Like A Dragon: Ishin! preview: Yakuza’s historical samurai game

Sega’s Yakuza series, now known as Like A Dragon in the West, is beloved for its serious, stone-faced drama and brutal street brawls as it is for the silly antics of its stars, Kiryu Kazuma, Goro Majima, and Ichiban Kasuga. This is not changing with the new game. Ishin Like A Dragon, despite the game’s historical 19th century setting. It is actually quite the opposite. Ishin Like A DragonThe franchise has the chance to be more serious.

But let’s back up. Let’s see what it is. Ishin Like A Dragon? It’s the remake of a Yakuza spinoff that was originally released only in Japan in 2014 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It’s a stand-alone entry; neither a sequel nor direct prequel to the mainline Like A Dragon/Yakuza games, so if you’re intimidated by the sheer volume of Sega’s beat-’em-up adventure franchise, it’s a good jumping-in point. Although fans of Yakuza 0. Yakuza: As a DragonYou will be able to recognize familiar faces.

Story of Ishin Like A Dragon centers on Sakamoto Ryoma — he just happens to look a lot like Yakuza protagonist Kiryu Kazuma — who embarks on a mission to uncover a mysterious assailant after his father figure and mentor, Yoshida Toyo, is murdered. Ryoma is unaware of the swordfighting style that Tennen Rishin, the mask-wearing attacker, uses. Seeking answers, Ryoma travels from his backwater town Tosa to Japan’s capital city of Kyo where he joins the Shinsengumi, a special police force, under an alias.

Recenty, I was able to play an early part in the book. Ishin Like A Dragon on Xbox Series X — it’s also coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox One in February — and found it just as engrossing, melodramatic, and comical as any Yakuza game to date. The Bakumatsu period historical setting did not make the game more interesting in some instances. Ishin!It’s even more entertaining.

Chapter 3 Ishin Like A Dragon, “Mibu Wolves,” sees Ryoma settling in the Fushimi district of Kyo. It’s a bustling, metropolitan town full of vendors, restaurants, bars, and brothels, as well as outlaws and lowlifes roaming the streets just looking for a fight. There are also minigames — gambling, chicken racing, even a proto-karaoke bar — and diversions like bathhouses and dojos where Ryoma can train in a variety of fighting styles.

Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

Ishin! Feel more different from other games where Kiryu had the option to switch between different brawling techniques. Ryoma’s incorporate weapons across four styles:

• The swordsman stance focuses on striking powerfully with a knife.
• Ryoma can attack from a long distance with guns thanks to Gunman
• Wild Dancer, a “flashy” stance that combines firearms and katana
• Brawler, brawler with bare fists and environmental weapons

In Fushimi, there are dojos that can help you learn about all these techniques. There’s also a blacksmith in town who will forge, intensify, and imbue weapons, given the right materials. There is a lot of weapons, such as spears, swords, guns, cannons and bits of armor that you can unlock or upgrade in the game.

Yakuza games from the same era. Ishin! was first released, street toughs will regularly challenge Ryoma to fights, but they’re relatively easy to put down. Ryoma faces a true challenger in his audition for the Shinsengumi, when he comes face to face with a capable swordsmen like Nagakura Shinpachi, the force’s second division captain (who just happens to be trained in the Tennen Rishin style). He also comes face to face with — but does not directly fight — a man named Okita Soji, Ishin!’s Goro Majima lookalike.

It’s in these moments, and in conversation with Shinsengumi deputy chief Hijikata Toshizo, where the drama of Ishin Like A Dragonit is most engaging. The machismo is off the charts as Ryoma, Soji, and Shinpachi feel out each other’s combat prowess, bloodthirstiness, and true motivations. A later scene, where the deputy chief pits Ryoma and the mysterious “Man in White” in a battle to the death, ratchets up the drama further — with some excellent dialogue and an English-language localization that adds dimension to Ishin!’s characters.

Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

This chapter also has some great silly things. These include:

• This is a scene in which Ryoma goes to the bathhouse, and is then visited by a clothesthief. Ryoma must then chase down the purloiner in Fushimi, wearing only a loin cloth. The local police are forced to pursue Ryoma. HeFor indecency.
• A group of protesters who rally behind a dance, one so infectious that Ryoma shouts “Stop dancing at me!” only to succumb himself to the trend. It’s very cute.
• A waiting-in-line-for-good-sushi minigame. Where you just… wait in line. The vendor then sells out.
• A karaoke performance (with flute solo) from Ryoma, singing the classic Yakuza tune “Baka Mitai,” during which a stoic audience member is so entranced he seems to develop a crush on our hero and sobs uncontrollably.
• Ryoma learning to buyo dance — a fan dance, traditionally performed by women — that shows, like Kiryu, he’s cool tapping into his feminine side

Ishin! also includes fishing, wood chopping, mahjong, shoji, poker, and dozens of substories, just like previous games in Sega’s seemingly unstoppable franchise. It’s a fun and varied game that is just as enjoyable as the Yakuza games. It’s just of a different time.

Ishin Like A DragonOn February 21, the game will be available on both PC and consoles. The digital deluxe edition of the game will be available on February 17.