Originally released only in Japan, Like a Dragon: Were!, a game from the franchise known around the world as Yakuza, finally arrives in other regions with a remake developed in Unreal Engine. Leaving current times, the title goes directly to the past, in a Japan where samurai still walked the streets and conflicts were resolved with swords.
During your journey set in 1860, you will notice that the new SEGA game offers extremely robust content, with a considerably large main campaign and a series of secondary activities that prove to be very interesting. Like a Dragon Ishin! arrives to consolidate itself as one of the great releases of the year.
Sakamoto Ryoma
In Like a Dragon: Ishin! players follow a plot full of familiar faces, from the Yakuza franchise, who assume other roles here. In the spotlight we have Kazuma Kiryu, who is now Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai who embarks on a journey of revenge and justice, while also wanting to change the country’s destiny with a dream of equality.
In a single chapter, Ishin! presents what will serve as the great pillar of its entire plot. Ryoma is accused of a murder he didn’t commit, and so he must become a fugitive to regain his honor and avenge a loved one. In this setting, you embark on a journey that features numerous twists and turns from start to finish, with the game’s plot proving to be quite elaborate and captivating. Like a Dragon: Ishin! manages to introduce new characters into the plot with certain ease, making them useful for the continuation of the plot.
And speaking of introduced characters, they are many. Ishin! spares no names and faces, putting the player face to face with what we call gray characters, or at least something close to it. In Ishin!, it’s difficult to quickly understand who is your ally and who is your enemy, just as the game repeatedly breaks your expectations and convictions, presenting twists and revelations that change the course of things and also change the way you see certain characters.
Ishin! it’s long. Focusing on the main campaign, you’ll most likely exceed 20 hours of gameplay, and one of the title’s great assets is being able to keep the plot interesting with each new chapter. There’s always a new element, there’s always an event that changes the plot structure, and it all wraps up in a satisfying way as you progress through the journey and get more answers.
But, the game also cannot escape some problems. Here, something that can be complicated is the avalanche of organizations and different names that appear during the plot. If, on the one hand, everything is very captivating and well developed, it can also be common for the player to get confused at times, with too much information. In Brazil, this fact can become more problematic since the title does not have subtitles in PT-BR.
The Skill of the Samurai
If it gets praise due to the plot and characters, Like a Dragon: Ishin should also be valued for its great combat. Sakamoto Ryoma has four different fighting styles, and each one seems to have a direct impact on the gameplay, even though you realize that you’ll actually spend almost the entire game using just two options.
The styles available to Ryoma are Brawler (fists only, no weapons), Gunman (firearms only), Swordsman (sword only), and Wild Dancer (sword and gun). You’ll probably only use Brawler at times when the game requires that lethal weapons not be used, as Gunman proves to be of little use with the existence of another style where firearms and swords mix.
However, don’t think that the style system is dispensable. While both options are unprofitable, they still work in a very unique way, and the shine becomes even greater when comparing Swordsman and Wild Dancer. Like the Swordsman style, you’ll be able to block attacks with the sword and perform much more powerful blows, which deal greater damage. However, his movements are slower, which includes his dodging. With Wild Dancer, in addition to shooting shots with the revolver, you perform much faster blows and manage to dodge attacks more easily.
It’s quite interesting, and fun, to see how much each fighting style changes the combat. It’s satisfying to note that for each challenge you’ll have an option that’s more useful, especially during boss fights. In this way, Like a Dragon: Ishin! delivers a very functional and fun combat, which remains varied and interesting until the end of the journey, especially with your character’s progression, which means you can unleash new skills and combos. Remember that changing fighting styles during clashes is very easy and practical.
skills and bosses
Still talking regarding the game’s combat, we have more reasons that make Like a Dragon: Ishin a very competent title in the most varied senses. Normally, something I take a lot into consideration in a game is its skill tree, and I am extremely pleased when I see that the title delivers something that really makes a difference in my character’s evolution, offering skills and moves that are not dispensable. Fortunately, Ishin! knows how to do this very well.
As you use combat styles, you earn skill points that can be used specifically for each of them, in addition to also earning “training orbs” which are skill points that can be used in any of the styles. Throughout the game, you realize that using the points has a real impact on the gameplay, either by increasing the power of your attacks or unlocking new combos and moves. Ryoma also has special attacks that can be performed when you charge your Heat, which makes everything more varied and allows more powerful blows to be used on enemies.
In a game where the combat is competent and the skill tree as well, everything gains even more weight when we face the bosses, and there are many around here. Between bosses and mini-bosses, you face different enemies that have different types of movement and characteristics. As the game presents new challenges, you must adapt to each combat and choose the ideal fighting style to face each opponent. The boss battles are very exciting for the most part, featuring varied and very challenging combat.
Just as Ryoma has different fighting styles, each boss also has its own moves that make the player feel that the boss fights are unique and very fun. The only feeling of repetition appears with some bosses that you face more than once, realizing that the combats are almost identical, but that doesn’t take the shine away from the varied boss battles.
A Kyo full of possibilities
As you explore Kyo, you’ll find that the game offers content galore. If the main campaign is already enough to reach hours and hours of gameplay, with the secondary activities this expands even more considerably.
However, what can cause discontent in the player is the fact that at certain times the secondary missions are presented in an “intrusive” way, with a scene starting without the player having opted for it. Thus, a dialog starts, sometimes even when the player is walking through the streets of Kyo in a hurry to reach the place where he will advance in the main campaign.
That fact aside, side quests should be valued for their sheer variety. Children asking for help, strangers wanting to talk, people needing defense… these stories can deliver both something more serious and something more oriented towards humor, and are a perfect dish for anyone who wants to explore Kyo in peace while simulating a real life on paper. of a samurai.
In addition, the game still offers a huge list of minigames, something that is already characteristic of the Yakuza franchise. Ryoma can dance, gamble, participate in chicken races, and much more. There are many activities that make the title more robust and much more attractive for those who want to divide their time between the main campaign and other more relaxed possibilities.
Some problems and a little unbalanced
Despite the many successes, Like a Dragon: Ishin! also has some problems. During the journey, I noticed frame drops in some scenes, as well as it was extremely common to see NPCs disappearing or appearing magically in different moments of the game, mainly in the transition to scenes or dialogues. Furthermore, the textures also proved problematic in different cutscenes, with the famous pop-in.
Another problem with the title is the fact that Ryoma is called to fight by many people in the streets of Kyo, which ends up becoming tiresome. There are many groups that start a confrontation automatically, and many times you will not be able to escape. At a certain point in the journey, the player can get tired of these fights that don’t mean anything and are just there to take your time.
The title also shows a bit of a balancing problem when you realize that from a certain point in the adventure, following you’ve leveled up the character a lot, most of the common enemies become easy prey. With the skill points distributed and with more powerful weapons, you start to eliminate the simplest opponents with extreme ease, which takes away some of the challenge, especially in the final stretch of the journey.
the verdict
Like a Dragon: Ishin! it is a robust and very competent game. The good plot, full of twists and interesting characters, always keeps the player’s interest alive in continuing the plot. With great combat, the title delivers a lot of variety in clashes and manages to offer a great feeling of reward following each boss battle won.
Packed with content, the SEGA-published game is a boon for Yakuza fans and a great way to introduce new players to the franchise.
Like a Dragon: Were!
- captivating storyline
- great fight
- good skill tree
- Fun and varied boss battles
- a lot of content
- problematic textures
- Too Much Fighting in the Streets of Kyo
- frame falls
- Avalanche of names and information can be a little confusing
