Above the Samurai Museum Berlin’s gift shop and flanked by ornate helmets of fearsome warriors of a bygone era, I played several hours of this remake of the historical Yakuza of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Like a Dragon: Ishin this week. originally a Japanese release only back in 2014 on PlayStation 3, but what a fever dream to be included in Chapter 3 of the story and let loose in Edo-era Kyoto is none other than Ryoma Sakamoto (the multiverse Kiryu). I almost cried, I raced a chicken, I caught a big eel, and I went away with a warm feeling in my heart.
From what I’ve played in the early parts of the game, it’s the Yakuza through and through, both in its pros and cons. I don’t expect it to convert people who don’t like the series, but if you’re a fan or a newbie, it looks like it will be both a celebration of the cast and a remake. like an old school on excellent yakuza 0. In other words, the perfect intro to this crazy but beautiful thing work series.
Until I came across some sumptuous cutscenes, I didn’t realize how well the Yakuza’s all-star cast fit into the Shogunate. Legendary clan captains like Kuze of Yakuza 0 (or KUZEEEEE!!, as he’s better known) brood in their hakama, interspersed with gravel barking as dust falls gently on the carpeted floor. tatami mat. Kneel instead of hanging arms on the velvet chair. Sliding doors are decorated with delicate textures that replace the shutters of printers and glass panels. However, business etiquette is maintained through the generations, as characters old and new map out their strategies with familiar charged energies. However, I would say that the late Edo period might have made backstabbing better (in every sense of the word).
Watching your favorite characters from the whole series crash into each other in historical cosplay has a magical feel to it. Some have been resurrected from the dead, while others are brand new, but seeing old and new faces plunge into the blade (or blade into the barrel of a gun, in some cases), fighting and against their established Yakuza rivals is a real thing. suspense – and the magic of Ishin’s swordsmanship means you can see how the two giants collide or wrap around each other with mischievous malice.
Without revealing too much, I danced tango with Taiga Saejima (or Nagakura Shinpachi as he is known here) who taught me the importance of switching fighting styles quickly. There are four people to choose from: Swordsman, Brawler, Wild Dancer and Gunman. When fighting common thugs, it shouldn’t be a big deal for you to opt in. But when facing a mountain of people, I found Wild Dancer (as hope) is great for twisting away from Saejima’s overwhelming swings and knocking him down with quick katana slashes, while knocking the Old Gunman drains his health bar from a distance before he came too close to be comfortable.
Of course, it’s too early to judge Ishin’s fight as a whole, but I wouldn’t say it feels too different from your classic Yakuza brawl. If anything, the entire time I spent with Ishin felt most similar to my experience with Yakuza 0 in terms of aesthetics, the mood of the game, and even in the Ki-Sorry movements, Ryoma. This is good, because 0 is – in my humble opinion – Best RGG game.
The game trades off the glitz and dust of Kamurocho’s neon-lit streets for a quieter, or more edgy Kyo, RGG taking on the first Kyoto role. I love how its dusty main street captures the buzz of a burgeoning city, taking you back to a time before the low lines and bop of video game consoles leaked onto the sidewalks. . Vendors pitch their wares from open stalls and entice you to part with your hard-earned Ryo (Old Yen, inherent) with descriptions of ancient rice balls that will help you learn a thing or two thing about the palate of the 1800s. Take your time to explore its side streets and this is where you’ll discover quaint temples or quirky or tearful abrupt cuts.
I really didn’t know what was waiting for me when I ran into two best friends named Miho and Shinta. Miho had just told Shinta that she was leaving the house, when her father hurriedly pushed her from afar. But Shinta didn’t take the good news and ran away angry. Miho asked us to pass him a simple message: “Thank you”. Then I found him in a corner of the temple, quietly thinking about why he was running away in rage. And in typical Kiryu style (sorry, Ryoma, I’ll get on with it), I took the time to break down his emotions into something a little more manageable and turn the crisis around. an opportunity to learn. We talked over the sitch, which helped him realize that he wanted to see Miho one last time and say goodbye properly. Dear reader, my lips moved and my eyes filled with tears as the reunion finally took place. I almost dazzled at the respected magazines when Shinta yelled, “I’ll write to you all the time! For the rest of my life until I’m an old man!”, as the piano played sparkle makes me relax my tear ducts more.
As with the Yakuza, the emotional tests are followed by the wildest punches. I took my mental damage to the chicken races, where I looked at the stats of the chickens and bet on the strongest chickens. Somehow I won my first bet, then the guy behind the counter dispelled my emotional weakness with probably the best compliment I’ve ever received:” Not everyone can see through the feathers into the grumpy soul!”
Not long after, I bought some bait and dragged a large eel out of the river. Then I helped a kind lady out, who taught me the traditional fan dance as I turned and timed the button press to fill the cones. Who do you think I am? Of course I Baka Mitai belt in a theater. Kyo may not be as dense as Kamurocho, but that doesn’t mean it loses the yakuza’s best distraction.
During the last few moments of the demo, I ran into Haruka (Kiryu’s adopted daughter), who – after some sort of thing – introduced me to “Another Life”, Farm mini game where you have to grow and cultivate produce, trade with merchants and expand your lovely little house. I have rotated some sweet potatoes in my plot, you will be glad to know that. All I know is that it can be an all-out retreat for those looking to escape the hardships of samurai life.
But perhaps more than my own experiences, the experiences of other magazines I spoke to provide a perfect summary of my brief time with Like A Dragon: Ishin. They all have different stories to tell, about how they stumbled across and met all sorts of interesting characters I’ve never met, or spent most of their time befriending the guy behind. The bar runs the chicken racing association. And isn’t that what the series is all about? It may be familiar territory for fans and likely won’t convince yakuza haters to take a dip here again, but man, I can’t wait to get in the procession back to Kyo when Ishin Full release on February 21st.
