Specifically occur the late Edo period, Japan is having a transformation after the arrival of Western ships during the Bakumatsu era. Players step into the shoes of Sakamoto Ryoma, who bears an uplifting resemblance to former series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Ryoma returns to his hometown of Tosa after working time in Edo studying swordsmanship, and is soon pulled right into a political conspiracy to upend the discriminatory social class system Tosa is embroiled in. Ryoma, together with his surrogate father Yoshida Toyo, and the best friend, Takechi Hanpeita, hatch a plan to free Tosa from the oppressive government.
Things quickly turn sour, though, as Toyo is assassinated with a masked assailant, forcing Ryoma to depart Tosa behind as the prime suspect from the murder, fleeing to Japan’s capital of Kyo. One year later, and going by the alias of Saito Hajime, Ryoma seeks to infiltrate the Shinsengumi within the search for his father’s murderer. In typical Yakuza fashion, what unfolds is really a grand conspiracy that will reach far across Japan, with Ryoma taking centre stage in the conflict.
What’s best about Ishin’s narrative, though, is the fact that it’s largely based off of people and events that actually happened in Japan during this period of turmoil. It’s obviously quite dramatised with regards to entertainment, however this part of the story folds in an component of historical accuracy that’s new to the series. Reading on the people these characters were inspired by, and also the events they become entangled in would be a cathartic moment of realisation and connection to the country’s storied history.
Series veterans will no doubt obtain a kick out of seeing fan favourite characters translated into these historical figures, that also keeps the narrative firmly rooted within the realms of Yakuza. These characters also don’t always align in behaviour and morals his or her mainline series parallels, making for a lot of unexpected moments and interactions which had me grinning from ear to ear. Another nice touch may be the inclusion of characters from Yakuza 6, and Like A Dragon, who weren’t present in the initial Japanese release. As i haven’t played the original, the inclusion of these characters feels more celebratory and reverent as opposed to invasive or unnatural.
The story is compelling from start to finish, brought to life by consistently stunning cutscenes, excellent performances, and unending attention to detail. It holds remarkable pace, constantly dangling the carrot in front of you without ever divulging all its answers until credits roll. Myriad twists and turns constantly kept me around the fringe of my seat, even though I understand the labyrinthian plots of prior entries, it’s nice to have some thing straightforward in nature, meaning Ishin spends less time exposition dumping, and more time with its characters and moral quandaries.
If you weren’t keen on Just like a Dragon’s shift to turn-based combat, Like A Dragon: Ishin! has your back. With the original Japanese release slotted between Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 0, it comes as no real surprise that Ishin offers some of the most well-realised action combat within the series. Ryoma has four styles accessible to him in combat; Swordsman, Gunman, Wild Dancer, and Brawler, each one offering their very own group of strengths and weaknesses.
Where Brawler lacks the raw harm to Swordsman, it offers a superior access to grabs and environmental weapons. Likewise, Gunman grants you a slew of ranged attacks that are great at a distance, and can place you in a tricky place if enemies near the coast, while Wild Dancer offers loads of crowd control and far-reaching attacks in a trade for riskier defence options. It’s a more considered and deliberate combat system in comparison to the scrappy scuffles of prior games. Heat Actions also return in all their glory, with every style boasting a heap of satisfyingly crunchy attacks that rarely wear out their welcome.
The way Ishin handles progression ensures that you’re constantly unlocking new moves within each style to play around with. Using styles unlocks respective orbs to invest in their vast skill trees, where Training Orbs unlocked by accruing regular xp can be used in any tree. This means you can always progress a tree you aren’t using as much as the others. The ability to refund Training Orbs instead of style specific orbs means you can chop and change skills when needed, and adds a nice amount of customisation to how you move through each style’s tree. You’ll also unlock the opportunity to use powerful special weapons that bring their own flair to combat.
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The flipside of progression comes in the form of crafting, where materials obtained through various means can be spent to craft and enhance weapons. It really works as a system and clicks nicely with the overall setting of Ishin, but can feel arbitrary when you’re constantly getting new weapons from bosses, Substories, and countless other sources. It’s a method where you escape what you put in, however i feel like there could’ve been more incentive to engage by using it – especially in comparison to Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s crafting system.
A Yakuza game isn’t a Yakuza game with no compact open-world filled with Substories and side content to engage with, and Ishin does not disappoint in connection with this. Series mainstays like karaoke and dancing return in full-force here, but Ishin also brings along it’s own minigames to experience around with. A highlight was chicken racing, where one can bet on rivalling chickens as they race around tracks. Another worthwhile distraction comes in the type of Ryoma’s villa, where one can have another life with Haruka, expanding your countryside villa while you farm, cook, and lift pets. There are so many to play around with when you want a break from the main plot, plus they work together to produce the whacky tonal dissonance Yakuza is known for.
While not quite as many as other entries in the franchise, Ishin still provides a hefty quantity of Substories to interact with. As i can’t attest to the caliber of these, the ones I did complete were thoroughly entertaining and really worth seeing right through to the finish. There’s one out of particular surrounding an inari sushi salesman who sells out of product every day, where you’ll return to him morning after morning in the hopes that you’ll reach the leading from the line before he sells out. Without spoiling it, this absurd premise takes an unexpected yet heartwarming turn that further develops Ryoma’s character, while also accumulating the world around him.
From a technical perspective, Just like a Dragon: Ishin! is mostly fine, but there are some glaring flaws that often make themselves known while playing. The game looks and runs great, it might not stand up to the visual fidelity of Lost Judgment or Yakuza: Just like a Dragon, but it definitely satisfies like a remaster/remake of a PS4 game. Cutscenes are remarkably gorgeous, and the art direction is well-realised inside the setting of the historic Japan. The streets bustle in realistic fashion, with people going about their days, only to cave in to atmospheric nights lit by restaurant lanterns and candles, creating a palpable feeling of time and place.
Unfortunately, Ishin hitches a lot when jumping out of menus, whether that be when levelling up or accessing your inventory, often for a noticeable period of time. I additionally had the sport crash on me once, and the UI is noticeably bland – especially the text. None of these things were enough to outright ruin my knowledge about the sport, however they happened often enough it took me from the experience.
Hopefully Like A Dragon: Ishin is the oncoming of an effort to create more of the Japan exclusive Yakuza games towards the west. While Yakuza: Just like a Dragon offers its very own turn-based take on the franchise with a fantastic cast, I’d be lying basically didn’t emphasise the amount of a blast it had been to experience a more traditional Yakuza game, for insufficient a much better word. Jumping into a game with familiar faces you’ve spent a lot of hours with is cathartic, particularly in an environment as unique and well-realised because this one. Regardless of the core appeal to long-time fans, Ishin is also a good way for newcomers to jump in too, with only tangential connections towards the mainline series.
