Assassin’s Creed Shadows Naoe Romance Guide

Naoe has multiple romance choices in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and this guide provides the correct dialogues that you should choose.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe Romance Guide.
Naoe is a fun character who has multiple romance perspectives (Image via Deltia’s Gaming || Ubisoft)

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a dual protagonist system, where Naoe and Yasuke have drastically different playstyles as well as personalities. As such, they have different romantic paths in AC Shadows. Naoe, our shinobi Assassin, has two romance options in the game, and both offer some fun flirty banter and a string of side missions.

Choices are crucial in Naoe’s romantic quests in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. One wrong dialogue selection can lead to a different outcome entirely. If you play your cards right, you will also be able to unlock another Assassin ally who will be able to help you during fights.

In this guide, we will explain all of Naoe’s romance options in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

How Many Romance Options Does Naoe Have?

Naoe has two romance options with Katsuhime and Gennojo in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Naoe has two romance options with Katsuhime and Gennojo (Image via Deltia’s Gaming || Ubisoft)

Naoe has two romance options in Assassin’s Creed Shadows:

  • Gennojo
  • Katsuhime

Unlike many games where you can select only one of these outcomes, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will allow you to explore both paths simultaneously. The two paths are not inter-dependent in any way, and the choices are unique.

Here is a detailed explanation of Naoe’s romance options with both these characters.

Naoe and Gennojo

Naoe and Gennojo in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Naoe and Gennojo (Image via Deltia’s Gaming || Ubisoft)

Your first encounter with Gennojo will be anything but romantic. It will involve a duel as well during the quest Missing Missive. You can approach this quest and fight as either Yasuke or Naoe, as it will have no impact on the latter’s romance perspective. The next time you meet him will be during the Lost Honor quest, and you must play as Naoe to start the romantic interactions between the two in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

From this point on, your choice of dialogue will play an important part. Generally, you should choose the dialogues that have a heart symbol next to them. This would take the conversation in a flirty direction in most cases. Here are the dialogues that progress the romantic quest for Gennojo, and how Naoe should respond to them:

Gennojo DialogueCorrect Naoe Response Dialogue
“Eh! They’re as bad as each other. We beat them though. We’re good together.”You might be right.
“Ah… Then you’re here for another type of sword perhaps?”Depends on what you’re offering.
“Why don’t you let me show you what a good friend I can be.”Show me, thief.
“A nude portrait of me, hand-painted by the tax collector’s wife.”I’m keeping it, then.
“You just couldn’t stay away from me, could you?” [laughs, coughs]I’m here for you.
“Life is short. Might as well embrace it.”I’d like to embrace you.

After each dialogue, there will be a string of missions that you will need to complete. After the last dialogue, an intimate scene between Naoe and Gennojo will ensue.

Gennojo’s Fate

There is one more crucial choice to make after all of this has happened, which directly controls the fate of Gennojo. A boss fight with Tatsugoro will ensue after this, and the aftermath will present a difficult choice which determines the life of Gennojo. In the last choice, there will be three options:

  • Stop Gennojo
  • Soothe Gennojo
  • Do nothing

Here, you must soothe Gennojo to save him. Any other choice will lead to his death, and you will not be able to use him as an Assassin ally in subsequent quests.

Naoe and Katsuhime

Naoe and Katsuhime in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Naoe and Katsuhime (Image via Deltia’s Gaming || Ubisoft)

Katsuhime is a fellow Shinobi like Naoe, hailing from the Koda clan. You will first encounter her during rhe Showdown in Sakamoto quest, where some snarky but flirty dialogues from the teppo-wielding shinobi will be very evident. Similar to the Gennojo quest, Katsuhime’s romantic line will open up with the Letter From Katsuhime quest after you make the first correct choice.

The follow are the important dialogues from Katsuhime’s that progresses her romance, and how Naoe should respond to them in Assassin’s Creed Shadows:

Katsuhime DialogueCorrect Naoe Response Dialogue
“What’s wrong, Iga-hime? Does my teppo make you nervous?”I like your teppo.
“So, what does your ikki have to offer me – other than a swift and violent death?”It offers time with me.
“Admit it, you just want to spend more time with me.”I do enjoy your company.
“So, do you want me?”Yes, join us.
“You’re a clever woman. Guess.”Let’s find out.
“Yes, together.” “Forever”Yes. Forever.

Naoe and Katsuhime will embrace each other in an intimate scene right after the fifth choice. However, the last choice that appears seems to hint at a possible canon relationship between the two shinobi. The “forever” can be seen as a form of commitment, which would go on to prove that Gennojo was just another fling for our ambitious Assassin.

Katsuhime’s Death

After the third dialogue, during the quest “The Diary of Lady Rokkaku”, Katsuhime will run and attack the Omizu castle before Naoe arrives. She will be captured and severely injured, and you will have to rescue her. Note that there is a time crunch here, and Katsuhime will die if you are not fast enough.

If you fail to keep her alive, the rest of Naoe and Katsuhime’s romantic interest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows fails completely. As such, it should be your priority to rescue Katsuhime as early as possible during this quest.


AC Shadows logo [Source: Ubisoft]

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