In a recent interview with Game Rant, Ghost of Yotei‘s Erika Ishii talked about their three favorite games of all time, which include The Last of Us, Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Ghost of Yotei was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive title on October 2, 2025. In the game, Erika Ishii portrays Atsu, a woman on a relentless quest for revenge against the people who killed her family and left her for dead.
In 2025, Erika Ishii is perhaps best known for portraying Atsu, but the actor has plenty of other credits to their name as well. Ishii has appeared numerous times on Dropout’s Game Changer and Dimension 20. Some fans may also recognize Ishii from their time on Critical Role, where they portrayed the character Dusk. Ishii’s acting credits go all the way back to the sitcom Full House, where they made a brief appearance during childhood. While Erika Ishii has a passion for storytelling as a whole, they have a deep love of games and the unique experiences the medium can offer players.
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One of Erika Ishii’s Favorite Games Helped Shape Their Career
In a recent appearance on Game Rant’s Character Select, Erika Ishii discussed which three games they consider to be their favorite of all time. Ishii was quick to praise Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the way it made them feel and “the big swing they took with the graphics.” Ishii reflected on their time with the classic game, which first made its debut in 2003 on the Nintendo GameCube. It seemed as if it was a formative gaming experience for the Ghost of Yotei star, with Ishii saying, “I really needed it while I played it.” Ishii even praised Return of the Obra Dinn, which they also discussed when talking about their favorite game of 2025, Blue Prince. For Ishii, part of what makes Return of the Obra Dinn special is the way it leverages the medium, meaning that it doesn’t seem like an experience that could be replicated by any other format.
In addition to Wind Waker and Return of the Obra Dinn, Erika Ishii discussed the big impact Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us had on them. When discussing why the 2013 title was so impactful, Ishii said, “The Last of Us inspired me, and The Last of Us: Left Behind, too, was very much a part of making me love narrative games and decide that that was what I wanted to do with my life.” That’s high praise from anyone, but especially from Erika Ishii, who has done voice work for massive titles like Destiny 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Apex Legends, and plenty more before ultimately landing the role of Atsu in Ghost of Yotei. There’s no doubt that The Last of Us has had a significant impact on narrative gaming, as it went on to receive an award-winning sequel in addition to a remaster and full remake. HBO also adapted the story into a show and, while the second season proved to be somewhat divisive, The Last of Us won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards for 2025.
While talking about their three favorite games, Ishii went on to say that “in a separate category all its own is Ghost of Yotei.” This is similar to the way Ishii talked about Ghost of Yotei when revealing that Blue Prince was their personal game of the year. For Ishii, their presence within the title makes it bigger than everything else, which has made them reluctant to claim it as a “favorite” or “best” game. However, Ishii did say that, “I think even if I wasn’t in it, it would be very meaningful to me as a fan of games, and of samurai, and westerns, and revenge films, and just all of these things that I love.” This makes a lot of sense, as Ishii has been very vocal about their love of Ghost of Tsushima for years. Time will tell where Erika Ishii’s career takes them next, but many fans are hopeful that the actor will continue to show up in some of the industry’s biggest and best titles.
- Released
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October 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
