Iki Island is a brutal place. Honestly, if you’re coming straight from the lush, honorable fields of Tsushima, the jagged rocks and eagle-poisoned hallucinations of Iki feel like a punch to the gut. It’s supposed to. But here’s the thing: most players think they’ve finished the expansion once the credits roll on Jin’s personal trauma with the Eagle. They haven’t. To complete all tales of iki, you have to look way past the golden bird icons on your map.
There are 7 main story tales, sure. Then there are the 7 side tales that actually show up in your journal. But then there are the "Unwritten Tales." These are the ones that drive completionists absolutely insane because the game doesn't track them in a list. You just have to find them. You have to stumble upon a burning hut or a mourning fisherman and realize, "Oh, I'm supposed to do something here."
The Mental Block of Completion
Getting every single trophy or checkmark on Iki isn't just about combat skill. It’s about being a detective. Sucker Punch designed this DLC to be dense. Really dense. While the main quest focuses on Jin’s father, the sub-stories flesh out what it actually means to be a raider under the thumb of a cult leader. If you’re trying to complete all tales of iki, you’re basically committing to uncovering the secret history of a pirate island.
Most people get stuck at 95% completion. They’ve done the "Common Good" and "Troubled Waters," but the trophy won't pop. Why? Usually, it’s the Unwritten Tales. These don't have mission markers. They don't give you a quest log. You just... do them. For example, there’s a specific spot where you have to help a group of peasants bury their dead after a Mongol attack. No UI prompt. No "Mission Started" banner. You just bow or interact, and Jin speaks. That’s it. That’s the "tale."
The Heavy Hitters: Main and Side Quests
Let’s talk about the stuff that actually shows up in your menu first. You have the main "Journey into the Past" arc. That’s mandatory. Then you have the side stories like "The Ghost of Iki Island" and "Caretakers of the Eagle." These are generally easy to find because survivors in camps will whisper about them, putting a marker on your map.
But have you done "The Legend of Black Hand Riku"?
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This one is technically a Mythic Tale, but it counts toward your total. It’s one of the best encounters in the game. You're hunting a blind pirate’s armor in a cave that is pitch black. You have to light braziers just to see the guy you’re dueling. It’s atmospheric as hell and honestly highlights how much more creative the DLC is compared to the base game.
The Frustrating Reality of Unwritten Tales
To truly complete all tales of iki, you need to find the six Unwritten Tales. This is where the guide-heavy nature of the community comes in because finding these naturally is like finding a needle in a haystack made of katanas.
- The Kodama Tale: Near the Spirit Grove. You find a deer sanctuary that’s been trashed. You don’t get a quest marker, but you see a note. Following the trail of "spirits" (which are really just helpful survivors) leads you to a final encounter.
- The Raft Captain: Down by the shore, there’s a guy trying to build a boat. You help him get supplies. It feels like a fetch quest, but it’s silent.
- The Fire at the Foot of the Mountain: You’ll see smoke. You’ll find a house. You’ll fight Mongols. It sounds generic, but without a marker, most players just ride past it on Nobu (or Kage, or whatever you named your horse this time).
The variation in these tasks is wild. One minute you're engage in high-stakes duels, the next you're literally just bowing at a specific grave to trigger a swarm of butterflies. It's poetic. It's also a bit of a nightmare for people who just want to see a "100%" on their save file without wandering the coastline for three hours.
Why Your Journal Is Lying To You
Your journal is a liar. In the base game of Ghost of Tsushima, the journal is your bible. If it’s not in the journal, it doesn’t exist. On Iki, the journal is just a suggestion. Many players finish the 14 "official" tales and wonder why the "Common Courtesy" trophy hasn't triggered.
It hasn't triggered because the game wants you to live on the island, not just clear it. You have to interact with the environment. If you see a bloodstain near a shrine, investigate it. If you see a group of NPCs standing around a weirdly specific object, talk to them. The "A Helping Hand" quest is a prime example. You meet a guy named Take at three different locations across the island. He needs wood, then hides, then something else. If you don't find him at all three spots, the quest never "finishes" because it never technically "started."
