On another note, the game does an excellent job of giving you details about the time period. Of course, the typical Yakuza weirdness remains, and there is a lot of humor involved with the substories too. Whether you’re playing through Another Life, doing the substories, or enjoying mini-games, there’s a bit of color and flavor involved that really fleshes out the world and the time period. This is a weird change from many of the other Yakuza titles, which give all of their rhythm mini-games scaling levels of difficulty. I like a few of the mini-games, but I have to admit that the Karaoke and Buyo Dancing mini-games are a little frustrating because they don’t have difficulty levels. From Buyo Dancing, Karaoke, Cooking, Fishing, and even all the way to Chicken Racing, there’s a lot to do in this game. However, they do add an interesting little twist on the typical action combat, adding an extra resource to your arsenal.Īs with all Like a Dragon/Yakuza titles, Ishin has mini-games. These are optional, so using them isn’t mandatory if you don’t want to dig into the system. Some give you passive benefits as well, but overall you can use them to perform a variety of extra abilities to give you an edge in combat. Trooper Cards work as powerful abilities you can attach to each of your styles. You also get access to Trooper Cards over the course of the game, though the methods are spoiler heavy. However, it is a great side-element to the game that really fleshes out the quieter aspects of domestic Japanese life during this time period. I won’t go into the particulars of where this comes in, because I don’t want to spoil a piece of the plot. Getting materials for blacksmithing is tied to several things, though mostly substories, the arena, and the Another Life segment of the game.Īnother Life is a life-simulation sort of aspect where you can farm, cook, and submit trade orders for money. This isn’t entirely new to the franchise, but it is definitely an interesting mechanic. I’m not going to go into a large amount of detail here, but there are some familiar faces.Īdditionally, there is a blacksmith where you can craft and enhance your weapons and equipment. As in other mainline titles, you also can learn/unlock abilities on the various trees by doing substories around various trainers. There are training (grey) orbs, which can go in any slot on any of the styles’ skill trees, and then there are style orbs that are color coded for each style. Combat is smooth and stylish, and as you defeat enemies and use each style, you’ll gain one of two types of orbs. Swordsman is based on Katana use, Brawler is martial arts-focused, Gunslinger uses pistols and other guns, while Wild Dancer is a highly mobile hybrid of both Swordsman and Gunslinger. Instead of Kiryu’s martial arts though, Ryoma uses four styles each with different methods of combat. Like games in the mainline franchise, Ryoma has access to multiple combat styles. Mechanically speaking though, Like a Dragon: Ishin plays very similar to other games in the franchise and will feel very familiar. With this backdrop, Like a Dragon: Ishin is a wholly new experience in the franchise, especially for western audiences. The British are attempting to find inroads into Japan to ultimately colonize it, and a brutal class system strangles the people of Japan under its heel. Ishin is set in 1867, during a time of political strife and unrest. What ensues is a plot that has consequences for the entirety of Japan. Ryoma is framed for the murder and thus sets out to the land of Kyo (now known as Kyoto) in order to find his mentor’s killer. You play Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai who returns to his homeland just in time for his mentor to be murdered. The version that has been released is an enhanced, reworked, and remastered version of a title with the same name that was released in 2014, exclusively in Japan. Technically, Like a Dragon: Ishin isn’t new. Like a Dragon: Ishin is the perfect example of what I had asked for with the second option. The second is the idea of a period drama, showcasing more of what life in Japan was like back in the days of the Samurai. The first is a Yakuza/Like a Dragon title featuring a female protagonist, showcasing Japan from a female view. As some of us have talked about the franchise, I mentioned that I was interested in two differing options for spinoff games. It’s no secret that those of us here at Phenixx Gaming are fans of Ryu Ga Gotoku’s Yakuza (now renamed Like a Dragon) franchise.
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