Like a Dragon: Ishin is not a new game. It’s a remake of an old game – Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin from 2014, released only in Japan for PS3 and PS4. And yet, despite the age of its skeleton, the game somehow stands out as one of the more impressive games in developer Ryu Ga Gotoku (RGG)’s portfolio – even with some notable flaws.
Ishin is set in the 1860s, at the end of Japan’s Edo period. You play as Sakamoto Ryoma – a real-life historical figure – caught up in the turbulent socio-political climate of the era in the midst of his own plot for revenge. Under the false alias Saitō Hajime, Sakamoto infiltrates the Shinsengumi, a police force organized to control Kyoto at the time, and searches for his adoptive father’s killer. But of course, in the course of these things, Ryoma ends up in the middle of a much larger conspiracy and impressively finds time both to seek his revenge and to bring about major changes in the entire political system of the country – as one does.
It’s a gripping drama, if an unwieldy one at times. Ishin’s cast uses the faces and personalities of the main Yakuza characters to portray actual historical figures. For example, Ryoma is the series protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, but there are also Goro Majima, Taiga Saejima, and even a few newer characters that I don’t want to spoil here. These familiar faces helped me to instantly recognize characters—or despise them, since I was already used to their personality traits; I quickly committed to alliances, individuals, and storylines before they even got going. Ishin is also one of the better written RGG games, with impressively staged cutscenes – some of the best in the studio’s catalog – that have always stuck with me. Takaya Kuroda’s performance as Ryoma is excellent as always, and it’s great to see Riki Takeuchi (Dead or alive, His motorcycle, her island), Hitoshi Ozawa (The eye, boiling point) and Hideo Nakano (the indignation series) back in an RGG game after her amazing role in Yakuza 0.
On the other hand, at times it’s like trying to balance 100 spinning platters with just two hands following Ishin’s ever-twisting story. There’s a somewhat helpful glossary, but even then the game expects you to have at least a cursory knowledge of around 100 years of Japanese history, in addition to RGG’s complex narratives. That is much. And I don’t particularly like the ending, which becomes uncharacteristically meta with an odd message without spoilers.
Ishin’s historical setting creates one of the best open worlds in the series. In Kyo (now Kyoto), a meticulous amount of detail brings the 1860s to life. I’ve often wandered the world in first-person, marveling at its sprawling shopping and drinking districts, quiet suburban communities, and winding lanes. However, the game’s endless supply of side stories and side quests often add headaches to these peaceful journeys.
As in other RGG games, sub-stories play automatically when you get close enough to the mission giver – whether you like it or not. Luckily, you only have to sit through the introductory cutscenes and not play the entire quest until you want to. I understand that these are the most popular parts of the Yakuza games, but as always, I found it incredibly annoying to sometimes be stopped five or more times on the way to a nearby location for each side quest to play in the area. That’s not to say the sub-stories aren’t good; they are. I particularly enjoyed Ishin’s slice-of-life mini-games where you share a house with Haruka, tend to crops, learn to cook, raise animals, and so on. I love my little house and wish I lived there instead of Minneapolis.
Combat, of course, makes up the bulk of Ishin’s gameplay, and for the most part, it’s great to draw on the active combat of the RGG games before Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s turn-based gameplay of 2020. Ryoma is a master swordsman, but is also skilled in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. You have four combat styles, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and skill trees, and I like constantly switching between the four during combat. I’ve often started out with the quick sword and weapon stance to deal quick damage and crowd control. I would then switch to the more deliberate Swordsman fighting style to deal massive damage to single opponents. And occasionally, I’d switch to a weapon-only stance to deal damage to distant targets. It’s not perfect – the camera often works against you in tight quarters, too many enemies hit you from behind when you’re not looking, and a late-game setpiece level is frustratingly annoying – but when it works, Ishin’s combat is hugely satisfying .
The game also has a card system that allows for special moves. These are earned by recruiting new members – including some familiar faces – to the Shinsengumi, either through the open world or through the mostly boring dungeon crawling side content. There are four that can be assigned to each combat style, for a total of 16. Two personal favorites are the always handy ability to heal large chunks of my HP bar and a lightning attack that targets any enemy in close proximity. Combining the fighting styles with the series’ heat moves (cinematic finishers) and the new special moves in one encounter is fun, even if recruiting new soldiers is often tedious.
Like a Dragon: Ishin is an amazing spin-off of an already great series, and I’m glad it finally made it to the States. Even if it stumbled on landing, the story kept me hooked and I hope some of the new combat styles and special moves make their way into other RGG games. I also hope we get the other spinoffs that never made it. Time will tell, but for now it’s nice to be back with my favorite criminals.
