. A few of them really shouldn’t be on the list at all.
Released in 2024, the RPG is a sprawling one, packing an intricate combat system, a deep skill tree and narrative decisions that determine which characters survive and which don’t. Underpinning everything are bonds. Raise one high enough and the game lets you seal a Veiled Vow, its phrase for making the relationship official.
Bonds grow when you take characters along on missions, give them gifts and side with them during conversations. The majority of these romances can run in parallel. A handful cannot, and those partners will issue an ultimatum the moment they find out you’ve taken up with someone else.
Here’s the full ranking.
Matthew Perry is what quantity over quality looks like
The introduction comes from defeating him in the game’s opening boss encounter. That’s the whole meet-cute, start to finish.
No chemistry registers between Perry and the protagonist, and the pair never read as anything more than co-workers. His inclusion is entirely arbitrary and adds nothing to the plot or the cast. Fleshing out a small number of love interests properly would have been a smarter decision than putting 13 on the table.
He does deserve credit for one thing: Perry is among the most permissive options available. Another partner in the picture won’t bother him.
Ernest Satow will wax poetic at you
Satow barely registers as a supporting character, and he shrinks further if your allegiance goes to the anti-shogunate faction. Japan fascinates him; he gathers artefacts from the country and enjoys parading them in front of you.
He also ranks among the harder bosses, appearing in the Act 3 mission “The Last Shogun,” where he soars around the arena trailing fire behind him. Confess your feelings to him, though, and not one spark lands.
Pop the question and he’ll launch into a speech about how remarkable the protagonist is and how you pulled him out of the darkness. If oratory about your own greatness is what you’re after, Satow delivers.
Genzui Kusaka will turn you down, gently
A Veiled Vow with Genzui is possible on paper. What it isn’t is romantic.
The instant he realises the protagonist is after something deeper than comradeship, he replies that a bond of kinship is as far as he’ll go — a point he spells out plainly whether the lead is male or female.
Pursue it regardless, because friendship still counts here. The trigger arrives quite early and slips past easily, so stay alert. Once Genzui’s opening mission wraps, he’ll offer you a follow-up. Chat with him about anything else before taking it, and the road to a closer bond opens up.
Sana Chiba is still into your best friend
Sana’s first appearance makes it plain that she and Ryoma Sakamoto share a messy history. A romance that fizzled out years ago wouldn’t be an issue. The problem is how thoroughly the game telegraphs that she still carries a torch for Ryoma — the player’s closest friend from beginning to end.
She’s also unwilling to share. Pursue a second character and she’ll force a decision.
Should you go ahead anyway, build her favor via the Bond missions “Turmoil of the Heart” and “A Tempest Calmed.” Triggering her Veiled Vow conversation requires a trip back in time during Chapter 2.
Shinsaku Takasugi plays the shamisen for you
Minor squabbles aside, he makes for strong company across the campaign, and he carries real weight behind him: he beat tuberculosis and buried a close friend. What he isn’t is an obvious romantic partner.
The confession leaves Shinsaku floored. “I knew you were hard to predict, but this is wild…” he said.
Once he says yes, though, he settles into it, filling his days playing the shamisen for you — a sweet touch from someone who so clearly never anticipated any of this.
Ine Kusumoto doesn’t see it coming either
A doctor by trade, Ine pairs a sharp tongue with a sharper mind, which makes her a strong fit if those qualities appeal to you. Hers is one of the more unexpected Veiled Vows in the game.
The confession arrives so abruptly and so unnaturally that it blindsides her. She first responds that even after everything, she can’t bring herself to say she loves the protagonist in return. The admission that the feeling is mutual comes later.
As with Sana, the arrival of a second Veiled Vow means she’ll insist you end things with one of them.
Usugumo Dayu sends you looking for cats
Confess and Usugumo points out how many others have used those exact words on her, before conceding that she feels the same way about you. Bump into her later and she’ll tell you she’d been hoping to meet again.
Smooth talk is her specialty. Every visit she makes you feel wanted, and she’ll offer to dance for you.
Earning her favor means roaming around tracking down her cats, which is equal parts charming and odd. She’s not the most rewarding partner on this list, but the cat hunt pays out the Dayu Kimono, among the finest outfits in the game — reason enough to take the detour.
Fumi Sugi comes with a timing problem
Fumi is a joy, and the chemistry with the protagonist is unmistakable. She’s warm and kind toward you. She is also the ex-wife of Genzui Kusaka, an ally who has fought at your side for most of the campaign.
Genzui dies at a certain point, and that death is what opens the door to Fumi.
None of this is the Sana Chiba situation — Fumi holds up perfectly well as a love interest. There’s still something faintly grubby about moving in on Genzui’s widow quite so soon after his death.
Soji Okita is the one you build around
Orphaned young, Soji became a prodigy under the tutelage of the legendary Isami Kondo. The central narrative doesn’t give him much room, but he crops up as a side character in a number of missions.
He answers your confession with real tenderness, conceding that he’s inexperienced and uncertain whether he’d make a good partner, yet keen to find out.
He also fights brilliantly and grants stat boosts to Dexterity and Charm. Soji belongs to the group that won’t share you with anyone. Then again, with a companion this good in a fight, you won’t be looking elsewhere.
Kogoro Katsura was already working up the nerve
Kogoro doesn’t take the top spot, but he’s nowhere near the bottom either. He’s a reliable presence on missions from start to finish, and better still if you throw in with him as part of the anti-shogunate faction instead of backing the shogunate.
He confesses that the player’s openness about their feelings has caught him off guard. Then he reveals the feeling was mutual, and that he had already been figuring out how to bring it up himself.
Many of his standout moments land closer to friendship than romance. Even so, he’s a dependable Veiled Vow, and uniquely among this cast, he was going to get there under his own steam.