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Combat Nuance and the Shaman Problem
You can’t complete all tales of iki without mastering the new enemy types. The Shamans change everything. In the base game, you could usually parry-god your way through a Mongol camp. On Iki, the Shamans sing. Their chanting buffs every enemy around them, making them hyper-aggressive and un-parryable.
If you’re doing the later side tales, like "The Blood of the Rishi," you’ll be swamped by these guys. The tactical priority shifts. You have to ignore the big guy with the mace and headshot the Shaman immediately. If you don't, the tales become a slog of frustration. It’s a subtle way the developers forced players to break their old habits from Act 3.
The Impact of Jin’s Memory
Every tale on Iki is colored by the "Eagle's Poison." This isn't just a plot device; it affects the world-building in the side quests. When you're helping a raider recover his lost cargo, Jin might have a flashback to his father’s cruelty. This adds a layer of "human-quality" writing to even the smallest fetch quests. You aren't just an errand boy; you're a man suffering a psychological breakdown while trying to be a hero.
The "Memories of the Father" are technically collectibles, but they function like mini-tales. They provide the context needed to understand why the Iki islanders hate the Sakai clan so much. If you skip these, the ending of the final side tales won't hit as hard. You won't understand the nuance of the peace treaty Jin is trying to broker.
Missing the "Common Courtesy" Trophy?
This is the big one. If your goal is to complete all tales of iki, you are likely hunting the "Common Courtesy" trophy. This trophy is specifically for the Unwritten Tales. Here is the checklist of what you actually need to do, stripped of the fluff:
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- The Beekeeper: Find the man whose hives were destroyed. Defend him from the Mongol wave.
- The Kodama: Follow the "ghosts" in the woods and protect the sanctuary.
- The Burial: Assist the peasants at the specific shoreline location where they are mourning.
- The Boat Builder: Give the man at the shipwreck the supplies he needs.
- The Archer's Challenge: While not a "tale" in the traditional sense, completing the Archery Challenges often overlaps with the exploration needed to find the hidden NPCs.
There is also a hidden interaction at the Sly Cooper-themed shrine (Shrine in Shadow) and the Bloodborne-themed shrine (Shrine of Ash). While these are "Easter Eggs," they are often cited by the community as necessary for that feeling of total island completion. You have to wear specific armor and perform specific actions (like throwing a smoke bomb or drawing your sword) to trigger the cinematic.
Actionable Steps for 100% Completion
If you're sitting at your console right now, staring at a map of Iki with no icons left, here is your plan of attack.
First, check your "Collections" tab. If you haven't found all the Wind Chimes or Banners, do that. Often, the path to a collectible leads you right past an Unwritten Tale. Second, go to the Fune’s Refuge and talk to everyone. Sometimes a dialogue prompt won't appear until you've progressed the main story to a certain point.
Specifically, look for the "A Helping Hand" NPC. He is the most common reason people fail to complete all tales of iki. He appears near the forest, then near the mountains, then near the coast. He doesn't have a map icon. You just have to find his little campfire.
Lastly, pay attention to the birds. The golden birds in the DLC are much more aggressive about leading you to Unwritten Tales than they were in the base game. If a bird appears, follow it until it literally stops moving.
Iki Island is a masterpiece of atmospheric storytelling. It’s smaller than Tsushima, but it’s heavier. The tales aren't just boxes to check; they are the scattered pieces of Jin Sakai's broken conscience. Finish them all, not just for the trophy, but to see the full picture of his redemption.
- Fast travel to Fune's Refuge and check for any remaining NPC dialogue bubbles.
- Equip the Traveler’s Attire to clear the fog of war and find the hidden campfires of the Unwritten Tales.
- Check the southern coastline for the burial scene; it's the most easily missed interaction on the map.
- Verify the "A Helping Hand" quest locations (Forest, Grasslands, and Mountains) to ensure you've given the NPC all three sets of resources.