Three hundred years later, and Jin Sakai still manages to steal the spotlight in Ghost of Yotei. For years, fans have wondered, did Jin survive Tsushima’s bloody rebellion? Or did he hang up the Ghost Mask for good? Ghost of Yotei doesn’t spell it out in an open way, but buried in Ezo’s northern snows lies the truth, and it’s the haunting payoffs Sucker Punch has put together in a side story. Once you explore Ishikari Plain, the wind leads you to the truth in a secret side quest for the legend Jin Sakai. Ghost of Yotei with a hint answers that question, and it’s both what you’d expect and not what you hope.
What Happened to Jin Sakai in Ghost of Yotei: The Storm Blade Quest
The first time I heard about Jin in Ghost of Yotei was from a storyteller in Furukawa Hamlet in Oshima Coast, who spun tales about a ghost warrior who rode the wind and never died. Locals call him the Storm Blade, a samurai who arrived from the southern seas and disappeared into the snow after fighting countless enemies during his last years.
As The Storm Blade quest progresses, you follow clues through the Ezo map (modern-day Hokkaido), piecing together the final chapter of the Ghost’s life. You’ll find out that Jin Sakai fled the Shogun’s reach, escaping the mainland after the Tsushima events. He made his way north, to the frozen frontier, where he became the world’s first shinobi.
Follow the quest, and you’ll find Jin’s home, where Haiku spots, walls etched with the Ghost’s emblem, and a storyteller Ugetsu, recounts his legend to Atsu. At the end of the path, there’s a shrine. A gravestone carved with the same twin mountains, spotless despite the centuries. Beside it lie his sword, the Jin’s Storm Blade, his Stag Helmet, and the iconic Ghost Mask that players can equip.
What we learn during the quest is that Jin left Tsushima years after the Mongol invasion. The shogun never forgave him for betraying samurai law and acting as the Ghost. Hunted and exiled, Jin fled north to Ezo, where he did what he always did best: protecting people no one else would.
Over time, he aged, grew weaker, and fought mostly out of instinct. There’s a mention from a monk that “he stood against death until the snow buried his sword.” That’s how Jin Sakai died very peacefully, not by an enemy’s hands.
In an interview with VGC, co-director Nate Fox said that Yotei isn’t a “Ghost of Tsushima 2.” It’s a new story for a new era, but that also doesn’t mean Jin was tossed aside.
“We love Jin Sakai,” Fox said. “We spent a lot of years bringing his story to life. But when we set out on the long road to creating a sequel, we wanted to make something that excited us all at Sucker Punch. We think that enthusiasm and love for building an origin story comes through for players being able to experience something very new as well.”
So while Atsu, the new protagonist, isn’t related to Jin or even aware of his name, he received a proper farewell in the latest release.
