It doesn’t hurt, too, that completing them rewards players with points that can be spent on upgrading various skills and stats, such as having more health or sprinting stamina. The sheer difference in nature makes questing a curious-inducing and enjoyable experience, as is the case with other side activities. A random encounter tasks Ryoma with running errands for an injured old lady in another, a woman approaches him and asks for phallic-shaped vegetables in a seductive voice. In classic Yakuza fashion, there are numerous substories and mini-games lined up in Like a Dragon: Ishin!, the former of which ranges from wholesome and meaningful to absurdly entertaining. It’s during such moments that the game gets in touch with its wild side. On the one hand, an episodic period thriller sees Ryoma hunting for the culprit behind the assassination of his surrogate father under the moniker of Saito Hajime on the other, players are free to roam the city and interact with friendly shopkeepers, quirky, oddball characters, and even pets. Kyo, or 19th-century Kyoto, serves as a hub for all the action, with its semi-open-world environment turning the game into a segmented affair. Between the imperial loyalist uprisings, power struggles, and looming foreign powers that threaten Japan’s then-isolationist policy, the turbulent period sets the perfect stage to weave in some political intrigue and murder mystery fanfare. Instead of the bustling streets of Kamurocho, players are thrown back in time to the Bakumastsu era, a time spanning the 1860s in Japan that heralded the final years of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate. The narrative scope proves to be more grandiose. Sakamoto Ryoma may be the new samurai poster boy driving the story, but he is Kazuma Kiryu in all but name, sporting both facial and personality resemblances. Like a Dragon: Ishin! thrives in its natural habitat, which evidently carries its roots over from the Yakuza series, and this sense of familiarity is established right in the beginning. There are some elements, however, that hold the game back from reaching its full potential, owing to its inherently antiquated game mechanics.ĭon’t be mistaken: having one foot in the past isn’t necessarily a minus point here. It looks good, plays well enough, and delights with plenty of fun jaunts, proving its worth as a welcome homecoming for returning fans. Originally a Japanese-exclusive release, the updated version for PC and PlayStation 5 remains largely faithful to its PS3 counterpart.
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