Considering Wild Dancer only allows players to parry, being able to actually just block is wonderful. Swordsman is also fun, working as the dependable workhorse fighting style that lends itself well to boss fights in particular. It’s a beautiful ballet of bullets and blades, and easily the most enjoyable aspect of Ishin’s combat. Think lots of quick combos and spinning attacks that can decimate anyone unfortunate enough to surround Ryoma. The first three classes are pretty self explanatory, but Wild Dancer is the literal wild card of the bunch, playing somewhat similar to Majima’s Breaker style in Yakuza 0. Ryoma can switch between four styles throughout the game: Brawler, Swordsman, Gunman and Wild Dancer. There’s combos, heat actions and style switching, which have all become part and parcel of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise, but something about the whole experience doesn’t gel like other games have. Fundamentally, it’s the same as you’d expect from other games in the series, only now everyone’s holding massive swords, spears and other weapons. While the story is probably the biggest highlight of Like A Dragon: Ishin, the combat gameplay isn’t quite as good the rest of the franchise. The soundtrack in particular does an excellent job in that regard, with various boss fights evoking memories of previous battles against the original characters. As an added bonus, series veterans will likely appreciate the various easter eggs and references sprinkled throughout regarding certain characters. Imagine American Horror Story but for massive weebs. Having to learn a whole new set of characters who still had the same faces and voices was certainly a trip, though it does help give Like A Dragon an almost anthology-like quality. Nakaoka is just Date, Shinpachi is Saejima etc. For the most part, it was often easier to refer to characters by their “original” names. Trying to keep track of everything that happens, especially when all the major cast members are wearing the faces of characters from the mainline series, can become a bit confusing. It is worth mentioning though that Ishin does follow the franchise’s usual trend of ridiculous twists and villain reveals. In reality, it’s about double that at least for one playthrough, if not exponentially longer if you’re planning on completing everything. Of course, that’s 20 hours if you don’t find yourself being distracted by the mountains of side content and additional activities sprinkled throughout Ishin. The story of Ishin is one of the stronger plotlines in the series, with the central murder mystery being a great hook to keep you invested through the narrative’s 20 hour or so runtime. In order to finally grasp the truth, Ryoma lives a double life in Kyo as Saito Hajime, entering an almost literal den of wolves to find his dad’s murderer. The only clue he has is that the killer used an obscure sword style called Tennen Rishin, only known by the founding members of the Shinsengumi, a shogunate-backed police unit. Like A Dragon: Ishin follows Sakamoto Ryoma, a real-life figure in the history and folklore of Japan, as he tries to find out the identity of his father’s killer. While it’s been what fans have been clamoring for, Like A Dragon: Ishin might hold more value for newcomers to the series rather than veterans. Bizarrely, the two studios have decided to port the second one first, with Ishin being remade on modern platforms. Yakuza/Like A Dragon fans have been waiting for years now for SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to port samurai spin-offs Kenzan and Ishin to the West.
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