Ghostwire Tokyo’s story is filled with supernatural creatures and spiritual themes, playing out slowly over the course of the game. As you might expect, a lot of the experience is left up to interpretation, although there are plenty of hints scattered throughout the streets of Tokyo. The finale of Ghostwire is where the game’s themes of loss and acceptance really come to a head, and it’s a bit bittersweet when all is said and done. Still, if you’ve found yourself a bit confused by everything that took place we’ll walk through the final moments of Ghostwire Tokyo, as well as some extra context provided by a few side quests.
The After the End Quests provide more context
Before you head to the ending of Ghostwire Tokyo, the game warns you you’ll be locked out of completing a series of side quests called After the End. While these quests aren’t vital, they do provide a bit more context, and focus on one of KK’s friends named Erika. Through these quests and audio logs, we learn that Erika is actually the daughter of Hannya, and her mother passed away before the events of the game.
Wracked with grief, Hannya resolves to shatter the barrier between the land of spirits and the living, in order to be reunited with his wife. In some misguided sense of justice, he also thinks that breaking the barrier and “freeing people’s spirits” will ensure no one ever has to experience the loss he has.
Shortly before the events of Ghostwire, KK had been teaching Erika to fight, and after Hannya launches his attack on Tokyo, Erika tries to defeat him. Unfortunately, she’s not successful, which is how Hannya ends up taking control of her dead body. After completing all three After the End quests you also learn the only thing tying Rinko’s spirit to this world was finding out the fate of Erika. Akito and KK have one final encounter with Rinko before the showdown with Hannya, where her spirit is finally set free.
Ghostwire Tokyo’s final showdown with Hannya
Akito and KK’s quest to save Mari brings him to a showdown with Hannya at Tokyo Tower. There the duo finds Hannya conducting a ritual that uses Mari’s spirit to open a massive portal to the spirit world. However, during the ritual Mari fights back and rises into the air, knocking Hannya into the portal with a massive blast.
Akito catches Mari as she falls to the ground and desperately apologizes for everything he’s done. Mari assures him that he’s done nothing wrong and reveals that she doesn’t blame him for not saving her from the fire, as she actually went back in to try and retrieve their parent’s wedding rings, the only memento they had left. This entire time Mari has stayed alive simply to tell Akito nothing was his fault, so she could ease his guilt. The will to survive along with her love for her brother made Mari’s spirit incredibly powerful, which is what attracted Hannya.
As Mari’s spirit is finally laid to rest, Hannya climbs out of the portal with his wife and daughter’s bodies in tow. He fuses together with his family to make a horrific monster intent on killing Akito. Using KK’s power, Akito is able to overcome the beast and purify it, finally laying Hannya and his family's spirits to rest. Because the ritual was stopped and reversed by Mari, Tokyo and the people’s spirits you save, should return to normal.
What happens to Akito, Mari, and KK?
After the final battle, Akito awakens in the spirit world, where the spirits of his mother and father show up to retrieve Mari. As they take Mari to the spirit world, they guide Akito back to the living world and he resolves to live a happy life in order to honor his family.
At the same time, KK has come to grips with all of his mistakes as a father but is satisfied that he was able to do the only thing he ever wanted to- protect them. As he begins to fade away he asks Akito to tell his family he never stopped protecting them, and with that, his spirit is gone. Now powerless and ready to live life for the first time, Akito heads back to the land of the living.
