The remake of Like A Dragon: Ishin! brings one of the most peculiar and fun Yakuza to the West for the first time.
If you have played any title in the Yakuza series starring Kazuma Kiryu, in general you already know what to expect from Like A Dragon: Ishin!. There’s a main storyline with warring factions and betrayals, quirky side-quests, mini-games like karaoke to discover, and of course Goro Majima. The difference with Like A Dragon: Ishin! is that it is set in Japan in the Edo period, and Kiryu “plays” one of the most famous samurai in Japanese history, Ryoma Sakamoto.
The new setting has brought some new elements to the game. If you are fond of Japanese history, you will recognize the names and events, and you will certainly be very taken with the feeling of Japan at the time. Of course, it’s not all historically accurate – he’s a Yakuza, after all – but there will always be a glimmer of recognition for the stories of the Kyoto of the time. If you’re unfamiliar with the History of those years, the side quests still do a good job of introducing you to everything you might want to know, but certain moments in the main narrative move at great speed and not having that smattering might confuse you a bit. ideas, especially on the ending.
Nonetheless, this is certainly the tightest and most tense story. Some chapters of the series have a bit too many aspects to follow, but the fact that the cast is so small means that the plot also benefits and is much stronger. If a character has already been in the series at some point, they will end up here as well, with Akiyama, Saejima and Majima all having important roles. However, if you are au fait with the series, it will be much easier to understand who is really good and who will backfire.
Till death do Us part –
One of the plot’s biggest strengths is the way it handles death. Since the game is set in the past, anyone can die at any point without impacting Yakuza canon. Being aware of this increases tension, as one of your favorite characters could disappear at any moment. That, of course, with the exception of Kiryu. We all know by now that Kazuma Kiryu is an invincible machine and it doesn’t matter how many bullets rain down on him, or even how many he shoots at others, no one really dies in Yakuza. Kiryu doesn’t kill and can’t be killed, and that’s where the tension lies. To protect his identity, it seems that Kiryu can’t hurt anyone at all.
Speaking of bullets, this is another aspect that is very rarely seen in the Yakuza series. Kiryu has four basic styles – Brawler, Gunman, Swordsman and Wild Dancer – and with the last one our hero can use both a gun and a sword. Ishin! encourages you to try all styles at different points in the game, and the last three are no less powerful than the first. Brawler is the weird one of the lot, but it seems to have been added to allow fans of the series to play as they always have. It can be strong if, for example, there are destructible objects nearby, but it requires a lot more strategy to work well.
Despite being armed to the teeth, Kiryu will still not kill anyone, not even with a katana blow to the heart. He may seem strange, and he certainly is, but it is true that the enemies in the other chapters remain standing even after being hit by a table in the face, or being thrown off a skyscraper. And on the same theme, Heat Action is back, and it’s still as comically dramatic and goofy as ever. The choreography of Yakuza has always been magnificent and the weapons, clothing and architecture of the era make them even more exciting.
Another life –
The side missions don’t disappoint either. There are 79 to find, and all of them are unique and full of humor. Whether you have to fight a bear or disband a disruptive dance company, you will immediately feel like a Yakuza. Karaoke is here and with fan favorites like Baka Mitai, and we also see the return of chicken racing, but there are also new mini-games like fan dancing, for those who want to test their dancing skills.
Another major addition is Another Life. This is an area outside of Kyo where you will live on a farm with Haruka. It’s basically a farming sim, but the vegetables you’ll grow and the meals you’ll prepare are often needed to complete relationships and side quests. Ishin! does well in integrating this new part of the story into the game as a whole, while the same cannot be said of the dungeon crawling section which feels a bit flat and which, despite the tedium, you’ll only play for the stellar rewards.
One thing dungeons do is introduce special abilities. You can equip up to four of them and they can provide different buffs or special attacks. Not only does this bring a new strategic element to the gameplay, but it will also give you one more reason to complete the side missions and get 100% closer. Completing certain tasks, like bindings, will give you new abilities, and after all who doesn’t want to untie a tiger on a bandit.
Like A Dragon: Ishin!, the verdict —
After finishing the main story, you will find yourself back in Kyo. Even after 65 hours, it feels like we’re still discovering new things to do – new minigames to play, new missions to find, and more skills to unlock. Despite all the time we spent with Ishin! we still don’t want to let it go, and we’re sure we’ll continue to find other things to do after we (thought we had) finished it. It may not have revolutionized the traditional Yakuza formula, but it’s the little things that make Ishin! one of the best in the series.
Written by Georgina Young for GLHF
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