Like a Dragon: Ishin! Review
If you've ever wondered what the Yakuza series protagonist Kazama Kiryu would have been like as a samurai in the late Edo period of Japan, then boy have I got the game for you! It's Like a Dragon: Ishin!, a remake of the PlayStation 3/4 title Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!, which sees you playing as real-life samurai Sakamoto Ryōma, who happens to look and sound exactly like Kiryu.
As with the Yakuza series, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a third-person action RPG, which sees you wandering around doing tons of side quests, getting into fight after fight, and playing mini-games for hours on end. Oh, there's also a really great story, but I'm not going to lie, this review would have been out weeks ago if I'd concentrated on the story.
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My only issue with Like a Dragon: Ishin! is in how it sometimes feels like one of the older Yakuza titles. Enemies will straight up disappear if you interact with something, rather than just disengage their pursuit. NPCs will get latched onto level geometry and just run in one spot even after I collide with them. Though very rare, I noticed hitboxes during fights not always being where they should be, either because an attack missed or hit when I shouldn't have. In one cutscene the camera had been placed behind a wall for one angle, so it kept just showing a close-up of blood-stained wallpaper.
These tiny issues don't detract too badly from an amazing game, and Like a Dragon: Ishin! is definitely something that series fans need to play. Newcomers might have an easier time getting into it since the faces won't confuse the names they already know, and the combat has more variety. Overall, it's great fun and makes me hope for a Western release of Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! and remakes of both Kurohyō titles.
Score: 8.5/10
