Should you kill or spare Gonzo in Rise of the Ronin?

After completing the introduction and entering the open world for the first time in Rise of the Ronin, you’ll be free to make your own choices to determine your story. One of the first choices you’ll have to make is deciding whether to kill or spare Gonzo.

Gonzo is the boss waiting for you at the end of the first real mission in Rise of the Ronin. After completing Curtain Falls, Curtain Rises and defeating Gonzo the bandit chief in battle, you’ll be given your first taste of the choices and consequences system in Rise of the Ronin. Unlike previous Team Ninja RPGs, your decisions can greatly affect the story and lead to drastically different outcomes.

Should You Kill Gonzo in Rise of the Ronin?

Even though it seems like a big deal, choosing to either kill or spare Gonzo doesn’t affect the main story of Rise of the Ronin. Deciding Gonzo’s fate does have lasting effects for a side quest later in the game, however, and Gonzo has a larger overall role in Rise of the Ronin than you may expect.

Overall, it’s better to spare Gonzo. Killing him and sparing him both get you the storeroom key so you can continue the main storyline and get the glider, but he’ll show up in a side quest called The Bad Bunch west of Yokohama if you spare him. If you spare Gonzo a second time during this quest, you can recruit him as an ally that you can take on missions. If you kill Gonzo, you obviously won’t be able to recruit him, but you’ll still get the Bandit Chief’s Odachi and the Jigen-ryu combat style no matter what.

After you decide what to do with Gonzo, you’ll get the storeroom key so you can claim your rewards for the mission. In addition to some chests with decent gear, you’ll unlock the glider after defeating Gonzo. This will let you glide by pressing the X button while high enough in the air, and this is how you’ll get into Yokohama to continue the story.

While Gonzo’s fate doesn’t affect the main storyline of Rise of the Ronin outside of him potentially becoming your ally, the choices you make from here on out will have lasting effects. Not every decision is major, but choosing between the Anti-Shogunate and Pro-Shogunate factions will have huge consequences down the line.