Ghost of Yōtei

You play Atsu, who hunts six outlaws, the Yotei Six, across the land of Ezo. Any difficulty and any accessibility option will do. The game shows the way with a guiding wind. Under Settings > Accessibility, Wind Gust Camera turns the camera toward your map marker, so the wind is easy to follow.

The story starts in Yotei Grasslands, around Mount Yōtei. Ishikari Plain, Teshio Ridge and Oshima Coast each open with a main tale, in the order you choose. Before the last main tale the game warns of a point of no return. Go ahead: after the credits the open world is all still there.

Quests are called tales. Side, sensei and mythic tales are optional, and only some of them matter for trophies: Any time: tales for trophies lists them. Do them as you reach each region: they give weapons and armor that later trophies need. Bounties, camps and collectibles can wait.

After the credits, finish what is left on Any time: tales for trophies, to have every weapon for the bounty fights.

The two mythic tales of Takezo, a legendary duelist, take longest: duels with ronin at five Dueling Trees in Yotei Grasslands and Tokachi Range, then two with Takezo himself, the last on the summit of Mount Yōtei (Hidden trophyUnrivaled). He appears there only while all five of his charms are equipped. The way up is the Mount Yōtei Shrine climb in the west of Yotei Grasslands, with a trophy at the top (Hidden trophyInheritance).

The Way of the Yari has you spear four fish. Spear one more afterwards (Spear Fishing).

Then hunt the 31 bounties (Master Bounty Hunter), the platinum's hardest part. Wanted posters hang on the board at each region's main inn, where Kojiro the Bounty Broker pays you and hands out more. The map shows only a search area for each target, and the game lists no finished bounties, so tick them off in the trophy's checklist.

Learn the eight shamisen songs first (Like Mother, Like Daughter). Playing one sends the wind to the nearest collectible of its kind. The Robes for Sitturaynu, armor from the side tale The Heart of the Ainu in Nayoro Wilds, add a golden bird that leads you to songs and sumi-e paintings.

Then clear the map region by region, with each trophy's checklist:

• 12 puzzle boxes, all in Teshio Ridge (Hidden trophyTrickster Fox)
• 11 Fox Dens, then the Fox Mask (Hidden trophyGuardian of Inari)
• 10 Wolf Dens (Wolves of Ezo)
• 15 sumi-e paintings in the open world, not the three in tales (An Artist’s Eye)
• 15 Bamboo Strikes, 13 Shrine Climbs and 16 Hot Springs (Hidden trophyBody, Mind, and Spirit)
• 5 Mountain Reliquaries, stone pillars ringed by fox statues (Child of the Mountain)
• 10 Special Places, which have no map icon (Speaking with the Land)
• 30 of the 61 Altars of Reflection, small shrines that each give a skill point (Moments of Reflection)
• 22 Yotei Six camps, the red camps on the map, praying at each one's altar before you leave (For the Living)

The armor and weapon trophies fill up on the way. Their checklists show what is missing, such as the two bows sold by Ran the Bowyer at Yotei's Shadow Inn. Ainu items and Pillars of the Fallen count for nothing.

Enemies still roam after every camp is cleared. Most of these need a skill first, bought with skill points:

• A pistol shot in a standoff, a duel you start against a group (Hidden trophyFrom the Hip)
• A kusarigama assassination from a few metres away (Hidden trophyThe Owl’s Talon)
• An enemy knocked off a cliff (Hidden trophySayonara)
• A kill with the enemy's own weapon (You Dropped This)
• A wolf kill after a thrown empty sake jar (Hidden trophyWolf Bait)
• A kill with burning grass (Brush Fire)
• 20 enemies knocked down in all with Onryō's Howl, a move Atsu learns early (The Horror)

Trophies you may not have yet

Most of the rest unlock as you play, but these might not, so now is a great time to get them done.

• A perfect round of ku-e-shinok, the archery game in Golden Foothills, Yotei Grasslands (Hidden trophyA Moment to Breathe)
• A charm won at zeni hajiki, the coin game of the gambling dens (Good with Coins)
• 8 gifts from the gift altar at any main inn (Gifts for a Ghost)