Like a Dragon: Ishin in my eyes earns the lofty score I’m giving it. The game is the most fun I’ve had with a single player game in years, and getting a review code for it the same day as Hi-Fi Rush left me spoiled, incredibly tired, and astoundingly happy. It’s worth your time and your money.
Like a Dragon: Ishin sees the historical adventure spin-off from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio finally released in the West, and the wait has been worth it despite some technical issues. The story, characters, and superlative voice acting make this an easy recommendation if you're a fan of the series.
What an excellent game this has been! If you like the Yakuza games then you will love this. I’ve put about 120 hours in now as there is just so much to do and it’s all super fun.
The combat is excellent, with 4 different styles to choose from and the side stories are as great as always from this studio. I wont give anything away as it’s an exciting story so give it a go!
Like a Dragon: Ishin is an awesome spin-off to an already-great series, and one I'm glad finally came to the States. Even if it tripped on the landing, the story kept me gripped, and I hope some of the new combat styles and special moves make their way to other RGG games. I also hope we'll get the other spin-offs that never made their way over. Time will tell, but for now, it's nice to be back with my favorite criminals.
At its best when its focus is divided, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a fun Bakumatsu sandbox. It doesn’t have the engrossing standout minigame like the cabaret or business management challenges of previous titles, and its time period means it also doesn’t pack a fun arcade. But its jack-of-all-trades approach still resonates.
Like a Dragon: Ishin! provides the show and offers fans of the "Yakuza" saga an epic feudal epic at will. This remake in no way distorts the original 2014 experience, but modernizes the visuals and gameplay enough to make the adventure memorable a decade later. Ishin! is not perfect, far from it, and has some shortcomings, especially technical. However, the pleasure of playing a “Yakuza” game is there, and that is the main thing.
The recreation of the fall of the Bakumatsu Era at the tip of your sword is as exciting and entertaining as expected, but it seems that apart from a fresh coat of (glitchy) paint, Sega didn’t do even the basic refurbishment to bring properly this game to 2023. Unlike the wonderful job they did with the Kiwami remakes, here it feels more like Sega used the game as a training exercise for its studio to learn the Unreal Engine and simply didn’t bother to invest in anything else.
I loved yakuza like a dragon, so i decided to buy this game. I am disappointed, even though I can see that the game has potential, and i find its setting interesting (end of the Edo period).
What could have been improved: for a ps5, 2023 game, the graphics did not blow me away. They were fine. The music did not stand out to me like trek to yomi, blades of the shogun, total war shogun 2, or ghost of tsushima. The animations for the wells and pot looting were cutscenes (hence: slow), and Ryoma always does the same noise while consuming food. Ryoma also did not display a lot of emotions or ambitions or opinions. All of these I can ignore.
The bad: a lot of lines are not voiced. this is problematic for three reasons. 1.) They come unexpectedly, and this results in the game being unsettlingly quiet at times 2.) There is a lot of dialogue, so it was important to voice it fully in order to maintain the immersion. 3.) You only had one language to voice anyway. Secondly, something which baffled me: the camera automatically centres when u look up or down (um - why? we can disable auto camera for horizontal movement but not vertical? what???) and it is jittery when the character is in tight spaces. Thirdly, the parrying was very hard and the pistol did very little damage. I also did not like how it was always 5v1 or something. Feels so unfair. The combat in Ghost of Tsuhima was great: It was refined, fun, felt precise, and most of all fair.
Conclusion: After a few hours into the game, I knew this game was not for me. I enjoyed briefly dipping my toes into a Japan that is shifting from the sword to the gun, from feudalism to republicanism. The story itself was mildly interesting. why is a kid randomly dying right when important people walk through town? and why couldnt she have waited a few seconds or hidden somewhere? Something sad happens early on but you dont really have the time to care about them. Ryomo is pretty stoic and reserved. The first "villain" seems like a generic anime bad guy. The list of narrative woes goes on. The gameplay was also not my cup of tea. It is with much regret that I must say I cannot recommend this game to anyone, unless they are a massive fan of yakuza games or the vagabond manga or samurai champloo anime, but even then... there are simply games more deserving of my time out there. it seems like a repetitive and unrewarding game. Its only redeeming qualities are perhaps the story and mini games later on, but i do not even have the will to reach those points. 70/100
this is just another good Yakuza game is not the best but it's certainly one of those you gonna remember
the game played took some time to get used to my biggest problem was that this is not a game about getting skilled it's a game about getting the good stats and I didn't want to grind so it was really hard in the beginning but the game begin to throw good weapons at you and did become a breeze
the game looks really good and the characters are likeable all around even if the main character still has that stoic face
just another good game and play if you are interested in this series
a mix of dynasty Warriors and devil may cry. its dated in every way. if someone is looking for a game to replace dynasty Warriors this is it. the combat is 30% slower and more tactical but doesn't feel sluggish.
Worst Yakuza title since Yakuza 0.
The outdated combat system + extremely low drop rate of materials make the weapon crafting system a real pain in the ass, and most of the side missions are repetitive and boring(providing some kind of item several times)
Summary1860s Kyo is plagued by widespread inequality, and one samurai will change the course of history in his search for justice. Take up the sword of Sakamoto Ryoma and venture to Kyoto to find your father’s killer, clear yourself of a framed murder, and restore your honor. In doing so, you will bring an end to the samurai era and forever cha...