There are a few Assassin's Creed Shadows romance options for Naoe and Yasuke, letting them find love between quests and assassinations. Both characters can get with two companions each, from the rebellious and arrogant Gennojo to the noble and elegant Lady Oichi. In general, these romances are very easy to complete, though there are some specific choices you need to make in Assassin's Creed Shadows to ensure everything works out - and continues to work out as there is a possibility of facing a breakup. To help you out, here's exactly how romance works in AC Shadows and how to romance all four companions.
This guide contains spoilers for one main target in Assassin's Creed Shadows, so watch out as you read on!
Every character you can romance in Assassin's Creed Shadows
There are four romance options available to pursue in AC Shadows, two for Naoe and two for Yasuke. They are:
- Naoe Romance options:
- Gennojo
- Katsuhime
- Yasuke Romance options:
- Ibuki
- Lady Oichi
To romance any of the characters listed above, you just need to select the responses with the heart Assassin's Creed Shadows dialogue symbol whenever they appear during conversations with them. These flirty options aren't necessarily critical to getting the final romance scene, but it's much easier and more reliable to commit to all of them.
Eventually, one of the dialogue choices during a conversation will have a heart with an arrow through it. Pick this to bring your little romance to its, uhhh… climax with a short scene. However, the romances aren't really proper relationships and are mainly just flings between bloody assassinations, so there's nothing more beyond these final scenes (although Katsuhime is a potential exception here as explained below).
However, be aware that if you are playing with Assassin's Creed Shadows Canon Mode, you cannot romance any of the characters listed above. This can only mean that Yasuke and Naoe canonically have absolutely no game whatsoever.
Can you romance multiple characters in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Yes, you can romance multiple characters in AC Shadows and completing a romance quest does not lock you out of others. Additionally, Naoe’s romances do not affect Yasuke’s and vice versa, so you can romance both characters for Naoe and Yasuke in a single playthrough, assuming you follow the correct steps to recruit and romance them.
However, if you choose to commit to a “forever” relationship with Katsuhime, she can actually break up with Naoe and permanently leave the Hideout – she questions Naoe’s definition of “forever”, says she quits the League, and smashes the shell gift she gave Naoe at the end of her romance quest, not giving Naoe any chances to explain or argue back. This also means she is no longer an Ally who can be summoned in combat and trained at the Dojo. If you don’t want her to leave, you must avoid talking to her at the Hideout, and if she has already left, you’re only option is to reload an earlier save and then avoid speaking to her.
The exact cause of this heartbreak is unclear as it seems to be somewhat bugged, but I suspect it's reserved for a highly unlikely scenario where you romance Gennojo after committing to Katsuhime, therefore cheating on her. However, based on my experience and that of others (as in this Reddit thread), the breakup conversation can happen for anyone, even if you romanced Gennojo first or haven’t romanced anyone as Naoe.
How to romance Gennojo in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Gennojo is by far the easiest Ally to romance in Assassin's Creed Shadows because it all takes place during his Ally quest and not after:
- Start Gennojo's Ally questline by playing through the Swords and Sake quest as Naoe.
- Save Gennojo in the Stolen Hearts and then pick the "I'd like to embrace you" conversation option to embrace Gennojo.
After this, you'll begin Gennojo's final quest where you can recruit him to the Kakushiba Ikki or leave him to a different fate – despite him being incredibly annoying and arrogant, he is unfortunately one of the best Assassin's Creed Shadows Allies, so I highly recommend inviting him to the club.
How to romance Katsuhime in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Katsuhime can only be romanced by Naoe after recruiting her, so here's what you need to do:
- Start Katsuhime's Ally questline by playing through the Letter from Katsuhime quest.
- Rescue Katsuhime from execution during the later quest called The Diary of Lady Rokkaku. If she gets executed then there's obviously no chance of a romance, so make sure you attack the executioner to stop him in time or just reload an earlier save if you're too slow.
- Carry her to safety, then recruit her to the Assassin's Creed Shadows Hideout and you'll unlock her romance quest, The Jounin Pillow Book.
- Meet Katsuhime at Jogu shrine in northwestern Wakasa, start chatting, and then pick the "Let's find out" dialogue option to have a romantic evening on the beach.
Katsuhime then asks if Naoe wants to be with her forever, and you can respond "Yes. Forever". This leads to another smooch and Katsuhime gives Naoe the Kaiawase Shell quest item. If you cheat on her after this, she can break up with you and permanently leave the Hideout.
How to romance Ibuki in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Like Katsuhime, Ibuki's romance happens after you recruit them, though there's still lots of flirting you can do during their Ally questline:
- Play the Ambush Interrupted side quest in Iga to get introduced to Ibuki.
- Complete the Homecoming quest and recruit Ibuki.
- Go to the Hideout to start the Putting Down Roots quest. For this quest, you must gather blue anemone flower seeds for Ibuki, which can be found near the far riverbank northeast of Kashiwara Manor in Iga.
- Deliver the flowers to Ibuki back at the Hideout and pick the "I want more than friendship" dialogue option to share a kiss.
And that's all there is to romancing Ibuki in AC Shadows, though you will also unlock the Blue Anemone flora decoration for the Hideout by getting this far.
How to romance Lady Oichi in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Romancing Lady Oichi in Assassin's Creed Shadows requires a specific choice, since she isn't a recruitable Ally but rather a main target:
- Pursue all quests relevant to The Mourner assassination target and begin the quest called The Wheel Unmasked.
- At the end of the quest, choose the "Spare as Yasuke" option to let Lady Oichi live. This unlocks the romance quest, The Wheel Turns.
- Start The Wheel Turns by reading the letter for Yasuke left at the Hideout from Lady Oichi.
- Find her in the town immediately southwest of Azuchi, specifically in the Merchants' Quarters. Make sure you pick the "I miss your smile" dialogue option to keep the quest going.
- Sail to Okishima, the island (of cats) northwest of Azuchi in Lake Biwa and meet Oichi there.
- Follow the quest and chat with Lady Oichi at the temple, then speak to her daughters around the island – there is a separate sub-choice here where you can recruit Fuji-maru, a dog, to unlock him as a pet for the Hideout, but it is sadly best to let him stay with Oichi's daughters.
- Finally, pick the "Let's enjoy the moment" option during Yasuke's last conversation with Lady Oichi.
After a fade to black, Yasuke wakes up the next morning alone, so that's Lady Oichi out of the picture forever and the end of her romance questline. And that's also how you complete all four romances in AC Shadows and you can pursue all four of these in a single playthrough!
If you pre-ordered the game, there is another canine companion you can unlock via the Assassin's Creed Shadows Thrown to the Dogs quest.
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