As you’re first getting oriented to the massive world ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows, it isn’t immediately evident what features such as Kofun or Kuji-Kiri are and what purpose they serve in the game. Kuji-Kiri are unique in that you’ll learn about them first through Naoe’s personal quest, but they are also part of a larger interactive location system that awards Knowledge Points for completing specific tasks. Naoe, however, needs to visit at least four Kuji-Kiri meditation spots to fully tap into her memories and reveal more about her past.
There are quite a few Kuji-Kiri locations scattered across the various regions, but Naoe can access any four that you come across to unlock various memories with her father that are essential to theAC Shadowsmain campaign. This means that the four individual memories are not tied to any specific Kuji-Kiri locations, and you may simply go to whichever location you come across first in order to advance Naoe’s storyline. The Kuji-Kiri mini-game can also be tricky, and requires a little bit of memory work on the player’s part.
What Is Kuji-Kiri In Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Kuji-Kiri Are Meditation Locations That Unlock Naoe’s Memories
Kuji-Kiri are meditation points found in each major area that can be interacted with to play a quirky little mini-game where you have to time your actions with a repeating chime multiple times until the cycle is complete. These will have you pressing specific keys/buttons in a clockwise manner, with the images gradually fading away against an increasingly white background until you can’t see them at all and are working from memory.It’s easy to mess these up if you aren’t paying attention, and there is an actual meditative quality to completing the mini-games themselves.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Level Cap Explained
You can level up in Assassin’s Creed Shadows all the way to level 60, which is slightly higher than past Assassin’s Creed installments.
Kuji-Kiri serves a larger purpose inAssassin’s Creed Shadowsfor Naoe, however, and the first four that you complete with her unlock specific memories tied to her"Before the Fall"quest. These will send you back in time to Naoe’s previous life with her father, and you’ll start to learn more about the backstory. The memories she accesses serve to enhance Naoe’s narrative progression, informing the events of the prologue in various ways. These memories are a bit intricate, sobe prepared for a long cutaway before returning to the present dayand resuming Naoe’s journey.
Everything That Happens In Naoe’s Kuji-Kiri Memories
Naoe’s Four Memories Inform The Events Of The Prologue
As you locate each Kuji-Kiri location, you’ll be transported back in time with Naoe to see about the events leading up to the prologue. She’ll experience her first real glimpse of war, pick up a grappling hook, and we’ll even get some hints about her mother’s past life as a Shinobi. These memories help develop the relationship between Naoe and her father and her growth as an assassin and Shinobi.
MEMORY 1: Naoe’s First Real Kill
Naoe’s first memory takes her back to her first experience with real warfare and what it means to kill someone. Against her father’s wishes, Naoe is determined to aid him in the fight, and she learns the hard way that he was simply trying to protect her. This memory helps further familiarize you with some of the stealth and gameplay mechanics, and is your first introduction to the Kuji-Kiri mini-game.
Memory 2: After The First Invasion
In the second memory, Naoe wakes up from a bad dream, and apparently was making a lot of noise in her sleep because her father heard her screaming. Nagato will explain that there is a meditation method for dealing with such nightmares, and another Kuji-Kiri mini-game sequence will trigger. Afterward,you’ll be tasked with tracking down Matsu’s heirloom scroll at a nearby shrine, using Eagle Vision in the process, and the scroll supposedly has some useful secrets to enhance Naoe’s training.
Memory 3: November 1579
In the third of Naoe’s memories, you’llmeet with Sandayu and be given the grappling hook.He’ll task you with investigating a watchtower they’ve lost contact with, and you’ll have to sneak through to discover that the Igans have all been murdered. This task also serves as a tutorial for listening in on discussions to gather information, something you will do intermittently throughout the rest of the game. After returning to Sandayu, you’ll experience a montage sequence, then Nagato will tell Naoe that she’s invited to the assembly, a major step forward in her and her father’s relationship.
Memory 4: September 1581
In the final memory, Nagato explains that the song he plays is to honor Naoe’s mother and preserve her memory. He promises they will speak about her mother soon, and tells Naoe that she would be proud. During the ceremony, they learn of Nobunaga’s impending attack, and Naoe never gets to have that conversation. After Naoe proves herself in a duel, she’ll infiltrate a castle to uncover the plot, and speak with Hattori Hanzo after he saves her from assassination. Nagato learns they don’t have many allies left, which catches you up to the prologue.
Closest Kuji-Kiri Locations To The AC Shadows Hideout
The Hideout Is A Good Place To Start With Kuji-Kiri
If you’re looking for the closest Kuji-Kiri locations for Naoe’s personal questline,the Hideout is the best place to start.There is a Kuji-Kiri at theAC ShadowsHideoutnext to the waterfall and pondin the back. From there, the next closest spot issoutheast of the hideout, most easily found by using the nearby Kawachi Lost Pagoda and heading for the question mark. There is another one not too far from this spot, close to the Tennoji Temple. Head east into the mountains for the Kuji-Kiriright next to Eboshigata Hachiman Shrine.
Do You Need To Play Any AC Games Before Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Whether you’re new to Assassin’s Creed or a veteran of the franchise, AC Shadows doesn’t require any special knowledge, though it might help.
The next closest Kuji-Kiri location isat the Rolling Glen, and you’ll likely come across this while naturally exploring the first major area. Remember, it doesn’t matter which order or even which specific Kuji-Kiri locations you go to, Naoe’s memories will trigger in the same sequence no matter what. There are also many Kuji-Kiri outside these four that you visit for Naoe’s quest, and none of these will trigger a long cutscene. You only need to complete the mini-game in its entirety to collect the Knowledge Point from each Kuji-Kiri location inAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Set during Japan’s Sengoku period, two distinct protagonists—Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a historical African samurai—must navigate political intrigue and violent clashes between the Assassins and Templars. Players can switch between stealthy, shadow-based gameplay with Naoe and Yasuke’s direct combat approach, exploring the duality of their missions in a beautifully rendered open world.
