Like a Dragon: Ishin

Like a Dragon: Ishin is an action adventure game and a spin-off of the Yakuza series. It is a remake of Yakuza Ishin from 2014, both these games developed by the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

Plot

The game is set in Japan in 1867, in the city of Kyo - a fictionalized version of Kyoto. The story of Like a Dragon: Ishin takes place at the end of the samurai era and its protagonist is Sakamoto Ryoma, a historical figure who played a key role in overthrowing the shogunate.

Ryoma heads to Kyo, following the trail of his mentor's murderer. His only clue is an obscure but highly effective combat style used by the killer. The school teaching these techniques has been closed, but Ryoma learns its students are in the aforementioned city.

Curiously, while Ryoma himself is a historical figure, his in-game appearance and personality are based on Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the series' main installments, while throughout the campaign we'll encounter many other alternate versions of already well-known characters.

Mechanics

Like a Dragon: Ishin is an action adventure game featuring a small open world densely packed with quests and various activities. In addition to the extensive main campaign, the developers have also prepared a ton of optional side content.

The game's core is its arcade combat system, allowing the use of four different combat styles. We can do battle with a sword, our fists or firearms. Throughout the game we develop Ryoma's skills, making him stronger and teaching him new moves.

In addition to combat, the game offers a plethora of different challenges, usually in the form of various mini-games, such as singing, dancing, gambling, fishing, cooking or chicken racing. All these activities have their own storylines, often unrelated to the main story.

Game modes

The game only supports singleplayer.

Technical aspects

As befitting a remake, the game's graphics have been vastly improved compared to the original release. It runs on the Unreal Engine 4, thus being the first game in the series not to use an engine made by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio themselves.

It's worth mentioning that the faces of many characters have been modified to resemble other characters from the Yakuza series, released after the original Yakuza Ishin came out in Japan.

Last updated on 16 February 2023