It’s hard to believe that the Yakuza game series has spanned almost two decades. The amazing thing though is the games never outstay their welcome and always end up being pretty solid titles. Ever since Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios bought their involvement to the table the games have excelled with each title they have released into the wild. Thanks to Xbox Game Pass, I have managed to dive into the majority of the more recent titles and whilst some may criticise them for the lengthy cutscenes and similar gameplay loop each time, they always provide hundreds of hours of entertainment. Like A Dragon: Ishin! is now available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and whilst it is shiny and new to 99% of players, it is actually a reborn version of a title that launched on PlayStation 3 and 4 ten years ago.

Introduction

It’s important to note off the bat that Like A Dragon: Ishin! utilises Unreal Engine 4 and whilst this won’t mean much to newcomers, it is something new to Yakuza fans. I don’t want to reveal too much of the story in this review and will aim to keep my review as spoiler free as possible. The storyline is the main bread and butter of the game and the development team always manages to write an interesting tale that always seems to get its hooks into me. This game is no different and you commence your journey as Sakamoto Ryoma in the 1860s.

After some deep, dark and gritty storytelling, it becomes clear that you are set on seeking revenge for the death of your father. You’ll traverse the world in search of answers and in the hope of finding the samurai responsible by hunting for a particular use of the Tennen Rishin martial art. This is as far as I’ll take you, but the consistent attempt to discover and uncover clues became a real addiction for me. Learning who to trust and who to side with was the real factor that reeled me in with this one.

Gameplay

Like A Dragon: Ishin! at first, felt very similar to all of the other Yakuza games I have played and that remains for the most part. But there are lots of new ideas explored here that were very welcome that I’ll go into shortly. What I liked is the fact that whilst the plot is played out as historical characters, you’ll see some familiar faces act out those parts. The main character you play for example will take on a few different aliases such as Sakamoto Ryoma and Saito Hajime but is portrayed by the famous face we all know from Yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu.

Different Combat Styles

Whilst being out and about you’ll be having many conversations, discovering mini-games and diving into the main quests with lengthy cutscenes, you’ll also be getting into a fair amount of fights. There are four different combat types here to play around with and it helps to keep the game fresh and to your own tastes and is easy to flip between with a tap of the directional D-pad.

Brawler

If you’re a fan of your martial arts with just punches and kicks then this style will suit you best. Whilst it won’t deal as much damage perhaps as using a sword you do have some unique abilities to the other styles. You can chain together some impressive combos along with the ability to grab your enemy, which only the gunman alongside the brawler can use grab. Brawler is also the only method in which some special weapons can be equipped later in the game such as cannons.

Swordsman

The swordsman is pretty much what it says on the tin. Use a range of different swords as you unlock them in order to defeat your enemies. You can’t use grab as a swordsman but you’ll be far too busy parrying and attacking to bother. This ultimately felt like the strongest combat style of them all to me but not necessarily the quickest although you can charge up attacks to deal much more damage.

Gunman

I found the gunman to be useful if you wanted to take a methodical and distanced approach to your battles. You can tinker with different ammo types to deal a range of attacks such as acid, thunder and poison. You have to be cautious and plan precisely how you want to fight using this style as going all gung-ho with repeated firing doesn’t always break their attacks on you and they may move fast.

Wild Dancer

This was by far my favourite of the four and the style I appeared to use more than any other. You’ll have both a gun and sword which can be used to deal some devastating and interesting combos. It isn’t as powerful as being a swordsman, but for sure I found it much more fun.

Farming Simulator 1860

After around the 6-8 hour mark and just beyond passing Chapter 3 of the story, you will be drawn into an emotional plot involving Haruka. You end up treating her like your own daughter to allow her to still reside in the dwelling her parents built and lived in. Again, I will try and refrain from any more information as I don’t want to spoil the story for you. What I liked about this was that you’ll also live here and it opens up a surprisingly unique and deep side game called Another Life. It becomes almost identical to Stardew Valley in some respects as you negotiate the world around you in order to look after your home comforts, food and even take in pets.

