Samurai throwdown with katanas brought to a gunfight
It only took 10 years for the western audience to get a taste of the side stories imagined by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio for the Yakuza series. Renamed Like a Dragon with a more complicated release schedule than the artificial ingredients of a Twinkie, while waiting for the sequel, the fans can enjoy a detour to the feudal Japan with the adventures of Sakamoto Ryoma. Prepare your katanas and guns for a real showdown!
Like a Dragon: Ishin! Replaces the shiny night life of Kamurocho and the sharply pressed dresses of Kazuma Kiryu with the dusty streets of Japan’s countryside where people stroll around wearing traditional haoris. The new game takes us back to 1860, a period when the western world already had a foothold in a world where the time of shoguns has already started to set.
Our hero, Sakamoto Ryoma – any resemblance with Kazuma is of course intentional – after returning to his home village lands in a political conflict that will see his benefactor murdered and himself exiled. This initial period serves more like an extended tutorial covering the basis and establishing the premises of the story. The real action begins 1 year later in the city of Kyo, where our low-level samurai hero tries to uncover a larger than expected conspiracy.
What I really love about the game is if you’re a Yakuza fan, then you know exactly what to expect. More importantly, the game delivers exactly what you expect from a Yakuza game. On the other hand, newcomers are in for a revenge story with our hero being one of the last pillars of morality with several twists, over the top scenes and overdramatized character arcs.
