![]() ![]() And the means by which Ishin makes strides in being one of the more mechanically-interesting releases in the series, if not its most immediately satisfying to interact with. What’s more notably different this time, however, is with the combat. And much like the mainline entries, it’s these simpler moments - on passing crowds of NPCs and stores/restaurants open for business - that are just as much a highlight as any story-beat, boss fight or slice of side content provided throughout Like A Dragon: Ishin! Onomichi and Yokohama each had their own commendable identities as series locales and Late Edo-period Kyo is more than deserving of its spot alongside. ![]() Though it may lack the electric glitz, glamour and grime of something like Kamurocho, Ishin‘s Kyo still holds its own by way of those simplest of moments. Neither is the notion that its main setting - the then-capital of Japan, Kyo - struggles in anyway to convince you a slower pace whilst navigating its many streets isn’t unwarranted. To praise the genuine fun one can have amid Ishin‘s side content isn’t inherently new for this series. The kind of distractions that can so easily extend a roughly twenty-hour campaign to double that length if not more. And lest we forget: indulging in the bevvy of restaurants, side stories and mini-games any great Yakuza entry is renowned for. Momentary bust-ups between eager, if small-minded, thugs in the city streets a slowly unraveling, conspiratorial tale of murder, loyalty and revenge that knows how to end each chapter with a hook or tempting cliffhanger. Don’t be mistaken though: Ishin! remains quintessential Yakuza at its prime and addictive best. With Like A Dragon: Ishin! this year, that need to “go along with it” manifests just as much through a deviation in its core combat and gameplay loop, as much its late-19th century setting. If anything, a player’s acceptance of the series as part-dedicated to its world-building and part-ludicrously adamant on poking holes in said world is why it’s garnered such an impassioned following. Not that that’s been a bad thing for Yakuza in recent past. It’s not like Ishin! is hiding from it either a reference at one point in the story to one of its characters being dubbed a “mad dog” and it’s clear Ishin!‘s reliance on familiar faces is one of its more blatant but all-too-familiar “yeah, just go with it” pitches. A game set during the Late Edo period of Japan though its cast of characters take on different names of varying backgrounds and origins, it’s hard not to look past the recognizable faces and exchange them in one’s minds for those we already know from mainline entries prior. Like A Dragon: Ishin! - a remake of 2014’s Japan-exclusive spin-off which also served as a launch title for the PS4 at the time - is one of these said revisits. In offering those same Western fans a look at the series beyond the modern-day streets of Kamurocho. Confidence not just in its newest entrants, but in revisiting prior attempts. ![]() A growing acknowledgment from Western audiences, as much its native Japan, it would only grow in strength and confidence alike. Though one could argue it still remains relatively niche compared to most series, the release of Yakuza 0 in 2017 kicked off what eventually would become a new lease of life for the series. In a year crammed full of memorable games - even releasing at the very start of the year where it should in all likelihood have faded from memory. The right game at the right time you could say - a perfect starting point for newcomers and ideal premise for series veterans given its chronological placement as a prequel to the mainline entries. A support that in 2017 would finally pay dividends with the release of Yakuza 0. A series having maintained a near-continuous annual release of new titles since its inception with the original release in 2005 - followed up by mainline and spin-off releases alike - with nowhere near the commercial viability to imply, at a glance, such a schedule was fruitful.īut credit to Sega in maintaining such strong support. More than half a decade on at this point, it’s odd to imagine that for a time, it seemed as if a series like Yakuza was being kept alive by virtue of little more than corporate reliance and the most hyper-dedicated of its small but crucial community of fans. ![]()
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