You can harvest fruit and veg that can be used in recipes and can even purchase and use fertilizer in the process to speed up growth. It isn’t just plonking them down and coming back when they are ready either. You can also install scarecrows to keep pests off your land and expand your farming operation to bring in a better harvest of crops. I almost felt like Jeremy Clarkson from Clarksons Farm on Amazon Prime, learning everything from scratch and sussing out how to make the best of things as an amateur farmer. Rustling up recipes is great fun as well and converts to other mini-games. For example, cutting veg brings a rhythm-based musical element to it along with cooking meat on a fire.

Pet Rescue Centre

You do have to stray away though if you want to do things like catching fish, which you can do so at your own leisure. There is even the option to bring back neglected dogs and cats to your humble abode and give them a forever-loving home. Weirdly I felt emotional connections with these virtual pets and after rescuing one, I wanted to go and find them all. The risk of doing tasks outside of the home with a view to ticking off stuff for Another Life is that you can get sucked into a tangent of other side quests and doing other bits and pieces, which really is no bother since it’s progressing the overall completion rate of the game.

Mini Games

One of the greatest features of the Yakuza games has always been the variance of mini-games sprawled across the map. Unfortunately, there will be no plugging into an arcade machine and playing Virtua Fighter 5 here, but there are some cracking alternatives. Chicken racing, karaoke, and rock paper scissors amongst a plethora of card-based games including Poker and more are all there for play at your own leisure. I loved the chicken racing and it felt like I had gone into old-fashioned live bookmakers and before I knew it I had been sat there for an hour betting on virtual birds with hilarious racing names.

Plenty To See And Do!

I could go on all day about how much content is on offer here. There is so much to see and do and all the side quests, mini-games and the Another Life experience prop up an enthralling storyline. The game doesn’t feel watered down in comparison to the other solid titles in the catalogue of the Yakuza franchise even though it is technically a remake. I’d imagine much more content has been added in compared with the original. I love the tone and atmosphere that the Shinsengumi display along with the boss fights. Unfortunately, there is still that bugbear of small swarms of enemies roaming the streets that almost force you into a scrap but this is a minor gripe and has stuck with every title the game has seen so far.

Graphics & Audio

Like A Dragon: Ishin! is stunningly beautiful and exceptional in its overall presentation across the board. Cutscenes are remarkably realistic as they always are when it comes to any creation from the talented team over at Rya Ga Gotoku Studios. I especially love the photo mode where you can grab some really fantastic shots against some picturesque backdrops and edit them to your own preference. Considering this is a rebirth of an older title of the past, the amount of detail that has been lovingly poured into this new iteration is nothing short of incredible. For my review, I have been playing on an Xbox Series X and for the most part, the game has been displayed in a solid 60FPS. There is an odd frame drop here and there but it is barely noticeable.

All of the voiced dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles which I actually prefer with the Yakuza games. Whilst the most recent Lost Judgment had English voice acting, it could come across as a little unnatural at times. Even though I don’t have the luxury of speaking fluent Japanese, you can cut the tension with a knife during the intense twist and turns in the strong storyline. Whilst not every single line of the narrative was voiced, what needed to be read is clear and concise on screen. The team have done an excellent job with the sound effects, music and even making NPC’s across the world interesting and also well-spoken.

In Conclusion

Like A Dragon: Ishin! is a must-buy for any fans of the Yakuza franchise and it brings the familiar aspects you’re used to throughout the series and runs with a brilliant and intriguing story in a totally different setting to the streets of modern Japan. From what I can gather this instalment lands somewhere in between and remaster and a remake of the original. The beauty of this game though is that almost everyone outside of Japan will be experiencing this world for the very first time since the PS3/PS4 version of 2013 wasn’t available to the rest of the world.

Final Thoughts

The campaign itself and sticking to just the story quests will keep you busy for a good 35-40 hours depending on your pacing. If you’re a completionist and want to explore every nook and cranny and tick off everything the game has to offer, then you’re easily looking at 100+ hours of content here. I had an absolute blast with Like A Dragon: Ishin! and it’ll easily become one of my most memorable plays of 2023 for sure. I’ll be returning and combing through the bits I missed and hoping to finish it completely before the next title whatever that may be. They have nailed everything here, the story, the visuals and the mechanics are all sublime and you won’t want to skip this one by