Like a Dragon: Ishin! stands in a somewhat odd position. It’s the first release in the series to drop the Yakuza title. It’s a remake of an almost 10 year old game, but is new to audiences outside of Japan.
Having played through a couple of hours of an early chapter, I think it’s safe to say that Ishin retains the core of what Yakuza fans dearly love about the series, all with a fresh lick of paint.
Like A Dragon: Ishin! previewDeveloper: RGG StudioPublisher: SegaPlatform: Played on XboxAvailability: Out February 21 on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5
The familiar open-world full of side-activities remains. There’s several restaurants, sub-quests, and mini-games dotted around the city of Kyo for you to get lost in. During my time with the game, I often got distracted from the main quest to explore each alley and find as many sub-stories as possible.
The sub-stories are what make the world of Kyo truly feel lived in. Through these, the player is submerged in the politics and attitudes of 1860s Japan. One sub-quest requires Ryoma to teach children about global geography, revealing how wary Japan was of the threat of foreign countries until the end of the Bakumatsu era. Another sees Ryoma come to the aid of a Western scholar named Creek, who is attacked by a group of locals enthusiastic about enforcing the edict to expel foreigners.
Whilst the humour of a Yakuza game is still present, the setting of Kyo is vastly different to modern-day Kamurocho and Yokohama, which have been the settings for the mainline games so far. 1860s Kyo was bloodier and more brutal, as it was a time of political and social instability. Where terms have been left as a romanisation of the Japanese words, RGG Studio has added a glossary function which will explain the term in a pop-up. It’s always accessible from the in-game pause menu, making it handily available whenever you find yourself struggling with a gap in knowledge of Japanese history, and while I felt it was a bit disruptive, it was much appreciated when unfamiliar concepts were brought up by NPCs. I’m intrigued to see Ishin’s presentation of the Bakumatsu period and its social climate throughout the rest of the game.