By Chris Jackson
PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Originally released exclusively in Japan in 2014, Like A Dragon: Ishin has now been remade for new-gen consoles with added English subtitles to enable western fans to finally experience this highly-rated Yakuza spinoff. Set in samurai-era Japan, it “repurposes” familiar characters from the main series and casts them in wildly different roles based on real historical figures. Series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is now Sakamoto Ryoma, returning home after a year away training in the art of sword fighting. When his mentor is killed by an unknown assassin, Ryoma shoulders the blame and exiles himself from his village, assuming a whole new identity as he goes undercover to join the Shinsengumi, a violent government-backed police force, in an attempt to track down the real assailant and bring down the marauding soldiers from within.
The setting and characters might have changed, but the usual Yakuza gameplay remains the same. You’ll spend the majority of your time in Kyoto, a bustling town that’s bursting with things to do, despite only giving you a fairly small area to explore (big enough to want to fast travel from one side to the other, but you could still run the entire length of the map in half a minute or so). Apart from following the main storyline, perking yourself up in the restaurants around town and doing the odd bit of shopping, plenty of substories act like side quests. Short ones, long ones, serious ones and silly ones, you never quite know whether you’re about to uncover a heartwarming tale or something ridiculously absurd. There are also various minigames – a series staple – to occupy your time with, here replacing the flashy karaoke bar with a more sedate singing club and throwing in some rather unique additions like betting on chicken races and learning traditional dances.
You’ll be doing lots of fighting, too, against the unfriendly gangs who roam the streets while you’re doing your business. Four fighting styles can be instantly switched between to suit whatever situation you find yourself in, with different styles allowing you to perform different moves, complemented by weapon attacks and powerful “Heat” attacks that vary based on where you’re standing and whatever you might be holding at the time. Several chapters into the game, you’ll be asked to coordinate a set of troops (represented by cards) whose abilities enhance your own fighting styles, giving access to super-strong over-the-top special moves and granting a variety of other benefits, adding some much-appreciated flair and pizazz (not often you get to use that word!) to the combat system, although those seeking a more grounded experience can turn this feature off completely.
Other Yakuza mainstays make appearances too – you’re able to upgrade your fighting techniques by slotting orbs into the abilities menu, tick items off your completion list (here known as Diligence Records) to earn Virtue which can be exchanged for stat-boosting blessings, go fishing, increase your friendship levels with the locals to gain all kinds of rewards, visit a brothel… A few hours into the game, you’ll also encounter “Another Life”, a home-making distraction where you’re tasked with maintaining a vegetable garden, planting the right seeds at the right time to produce the best crops, buying new cooking equipment and creating delicious recipes and selling your homemade produce to raise a bit of extra cash.
At around 25 hours from beginning to end, Ishin is shorter than the majority of Yakuza games but does reward your completion with a couple of extra modes – the usual Premium Adventure allows you to keep playing after the credits have rolled so you can carry on working on those Diligence Records, and “Ultimate Challenge” gives you 30+ challenges based around defeating multiple enemies under various conditions, completing missions with unique objectives, and winning a variety of “chase battles”. A few areas could have been improved over the original – the weapon upgrade menu is incredibly awkward to use, and a way to quickly swap between ammo types during combat would have been a nice addition. Other than that, it’s a wonderful variation on a winning formula. The Yakuza games might be an acquired taste, but if you’ve been wooed by Kiryu’s tales in the past, then you won’t go far wrong with this one.
