Rise of the Ronin – should you spare or kill Gonzo

Choosing whether or not to spare or kill Gonzo is Rise of the Ronin is the first taste of the branching narrative in Rise of the Ronin. As you play more missions in Rise of the Ronin, you will be faced with choices like these.

While some are meaningful to the story, others aren’t as much. This is something of a shortcoming in Rise of the Ronin we touched upon in our review. However, some choices have a lot of follow-through and ramifications.

If you’re just starting in Rise of the Ronin, read our guides covering tips and tricks and how to get the Glider. Now, should you spare or kill Gonzo in Rise of the Ronin?

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

The choice of whether or not to spare or kill Gonzo in Rise of the Ronin is ultimately up to you. This is a fairly low-stakes choice to make at the start of the game. As you might imagine, the tangible consequences of killing Gonzo mean that this character is dead for good. However, why does that matter? Well, it locks you out of a specific Bond Mission.

In our playthrough, we killed Gonzo because we found him kind of annoying and we wanted to see if the game would follow through with this decision. Thankfully, it does. But this means we didn’t get access to his Bond quests. With that in mind, there is a function in Rise of the Ronin that lets you replay main story missions and change your decision to see other outcomes.

✓ Jack’s opinion

Does killing Gonzo change anything?

As far as we know, choosing to kill Gonzo doesn’t have any serious ramifications to the main story. We believe it is simply an introduction to the decision system. Outside of the obvious – that he will be very dead – there isn’t much difference when you keep him alive.

What happens if you spare Gonzo?

If you choose to spare Gonzo, you can unlock him as a Bond companion. This means you will get access to special Bond missions that only feature Gonzo and this will progress his storyline. Essentially, this will give you more missions to complete and let you deepen your Bond with this seemingly inconsequential character.

As mentioned, if you choose to spare Gonzo you will get to see more quests involving him as you progress through the game. If you choose to kill Gonzo then and there, that will end his potential quests. You can redo this decision later using the Testament of the Soul function. This lets you revisit previous areas and replay missions to see different outcomes.

That’s it whether or not you should spare or kill Gonzo. For more, read our guide covering the best skills to unlock early and how to unlock Combat Styles.

Rise of the Ronin kill Gonzo or spare him FAQs

Does choice matter in Rise of the Ronin?

It does, to some extent. Some choices will influence the main story and it involves characters living or dying.

Is there a way to change your decision?

Yes, once you get far enough in the game you unlock the Testament of the Soul option. This lets you travel back to previous areas and replay missions to change your choice.