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The last decade has been very kind to western fans of the "Yakuza" / "Like A Dragon" series. Not only are we getting major new releases fully localized, but a long-awaited classic is reaching us for the first time this month.
"Like A Dragon: Ishin" is a substantial remake of the decade-old game of the same name that never left Japan. It's set over a hundred years ago — a big difference to the modern "Yakuza" and "Judgment" games we've come to love.
Based on over 30 early reviews of "Ishin," it's seemingly another success from this storied Sega studio. OpenCritic currently gives it an aggregate score of 81/100 with about 94 percent of reviewers recommending the game. Want to see for yourself? Here's what the real critics have to say.
GameSpot's Michael Higham felt the the core of the series holds up with this 8/10 review:
"Like A Dragon: Ishin" is a fascinating part of the RGG Studio catalog, creatively blending the characters and drama we know and love across the "Yakuza" lore with a period piece set during a turbulent time in Japanese history. By virtue of its brand of storytelling, "Ishin" forgoes some of the tropes that have glorified samurai but rides that line ever so closely. If the series is one thing, it's consistent--because despite the shift to Edo-era Japan, there's an unmistakable familiarity.
Nick Tan at ShackNews is critical of some of the technical and gameplay quirks, but the story and setting pull it up to a score of 8/10:
The game’s reinterpretation of Japan’s Bakumatsu period is a transporting experience that explores a moment in history that is not often available to Western audiences. "Ishin" has some trouble upgrading the combat system and camera controls to today’s standards, and it’s not a graphical powerhouse despite some visual upgrades. But anyone who is a fan of the "Yakuza Kiwami" series will likely forgive these faults to a degree.
Of course, not everyone is quite as hot on the story. Metro's Michael Beckwith gave the game a decent 7/10 score, but wasn't blown away with the plot:
A welcome novelty and throwback for long-time "Yakuza" fans, that offers everything they love about the series, although it’s held back by a rather underwhelming plot and too much fan service.
Tyler Treese at Coming Soon gave "Ishin" a 8.5/10 score, and highlights the side content as a strong point:
Like the rest of the "Yakuza" series, what really makes "Ishin" incredible is the breadth of meaningful content. The dozens of side stories give a great look at the turbulent culture at the time, such as a look at the ee ja nai ka protests, while also retaining the series’ sense of humor and wackiness. There’s also an in-depth farming simulator, which is fleshed out to an extent similar to some of "Yakuza 5‘s" careers, that can be used to make some great money once players invest in it.
Alan Wen's unscored Eurogamer review makes it clear that folks outside of Japan who never got to play the original will be well served even if there's a number of obvious shortcomings:
I can imagine that Japanese players may find the question of whether this remake is worth forking out for more contentious, but for Western fans who have been clamoring for "Ishin" for close to a decade, just being able to finally play this samurai spin-off fully localized is enough. Yet even after the long wait, there's a nagging sense that it could have been more.
"Like a Dragon: Ishin" releases on Tuesday, February 21 for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
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